Ambiente

I selected Joan based on her high ratings as the Best of Bride ratings for three years from Twin Cities magazine. During our initial call, she told me our first meeting was free, and she was available to do what I needed on my wedding day. At our first meeting she complained about how long it took her to get to our agreed upon location; she also commented on the other larger weddings she had planned and her years of experience. I explained I was looking for someone to help set up my reception venue, direct family members during the photography session, and smooth other any glitches that might arise on my wedding day. I brought over my reception linens, along with a very detailed timeline at our final meeting. She commented she usually did not iron and prep linens, but had her linen company do that sort of thing, but did ask good questions about how I wanted my ceremony to proceed and how I wanted my reception location decorated. There wasn't too much to do since I had everything thoroughly planned--I needed someone to do the set up, not plan. The actual day proceeded without any problems--she was prompt, did a nice job at the reception and ceremony. When the final bill arrived after the wedding, however, I found she had billed me for 1 1/2 hours of ironing at $75/hour by her linen company, as well as charged me for our initial meeting. It took her 5 1/2 hours to iron 4 tablecloths, seven 60" toppers, and 7 silk runners, decorate my cake with flowers and help my reception location set the tables, which seemed high. I did successfully negotiate a reduction in these charges.