Events by Stephanie Antoinette

We scheduled our initial meeting to see if we would be a good fit, which she canceled just a few moments before. The next day I thanked her for her time and informed her we were going to go a different route. She pulled out all the stops trying to get us to change our minds. Stephanie drove to our home that night with gifts and a vision board. Of course we were blown away and thought the initial interaction was a misunderstanding and proceeded. She claimed we needed to sign the contract asap, as we'd get right to work and be in touch multiple times a week since there was so much to do. After an executed contract and full payment (we payed in full to get $500 off the total- second worst decision we've made after hiring her. DON'T EVER PAY IN FULL because if it doesn't work out you'll end up losing it all, as we did) we didn't hear from her for over a week. I reached out multiple times with questions regarding how we'd proceed. She told me to be patient, we will get to it. In her pitch she promised as a full service bride we'd basically be 'best friends for the next year'. From what many of the other planners we met with have said, we needed to make moves- we had less than a year to plan a wedding in the middle of peak season. Every time I asked about the timeline, on when we needed to have a venue secured, she told me to calm down, we will get around to it. She constantly blew off my calls, and text messages. The few times she did acknowledge my calls she'd reply with a text asking if I needed something. I felt so swindled, by being treated as if my wedding, and concerns were just insignificant to her. I can't tell you how many nights I cried to my husband. People might forget what you've said, but never how you've made them feel. My husband and I contemplated canceling the entire wedding ceremony due to this terrible experience. Everything she stood for and prided herself on before she got that signed contract felt like a complete lie to me. The ONE and ONLY venue viewing day she showed us three hotels that didn't fit our vision or budget. She basically told us these were our only options for our wedding date (keep in mind she previously told us we had plenty of time to secure a venue). One of the venues the food and beverage minimum was far more than half of our entire budget. She had no regard for our budget. She kept pushing her friend's businesses on us, who's prices turned out to be on the very high end of industry standard. She never gave us any other options, just told us this is normal, turns out it wasn't. She previously said she can save us as much money as it costs to hire her. Yeah, right.. Our wedding budget doubled with these unnecessary expenses, and every time we questioned her about it, she called us "cheap". I felt so belittled. We had a privacy clause in our contract. I was later informed she often told vendors what my husband does for a living, posted our engagement photos on her social media sites, and mentioned our names, wedding venue and even date. With that, she broke our contract, and enough was enough. I called her and let her know I'd like to part ways amicably, after she had broken terms of our contract. I was hoping for a portion of our money back as we had only met about 3 times in nearly 6 months. After informing her of her contract breach, Stephanie had her lawyer call me and claim I was bullying and intimidating her. I felt as if she hadn't even done 1/8 of her job up to this point. Cutting ties with Stephanie was the start to some of the best decisions I have made in the wedding planning process, even though she kept all of our money. I was able to find the most amazing team and regain the excitement and joy I had for planning my wedding prior to working with Stephanie Antoinette.

Have been trying for a year now to forget that I ever met Stephanie and not to take her to court for a refund but I can not forget her and let her rip off another family. Very disappointed in the lack of service we paid for. I pushed my wife to find a wedding planner to help her plan our big day, when we met Stephanie she was very professional, full of promises and made us feel very comfortable in hiring her. With just about 1year before the big day we paid her 50% of her fee and was in contact just about once a week trying to find a venue, after she took us to a few venues way out of budget she sent us a link to check out and we started to check out venues on our own and found one within budget that worked for all our needs. Six months before our day she was demanding the other 50% of her fee and was harder to get in contact with. She was able to find tables and chairs but ordered twice what was needed, flowers, table cloths, D.J., photographer we did with no help from Stephanie and the venue helped with the caterer. The day before the wedding we had our rehearsal and had no word from Stephanie, The day of the wedding she showed up 2 hours after she said she would be there in pink/peach spanks (that anyone would think she would change into appropriate dress for the wedding but did not) with two young ladies that looked lost. After leaving to get ready myself I returned to find that she got into a big argument with the D.j. about how things were going to go since we went over it with him but never got with the one person you would think you would go over it with the wedding planer. All the vendors did as we talked with them about and did a great job but Stephanie tried to change it all and made everyone mad. Each time I found Stephanie she was on her phone sitting in a corner someplace, her help was wandering around doing nothing because they did not know what to do since I'm sure it was there first time working a wedding. All venders said that Stephanie was the worst they ever worked (not worked) with and that we should get a refund from her. She put us over budget and very stressed out, I would NOT recommend Stephanie for any service and ask anyone reading this to ask your self If Stephanie is so good at what she does why is there so few reviews on her of here? As Rachel R. in another review called Stephanie "the B Team" I would say she is part of the "D List".

