Sorry this is going to be a little long…read more...
I saw Sheila Burki Designs at a friend's weddings and was immediately enamored by their work. When they actually put in the effort, they do deliver and do good work. However, it does not account for the fact that they are the rudest and most arrogant people we have worked with during the entire wedding process. I didn't find a lot of reviews about them online when we booked, so I went in blindly.
I hired them for two events - a reception and a dinner. The workers who did the setup showed up an hour late for the reception (their contract claims they need a min of 5 hours to do setup). But the setup was still done and it was done well. For our main event with more than 1000 guests in attendance, they provided the most pitiful backdrops and decorations. Our theme was greek and they promised columns, and they provided columns that didn't even come up to our waists for our entrance decorations. What is more, the decorations were messy, with chairs ripped and chandeliers falling off. The vines that they twisted around the venue pillars were messily and hastily done as well. When we called them out on it, they ignored our calls. They avoided our emails, texts, and multiple efforts to contact them. I had my sister call Bilal on a different number, and she was firm, but not only was he unprofessional and rude, but also hung up on her, claiming she 'assaulted' him. Excuse her for not letting him walk all over her and talk over her. I am the client and I paid them to do a service, and if they did not deliver, I expect some form of reimbursement. She said as much and their side got very defensive and even blocked us.
What followed was a series of picture justifications nitpicking at different excuses to avoid their taking responsibility for any of the mishaps. First they claimed we didn't give them access to the venue for over 2 hours and when we showed them proof, they changed their argument. Very early on, my photographer had mentioned that these guys had a bad reputation within the communities that she had photographed for. I had brushed her off, saying that I had really good initial experiences with them (they were super nice at the first meeting), but that thought completely changed once I gave them all the money.
For those thinking about hiring Sheila Burki Designs, I would strongly reconsider. They are arrogant, rude, and do not give the type of service that they promise their clients. They charge pretty high prices (and in full upfront before the actual event) and then screw you over and blame the entire thing on you. If they can't find a fault in you, they'll blame your caterers or venues or other items and will deflect responsibility at all costs instead of working with integrity and giving respect to their clients. They are petty and will disrespect you and argue with you on every detail, so I would first consider talking to them and figuring out whether you want to entrust such a big life event in the hands of people who can't even do business as professionals, let alone have a adult-like discussion where both parties openly talk about what went wrong. In all the conversations we had with them, they kept throwing insults and telling us to look up words, which is no way to talk to a person, let alone a customer. They were also one of the only decorating services that asked for all the money up front. If you don't have any other option but to book them, I would recommend paying half before and half after the services have been delivered so you dont lose thousands of dollars like i did.
I hope my review will help someone save the loss that we faced. There are a million and one amazing wedding decorators in Houston who can provide the same level of décor and beauty at your event and still stay in your budget, who will also respect your time and money. Stay away from this one, folks.
Tl;dr... go somewhere else... these people will screw you over.
