Wow! Sydney and her assistant were ABSOLUTELY amazing! I live in North Carolina and was planning a…read morewedding in Austin, TX without ever visiting there, or going to the venue, so I figured I needed someone to help me out with the whole day. Upon my research and phone "interviews" Sydney was the ONLY planner who actually asked me about my fiance, what his name was, what he did...all the stuff that I wanted my wedding planner to know, because I wanted my wedding planner to know who I was and what I wanted in a wedding! I knew after talking to her on the phone that I didn't need to call any one else. That little detail was so important because it made me feel like Sydney wanted to make sure my day was great and that she actually cared. Unlike other wedding planners who just wanted to know my budget, and what I wanted. Sydney was also so helpful in the planning of my stunning wedding, and she gave me insider tips and local recommendations to makeup artists, and florists! Her spectacular attitude to my "I don't knows" was uplifting, since I really didn't know a lot about anything going into this wedding! She really came into play about six weeks before my wedding and got down to it to get things ready and she is so well organized it's amazing! I would HIGHLY reccommend Sydney and Olive & Belle Events. Support Local Small Businesses and you will get the personalized, humble people that own and operate these businesses with all of their heart!

We had the opportunity to work with Sydney for a wedding that she was planning this past weekend…read more We were a vendor, so she handled all the logistics! She was organized, responsive and very thorough. As a vendor, it helps make our jobs easier so we can do the BEST for our brides and grooms. Sydney definitely had the best interest of bride and groom and I know they were lucky to have her. I definitely recommend Sydney for those looking for wedding planners!

Brook with Best Day Ever! made the preparation and flow of our wedding day perfect! We didn't have…read moreto worry about a thing, she was on top of it all. She is so easy to work with and just a wonderful, kind person overall.

Brook was fantastic! So organized, so experienced, so ready to do it all for a perfect wedding! My…read moredaughter's wedding went great and we couldn't have done it without Brook! I highly recommend her!

Emily and Mel created the perfect wedding for our daughter. From creative, budgeting, planning,…read morecommunicatand everything in between, no detail was missed. So much fun, from a caviar station to a Cotten candy station, they created such an amazing atmosphere. Sign with Bird Dog today and never look back, you are in great hands.

Mel was a huge gift to us as our daughter and I planned her wedding. We had Mel alongside us the…read morelast 2 months and day of, and things would have been a disaster without her. Right from the start, Mel very clearly grasped our daughter's theme and "vision," and she was also extremely mindful of the budget as she helped us navigate all the details. Her shared spreadsheets tracked every detail and she provided so many helpful recommendations and services that we would have never known about or thought of. We were very confident going into the wedding day, knowing Mel had coordinated final contracts and deliverables, arrival and departure times, and any special needs on the day of with all of our vendors. On the day of, Mel and Emily worked their tails off to make everything gorgeous and seamless so that we could focus on enjoying the day and the guests. Every time a vendor arrived, we simply pointed them to Mel, and that was that. Our bar staff stiffed us at the end of the night, disappearing during the send-off without cleaning glasses off tables. And before we knew it, Mel and Emily were clearing everything on their own. You couldn't choose a better team than Bird Dog!

