03/02/2025
Good evening, This is Izabela's partner, Tony, with a rare posting. To my frustration, I discovered today that Google limits the amount of characters in a review defense. As such I'd like to use this forum to relay my lengthy message for anyone interested in a read. Perhaps grab a coffee first ;-)....
Here's my rebuttal that I couldn't post in it's entirety....
There is a common and united message from all these negative reviews. My objective is to bring transparency to these claims and clearly define our policies and ethics. To begin, I must highlight that the negative comments posted on our social medial platforms are from people who have not hosted an event with us.
I am Izabela’s husband and business partner, and most of the negative reviews are directed at my end of the business. I manage the finances and contracts while Izabela focusses on the wedding related activity. Her objective is to deliver perfect wedding day experiences for our couples and based on her perfect “5 star” reviews, I’d say she’s doing a fine job. I’m the review monster because I’m the guy who won’t return couples money when they break their contract and demand full refund. Before proceeding, it’s important to define that the product in question is an all-inclusive wedding day, which essentially is time. When couples secure a wedding day, they are purchasing this from our available inventory calendar, which thereby means it’s consumed. The down payment of $1500 towards the date is a legal mechanism of offer and acceptance, meaning the said date has been purchased under the conditions of our agreement. When couples purchase a date, that means they have acquired exclusive hosting access to our venue, at whatever price and conditions was agreed upon. If couples choose to cancel the contract, for any reason, we make every effort to backfill the date, in which case we can return the deposit. If the date isn’t backfilled, this means we’ve forgone an entire week of income because there’s only 1 Saturday in each week😉!
When couples choose to cancel their wedding with little time to spare (as in the case here), it is very unlikely that the date will be backfilled so we often concede the loss. What usually follows is a smearing campaign on social media similar to the recent activity herein. There’s a reason for deposits and there’s a reason they must be upheld. I’m not alone in this respect and I challenge anyone to find a wedding venue or vendor that would return a deposit after a couple changes their mind. In fact, I’ve heard of venues pursuing legal action for the entire contract, but I’d say that’s a stretch! I’m not pure evil, and I can recount numerous occasions where we refunded deposits due to break up, job loss, unexpected pregnancies, sibling death, broken leg, parent’s divorce and the list goes on. There’s always a human side but I must also exercise financial diligence.
To a fault, I’m part of the old social regime in that I prefer to focus on matters that are real. Growing up in the hospitality industry, I found great success by creating positive guest experiences while customers were present, in real life. Before social media, people would show their validation for a business through their actions and dollars. Then, along comes wiki technology which allowed for public review forums at the leisure and discretion of the author. Seemed like a great tool for people to share genuine thoughts and hold businesses accountable for their actions. This was true, however social media has become highly monetized, and this has dramatically changed it’s narrative.
The true message and underlying purpose of social media is being clouded by monetization.
As it touched on, there is always a process that leads to a negative review and this pattern doesn’t change. Prior to a negative review, there is some internal blackmailing where the option is given to either refund money or concede a negative review. I can easily make a case that I would have “0” negative reviews provided I paid off every couple who chose to cancel their contract. It doesn’t seem right that if someone chooses to terminate an agreement on their own accord, that I am punished by lost revenue and public scrutiny?? I also feel that negative reviews are statistically skewed because negativity is far more socially engaging than a positive thought. Ask yourself the last time you saw a positive review that inspired a subsequent positive message? The opposite can be said about negative reviews because people are like sheep; who will follow negativity provided they feel comfort and shelter from fellow purveyors of misery.
The flip side, being positive reviews, are also available for purchase. Over the past few years, and with increasing aggression, I am being introduced to companies who sell positive reviews for a handsome fee. The idea of paying for good press sounded like advertising to me and I’m proud that we grew a business free of advertising expenses. I cut my professional teeth cultivating organic growth, and I know that this is the pathway to long-term success. I told myself that if I have money to advertise, I’m far better to reinvest these funds into the business. This is why I find it quite ironic that I was accused of purchasing fake reviews by one of the negative band-wagon jumpers! Accordingly, I’d like to present a challenge to the accuser. Pick any review(s) and I’ll easily account for the person who wrote it!
The other issue I’d like to clarify is communication. When couples purchased a date with us, they are given access to our interactive planning tool, called Planning Pod. This tool covers the full scope of the wedding day, including food and drink menus, floorplans, guest list, financials, contract, couples RSVP website (with meal selector), todos, and vision board. In unison with this tool, we provide an onsite planning meeting, a separate meeting with the officiant, and another onsite meeting the week of the wedding. We also provide ongoing email, text or phone support. Within the nature of business, some communication may have lagged but we’ve always accounted for a short-fall and resolved every issue. I don’t mind admitting that we can (and will) sharpen up communication as I see this as a super-easy fix! Sometimes a taste of humility is exactly what is needed in order to arrive at perfection. If we fell short on wedding days, I’d say there’s proper recourse for all this negativity…
What should be of paramount importance is that we have an exceptional reputation where it matters. The wedding or special event day. Over the years, we have created an environment that is impenetrable to risk and is purely self-reliant. The only component we outsource is our delicious cakes and cupcakes because we can’t beat the quality of our supplier, the cupcake lounge😊!
Beyond the enjoyable experience we create, I am also proud of our invoicing and monetization policies. Unlike many of our industry counterparts, we don’t apply any minimum or hidden charges to our couples. Unbeknownst to many is that vendors of venue or food services will levy a minimum headcount fee on contracts. This means the couple pays for the number of guests that they invite to their wedding. There’s plenty of supporting data, but I can say with experience, that 10% of invited guests will decline their invitation to the wedding. We opt to give this ‘skim fund’ back to our couples and only charge based on actual attendees. Does this practice sound like a business whose ethics are in question?
AS I stated, EVERY positive review we were awarded is purely organic and genuine as it reads. I find these reviews very gratifying because they acknowledge the hard work and great lengths we go to in order to ensure wedding day bliss for our couples. People don’t take the time to share positive thoughts unless they are highly motivated. If you want your wedding day to sound similar to the recent experiences from our couples in 2024, we will make this happen – guaranteed!