I recently used J'aime La Vie By Victoria Antoinette to plan my friend's baby shower. Neither myself nor my friend had a clue where to start. Stephanie's knowledge and patience made this planning process so easy. I work, so it was very overwhelming to know all that was expected of me. Stephanie had great ideas and even educated me on all the fun and important things to include in today's modern baby shower. From the invites to the top vendors in town, and just the overall etiquette. She also introduced me to the concept of a gender reveal. I was totally clueless but love that I know what it is now. Her attention to detail and passion for what she does, gave me the best baby shower me or my friend could've ever imagined. It was very custom and we only got the services and items we needed. I felt important and would recommend J'aime La Vie By Victoria Antoinette to anyone.

I knew from the start that we would need to hire a wedding planner & stylist! My husband and I both come from big families and had a wedding party of 10 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen, 3 flower girls and a ring bearer and guest count over 250. We knew we would be working with a tight budget, so I wanted to be sure we would have a planner that would take that seriously. Words cannot express how grateful we were to have found Stephanie! She was extremely organized, showed us how to get the biggest bang for our buck without sacrificing taste & style! She kept us on track with monthly budget recaps, and checklists... as the date grew nearer she would send them every other week. My husband and I do not live in Arizona and needed someone we could trust to put together our vision, without us being there. Stephanie handled all of our room blocks, found us the perfect ceremony & reception site, set us up with hair and makeup, an amazing photographer, and even planned the most memorable weekend of activities for all of us. Stephanie treated us as if we were family!! When any hiccup came along in the process she was quick to respond and find a resolution. Stephanie and her assistants were so personable, and her attention to detail was impeccable. One of my favorite memories of the day was when she snuck us away to take a sneak peak of the reception room all set up before the guests were brought in. It was breathtaking.. Stephanie literally took every thought we had and took it to a level we never dreamed would be possible! HANDS DOWN hiring her was the best decision we ever made! Not to mention that with all of her vendor connections she not only saved us time, but saved us money! If you are reading this, look now further... Stephanie Antoinette will make your dreams come true!

I contacted Stephanie for some help planning a black tie event that required a lot of detail planning--invites, linens, table arrangements, food, beverages, entertainment (music trio, DJ, gaming tables, etc). She did a phenomenal job. Everything was very well organized, and the party came together so well. She was there the day of the event and the evening of as well--and I honestly could not have enjoyed the event had she not been there. She was on top of every detail. On top of her organization, great taste, and widespread contacts that are key in pulling off an event like this, she deserves a 6th star, because she actually had a baby when we were in the beginning stages of planning. Being a mother myself, I certainly appreciate the work ethic AND organization it takes to accomplish this. AND....In addition to all the professional accolades, I really liked her on a personal level.I would use her for absolutely any event in the future. I have never used a party planner before, but she was worth every penny. If you are thinking about it, DO IT! Best decision I made in trying to pull off this event was calling Stephanie. She was amazing.

Disorganized. Unprofessional . CarelessI was referred to Stephanie by another wedding planner who does larger budget weddings. She suggested that I contact Stephanie a.k.a. "The B Team" for our wedding. When I contacted Stephanie she sounded sweet and she seemed to understand just what I wanted: bridal, romantic, traditional. This is my first and only wedding and it seemed like things were going to go well with Stephanie.Initially, her fee was low but at two critical moments in the wedding planning Stephanie called me demanding that I give her more money so that she can complete the negotiations. It was always a crisis, and she needed money within 24 hours, or my wedding planning would not be complete. I found out later that these vendors asked to speak with me directly and Stephanie refused to give them my contact information. She told me that she was the only one who could negotiate these deals and that I needed to pay her more for it...twice!Stephanie charged us almost $4,000 for our flowers, and ordered the wrong centerpieces!!! Stephanie did not have the courage to come tell me about her mistake, instead I walked in to my wedding reception and found thousands of dollars in flowers that I didn't order. I have been informed that this large Phoenix based florist will no longer be working with Stephanie in the future due to her disorganization, and lack of professionalism. Stephanie was responsible for handing out corsages and boutonnieres to important members of my family, she had a list of these people emailed to her weeks before the wedding. Instead of checking the list on the wedding day she simply gave them to the wrong people and let me know, "oh well, I just gave it to so-and-so". Oh well?! Stephanie also ruined our guest book, charged us for a headpiece for the flower girl that she never gave to the flower girl ... I can go on and on. What is the point of having a wedding planner if they are going to make these kinds of mistakes? I won't go in to the lack of integrity that she has in negotiating her fee, I will mention that one of her vendors called her "shady". This means that if you choose to work with Stephanie, some of the best vendors will not be available to you because they will not work with her. Buyer beware!!

