Event Stylist III

[jam08]

Dami ko natutunan sa thread na ito. hehe.

Just want to share lang ang experience namen ng wife to be ko sa Narcissus Event Styling. At first ok na ok sya, sa facebook page palang nila which consist of 100k likes na which we think na ok talaga and magaganda ang mga setups. So pumunta na kame sa office nila mga 2 weeks ago, had food taste, ok naman ang food, masarap. So nag discuss na kame ng mga gusto namen etch., problem is wala sila mabigay na mga pictures, dahil daw nasa ipad nila and [textspeak!] ipad ay dala dala ng isang account executive sa ibang event. pero they assure talaga na kaya talaga nila gawin [textspeak!] gusto namen. BTW, the package cost around 250k for 100pax, which is very enticing since all-in na kasama na ang styling (and talgang wow ang photos na pinapakita nila). Then we asked them if meron na silang nagawang setups sa reception Christ the king Parish hall (which is also our reception) sabi nila meron daw silang actual wedding event on that place next week (which is last week). So pumunta kame dun sa actual event nila, and wow! sobrang panget as compared sa ineexpect namen. As in if we compare it to the photos they provided halos walang pang 20%. very cluttered ang designs, patched designs,  unorganized seating arrangements halos dikit dikit ang mga tao talaga, super plain buffet table. table na cinoveran ng white cloth lang. hindi na maximise [textspeak!] space. ang nakakatuwa pa dun, nung kakakain na, pinapila nila [textspeak!] guest sa harap ng couple. eh di naharangan na [textspeak!] couple. nakakadisapoint sila. far from what we expect sa isip namen. nakakapang hinayang, tas considering na nag partial reservation kame ng 10k (35k kasi ang reservation), binabawi namen, sabi ko kunin nlang nila [textspeak!] 2k to even out [textspeak!] hassleness na nagawa namen. ayaw pumayag. ayaw ibalik [textspeak!] pera. non-refundable daw un at [textspeak!] 25k inabonohan pa daw ng account executive namen para daw maavail namen [textspeak!] promos. huh?! beware sa narcissus talaga.

[imyerdamsel]

^Thanks for the heads up! Sobrang gaganda ng setup nila sa photos kaya nag inquire din ako sakanila. Mataas lang masyado yung rate nila so I no longer consider them. Thanks for sharing your experience. Mas okay talaga pag nakikita yung actual setup nila to have an idea.

^^PM sent sis sixseveneight

[edna_mode]

my sister in law had the same unfavorable experience with Narcissus ako pa man din nag recommend sa kanila because I saw it sa FB.  They checked it out and they were impressed. Even nung detailing na meeting they were assuring my SIL na kaya nilang gawin. There were pics, there were pegs... pero pag dating sa actual... mangiyak ngiyak ang SIL ko kase hindi nasunod yung gusto nya. And the worst part, the table numbers and seating got messed up. Yung table #1 napunta sa pinaka likod ng reception venue... so all of her closest family and friends napunta sa dulong dulo.  While yung mga hindi nya mashadong ka-close got the best seats in the house :/

I am not saying not to patronize Narcissus ha. Baka may miscomm lang or something but I guess kelangan talaga mabusisi ka sa pag pili ng stylist.  Don't settle for anything less than your standards.

[tulip0419]

^ Your setup and flowers are gorgeous!  congratulations!!  can i ask how is he's price range compared to gideon hermosa and teddy manuel?

[Tinsflor]

Chili 113 :  Your set-up is stunning!  I'm such a fan of Robert!  He never scrimps on quality, it's really all about substance over style for him.  I love how he uses high end quality vases and pedestals too, I even have a feeling he sources his accessories from Z Gallerie here in the states because I've seen a lot of the stuff he uses in that store.

Out of an abundance of caution, my fiance and I made the last minute decision to change our event stylist from Love in Blooms to Teddy Manuel.  We needed to change ballrooms kasi to accommodate our set-up and guests and our previous ballroom can only accommodate 180 guests max, and that's really pushing it na.  With 180 guests, we'll only have enough room for the LED wall and our band won't have enough room anymore.  Anyway, our current guest list is just 160 pa lang but I'm sure it will balloon up to 180 as we get closer to the wedding.

Anyway, long story short, we switched from Love in Blooms to Teddy because when I told Jo Pafin (owner) about switching to the bigger ballroom, she told me that her initial proposal of 200k will need to be increased to accommodate the bigger venue! Kakaloka! I almost fell off my chair because Gideon and Teddy quoted me the same price she wanted to increase it to, I think even less pa.  I was also considering Dave Sandoval but I feel na it's hit or miss with him.  I love some of his work but there are some I'm a little iffy about. With Teddy and Gids, i was consistently wowed by their projects.

