Teri Van Horn, Events!
Reviews for Teri Van Horn, Events!
I am so lucky to have Teri planning my daughter’s wedding. She has made the role of the bride and mother of the bride stress free. Her attention to detail is insurmountable. Not only is she planning the perfect day but she is there if we have any questions or concerns along the way. Especially the concerns! Those are totally out of our life now that Teri is in the picture and handling everything with her utmost professionalism. Teri planned my brother and sister in law’s wedding 21 years ago. Their wedding was wonderful. Teri is akin to a fine wine who only improves over time. We are so excited to know that our wedding will be a one of a kind due exclusively to Teri. Thank you so much for everything you are doing. Anyone who is lucky enough to book Teri has booked the finest. I recommend her highly. She is the best wedding – events coordinator by far.
OK. The first part of this review was before my daughter and son-in-laws wedding. Now for after the wedding. I cannot tell you how wonderful my children’s wedding was. I constantly told Teri that she put David Tutera to shame. Really!!!! We started out with a small budget (which we kept due to Teri). To have a fairy tale wedding on a beer budget yet have it turn out platinum is nothing but a miracle. That is what Teri is, a miracle worker.
My daughter chose the Stafford Opera House in Columbus, Texas for her venue. The Opera House was built in the 1800’s and has so much character. Cristalynn (the bride) has loved this building since she was little and always said she wanted her wedding reception there. The Opera House is full of rich stories from bygone days. As a matter of fact, the bride and groom’s sweetheart table was on the same stage Hudini performed.
With a small budget to work with, Teri knew there were going to be hurdles. But she put her running shoes on and cleared every one of them. The wedding theme was Starlight. Navy and silver were the colors chosen by the bride. The little country Opera House turned into a chic venue to entertain the best party of the century. At least in our books.
Teri worked with the vendors that the bride and groom chose as if Teri had chosen them for herself. We did ask Teri’s assistance on the need for some vendors. We used the vendors she recommended in a heart beat. The grooms cake was from one such vendor. Our groom was not very finicky when it came to his cake. A sheet cake from Krogers would have been fine with him. When asked what he REALLY enjoyed doing he mentioned the guiltar. Teri told him she could find someone who could make a guitar cake for him. Well, the miracle worker got her shoes on and took care of it. Mickey , the groom, received a FULL size guitar cake in the likeness of his Ibenez electric. The cake even had strings included.
Our small budget did not call for extravagance in the flower area. Not to worry. Each table held one of 3 different types of centerpieces. Either crystal trees, Round white florals, or tower florals. It looked like we spent a million.
I can’t say enough magnificent and astonishing things about Teri. The entire day went like clockwork. Not one thing was out of order. The bride and groom enjoyed themselves tremendously as did the parents and the guests. I was only disappointed when I realized the party was over.
Thank you Teri. You are THE BEST!
I will say that no bride and groom should ever try to put a wedding together with out a good constultant. And the best consultant in my books is Teri. Anyone would be lucky to have her take care of them during their wonderful and stressfull time.
Vendor response to review
It's a pleasure to be working with you, Cris and Mickey on their wedding! Everyone has been terrific to work with and a lot of fun. The venues that you've selected are going to make this a very special evening that people will be talking about for a long time to come!
Not only is it great to be working alongside you to plan this special day, but it's an honor to be able to help provide your daughter with the wedding of her dreams.
It's also fun to be able to see with your brother and sister-in-la, I LOVE running into 'my couples' and seeing how they're doing after all these years.
You guys are terrific clients and it's a joy to work with you. Thanks so much for allowing me to help out during this magical time!
My wife Cindi and I are very glad we were referred to Teri for planning and coordinating our wedding. We were very skeptical and resistant at first. Well I was... Hey, why pay someone for what you can do for yourself - right? WRONG! My wife and [our] mothers were bouncing all over the place not really able to decide on anything.
My wife was out shopping (scouring) and overheard a conversation about a wedding planner. Cindi shared with me the conversation. My initial reaction was you've got to be kidding me. But as I started thinking about it. And after my bride to be later shared with me her contact and discussion with a consultant it sort of made sense.