Stephanie's strength is flower arrangement. Unfortunately, she did not live up to many of the other expectations we had for her. We live in Canada so we needed someone to organize our Arizona wedding. Initially, Stephanie seemed to understand our vision. We filled out the form that described everything that we wanted, including having petals thrown by our guests after the pronouncement. Before leaving to Phoenix, Stephanie assured us that all was in order, but she waited until the day before our wedding to let us know that she did not acquire petals. After we arranged to have petals taken from flowers at Safeway and brought them to the wedding, she uttered under her breath how "stupid" that will look. We also ordered name plates for the table settings and she confirmed that she had them for us. It turned out that she did not pick them up. She also did not have enough place settings for our guests. When I questioned her about the number of place settings, she assured me that we had enough settings for our 32 person wedding - "3 tables of 8". Once I said "3 times 8 is only 24" she realized her multiplication error and ran off to make more settings while guests stood waiting. My father in law worked with me to clear off the table with the wedding cake so that we could set up the correct number of chairs for our guests. Communication with her was difficult as she was uncomfortable having to travel the 20 - 30 minutes it took to meet our father in law at the venue. After the wedding, we sent her an email describing what we found was good about her services, as well as what we felt was poor service. Almost a month has passed and we have not received a reply from her. Our wedding was not ruined by any means, and she did do some things very well. However, Stephanie is not a professional and she lacks the organizational capacity to effectively oversee even a small wedding. Customer service does not seem important to her. I cannot provide a good reference for her.

A close friend of mine moved to Scottsdale this past year, and recently found out she was expecting her first baby. I wanted to find a unique gift for her to congratulate her on her pregnancy. After some research I found J'aime la vie by Victoria Antoinette, and contacted Stephanie the owner right away!! Stephanie suggested her "So you're having a baby" package for my friend. This was a perfect way to get her started with her pregnancy, especially since she is new to the area!! Stephanie came out and did a personalized time-line for my friend of things she needs to do to prepare for her baby and when. She even did a customized registry!! Stephanie was professional and very personable... I think I may hire her to put together the baby shower as well!

Where do I even start?! We hired Stephanie to plan our wedding at El Chorro, and in just 4 short months she helped pull off the best day ever. I started out with one of her basic packages and ended up upgrading to her biggest one because she is that amazing. She was able to take my vision and make it reality. Her creativity is unmatched...not only were the guests blown away by her design, but I was too! Stephanie also has connections to the best vendors and was able to set me up with one of the top photographers, florist, and entertainment in town. If you're considering planning your wedding on your own, don't do it! There is SO much that goes into planning and I wouldn't have been able to do it without Stephanie! She is professional, and the biggest sweetheart. I even had a wedding dress disaster and she was right there helping me find a new last-minute wedding dress. Also, she owns XOXO Box Co. And was able to put together awesome bridesmaids, groomsmen and welcome gifts! I can't rave enough about her!

We hired Stephanie a few months after getting engaged. We attempted to plan the wedding on our own. However, with a tight budget and a busy schedule, it seemed impossible to plan a wedding on our own. We decided to look into hiring a wedding planner. We thought that we would never be able to afford a planner. Stephanie was affordable, worked with our budget, and we received discounts from vendors because we worked with Stephanie. We received quality services within our small budget. Stephanie worked with us throughout the entire process. We had a hiccup 6 months prior to the wedding. Our original wedding venue decided not to work with us anymore. We had to quickly find a comparable venue with a comparable budget that was available for the same day. Stephanie worked her magic and found us an amazing venue, perfect for our day! Everything was flawless the day of! I didn't have to worry about anything. Stephanie handled everything, making sure everything was set up and perfect. Stephanie responded timely, helped us to be realistic with our budget and what we want, gave us suggestions, and supported us throughout the entire process. We couldn't have done it without her!