Caroline Carter Events

I wish I had noticed that her favorable reviews were written 12 years ago. 2024 was not a good year for Caroline to take on this event. She should’ve declined, We ended on terrible terms with each other. I hired her well over a year before the Rehearsal Dinner. I found her disorganized, slow to respond, unprofessional and disrespectful. She was often unavailable. She waited until the last minute to execute tasks and provide me with requested information. Early on, I gave her an “out” for our binding contract. She said she was willing and capable. She continually said, I know I owe you this or that, but by the time she followed through, deadlines had passed. She also wanted complete control. We had plenty of time to pick out linens, and by the time I initiated it, our options were limited. I thought she was supposed to help me create a look, but she did not help me pick out linens or tableware. I missed out on my first choice because I waited on her, and I almost lost a rain contingency plan. She didn’t provide me with information I needed to create a seating chart until the week of the event. She initiated contact with the alcohol sales vendor after the vendor and I had worked everything out. I had to call the transportation people to explain what we needed and to correct the timeline she had approved. I questioned her twice about her approval of the number of wine glasses I was renting. I did not think there were enough, and I was correct. We ran out of wine glasses before the event was over. She has a select group of vendors in the various categories that she uses exclusively. She continually stressed one caterer. I mentioned that I knew of others and would appreciate other quotes. It was like pulling nose hairs to get another quote from her. She gave us one option for transportation and was furious with me for reaching out to another on my own. When I asked for entertainment options, she sent me 1 artist at a time over a 3 week period instead of sending me a list to consider. I hired the entertainment on my own. She told me she could handle doing the decor but continually put me off on providing me with a quote. Finally, 2 weeks before the event she gave me a quote with a Venmo request. I could not figure out how she came up with the figure because nothing was itemized. The document was vague and used the word, “etc. I asked her to itemize her lump sum figure before the event and after the event and she responded that I obviously did not know how to read a spreadsheet. Her spreadsheet simply listed items and ideas and a lump sum figure that she could not back up. It was impossible for me to know how much she spent. Was she intentionally vague? She would not show me any receipts. The last time I asked her about this fee, she responded, “I owe you nothing.” Essentially she was there to set up and break down the party. It was helpful that she set up and broke down but her execution of both were lacking. At our request, during the event, she left the venue to retrieve our tip envelopes that we had forgotten. This was very helpful. However, she was argumentative and unprofessional. When I asked her about tipping, she requested a defined lump sum of cash in 1 envelope so that she could distribute tips to various people. I inquired several times how much she was planning to give and to whom, and I never received a concrete answer. I made my own envelopes. Honestly, in the end I tipped more to many and none to one.