I agreed and Cindi and I met with Teri. After a couple of hours it made even more sense to really consider using a consultant. But me being who I am I wanted to talk with others too. We talked with 2 planners recommended by venues we were interested in. We decided on "Events!" and it was the right decision.
Teri did a wonderful job. She helped us cut costs in some areas with some very good ideas which allowed us to expand our venue. But we did make up for the cost savings elsewhere. Teri is not short on great ideas. Our main event or "the show" as I like to refer to it was October last year. We were married in a castle just outside of Austin. WOW!!!
Teri handled all of the arrangements. She worked with and coordinated a combination of vendors we came to the table with and also from her recommendations. Teri actually suggested the venue which we found intriguing. WOW AGAIN!!!
All the planning activities leading up to the wedding went very smooth. Especially compared to what I was seeing before we considered a consultant. During the many months of planning planning there was a wrinkle or 2 which can always be anticipated. Teri was able to work with us and the service folks to keep things on track. She actually suggested we replace someone. e considered it and we did.
It was a great experience that was well worth the consultant's fee. We learned during our reception that we have mutual friends with Teri. It's nice to learn the not just in a professional way someone is well respected as person too.
Yes I am the husband and not the bride. But a man too can speak about what he is proud of. Of "The Show" I am very proud. Teri did a fantastic job! She made what could have been very stressful period just the opposite.
I will say that I (we) do recommend Teri to any couple who needs an exceptionally creative and friendly professional coordinator to work with them as they plan their big show.
Thank you very much Teri -- you are platinum!
Wow- where to start?! The complete disregard of months of planning? The unauthorized/illegal use of our images on her website after agreeing to their removal? The demands for additional payment above and beyond what we contracted for?
I think I'll start with my intent: to assist other brides in making an informed decision. The only reviews that I was able to find for Teri Van Horn were on her website, I would like to provide my humble opinion for anyone considering her services.
My husband and I met with Teri in September to interview her as the Day of Coordinator for our March wedding in Brenham. We found her to be delightful, and with her claim of 20 years of experience in the industry, we were more than confident that she would be able to keep everything running smoothly on our big day. We immediately signed a contract with her and agreed to her fee of $1k.
Before I go into further detail, let me tell you that I have been routinely responsible for professionally planning events for the oil companies with whom I have been employed over the past ten years. The point is that this wasn't my first rodeo- I'm organized and very detail oriented.
A few weeks before the wedding, my maid of honor and I met with Teri for a final site visit. We went over everything, from the smallest decorating detail to the flow and feel of the ceremony, cocktail hour, and the reception. I can’t imagine having given a more complete informational package than the computerized table layouts and notes. We confirmed who would be doing what and gave her an opportunity to tell us if any additional help would be needed. Teri made many suggestions (such as having the cocktail hour and the reception in the same area) that we vetoed, but of course Teri agreed to my plan. I left the site visit confident that I would have little to worry about on the big day.
I couldn't have been more wrong! Teri told us that she would be on site at noon to direct the setup and layout, another vendor told us she didn’t arrive until well after 3pm- a short half an hour or so before I arrived. Not surprisingly, almost none of my plans were carried out. She even made a fuss about making sure my grandmother was properly escorted down the aisle – she actually snapped at me and told me I needed to decide what was more important to me- making the day special for me or my grandmother! Really??!!
As the day progressed, I discovered that my carefully laid out plans for everything from decorations to the location of the cocktail hour and the layout of the tables were disregarded in favor of her suggestions that we had vetoed.
I had to make the conscious choice to not allow her poor professional performance to taint the joy of the day. In fact, by the end of the wedding we had the wedding party joking that we were lucky that she hadn't changed our colors without telling us:-)
About a month after the wedding I contacted her to find out why my plans had been so obviously disregarded. I was hoping for a partial refund (as she had not performed either the core of what we hired her for or several of the services she detailed in her contract) – but I would have settled for a sincere apology. I received neither. But at least I convinced her to remove the photos of our wedding from her website. Not only did she not have permission to use our photos (in truth, I had no idea she had taken any,) but I just couldn't stomach the idea of another bride hiring her on the basis of our wedding.
