VAR Events

to the design due to it being the price of the entire budget we initially for the entire wedding for decor, the communications were passed off to her assistant Brittany. Every meeting was ran like a project meeting team asking have I done this or that when we essentially paid her to be the planner/coordinator for our event. We were sent an invitation to aisle planner which was obviously never reviewed at all by her or her team. I would I revive multiple emails asking the same thing over again after it was already answered during monthly late phone calls or emails. Fast forward to my wedding day, I was told multiple times that 2-3 people would be on site the day of to assist with the coordination and to make sure things ran smoothly. Victoria was the only one present for a guest count of almost 200 and a huge venue that required her walking back and forth. 1 person could not be in 5 locations which caused chaos and our bridal party not knowing where to be at what times. The wedding was suppose to start at 6:00 pm and started 30 minutes late because she did not come to check on the bridesmaid to tell them to start getting dressed during the photography session at 5:50 when the wedding started at 6:00. I was still in the bridal suite wondering when she was coming to tell me that it was time for me to be driven around to the ceremony area. I decided to walk out and the chauffeur was there and I asked her could we drive around. To my surprise, it was at the exact time that I was due to walk down the aisle. Had I know used common sense to walk out of the bridal suite and ask the chauffeur to drive me around yo the ceremony entrance guest would have been waiting. As o started walking down the aisle I noticed the arch did not look like the photos she sent and the florals were real florals, the candles we paid for to line the aisle were not there and the ushers who were suppose to pass out programs were not at there. Victoria and guest had to hold the doors open for me because she never told had the ushers in place or told them what to do. After the ceremony, when we arrived in the ballroom I was highly disappointed, the stage area was not complete, candles that were paid for in the design essentials quote were not on the stage. The gold vases for the florals were placed on gold wire stands which I was specific about not wanting. The gold trio candles that were also paid for were not on the tables, there was no sign in table setup for guest to place cards or gifts. The card box was placed on a table in the foyer of the front entrance of the venue but she bought the guest in at the wrong entrance and our guest were asking me all night did we have a card box. The next day, I discovered 168 favors that were bagged and given to her at rehearsal were never placed on the tables!! I was told they would be placed on the tables for each guest. None of the guest at our wedding received a favor. I was contacted by the catering company the next day to see what happened due to issues the night before and I was told the coordinator approached them as soon as they got there and told them they had to set the tables with the charger plates, glasses, menu cards, napkins, etc. I was told on several meetings that this would be done by Victoria and her team. I called Victoria to tell her we needed to have a conversation about things that were paid for and several things that were not executed for our wedding and she acted as if she was surprised. I asked her about my wedding cake which was $1400 and was told to contact the venue to see if they had it in the kitchen. When I contacted them they stated it has been thrown away. They told me she had the sand ceremony container and she told me she didn’t have it. When I told her the favors she was suppose to place on the table we’re never placed on the tables, she advised me that she was going to pass them out to the guest as they left the night before. How? When guest leave at different times. I was never offered an apology only excuses and justification. As a bride and this being a once in a lifetime experience it was one of the worst planners I have ever dealt with. I did all of the signage, programs, favors, bar signs, sent all RSVP’s, invitations, sent PDF formats to the catering company, etc. As a black owned business owner I always ensure my customer service is top tier. If a client/customer has an issue we apologize, rectify the issue, issue refunds immediately, and over compensate for the error on our behalf. Due to the stigma already surrounding supporting black owned brands we always strive to go over and beyond. If I ever experience an issue with someone I support, I never go to social media I always inform them directly so it can be handle properly because we as black owned business go through enough behind closed doors!! Black owned business endure a lot and I never want to tear another person down publicly, but after multiple attempts and an apology never being given for anything it’s only right to let others also know so they won’t be scammed out do thousands of dollars for one of the biggest days of your life! VAR events is not a luxury planning experience. I highly do not recommend wasting your money.