planning forever events

Reviews 3

BR

Bradley Stockholm

When my wife and I started the wonderful yet complicated journey to marriage we werent completely expecting to have to hire someone to plan the event. At first, as I said before, I didnt realize how important or complicated it CAN be. However from our FIRST meeting with Saundra she did an EXCELLENT job in making us feel calm, not pressuring us to commit to her (like almost every other vendor we had already visited, photographers, caterers, etc.). This goes far for us both since were both pretty laid back. Ill let my wife add more from HER perspective as well, so stay tuned for that. Anyway back to the topic at hand. Anyway, so after a second meeting and a couple phone calls, we committed to using Planning Forever. Again, their resources/services they provided were PRICELESS. I cannot say enough about how much help she provided in making recommendations on who to use. Its not like we were forced to use a particular vendor, but she definitely knew which ones would fit our personality the best. I will say that we only went with the month before planning service, so this was a welcome surprise. Again I cannot tell you (as someone reading this review) how important all this is... I mean, most people only get married once... you know, its not like you being a prospective wife/groom know what to expect. Even the little details like, what was important to US, like offering a family friendly atmosphere at the reception, or something like having everything in the right place at the right time. The best part ... HANDS DOWN... for this service is the Wedding Day and Rehearsal (day before) services. I mean, whos supposed to know (from a Grooms perspective) on what looks good and where people should stand, how long the ceremony should be? ugh! That was the stuff I personally dreaded. HOWEVER with Saundras help, I was quickly put at ease with her professionalism as well as her standing up to other people that may have their own opinions. Again, she knew us so well, she could push back on people who had conflicting views for our dream wedding. She in several occasions (under our permission) spoke on our behalf to keep our vision for that picture-perfect wedding we both wanted. The rehearsal out of the way, we focused on the wedding day itself. On our wedding day, it was a HOT and HUMID August day, and for the record, it rained. Saundra, comically, but certainly something well warranted, she even had a portable fan, that she used to cool down my wife. She even went as far as to stick it under her dress to cool her down ... yeah weird, but you know what ... its those little things like that, that make the difference in having a wedding planner or not. Well from the early morning I can tell you she made sure everything was in place, looking perfect, and our guests were happy. Theres something to be said that I literally had NOTHING to worry about all day. I mean, I knew she was there, she didnt pester me or anything but I knew I could go to her for anything. She even made sure my wife had her dietary needs and drinks were provided to her, and beer to me ;-). I can tell you hands down, our day, was P-E-R-F-E-C-T with many thanks to Planning Forever staff.

A

Anonymous User

Good Points Good intentions and really enjoys what she does. She is a nice lady. She has some really great "kudos" from other brides on her website. That is a bit of a mystery to me because she was so terrible with our wedding! It is hard to believe, but she must have done a lot right in order to really please those girls. Im not sure how someone reviewed as so fabulous could do such a poor job. Bad Points Unfortunately, she is often unprofessional: showing up late, contradicting herself, disorganized, unclear communication (whether it is her communication style (to talk loud and over other people who are talking)) or her constant bad cell service or her computer going out, it was always something!) She touts being from California and knowing how it is done there. Its been quite awhile since she has lived there so it doesnt exactly qualify her anymore. Her style is pretty much the same for most weddings (reminiscent of proms actually). If you have your own style and ideas, it is hard for her to envision that and help with it. It just always goes back to her style. So she isnt very flexible or creative in that sense. She is just a huge fan of Colors and Loudness - there isnt any real talent behind it though. Other vendors have mentioned that she is a little difficult to work with, but nice. I know, at least for my wedding, there were several things she forgot or didnt take care of, even though she often mentioned that even if there was a problem on my wedding day - that I would never know it because she would take care of it before I could find out. She mentioned times when she had done that for other brides. But it DIDNT happen for me. There ended up being no bouquet or garter toss and the whole schedule that she created for the reception was awkward. We ran out of food plates at the reception. This is why: During our meeting with the caterer she walked out 3 times to answer her cell phone even though I was paying her for her time! Wish she had been there the whole time to help me make decisions (which is what I was paying her for). As a result she got several details wrong but continued to tell me to "stop worrying". Overall, Id say I worried MORE, knowing that she was taking care of things. If it werent for my mom and sister picking up the slack, the whole event would have been pretty embarrassing. I would not recommend Saundra. Unfortunately, if you need a wedding planner, shes about the only one to choose from in this area. Might be a better idea to go with a country club, Bauers Grove or New Harmony where all of the set up, catering, flowers and all are included. I wish we had.

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Anonymous User

While I cannot speak to the experience of other brides, I think that Saundra and her team really are magical. My husband and I had done most of the "big stuff" for planning and booking everything when we were offered the chance to move across the country. Rather than cancel everything and plan a new wedding, we hired Saundra and her PFE team to help us manage the details and coordinate all the deatails that we couldnt in the six months between the move and the wedding. Saundra did a wonderful job of making sure she understood our vision, style, and needs before we gave her full control over all the small decisions. Im so glad that I decided to turn over control, because managing the stress of family, travel, graduate school midterms, and the wedding would have been too much. When we arrived to town, Saundra was great about securing us a rain plan for our outdoor ceremony and then putting it into action when it was muddy and gross outside. Between the venue coordinator and Saundra, every small detail of the wedding and reception that my husband and I cared about was executed flawlessly. My aunt got a piece of chocolate cake, my sister got a childrens meal (and a second one when she was still hungry), my husband got both entrees, and I had my champagne fountain with special champagne at the head table for toasting. Most importantly, Saundra was on Mom-zilla patrol, which entailed her keeping both mothers calm and under control, no small feat on its own. We had a great ceremony and a beautiful reception. I could not have asked for a better or more awesome wedding. We had a great time, our family and friends had a great time, and most of our guests still maintain that it was the best wedding that theyve been too. The cherry on top of the cake is that Saundra and I are still in contact and I look forward to hanging out with her when we come into town next!

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