About a month and a half later I got a wild hare to check her website and found that she had reposted our pictures! Of course, she still had no authorization to do so. I contacted her and asked her to remove the pictures immediately. She refused, explaining that she was in communication with two brides considering having their wedding at my venue (and presumably also considering her services.)
Teri successfully added insult to injury by then claiming that she had emailed us an invoice for an additional $400 after the wedding- for services she felt she rendered above and beyond what was included in the contract- and our failure to remit payment immediately would result in her taking legal action! Not only did she never email us an invoice, but she included several statements in emails she sent five weeks after the wedding that she had never asked for any additional payment.
I contacted the Association of Bridal Consultants and her local Chamber of Commerce before sending the formal cease and desist letter our attorney had drafted. Thankfully, after being contacted by the Association of Bridal Consultants, she removed the photos from her site.
I've heard Teri's multiple conflicting stories about what happened that day. She's claimed everything from blaming the caterer to my maid of honor to my lack of planning for not having followed my very clear directions. I would think I was beginning to lose it if I didn't have this series of fictions in email to hold up next to one another!
Perhaps Teri is the world's best planner/coordinator and we were just the unlucky couple who got her on her very worst day. I just didn't feel right about failing to post my experience with her so that other brides might make a more informed decision than the one I made.
I’ve tried to make this review as impartial as possible, but obviously, it is written from my perspective. Of course, I am happy to share any emails or additional information with another bride.
Vendor response to review
Unfortunately this bride's only honest remarks were that she hired me to perform "day of" consulting duties... all the rest is a great work of fiction!
"Day of" consulting consists of taking the plans and arrangements that the BRIDE makes and works with them on the day of the wedding.
In this instance, the bride, who insisted that she was an expert in event planning, continually let things fall through the cracks and changed her plans dramatically from what they originally were.
From the very beginning of the weekend, it was apparent that many plans were not completed... from telling the dance instructors the wrong date for the rehearsal party; to forgetting to provide mixers for the bar; to buying the wrong film for wedding cameras; to never scheduling the secondary bar & cocktail hour locations; to forgetting to include the cake table, bar and candy bar when she drew-up her floorplan; to neglecting to hire anyone to set-up and tear-down the ceremony & reception sites; I could go on...
Mrs. Evans told me several times what her plans were for the wedding - but when it came down to the day, it appeared that she cut corners extensively and we discovered that she had not hired people to perform some services that day. As a result... we had to do several hours of extra work to set-up, move and tear-down all the tables and chairs for the wedding and reception... for which we were never paid. We also discovered that although she continually said that she'd made certain arrangements with the caterers and other vendors... she hadn't and tried to blame the change in plans on me.
At the wedding, reception and brunch the next day, the couple and their wedding party had nothing but compliments about the wedding. They told quite a few people about how happy they were about everything.
BUT... after they returned from their honeymoon, she started sending emails about how unhappy she was and that she wanted "restitution". A classic case of spending too much and trying to re-coop some of the cost after the fact.
Prior to the wedding we discussed the possibility of using some photos of their wedding on my web site and the bride said that she had no problem with it... until she wasn't reimbursed for services that I had gone over and above in providing to her.
I also apologized to Mrs. Evans and told her that I was extremely sorry that she was not happy with certain aspects of her wedding, but I could only assume responsibility for things that were directly in my control. Her other original complaints... some of which are different from those listed in this review, were not my responsibility and I had to work with what she had arranged.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Evans will never be satisfied until she ruins my business and good reputation of over 22 years. Even her husband said this is something she cannot accept and will not let go of, when we had over an hour's conversation about this when she first started trying to cause problems and threatened to write negative blogs about me on the major wedding sites.
THE LESSON HERE: When you hire a consultant to perform "day of" consulting, it is important to note (which my contracts do) that the consultant is limited to what the CLIENT has arranged.
