u/luluhillary

 Despite having the most amazing wedding and marrying the love of my life, my experience with our "full-service" wedding planner, was the biggest disappointment of the entire process.

I saw the red flags early on and wished I trusted my gut. There were many times when I said to my now husband I should just fire her and he agreed with me. But after I shipped an expensive box of wedding day items to her and they were in her possession, I felt like I had to see this decision through. Surely she would at least come through on the wedding day. Wow, was I wrong! 

 I got married eight weeks ago in Europe (June 2026). It was a three day wedding weekend.

Although I paid for her highest "full-service" planning package, which included the planning of 3 days of events. I planned almost the entire wedding weekend myself alongside my florist.

Tamara was responsive to emails and did help negotiate with our hotel room
Blocks and welcome party venue, but the actual design, logistics, timelines, and countless details fell entirely on me.

The most unbelievable part happened during our actual wedding day.

My planner and her assistant (who is also her sister) used my hair and makeup artist in my villa to get their own hair and makeup done during my wedding. They snuck in during the schedule reserved for my family & bridal party, which caused best friend to be waiting around and late for photos. I didn't even find out until the reception when my best friend finally told me why she had been late. My stepson took photos and videos of them. I honestly couldn't believe it. WTF!? Have you ever heard of such a thing?

That explained why so many details were overlooked throughout the day.

But the red flags started early on in the planning process.

 I originally hired one of her recommended DJs. Weeks later I was told by Tamara that I suddenly needed to pay her an additional €800 for separate sound equipment and a technician. When I contacted the DJ directly, the information didn't add up. Seemed like something shady was going on and I ended up canceling the first DJ and hiring another DJ  who provided all of his own equipment with no surprise up charges that I would need to pay to Tamara.

The florist situation was similar. Before even hiring Tamara, I already knew exactly which florist I wanted. Ironically, Tamara herself had previously told me, "If I ever get married, Serafima would be my florist."

Instead, she repeatedly pushed me toward using her own floral team. Once I hired my florist Serafima, it felt like Tamara completely lost interest in the design and execution of my wedding. She would constantly forget conversations of what I was wanting for decoration and eventually told me she did not understand what I was wanting despite me providing her with photos, canva layouts and drawings and being present on multiple zoom calls with my florist.

Even after repeatedly asking her to meet with my florist and measure the reception space so we knew if the rentals would fit, she never properly did so. 

On the wedding day she ordered the wrong size reception tables. Our linens no longer reached the floor because the tables were too large.

We had gone over the sizes of the tables multiple times, in emails/texts and on zoom calls. 160cm was supposed to be ordered what was delivered was 180 cm.

I was horrified when I saw the legs of the tables and when I asked her why my linens did not reach the floor she immediately blamed the rental company for delivering the wrong size tables and said “maybe you can get a refund.” Maybe if this woman and her assistant were less worried about getting their hair/makeup done at my wedding she could have caught her mistake and had the correct tables size delivered.

The following day I contacted the rental company myself. They confirmed they delivered exactly what had been ordered by my wedding planner. The incorrect table size had been ordered by my planner. So she lied. When I confronted her via text about this the next day with the copy & pasted reply from the rental company she never replied to me.

The day before our wedding we had our rehearsal with her at 11am. She was 45 min late. My welcome party started at 2pm on a boat so this created unnecessary  stress.

 That day she was also delivering our welcome sign to the restaurant along with an easel and had agreed to take over the centerpieces.

After our rehearsal she tells me she cant take over my centerpieces because it would require her making two trips walking from her car to the restaurant. So even though she was going to my restaurant to drop off the welcome sign she thought it was cool for me in a long white dress and heels to carry two boxes of centerpieces off a boat and to walk 1/4 mile to the restaurant with said centerpieces. 

She saw the look on my face when she explained this to me and last minute she decided to take the centerpieces. 

At the wedding she mixed up our carefully prepared seating chart, separating several couples and creating awkward table arrangements.

 Next up her assistant (her sister) was smoking at their vendor dinner table which was very close to our dance floor. Gross.

Also the vendors were fed A FEAST before any of our guests were fed. I am all for my vendors eating. We had not even been served a first course yet and all of my vendors were sitting and eating a feast. I mean a table full of giant platters of pasta, meats, fish and salad.  Our first course was late because the kitchen was busy making the vendor meal. When I asked to do the speeches (supposed to happen before or during first course) because we were sitting around doing NOTHING waiting for food  she looked at me like I was crazy and how rude to interrupt them while they were eating.

The wedding day was windy and early on (before the ceremony) she let me know that our name cards and menus were flying away so I gave her some double stick tape I had brought with me from the states to stick them down. Did she use it? No, instead I get to my table and there are forks and knifes holding down the gorgeous lace trimmed menus and lace name tags. My professional photos have forks and knifes on top of my lace menus. Why my photographer did not move them is beyond.

Our projector for our BW custom wedding films was never set up despite repeated zoom meetings about the projector and reminders the day before. At the cake cutting when it was supposed to be viewed I was told three different stories by her about who had it before eventually finding it untouched in my hotel room after the wedding was over.