I went with Teddy because his team's very responsive and accommodating while on the other hand, Gideon was not responding and communication is super important to me being an overseas bride and all.  Teddy's quote also included the scalloped fringes he always uses as ceiling decor and I'm a little obsessed with that look.  Lol.  Now, I'm very happy we made the change because I can sleep in peace knowing that the styling is in good hands.  Still keeping Love In Blooms for the church styling and entourage flowers because we already made the deposit and she has a lot of decent stuff in her portfolio where the church looked really nice.

EEEk. sorry for the long kwento guys, all I just really wanted to say was that it's always better to pay a premium especially if something is important to you.  I became less stressed after booking Teddy because I am confident that he will really deliver.

[Chili1113]

Tulip0419: Robert Blancaflor is within the same price range as Teddy and Gideon when I last inquired in late 2014 to mid 2015. I suggest you set a budget and ask the stylists what they can do for you. Then from there you can decide which proposal and design you like best. =) I noticed though that the average starting price for a high end stylist for 200pax is 270-300k including church, bouquets, and reception.

Tinsflor: Good for you sis!! I think 200k is too much for Love in Blooms. I spoke with her also before and I found her a tad but sketchy hehe. My gosh, if Jo Pafin will charge a price increase that will cost the same as Gideon and Teddy, then there's no thinking twice about it! I hope you didn't lose any down payment though. BTW I also like the scalloped fringes of Teddy =)Good for you! You can have peace of mind now since Teddy will be doing your styling and I noticed they do have good customer service. =)

[Tinsflor]

Chili113:  Thank you for the insight sis!  I actually have you and the ladies here to thank for because if it weren't for your feedback, I would have been so clueless. I get overwhelmingly stressed thinking about the little details now that we've booked most of our suppliers and I realized that it really stems from my indecision.  Like whether to do a sit down style or buffet, switching ballrooms or just cutting the guest list short, etc.  My h2b naman is like, let's do whatever you want, but I'm the one thinking about the budget and costs so it was a constant inner struggle to pull the trigger on a lot of things.  So up until this month, everything was up in the air for us until I finally made concrete decisions.  I guess you just have to jump and forget about the numbers adding up on your budget spreadsheet and just do it.

You handled your preps so well, I wish i was as organized and meticulous as you!  I'm seriously thinking about printing out pages of this forum so that I can highlight the important stuff I need to remember. For now I can finally place a check mark on my event styling woes.

By the way, I also wanted to know, did Robert give you a list of his lighting requirements for your set-up? I'm not sure if I should have 5th element get in touch with Teddy pa for that because my lighting costs might shoot up even more. I had Joel remove the 2 LED wall units from our contract and the price remained the same!  Gosh!  Well i guess it makes sense because it's a much bigger venue than what he initially priced out but I really thought I'd be able to save something na.  Hindi pa din pala.

[Chili1113]

Hi Tinsflor! Haha don't worry I totally get the whole indecisive bride thing. I was also so indecisive to the point that my gown had 2 belts since I had another belt made 3 days before the wedding!

Oh you got 5th Element also pala. Joel is super easy to talk to. I asked Robert for his lighting requirements and he simply gave me a list of how many PAR lamps and moving heads are needed. As for the placement of the lamps, it was Joel who took care of it. Although we had a general meeting 3 wks before the event with Joel and a representative or Robert (with coordinator, Dj, and venue) and Roberts rep requested for the floral frame of our LED to be lit with 2 lamps. Otherwise Joel took care of all the placements. I had 6 moving heads, however it was spread throughout the venue and I didnt notice the effect of it unless it was projected unto the ceiling? But I would have preferred have most of it placed in front for added stage area effect. But no complaints with 5th Element. Im happy with their service.

Why is your total estimate the same even with the 2 LED walls removed from the proposal? Perhaps Joel upgraded the specs of the speakers etc? Ask Teddy nalang for list and givenit to Joel but tell him what your budget is also.

I really didnt want a dim reception area. But i was surprised in some pics it looked much dimmer than in person. Otherwise the reception was well lit and no weird pink overcast on the faces which I detest hehe.

[Tinsflor]

Hi Chili113!  That's a good idea, I'll get the lighting requirements list from Teddy.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't add more to what Joel already included.  Those things add up so fast!  Who knew?

I removed the LED walls from my contract with Joel kasi he doesn't want to involve himself with the visual programming of our animated monograms.  I got Just Bees Digital Visuals to do the moving monogram which would look like something similar to this:

https://www.facebook.com/Justbeesdigitalvisuals/photos/pb.145352695623098.-2207520000.1464148522./609002342591462/?type=3&theater

Anyway, Joel said that they don't provide tech assistance for LED walls especially when it comes to visual programming so I thought it might be better to just get the LED walls from Just Bees since they will be onsite to make sure that everything is okay.  That's why I was shocked that the revised contract price remained the same.  Joel told me that it's the same because my venue doubled in size so I guess it's a mixture of both lights and sounds that drove the price up that high?  I'm looking at the mood lighting clause of the contract now and it says 8 moving heads and 32 LED mood lights.  I don't even know what those mean!  Okay so mejo I'm getting nervous na ha.

