If I could give zero stars, I would. Hiring Arenlace -- and specifically working with Michelle -- was genuinely the worst experience of my life. Michelle wasn't just a terrible planner -- she was by far the most unprofessional, incompetent, inconsiderate individual I've ever had the misfortune of working with - outright rude, snide, dismissive, and cruel to us, our families and guests.
She failed at the most basic responsibilities. Despite being paid for full-service planning, I ended planning most of the wedding myself. On wedding day, I found myself repeatedly asking her to fix things , instead of enjoying the day I spent over a year planning. I never imagined I'd have to write a review like this, but I feel a responsibility to protect other brides from Arenlace Events. If you are reading this while planning your wedding, please -- I am begging you -- keep looking. Michelle was hands down the rudest, most dishonest, and emotionally negligent person I've ever encountered.
Here are just a few of the many horrific failures:
I was left to clean up my own ceremony. Over 1,000 petals that should've been handled by her team were left scattered. This was HER job, and she just walked away. The seating chart fell ON ME. Literally, the bride. It was taped to an easel, clearly put together very last minute, and kept falling. She didn't secure it properly, didn't apologize for it falling on me. The flowers were nothing like what we paid for. Our flower quote was over $8,000 and what arrived was sparse, cheap-looking, and incomplete. Promised 24 grand aisle arrangements? Got 6 or 7 weak ones. The candles were wrong -- she swapped the real ones we paid for with fake LED candles, never told us, and kept the money. She failed to communicate with vendors, sending the timeline 3 days before; vendors were calling me the morning of the wedding asking for the venue address. She told guests the wedding cake was pistachio -- it was key lime. This misinformation was dangerous. Multiple guests didn't eat the cake due to nut allergies. That could have been a medical emergency -- all because she didn't care enough to get the facts right. This happened repeatedly throughout the night, she gave false information to many guests. Michelle constantly denied her own mistakes even when we had receipts, emails, and photos. She gaslit us, argued, and twisted facts instead of taking ownership. For example:
We paid extra for a specific tent style, confirmed with her multiple times. She changed the order without telling us and then insisted we never discussed it. Only after I dug up the original invoice did she realize this -- but still wouldn't admit to her mistake & offered no apology. She forgot to forward us a $9,000 invoice until literally the day before it was due. She repeatedly failed to forward critical information in a timely manner, only sending it when I asked for it. We had a $300 cigar bar setup -- cigars, cutters, matches, custom boxes -- all discussed in detail to be set up for the after-party. Instead, everything was gone. Guests said they never saw it. We never saw them. Nothing was ever found. When asked about timing, events, or the layout -- she shrugged. When we asked for help, she scoffed. To make matters worse, she lied about how many weddings she takes simultaneously. She promised ours was her only focus. In reality, she posted on social media doing a wedding every single day of the week -- including 2 weddings on our wedding day. There were so many other things that went wrong... After the event, rather than apologize or try to right any wrongs, Michelle began harassing me at my workplace. She sent accusatory emails, tried to rewrite history, and offered zero accountability for any of her actions. She acted like the victim -- while I was still mourning my grandfather, cleaning up her mess, and trying to salvage memories of my wedding. If you value peace of mind, professionalism, and respect -- run the other way. I wouldn't wish this experience on my worst enemy.
Please -- protect your day, your heart, and your family. Look elsewhere. read more