My custom engraved bar signs and personalized cocktail napkins were never put out until I had my best friend searching for them. When she found them the bases were broken. Then the planner put them out and they were just lying flat on the bar.  So I took my beautiful bouquet and propped up my beautiful bars signs.

Right before the ceremony during windy conditions, one of our ceremony floral arrangements repeatedly fell over. My friends were watching this happen and asked her if something could be done. Rather than helping, my planner just stood there and reportedly said it was "the florist's job."  And did nothing to help the problem. My friends eventually found rocks and stabilized it themselves.

When she came to say goodbye that evening, I confronted her about getting her hair and makeup done during my wedding.

She didn't deny it.

She simply said my makeup artist was a colleague so it was fine.

Then in the next breath she criticized that I'd paid too much for my florist and suggested that if I wanted a better planner, I needed to pay more money, even though I had already purchased her highest planning package. 

She also told me that “It is not part of my role as a wedding planner and coordinator to be with the bride on her wedding day. My responsibility is to oversee the setup, manage the suppliers, solve any issues that arise, and ensure that everything is in place for the wedding itself, which I am coordinating.” 

Welp she did none of that either. But she got her hair and makeup done and had my professional photographer taking pictures of her with my decor.

She also had the nerve to complain to me that no-one (who? me or my husband?) offered her anything to drink throughout the day. What? We should serve you on our wedding day? Meanwhile at our cake cutting I had to ask her to bring us champagne for our toast.

The next day, after confirming the table order mistake with the rental company, we emailed her with detailed feedback about everything that had happened.

She never responded.

I don't write reviews lightly, and I know this was a lot to read but I wish someone had shared an experience like this before I hired her. That’s why I am writing this.

There is no google or yelp review page for her business. Tamara P- What a Wedding . She did previously, before writing this have two other negative reviews on her Facebook page but she hid them within in the last week.

The silver lining is that our guests had an incredible time. They tell us it was one of the most beautiful weddings they've ever attended.

My florist created absolute magic, I married the most incredible man, and despite all of the behind the scenes chaos, we truly had the best weekend of our lives.

Photos :/

SoCal Bride Here. Leaving for my destination wedding in Europe in 2 days... and I still don't have my dress.

I ordered a made-to-measure Lihi Hod gown through NWLA Bridal. The owner, Nadia, personally took all of my measurements. I specifically asked for a made-to-measure gown because the sample size didn't fit my proportions properly. She assured me it would not be a problem and said she handled the order herself.

At the same appointment, I fell in love with a veil in the shop. When I decided i had to have it a few weeks later I was told it couldn't be reordered , so I purchased the sample veil for $900. Since I live over an hour south of Los Angeles, I paid over the phone, picked it up, and drove home.

When I got home and tried it on, I discovered it was falling off the comb due to loose threads and had lipstick stains on the trim.

I immediately text Nadia. Nadia told me to bring it back and she would fix it. I dropped it off to her personally in October and was told to pick it up when my dress arrived.

Five months later, In Feb I received an email with an incorrect invoice. No phone call, no email saying my dress had arrived, no appointment request. Just an invoice for the wrong amount. After several follow-ups, I finally received the correct invoice and was told to come pick up my dress.

At my appointment, before I even put the gown on, the stylist I had an appt with, Debra started gaslighting me saying wow you look amazing, you must have lost a ton of weight and said that it was going to be too big for me because I had "lost so much weight." I hadn't. In fact, I was wearing the same jeans I wore when I was originally measured.

Sure enough, the dress was enormous, at least two sizes too large, they had to clip me into it.

When Nadia came in, she immediately claimed I had lost a significant amount of weight. I told her repeatedly that I had not. She re-measured me and my bust and underbust measurements were unchanged. Somehow she insisted my waist was now two inches smaller.

Then they removed my veil and started putting it back in the garment bag, and I asked to inspect it. It had never been repaired. After having it for four months.

At that point I was standing there with an $8,000 made to measure gown falling off my body and a $900 veil that was still stained and damaged.

Because there was another bride in the salon, Nadia rushed me out of her shop to walk next door to Tailored by Ted, their recommended alterations shop.

There, she continued insisting I had lost weight and even suggested I'd probably lose more before the wedding. When I continued to explain that my measurements had not changed, she essentially called me a liar in front of my best friend, the tailor, and the tailors other clients.

Eventually, she stopped blaming me agreed to pay for the alterations.

My experience with the tailor initially seemed promising. She was nice and calming. The dress was successfully resized over several fittings. However, at every appointment I asked about the extremely large seam allowances left inside the gown from taking it in so much. Because the dress is silk, the large bulky seams were visible through the fabric. I was repeatedly told they would be addressed but at my final fitting, they hadn't been touched.

When I asked about them, I was told it couldn't be done and that what I was seeing was "the lining." Then, while changing out of the dress, I discovered a tear near the hem. The tailor's response? "Oh yeah, I saw that." You saw it and didn't mention it? WTF. You are the only one who ever touched the dress. She patched it while I was there.

Then she put my veil on me and immediately noticed another tear. She took a photo so I could see it. Not only was there now a tear in the veil, but the original lipstick stains were STILL there.