Here's my dilemma, the ballroom walls will have floor to ceiling drapes in all black and I'm worried about the lighting because it might be too dim. It looks nice and dramatic in pictures especially with our motif but I'm worried about it being too dark.  Oh gosh, I just opened a can of worms for myself I think.  Do you still have some valiums left??  Hahaha!

[kaitlynmischa]

Hi sissies,

Joining the group.  Any recommendation on stylist for reception?

Magkano ang starting package ni Flowers Unlimited? I wanted sana si Dave Sandoval but way beyond budget na talaga. Since included na sa package ng reception ko yung flowers, gusto ko lang sana palagay ng photowall and magpadagdag sa tablescape plus stage design.

I hope you can help me guys. TIA!

[baby bones]

^

Wanted Dave din sana pero di reach ng budget namin. We opted to go with Amante Fleurs for our reception styling.

[iamfarrah]

Hi Sissies

Anyone here who was a Tropical Blooms bride? any feedbacks? I like their styling and mas mura kesa sa iba pero nung pinakita ko na yung design na gusto ko which is nagawa na nila before, quote nila sakin is 42k agad, that's for VIP table lang at backdrop ha since yung hotel magpprovide ng flowers for guest tables. When they sent me their packages, yung package B nila is 40k na pero it includes everything na like guest tables. TIA

[t_r_i_c_i_a]

Our coordinator also recommends Tropical Blooms pero I preferred Fullblooms by Inah dahil mas nadalian ako magcommunicate and mas naging flexible sila sa budget ko. Amante Fleurs sana first choice ko, nagagandahan ako sa gawa nila we have agreed on the cost na and everything pero they never came back to me on the contract.

[iamfarrah]

oh i see. Pareho tayo sis, Full blooms yung pinagpipilian ko pati Tropical Blooms. Mas magaling si full blooms sa bouquet pati for entourage flower ano sis. May nagutuhan lang din akong styling set up ng Tropical Blooms na gusto ko ipagaya sa wedding ko kaya lang ang mahal nga. Papaset ko pa ng meeting sila with my mom para makita kung hanggang magkano pwede nila babaan.

[hearty2017]

Mga sis!

Magkano starting rate ng events central by anna winstel? I love their setups eh.

How about Amante and tropical blooms? I want a romantic set-up eh.
TIA!

[Nixie88]

Hi sis Chili, can I get an idea how much is your budget and for how many guests?

Has anyone tried Spruce? I saw one that they did kasi and that's exactly my peg

[Chili1113]

^The budget I gave for styling for 200 pax (reception, bouquets, and church) while i was inquiring depended on whether I was going mid-range or high-end.

For mid-range: I gave a starting budget of 180k
For high-end: I gave a starting budget of 270k


lastly, if you're interested in Pat Pastelero/Spruce--  you can try Flowers Unlimited since they have been subcontracted by Spruce for other projects/events.

[kaitlynmischa]

Hi Sis Chili1113, do you have any idea kapag reception styling lang for Flowers unlimited?

My reception and bouquets kasi will be done by my sis-in-law's mom. Since hotel kami, may [textspeak!] ng stage pillars, backdrop and flowers yung venue. Pero nakukulangan ako, gusto ko pagdagdagan since ballroom sya ayoko magmukhang bare.

Ifyou have the contact number sis, pahingi na rin. hehe thanks!

[Chili1113]

^Hello sis! Sorry my phone crashed 2 weeks before the wedding and wiped out lahat ng contacts and calendar appts ko. THe only numbers I have are the ones saved on SIM card and so I lost the number of  Roland Roquero of Flowers Unlimited.

As for how much their reception only styling, I think it is best to meet with them and they can work on a budget. They can go really alll out bongga flowers, or do simple designs.

But in the end I backed out kasi nga may issue ako with suppliers who don't reply right away. And they really admit that they don't get to reply all the time since they are hands on when they have an event and prioritize it. Medyo I got impatient when they never emailed me a revised quotation or mag OO sila pero di rin mag email sa akin.

But if you want mostly imported flowers, medyo mahal sila but among all the mid-range stylists they're the ones I liked the most in terms of style.

[kaitlynmischa]

Hi Sis Chili1113 thanks for the info. I tend to be makulit pa naman and I appreciate those who reply right away. I've read a lot of good reviews and back reading all your comments, I can see na ok sya. Hmm, I'll think about this, baka worth the risk.

Who was your stylist pala?

Thanks!