Sleeping Bee Designs

for you, Kevin, and your families. It was an absolute JOY.

this information and wish you would have come to me prior to posting this review to get some crucial information missing from the accounts you’ve already heard. We had worked together for over a year, and I am heartbroken that you had issues weeks before your wedding and never brought them to my attention. Not bringing these issues to me ahead of time or as they are happening, makes it very difficult for me to solve them or even know they exist. There are several things that I admit were my mistakes and that I could have done better. For example, I know I forgot the reserved signs and that created an issue and a level of confusion between family members during ceremony seating. There are however, an overwhelming number of things in your review that are factually untrue so I’d like to address each one by one. It is true that I did not inform you about the event insurance or liquor license, however, I was not withholding this information like you portray. At the tasting with your caterer back in January we discussed who would be providing alcohol and that a liquor license would need to be procured. Additionally, the caterer gave some options for companies to purchase alcohol from. After some inquiries, you and your family chose an option that could not deliver the alcohol physically to the venue. Furthermore, regarding the liquor license, these are requirements held by the venue and the state of Virginia. I am not an expert in Virginia liquor laws, nor do I work for the venue, so it is unreasonable to expect that I know the exact requirements for your alcohol choices. This is why the venue has a representative, to help make sure you meet the obligations of your contract with them. I am sorry if I put forward the impression that I would know these rules. To the point of the picture display, I take responsibility for not asking more clarifying questions. I found myself struggling with the different explanations of it from separate family members, and I did not understand your vision at the walkthrough. When your MIL readdressed it at our final detail meeting, I understood it more clearly and saw how important it was to everyone, and therefore wanted to make sure it was included. It did turn out beautifully and I am sorry if the communication issues that we experienced in the process were my creation. I never would want anyone to feel belittled and I am sorry I made you feel that way. Regarding the rain plan for your ceremony. I was hired to help you after you booked the venue. I was not there for the tour when you originally visited the property and cannot confirm if a rain plan was or was not discussed during your visit, or in emails with the venue which I wasn’t included on. I cannot control the size, looks, or layout of rain plan(s) at the venue. When you choose a venue with a primary outdoor ceremony location, rain is always a possibility. It’s a part of my role to help finalize the rain plan and manage the logistics and events should a rain plan need to be executed. I did not discuss the specifics of the rain plan until closer to the wedding date because the venue only had one included option, which we also discussed at your walkthrough. Unfortunately, weeks later, we did discover rain was a possibility and I spent hours getting quotes for tents and the use of the new, larger space. You turned down both options because they were too expensive. I apologize if your wedding party was left confused after the rehearsal even though I asked if they wanted to run through it again or if they had any questions. I am always more than happy to run the ceremony multiple times and make sure everyone feels confident, but your wedding party said they didn’t need to run through it again, were too hot, and wanted to go inside. Unfortunately, if people do not ask questions, I cannot solve a problem I don’t know exists. Now the comment about the timeline is quite disappointing as well. The timeline was approved by you in order for me to send it to your vendors, and then approved once again after our final meeting the week of your wedding. You had the opportunity to ask for additions, clarification, and push back if there was something that you did not like or were confused about. I didn’t think that having people potentially dressed early would cause a problem. Typically, being ahead of schedule on a wedding day is a good thing. The timeline is the playbook for the entire wedding day. Without it, the events, activities, and vendor duties of the day may not have happened as smoothly as they did. The other vendors who got excellent reviews from you for this event were using this timeline and referred to it throughout the day. Calling the timeline “full of nothing,” is an insult to the work we did together and the work that your vendors put into your wedding day. Regarding “bombarding” your husband about the seating arrangement – I was only disseminating the concerns that were brought to my attention by the caterer. He walked into a room with a team of people discussing solutions. The caterer encountered an issue with the layout that they didn’t catch prior to its approval because the provided digital mockup was missing a crucial wall. When they asked me to decide, I didn’t want to make it without consulting you and your partner. When I proposed a solution to the groom and asked if he was comfortable making the call, he asked that I go to you, and you needed to make the final decision. And finally, I need to address the paragraph about guests and my attitude. Firstly, I am very sorry that there were guests that felt that I had a bad attitude that day. I would never intentionally come off that way. I started the day as I do all events, with a positive and collaborative attitude but unfortunately, after an interaction I had with a rude guest, I was not feeling the best I could have felt. There was an incident by the bar between this guest, one of the bar staff, and later, the catering manager. I could tell by body language that the bartender was scared, and the guest appeared to be very upset. When I approached to see if I could help in any way, the guest turned to me and asked if I worked for the caterer. When I said I did not, and that I was the planner she said, “Well you’re a horrible planner!” Which I took as an insult to me, my team, and to you, who hired me. As you can imagine, it did not feel good. She expressed that the caterer was not, “taking drink orders from people on the dance floor.” I was confused, so I tried to ask more clarifying questions with no success because they maintained a rude and berating tone of voice. She also stated that I needed to take responsibility for the mistakes of the caterer, and I tried to explain that I had no say in the agreement you made with the caterer nor am I in charge of the catering staff, and all I could do was ask them to do what she was requesting. She continued to repeat that I was a, “horrible planner,” and everything that happened was, “all your fault.” She finally mentioned water for the elderly, and I told her that yes, I will tell the caterer to come around with water because a guest should never be without it. Other vendors witnessed this encounter. After an encounter like this, it can be hard to refocus, but I tried. Hoping that was the end but now physically shaken, I tried to go to your father and ask if there was anything I could do, or if there were any issues he was experiencing. I told him that the guest was verbally aggressive and threatening and began to tell him about my respect policy in the contract that you signed. I explained that I have the contractual authority to leave if this guest continued to harass me. I didn’t want to go because I was there for you, and I had no intention of leaving if we could find a solution. I was just looking for help. I NEVER said that I would just, “pack up and leave” if you weren’t happy with my services, nor did I leave the event. To reiterate the respect policy to which I’m referring to in our contract, “At no time and under no circumstances whatsoever shall Sleeping Bee Designs tolerate abusive, violent, destructive, menacing, or harassing behavior from the client or any party acting on behalf of the client. If such behavior does occur, Sleeping Bee Designs will courteously inform the client and/or members to handle the situation. However, if this sort of behavior continues, Sleeping Bee Designs will consider it a breach of contract, and remove the coordinator(s) from the premises immediately without providing any further services.” I have never needed to exercise this clause in my contract. Before I could ask him how to rectify the situation, the guest and your mother approached, and it became 3 against 1. Because I respect your parents and you, I apologized and walked away. Throughout the night the guest continued to speak to me in a berating tone, but I stayed to complete the event, clean up, finish the remaining activities, and support vendors. I tried to keep a smile on my face, but admittedly it was difficult, and I did not feel like I was welcome. This is by far the hardest guest encounter I have ever had. I know that providing these facts and details may mean nothing to you, and certainly doesn’t rectify what happened but it’s important for me to express these details. Again, I am truly sorry that there were issues overshadowing all of the work we did together this past year.

wedding planning process. It's always a part of my ultimate goal! <3 Sophie still plays with her stingray, and she's also very happy!

y time.

Attaboy beer anytime :)

e) will always be a highlight for me and I am so happy we were able to get it sorted out so quickly.