**this is a review of Danielle's communication and professionalism, and not of her actual services-…read moreas i never ended up having her do my hair or makeup.
I first contacted Danielle on December 5th regarding Hair & Makeup services for my June 8th wedding. Was looking to book 14 services for 10 people (which equaled over $1300 in services). Between Dec 5th and January 31st, we emailed regarding these services- many times I needed to email her a second time to follow up to an email she did not respond to, or to ask her to send the contract that she kept saying she would send, but did not. Despite this, and seeing one other bad review where the person reported she was a bad communicator, I decided to move forward with booking Danielle- I wasn't thrilled with many other options in the area.
On January 31st I scanned in my contract, which had my CC info on it, and asked her if she needed me to send a hard copy as well. She said I did not, confirmed receipt of my contract and we were all good.
Fast forward to March 7th, when I received an email from Danielle asking that "should she still have my date available, if I would like to book with her"..... ummmmm WHAT?! So, I replied (5 minutes after she sent the email) and stated that I had already booked and for her to confirm this was true. I figured "maybe its an oversight" and then also forwarded the email chain where I had sent my contract and she had confirmed receipt.
Friday morning, I had still heard nothing, so I found her phone number and called and then texted her. I knew it was a cell phone because the voicemail gave me the same message that my voicemail gives. Friday afternoon, I still had not heard, so i sent yet another email- expressing my dissatisfaction and requesting a response by end of business day, at least just letting me know that she had received my emails and was looking into it.
Here we are, 4 days later, and I have yet to hear a single word from Danielle. Where does this leave me? Less than 3 months out from a wedding where I need 14 services done, have contacted numerous hair/makeup girls in the area, for them to all tell me they are already booked. Is this surprising? NO. This is why I started looking in December. Despite this, even if Danielle was to contact me now, I would NOT move forward with her- I do not trust that she would show on my wedding day. I don't think there are really enough words to express the level of disrespect, unprofessionalism and lack of care for others that Danielle has shown during this process and most specifically, throughout the last 4 days. EVEN if there was a crisis happening in your life- as a business owner, you find 2 minutes within a 4 day span to respond to an email, phone call or text.
If someone cannot keep up with their correspondence with clients, nor keep things organized, I don't believe working in the wedding business is for them. This day is so HUGELY important to so many, and to have to deal with this throughout the process is so disappointing. I would recommend looking elsewhere for your hair/makeup wedding day services.
Best part of all of this? In Danielle's contract, she requires a 20% tip from each and every person. Now, this tip amount is pretty standard and usually what I would tip a hair/makeup girl in a normal situation where I was happy with the service (including showing up on time, doing a good job, being professional etc.).... so when I saw it included in my total price, I didn't bat an eye- even though I received many contracts from other hair/makeup artists where this tip was NOT included. Looking back, I realize she likely includes this because she wants to guarantee herself a tip despite less than professional business standards.
**update: 2 hours after posting this review, I received two emails and one text from Danielle stating she was sick and had not even glanced at her phone in 4 days. Somehow.... I found it very hard to believe, especially considering I replied to the email she sent me on Thursday within 5 minutes. Also, it seemed odd that she was all better as soon as I posted the reviews. She offered to move forward with the services, but I chose to find another artist. She may be fantastic at hair & makeup, so I don't want to discount that, but there are MANY things that go into being a business owner, and if you are going to run one- you need to take responsibility for those things as well.