Shawn Schindler Events

We sincerely and emphatically insist you use a coordinator OTHER THAN Shawn Schindler Events. If you value a stress-free day that is entirely your own, coordinated by a person who does not talk badly about your wedding in front of your guests, run the other way. Fast. We initially hired Shawn when she set herself apart from other coordinators we interviewed with her knowledge that in North Carolina, unlike other states, your officiant cannot be ordained by the Universal Life Church. One year later, we can firmly say that was the only value she brought to our planning process and wedding day. Beginning at our first meeting with Shawn where we were to select rental linens and other tabletop items, we got our first taste of her pushy nature and desire to make your wedding her own. She selected linens so outside my minimalist and classic comfort zone that my friends, mom, and mother-in-law were all surprised that we would choose them. As a people pleaser, I thought I should try them out, but quickly scheduled a new appointment, without Shawn, where our rental consultant commented on how even she thought Shawn’s selections were not my style whatsoever. Fast forward to six weeks before our wedding, I began reaching out to Shawn with more frequency, as our wedding day was quickly approaching. Vendors were asking me for a wedding day timeline, and Shawn told me after multiple requests that she would create one, but not yet, and then later said she would have it by our final walkthrough, which was scheduled for 16 days before our wedding day. Around this time, I began to wonder at what point we would become somewhat of a priority to her as clients. At our walkthrough, she still did not have a timeline created for us, but continued to push her thoughts and opinions for our day on me. She tried to convince us to order a small sheet cake in addition to our three tier wedding cake (we ended up going home with the full top tier, even though our bakery will bake you a small cake on our first anniversary), which we knew was unnecessary. She acted as though my selection of easels to hold a welcome and seating chart sign were wrong, was quick to show me the venue’s options (which I had already seen), so I patiently went with her to view them and then told her they are not my style, which is why I purchased the easels I did. Shawn also told me, as we discussed the pairings and order of wedding party in the processional, that she would do it my way if that’s what I wanted, but her way is best. This was only the first of several times she would use those exact words with me. Following our final walkthrough, she started creating our timeline and emailed it to me to review. Everything regarding processional, recessional, and other various details were incorrect and not at all what we had discussed at the walkthrough. Additionally, I had emailed her several detailed documents prior to this that included pairings and orders of bridal party and family members and where they would stand or sit for the ceremony. Clearly, she didn’t bother to read them. From there, several emails full of discrepancies followed, and the frustration on both sides was evident. This resulted in a phone call to “clear the air” in which Shawn and my husband did most of the talking, with me chiming in just to reiterate and correct things we had previously discussed, and to mention that we re-read her contract and found that she will provide a timeline the week of our wedding and that she could have just told us this any of the times we asked her about the timeline. At our rehearsal, Shawn was extremely unprofessional and highly passive aggressive. So much so, that my bridesmaids and our family members still bring it up to us. She gave a speech saying that “some things we will see in this wedding may be unusual but this is Luke and Katie’s day and we will do what they want.” Those “unusual” things included bridesmaids and groomsmen walking down the aisle together in pairs, rather than each groomsman and each bridesmaid walking down the aisle individually, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen who were standing furthest from bride and groom walking down first. Our bridal party had to ask us after what she was talking about regarding the unusual things, because every wedding we have been in and attended, across several states, has operated the exact same as ours. Throughout the year, my husband and I kept trying to reassure ourselves about Shawn by telling ourselves that on wedding day, she would get the job done and do it well. Of course, this was not the case. On wedding day, Shawn’s level of unprofessionalism reached new heights when she talked badly about our wedding on the patio during cocktail hour within earshot of our guests. Our guests of course told us about this rude behavior. Behavior aside, Shawn was clueless about details she should have known and shouldn’t have had to bother me or my mom with. She had a picture of what my cake was supposed to look like (traditional white frosted cake), so she should have known that a naked cake was wrong, and had the bakery fix it on her own, rather than making me aware of it and having to direct her to have the bakery fix it. When handing out corsages to mothers and grandmothers, Shawn gave one to an elderly family member who was not supposed to wear one, leaving my grandmother without a corsage. Shawn then brought this issue to my mom, rather than asking beforehand to clarify who was intended to wear a corsage or just solving it herself. With my bridesmaids and family being fully looped in beforehand regarding Shawn’s attitude and behavior, they were ready to jump in and ensure that things ran smoothly and according to my plan. Evidently, Shawn didn’t like that, and gave my bridesmaids a great deal of attitude when they helped me do things that she must have assumed she would do, such as bustle my dress or remove my veil. At the end of the night, just as my husband and I were about to walk out the door for our exit, Shawn calls out to ask me if I want to keep my bouquet - which I had already paid to preserve and my mom knew to take with her at the end of the night. This resulted in me, panicked, asking my photographer, while sitting in the getaway car with my husband, to be sure that my mom got the bouquet to take home with her. As far as guest transportation, five days before our wedding, Shawn is telling me that the schedule I’ve had in place isn’t ideal and we should change it to the bus making only one trip from the host hotel to the venue prior to the ceremony. After some back and forth, she called me to say she created a schedule that would work (the schedule I had already designed, I might add) and that she would work with the company and driver. Instead, on wedding day, she was telling guests, including the best man, to get on the bus BEFORE our send off, because it was the only transportation and it was only making one trip. This was NOT the case; at least it wasn’t supposed to be. To this day, we are unsure if she actually directed the driver and company to follow the correct schedule, or decided once again to take matters into her own hands and do things her way, directing our guests to leave before they needed to, thus missing our reception exit and send off. Following the reception, she packed cards and gifts into my parents’ vehicle, as instructed, but for whatever reason, took it upon herself to remove the cards from the card box, causing confusion about missing cards. Overall, my wedding day and planning experience was only made more stressful by hiring Shawn as a coordinator. She is narrow minded and set in her ways. She likes to tell you and your wedding party that she has been doing this for 23 years, but I cannot fathom how when she is so close-minded to anything that may not be how she would do things. My friends, family, and photographer were the real MVPs concerning ensuring our day ran smoothly. If I had the option to give zero stars in my review instead of one, I would. I cannot stress this enough - DO NOT hire Shawn Schindler Events.

Shawn was absolutely amazing! I was able to hand my wedding off to her and her team and they executed and organized the most perfect wedding. It helped my mom and I not worry about a SINGLE thing. They took care of every detail, contacted all the vendors and relieved all of the stress. Shawn was responsive, helpful and always on my side for everything. Shawn and her team are the reason my wedding was above and beyond and the most perfect day.

Shawn is very professional, and knows what she is doing. We used her as our weekend coordinator for my daughter's wedding, and she was absolutely wonderful! She handles each aspect of the day with ease, and is not afraid to do the hard things that might need to be done. Her goal is to take the burden off the bride and family. By the time I thought of something, she had already taken care of it! The day went so smoothly, and she and her team help with clean up at the end! Very professional and ready to do what is needed to make your day wonderful, and memorable!

We used Shawn Schindler events for our wedding and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. Shawn was so knowledgeable and helpful throughout the entire wedding planning that I was able to relax and enjoy the entire process. On the day of the wedding we were constantly in contact in case I needed her and she flawlessly orchestrated every last detail so that our only job was to show up and have a great time. Several people told me after the wedding how amazing she and what a wonderful job she did. I would highly recommend her to anyone planning on using a wedding planner. She’s magnificent.