If you don't read anymore of this very long and thorough review, please read the next sentence as…read moreit will sum everything up. HIRE SOMEONE ELSE TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING!!!! Seriously, if I was not smart, well organized, and a good planner, Tracy Zbranek of Events by Decisions very well could have ruined my wedding. Other than being incredibly charming and pretty, I have no idea how she is staying in business and I feel so sorry for couples who have hired her. I almost fired her three times but didn't because I knew I would be out $3000 that would not be refunded. In her defense, she was somewhat helpful day of. Below are specific examples of my dealings with Tracy from March 2011 to September 2012. Professionalism One of my friends heard her saying nasty things about me, the bride, at my reception. I know it's true because it was recorded. Many people complained about her to me after the wedding and said she was "rude." She drinks way too much and it's just not professional to get smashed at business meetings. It's also not professional to run your hand down my now husband's chest and abs when you say goodbye because you're drunk. Yeah, she did that. She was pretty much late to everything. 5-10 minutes at times, over 1 hr for our initial meeting. Communication Communication with Tracy was challenging to say the least. When she responds to emails it is usually not prompt. Many of my emails went completely unanswered or required 1-2 weeks for a response, with me sending additional inquiry messages. Received responses often didn't address the question or issue at all. There were several times when calls were not returned, promises to call were made and never followed through on, etc. *Organization If you are an organized person there is no reason why you should ask the same questions over and over again because you didn't write down the answers. That happened a lot. So many things were wrong with my reception and she would have caught them had she been more organized. She didn't even notice that the linen company completely left out all of my table runners from the order. This was probably because 1 hr before the rental company closed for the weekend they called me to ask if anyone would be coming to pick up the order, something she was tasked to do! Creativity The phrase "One Trick Pony" comes to mind. She loves to do brunches at Mansion at Judges Hill. Thinking outside the box is not her forte. I was promised an inspiration board when I signed my contract with EDI. I never received one. She did nothing regarding my wedding design. Referrals / Negotiation with Vendors Tracy can get you some awesome discounts. There were several times that we got the hook up because she is very well connected. She is also a great saleswoman and can negotiate like a beast. The problem is that she likes to use the same vendors and makes the same referrals for everyone (Paper Place, Simon Lee...) Some are great places but they are also very pricey. For a bride on a budget they are often just a dream. She sent me to vendors she knew were way out of my budget which only served to waste my time and frustrate me because I just couldn't afford all of the beautiful things laid out before me. I ended up basically finding all of my own vendors. Overall, her communication with vendors was seriously lacking. She failed to let our cake vendor know our cake was leaning and looked like it might fall over. She failed to return the rented cake stand in a timely manner, as she promised me, and cost me a $50 deposit. Value Sure, she might save you money but at what cost to your sanity? Working with her was a maddening and incredibly frustrating experience. I sincerely regret hiring her. I'm not angry anymore and I refuse to let anything about my experiences with her ruin the memory of what was my very special day. But I wish I hadn't hired her and I hope that anyone who reads this won't have to go through what I went through. A lot of the previous reviews reflect a time when there was another partner, Shannon, in the business. She isn't with EDI anymore and it's just Tracy. If you choose to go forward with EDI, best of luck to you. You're going to need it!

STAY AWAY FROM EDI AND TRACY. It was the biggest mistake in my wedding. I am not sure how someone…read morecan run a business and completely lack in ethics and professionalism, but she has found a way. I would have rated her less than one star if it was possible. If you are looking to hire a wedding planner, LOOK ELSEWHERE. We are still in the process of filing a suit against her. Really hope all brides do not have to go through the same BS I did. Your wedding day is stressful enough, hire someone who is reliable and will actually do the job you pay for. This person is not Tracy.

The flowers were incredible for my daughter's wedding. Cheryl worked so well with her to create…read morethe exact vision! Everything was perfection! Loved it!

The absolute dream team for florals!! They took my vision boards and legit made them even better…read more On top of that, the team is amazing! Gabrielle is incredible to work with and understood the entire plan from our first call! Would recommend the Stems team to EVERYONE!!

Cheryl and her team made our wedding feel so seamless and smooth! I truly got to just enjoy my day…read moreand not stress about anything because they were so on top of things. They kept us fed, took care of the logistics, improvised when needed, managed guests-- everything!! Couldn't be more grateful!

Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran are such amazing planners. We hired them in the middle of our planning,…read morejust four months out from the wedding. We had tons of open tasks and many unfinished decisions to make. Cheryl's project management skills were invaluable, not only for getting things done but also for keeping us organized and helping reduce our stress. Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran are a wonderful team to have by your side. They're always honest and caring, and they genuinely want the best for you. It wasn't just the planning leading up to the event that was superb; on the day of, they were on top of things. I was truly never aware of any hiccups or mishaps; they would simply fix issues before they became problems. If you want a team who dots every 'i' and crosses every 't', if you want a team who will keep you accountable for all the tasks that need to be done, and if you want a team who genuinely cares about you and your family's experience every step of the way, hire Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran.

