I really wanted to have a good experience with Rose, but she ultimately let me down in terms of her…read morecommunication, professionalism, and collaborative spirit.
Throughout the planning process, she often took 1 to 2 weeks to respond to me, even though our contract stated that communication would be available with a "24 hour response time, usually less." When Rose did reply to me, she failed to fulfill her biggest responsibilities, like proposal reviews, part of what she offered in her partial planning package.
Based on lack of communication alone, I should've terminated my contract with Rose to the Occasions sooner than I did. At the time, however, I wanted to give her business the benefit of the doubt. So, I communicated my concerns to her, expressed how excited I was for my wedding and how I wanted to work as a team to help plan it, and, in doing so, I would need her to reply to my emails.
Even after articulating my concerns, Rose failed in her communication.
But lack of communication wasn't the only major issue I had with Rose to the Occasions. At one point, Rose told me that she'd instructed the florist to change our floral centerpieces from medium to small, as per my request. A few weeks later, when I noticed that the centerpieces had not been changed in my contract with the florist, the florist informed me that Rose hadn't contacted her at all.
Eventually, I ended my contract with Rose. Throughout the entire planning process, which I had hoped to be joyous and exciting, I was burdened with the responsibility of trying to get Rose to communicate and perform her responsibilities as outlined in our agreement. I also lost thousands of dollars.
Please take heed if Rose responds to this review as, in my experience with her, she tends to lean into defensiveness and combativeness. For example, she might reply that I didn't contact her properly as I sometimes texted her, but of course I had to text her if she was completely unreachable via email and the internal portal. Rose might also complain about the 90-minute drive she took to Santa Barbara to conduct an initial walkthrough. If you are not willing to invest the time it takes to uphold your contract, don't take the booking.
Brides, grooms, and to anyone else planning a special day--the choice is yours.