It saddens me to have to write this review, but I truly hope this will serve as a warning to other…read morebrides-to-be who may be considering the planning services of 'To Have and To Hold OBX' for their weddings. Perhaps it sounds a tad dramatic to say that this company's services ruined the entire wedding. I wish I were exaggerating.
It would not be fair to say that Brenda Zeigler, the planner behind To Have and to Hold, single-handedly ruined the wedding. And that's because she didn't show up AT ALL. In fact, she had double-booked the date. Oopsie daisies- right? Instead of attending, she sent two assistants in her place. If this simple fact alone does not convince you of the sheer ineptness and irresponsibility of To Have and to Hold, please read on:
-The assistants sent in Brenda's place (but namely Hayley) were lazy, rude, and unprofessional. They were actually trash-talking the bride behind her back to her guests on her wedding day, the day that's supposed to be the happiest of her life.
-These delightful girls were considerate enough to wear their finest jogging shorts, hoodies, and sneakers to this FORMAL occasion.
-One of Brenda's main selling points was that the happy couple would truly be able to relax and enjoy on their big day while the planner dealt with everything. Instead, the bride was interrupted while she was getting her hair done and made to help the assistant carry flowers down several flights of stairs. Seriously?!
- Though the bride had sent very detailed plans ahead of the wedding in which she outlined EVERYTHING from drawings of chair and table set-up to a listing of vendors' contact information, the assistants were not informed in advance. Neither Brenda nor the assistants worked with the vendors prior to the wedding or on the day of the wedding. In fact, the assistants insulted the cake bakers to their faces.
-The assistants did a terribly sloppy job setting up the chairs. They placed napkins on the table five hours before the reception (which all blew away) as well as bottles of water, which were meant to be chilled. Obviously, when you place water on the table five hours before people will be drinking them in the North Carolina sun, they will not be chilled when the time comes.
-When Hayley was asked perfectly reasonable questions by the family, such as "When will the photographer arrive?" she answered with an eye-roll and "How would I know that?" When asked to call the photographer, she answered with another popular response, "That's not my job." The bride and bridesmaids had to deal with all of these details themselves rather than relaxing and enjoying the day.
-The assistants did not let anyone know what was going on. The mother of the bride ended up having about 15 minutes to get ready. Hayley did not gather the wedding party, and so they had no idea where to be. The brother of the bride was screamed at like a child for being in the wrong place. There was no rehearsal, and everyone was confused.
-The assistants were nowhere to be seen during picture-taking. Typically, they should be bringing the bride and groom appetizers. The bride and groom had no idea where the assistants were, but I do; they were sitting inside the house relaxing and complaining.
-When the bride and groom arrived at the reception, they were not announced. In fact, dinner had ALREADY BEEN SERVED WITHOUT THEM.
-About half way through the wedding, the assistant Hayley stormed off the site, never to return. When we inquired why, the other assistant, Chastity, said that she had a "personality disagreement with the sister of the groom." This is the most unprofessional behavior I've ever witnessed.
-Exit shuttles that were arriving down on the beach were not announced, so guests did not know what their options were (times) for leaving. The assistant claimed she did announce them, but I was sitting by the DJ booth the entire time; this never happened.
-Guests leaving on the shuttles were supposed to receive donuts and bottles of water. When the bride and groom realized this wasn't happening, the groom ran down the dock, beach, and on to the shuttle to deliver them himself.
-The assistants did not take care of any clean-up. Luckily, we, the family of the bride and groom, returned the next day to sort rain-soaked table cloths into laundry bags, rearrange furniture, organize and box up unused alcohol, and clean.
-Brenda promises monthly check-ins, and that she'll work with your vendors and budget. This did not happen.
To be fair, when Brenda found out how immature and unprofessional her assistants had acted, she granted the couple a full refund. However, the bride and groom would have rather spent the money and had a smooth, relaxing, wedding day that they could look back on fondly.
You've been warned!