I generally don't write reviews but for Johnell I think she definitely needs an appreciation!…read more We reached out to Johnell for my 3 year old's birthday party recently. We hardly had two weeks for the event day and Johnell worked day and night to get everything planned and coordinated according to the theme of the party. She provided great suggestions like the claw machine, face painting and a magician. It was tough to get a magician in that short time period but she did her magic to find the best one for the event and it was great! All our 50+ guests who attended the party raved about how well the planning and coordination was done for a 3 year old's birthday. It wouldn't have happened without her! She also helped with my baby shower back in early 2020 when Covid didn't hit us yet. My husband worked with her to throw me a baby shower and it was amazingly done. That baby shower event has made us reach out to her again because we knew she will do an excellent job and can trust her because she puts her heart in every event that she takes up. Thank you so much Johnell for all the efforts and an outstanding work even with such short time that you had.

I write this in case it's helpful for others. I sincerely wish I'd have known what I was getting…read moreinto before I entered into a contract with Johnell. If you're not inclined to read the entirety of this lengthy review, I sum my experience up in the last two paragraphs. My wedding was only 1.5 months away. I chose the full package option. As a full-time professional & graduate student, the idea of a wedding planner sounded like heaven. Her reviews were phenomenal. I thought we'd get timelines, help with our vision, several vendor options with differing price points. Instead we got snarky eye rolls when we'd ask about details, sarcastic jokes about us needing to book marriage counseling, disinterest in getting us what we actually wanted, and extremely abbreviated access to her at her convenience. Honestly, it was devastating. The most stressful part of our wedding planning became my interactions, and oftentimes lack of interactions, with Johnell. Price points and vision would continuously get lost in translation. The pattern: Time would pass despite our requests for input on selecting vendors (for example, 3 weeks for florals) and then we'd get an almost finalized contract from a single vendor we hadn't vetted. In the case of florals, at a price of $11K when we'd explained our floral budget was $3K. She was extremely dismissive. Even requests for a quick 15 minute check in call could go ignored. Her preference most of the time was to send emails during peak work hours. And her emails, most times, left things unclear. We explained several times that a weekly 15 minute call was what we needed. But she was extremely resistant. We had, at max, 2 to 3 such calls and then she refused to participate in any others. It was maddening with our 6 week timeline as we felt like our hands were tied about really understanding the status of and options for things. My fiancé and I defaulted to doing the legwork ourselves. When we did, vendors were LOVELY. Bending over backwards to assist us. Supplying us with multiple options and ideas. They took the time to hear us and ask about what we did and didn't want for our day. I was overwhelmingly grateful for their support and availability. I was stunned when Johnell sent an angry email chastising my fiancé for calling a vendor. She reminded us that we'd have to pay her even if we were doing the work. I reiterated to her that this had nothing to do with payment. We'd started doing the work ourselves because we felt handcuffed and limited w/ her at the helm. Over and over we'd discover her "no, that's not possible" would become "sure, we can do that, and here are several other options too" once we'd finally talk to a vendor. The most important thing for me: the wedding to have our unique imprint and flair- were in direct odds with Johnell's priorities. Her priority was the path of least resistance, what's easiest & most convenient for her. Things came together beautifully. But it really was in spite of and not because of our planner. With the vast majority of vendors, we elected to go with others that we'd vetted. This brought on its own drama as we then witnessed Johnell being cold and dismissive with these individuals when they'd attempt to ask questions or share options. I made several attempts to explain to her how poorly we felt we were being treated - via several emails and voicemail when she wouldn't answer or return my call. She would eventually respond in an email days later with a dismissive, "everything will be fine" one-liner. The last straw was her denying us a 15 minute phone call the week of the wedding. Four days after we requested the brief call with her, she emailed, "No, I've done my job already. See you at the wedding on Saturday. Email me a list if there's changes." This transpired despite her contracted description of "unlimited phone calls and emails" and us only having had at most three direct phone calls with her. At that point, we decided to cut ties with her completely. It was an extremely high sunk cost. One that benefitted her (she was paid in full despite not working the week of or day of the wedding) & would cost us greatly. It was worth it though as the thought of this, in our experience, truly unprofessional coordinator running our special day was too disheartening. In sum, I felt trapped in this working relationship. I wound up having to expend more time and energy on fixing things vs had I not had a planner to begin with. All the while being made to feel like a huge annoyance during the brief times when we would have access to her. Her communication style is one tailored to meet her needs and convenience rather than the client's. In hindsight, I never should have hired her. It was the poorest decision of my wedding planning process.