I married the man of my dreams recently, and I decided to use Bill Veazey's Party Store to decorate for the big event.
I spoke with the decorator numerous times over the phone. I visited the actual office at least three times to go over specific decorating details. I looked through books, and I showed the decorator, Debbie, an exact picture of how the draping should look.
Throughout the whole process, she persistently cut me off saying over and over again that she knew exactly what I wanted. Although I believe she meant well, she definitely did not deliver what I wanted.
For my wedding, I wanted elegant, simple decorations. I arrived at the church on Wednesday, the first day decorating was to begin. Debbie quickly shooed me away saying she knew exactly what she was supposed to do. Having lots of errands to run before Saturday, I did not object.
When I arrived at the church on Thursday, I could see that the decorations were not quite what I had in mind. The backdrops in the sanctuary were arranged improperly. The chiffon draping the pews was also draped improperly, and the fabric had worn, frayed edges. The wrought iron arch that was supposed to be draped in gently flowing chiffon was looped haphazardly with a single piece of fabric. Eventually the decorators ended up wrapping it in fabric like a mummy because they did not bring enough fabric to drape it properly.
The backdrops in the reception hall each had a single piece of chiffon looped sloppily over the backdrop the way one mindlessly throws a jacket over the arm of a chair. We had a spectacular gazebo set up to be the focal point of the reception hall. The decorators were supposed to drape it in flowing chiffon.instead they had taken the fabric and bunched it over the metal of the gazebo in inconsistent spots. The plastic ties they used were left exposed. They left the metal of the center light hanging in the gazebo exposed. Each time I asked the Debbie to fix the gazebo, she would put me off, saying they were working on it.
When another family member of mine and I confronted Debbie specifically about the pew decoration and the draping of the backdrops, she said she was doing exactly what I wanted. We reminded her of the specific design we picked from one of her books. She said she had no idea what design we were talking about. She said a girl had quit and had taken some of their decorating books.
We drew the design for her again. She said she would fix all of the mistakes IF she had time.
Friday was the day before the wedding. Debbie's assistants did fix the draping on the backdrops. I asked Debbie again to fix the gazebo. She said that they would fix it if possible. However, this time she added that she was short on the red fabric they needed. I asked her to please find a way to fix the decorations on the gazebo.
The decorators worked throughout the day on Friday. Wedding rehearsal came and went. When we finished, I noticed that the decorators were gone, but the decorations were left unfinished.
The decorations on the gazebo were never fixed. The pew decorations were never fixed. The decorators had tried to drape doorways to the reception hall and the sanctuary using MASKING TAPE. These decorations were already falling off.
We had ordered a complete set of diningware for the reception. We ended up with mismatched plates and two different types of glasses instead of 3 different types. Debbie did not tell me where the diningware was, so we did not discover this problem until Saturday afternoon. The decorators left ladders out and trash on the floor. They left the church while we were rehearsing without saying a word to anyone. It would have been clear to a six year-old that the decorations were incomplete.
I called Debbie to see if they were coming back. I left her a message about all of the problems. She called back three hours later and left a message saying she had left town for the weekend and could not understand the rest of my message.
My wedding coordinator called the company and a small crew came out Saturday morning to fix a few minor problems. However, the pew and gazebo decorations were not fixed, and we had to use mismatched dishes.
To a guest who was not aware of this huge ordeal, the decorations probably seemed somewhat pretty. However, the decorations I ordered would have been breathtaking. To use an analogy, I ordered a Lexus and got a Honda Civic.
Jennifer, the girl who answers the phone at their store, told me Mary Jane is in charge. I have tried repeatedly to contact her about these problems to no avail. She will not return my calls.
I would not reccommend this company to anyone. They took a lot of my family's money and provided very little.
To Bill Veazey's I will say this — you took some of the joy out of my very special day.
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