When I got home, I was so upset that I took the gown to my own local tailor for a second opinion.She was appalled. According to her, many of the seams were unfinished, raw, fraying, and cut unevenly. Her exact reaction was that it looked like a hack job.

As I write this, my dress is still with my local tailor. I leave for Europe in two days and still don't have my gown in my possession.

The veil is beyond saving. It still has lipstick stains and now multiple tears. At this point, I have no choice.

My biggest regret is not buying my dress and veil somewhere else.

If you're a Southern California bride I strongly encourage you to do your research and avoid NWLA.  I was actually referred there by my wedding planner, and I sincerely hope she never sends another bride through this experience. In fact there are multiple bad reviews on yelp about this shop. One bride wrote a review and says she was called a liar too! Like this is a thing with Nadia, the shop owner! If they have your dress designer find it elsewhere. Hell, fly to another state so you do not have this experience.

After the most traumatic bridal shopping experience imaginable, I'm days away from my wedding without my dress in hand and with a damaged veil I paid $900 for.Photos

SoCal Bride Here. Leaving for my destination wedding in Europe in 2 days... and I still don't have my dress.

I ordered a made-to-measure Lihi Hod gown through NWLA Bridal. The owner, Nadia, personally took all of my measurements. I specifically asked for a made-to-measure gown because the sample size didn't fit my proportions properly. She assured me it would not be a problem and said she handled the order herself.

At the same appointment, I fell in love with a veil in the shop. When I decided i had to have it a few weeks later I was told it couldn't be reordered , so I purchased the sample veil for $900. Since I live over an hour south of Los Angeles, I paid over the phone, picked it up, and drove home.

When I got home and tried it on, I discovered it was falling off the comb due to loose threads and had lipstick stains on the trim.

I immediately text Nadia. Nadia told me to bring it back and she would fix it. I dropped it off to her personally in October and was told to pick it up when my dress arrived.

Five months later, In Feb I received an email with an incorrect invoice. No phone call, no email saying my dress had arrived, no appointment request. Just an invoice for the wrong amount. After several follow-ups, I finally received the correct invoice and was told to come pick up my dress.

At my appointment, before I even put the gown on, the stylist I had an appt with, Debra started gaslighting me saying wow you look amazing, you must have lost a ton of weight and said that it was going to be too big for me because I had "lost so much weight." I hadn't. In fact, I was wearing the same jeans I wore when I was originally measured.

Sure enough, the dress was enormous, at least two sizes too large, they had to clip me into it.

When Nadia came in, she immediately claimed I had lost a significant amount of weight. I told her repeatedly that I had not. She re-measured me and my bust and underbust measurements were unchanged. Somehow she insisted my waist was now two inches smaller.

Then they removed my veil and started putting it back in the garment bag, and I asked to inspect it. It had never been repaired. After having it for four months.

At that point I was standing there with an $8,000 made to measure gown falling off my body and a $900 veil that was still stained and damaged.

Because there was another bride in the salon, Nadia rushed me out of her shop to walk next door to Tailored by Ted, their recommended alterations shop.

There, she continued insisting I had lost weight and even suggested I'd probably lose more before the wedding. When I continued to explain that my measurements had not changed, she literally called me a liar in front of my best friend, the tailor, and the tailors other clients.

Eventually, she stopped blaming me agreed to pay for the alterations.

My experience with the tailor initially seemed promising. She was nice and calming. The dress was successfully resized over several fittings. However, at every appointment I asked about the extremely large seam allowances left inside the gown from taking it in so much. Because the dress is silk, the large bulky seams were visible through the fabric. I was repeatedly told they would be addressed but at my final fitting, they hadn't been touched.

When I asked about them, I was told it couldn't be done and that what I was seeing was "the lining." Then, while changing out of the dress, I discovered a tear near the hem. The tailor's response? "Oh yeah, I saw that." You saw it and didn't mention it? WTF. You are the only one who ever touched the dress. She patched it while I was there.

Then she put my veil on me and immediately noticed another tear. She took a photo so I could see it. Not only was there now a tear in the veil, but the original lipstick stains were STILL there.

When I got home, I was so upset that I took the gown to my own local tailor for a second opinion.She was appalled. According to her, many of the seams were unfinished, raw, fraying, and cut unevenly. Her exact reaction was that it looked like a hack job.

As I write this, my dress is still with my local tailor. I leave for Europe in two days and still don't have my gown in my possession.

The veil is beyond saving. It still has lipstick stains and now multiple tears. At this point, I have no choice.

My biggest regret is not buying my dress and veil somewhere else.

If you're a Southern California bride I strongly encourage you to do your research and avoid NWLA.  I was actually referred there by my wedding planner, and I sincerely hope she never sends another bride through this experience. In fact there are multiple bad reviews on yelp about this shop. One bride wrote a review and says she was called a liar too! Like this is a thing with Nadia, the shop owner! If they have your dress designer find it elsewhere. Hell, fly to another state so you do not have this experience.

After the most traumatic bridal shopping experience imaginable, I'm days away from my wedding without my dress in hand and with a damaged veil I paid $900 for.

Here are some photos.Photos