If plans are not well-made, double-checked and confirmed in advance... the bride has no one to blame but herself.
Thank you for an extraordinary evening last night. You truly outdid yourself and on behalf of everyone at Unity Theatre, we are grateful for your service and belief in what we do here at Unity.
Everything from the entertainment to the locale to the exquisite meal and table settings--incredible!
Thank you again for all of your hard-work and planning. Bravo!
"I don't know where to begin to tell you how beautiful everything was. You made my day perfect! I had so many tell me how pretty everything was and that the bride's cake was delicious and the flowers were beautiful. I could go on and on, but I just wanted to thank you so much for a beautiful wedding. Bob told me to thank you for him, also. He was very impressed with all your work."
"Thank you for staging our beautiful reception. Everyone raved about the decorations and how wonderful the cakes tasted. We were very pleased at the job that was done and will recommend you to all our friends!"
"We want to thank you again for making our wedding day one we'll never forget. It was more beautiful than we could ever dream of. It was the happiest day of our lives! Thank you again."
"Where do I begin to start thanking you? I really appreciate everything you did for me and my family. I'm so glad I had you at my wedding, it's something that I will treasure for a lifetime. It never would have happened without your expertise! I really felt special that day. Thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU!"
"Thank you so much for helping to make Donna and Tim's wedding so very special. The church and reception was beautiful and we were so pleased with everything. Thanks for all of your hard work and time."
"Where do I start? Thanks for everything! It could have not been more perfect! I felt like I was a queen for the day. I am so grateful for all you have done. Thanks for treating me so special. I'll never forget all you have done for me!"
"At work this morning, everyone was so complimentary of everything about the wedding and went on and on about how beautiful everything was. We couldn't agree more - it was fabulous from beginning to end! We heard nothing but positive things about all your hard work and how smoothly the entire weekend went. I will forever remember your calm and coolness and you always knew exactly what to do so I didn't have to worry. And believe me, we never worried for a second that you wouldn't take care of things and make it all perfect, which you AND your husband did!"
"Thank you so much for all your hard work organizing our wedding. We couldn't have done it without you! The group from Belgium thoroughly enjoyed the cutting horse exhibition and the afternoon ride was priceless! Everything for our wedding was perfect from the flowers to the fireworks - it was all fantastic!"
"Thank you so much for all your help with our wedding - I couldn't have done it without you! You've been there every step of the way and have made everything so easy and fun. We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything you've done to make this the most special day of our lives."
One of the best wedding planners I've ever worked with! Professional, friendly, and very organized. Keeps her vendors apprised of the wedding schedule details so that every aspect of the event runs smoothly.
About Teri Van Horn, Events!
As Washington and Austin County's only Certified Professional Bridal Consultant and Event Planner, Events! specializes in weddings and special events to suit your unique style and personality. Teri has been a Certified Professional Bridal Consultant since 1990 with The Association of Bridal Consultants and was featured in Modern Bride Magazine as ''the consultant to go to'' when operating in Houston.
Now based in Chappell Hill, Events! is able to provide you with the ultimate destination wedding in the heart of Historic Washington County.
As a Professional Consultant and Designer, we can offer you the opportunity to achieve your event goals, saving you from costly mistakes, and saving you time. With today's hectic lifestyle, many people don't have the time for the detailed planning and amount of work a beautiful and successful event requires. We can do all of this for you!
Teri's philosophy when working on a wedding is simple, she focuses on what the couple is interested in, what their desires and preferences are and works to make the day as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.
As a professional consultant, working alongside you, she can handle the myriad of details an event requires, allowing you the freedom to make plans in a stress free atmosphere. One of her greatest assets is the ability to handle any situation with calm assurance, quick action and the ability to make everyone at ease. All of her clients will attest to this special quality.
Each of our clients are unique - therefore all of our events are one-of-a-kind... no two are ever alike. So if you're looking for something that reflects your own personality and style... all you need is Events!
FAQ for Teri Van Horn, Events!
Deals for Teri Van Horn, Events!
Events for Teri Van Horn, Events!
