I just can’t say enough good things about using Deborah Minarik events for my son’s rehearsal dinner and wedding in September, both of which were on Shelter Island. I live overseas so was having to plan from 10,000 miles away and it felt overw...helming. In addition, since Shelter Island is only accessible by ferry, it’s not the easiest of locations to deal with and requires a lot more coordination and negotiation with various vendors.
I had been directed to a couple of purported very “high-end” wedding planners who worked in NYC and the Hamptons and have to say that they were off-putting. The first thing that came out of their mouths were not questions about what I wanted/needed; instead it was to say, “I want you to be aware that we start at X” (X being in the tens of thousands of dollars).
I feel like I hit the lottery when I spoke to Janet Godfrey at Deborah Minarik Events. She was the planner for both events, the rehearsal dinner at my home and the wedding reception at the Ram’s Head Inn the next day. I had a vision for the rehearsal dinner, for which there were 90+ guests. It was held outside so all kinds of coordination was required, e.g., tent for guests, a cook tent, tables/chairs, crockery, glasses, et al. Janet is a pro and knows all the logistics in dealing with an event like this and so dealt with every issue, e.g., getting electricity outside for the cook tent and lights in the guest tent. She came up with a contingency plan in the event of inclement weather but, thankfully, this was not required! While unobtrusive, Janet and her assistant, Rebecca seemed to be able to be everywhere at once, making sure every detail was correct.
On the day of the wedding there was one glitch in that one of the bridesmaid’s dresses had arrived in the wrong color. After a brief confab it was agreed that the maid of honor would wear the different colored dress; since the two attendants were different heights, suddenly appeared a needle and thread and Rebecca took up a new hem.
Janet’s resources are invaluable, and she clearly has their respect and trust. That said, she was also willing to work with resources that I liked or had a connection with. She has a fantastic personality and won over even the stickiest of vendors in terms of accommodating “out of the box” stuff. Her level of detail is amazing, and she is one of the most organized professionals I have ever met.
I could go on and on but suffice to say that I can’t imagine anyone finding a better wedding planner! In my work life I am an executive search consultant, so my business is helping find the right person for a specific role. As such, I know how important it can be to speak with someone who can provide a reference, especially for such a momentous occasion so I am happy to speak with anyone who has a question.