Events By Merida Reviews
Reviews
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Featured
![RJ Rushmore]()
Rj Rushmore Sent on 07/25/2024Merida will be your best advocate for the wedding that you want!
Merida was THE integral part of making our wedding day perfect. We knew we wanted to hire a wedding planner going into this and after interviewing several planners, Merida was the clear choice for us. If you want an alternative, nerdy, queer-affirming, culturally informed wedding planner, Merida is the woman for the job.
Her knowledge of vendors and intricate details of wedding planning was invaluable. As my husband often said, ‘We are doing this once, you have done this hundreds of times, we trust you!’ You can tell Merida genuinely cares about your event, and it was incredibly reassuring to see her take charge, handling any issues that arose with vendors and solving problems that arose. We were updated with regular video chats and felt like we were heard and affirmed in our choices. She took the time to explain everything and her work ethic and spreadsheets are incredible. It was so helpful to be able to check in with her and be told what we should be focusing on and what we needed to do next. Merida herself is also just a wonderful, fun person who is easy to talk to. She was always just a text away, responding promptly, and handled her work/life balance flawlessly.
If you aren’t looking for a full service planner, she also offers a day-of coordination package which I would recommend to every couple, everywhere. Having someone who is familiar with so many venues, the way they operate, and what you need to do, and when, is the most helpful thing ever. While we were getting ready, Merida was making sure the vendors were on schedule and had what they needed. She was also the contact person for our guests who had any questions so that all we had to do was enjoy our wedding day. Merida and her team made sure we had a plate of food made up for us from cocktail hour, made sure we were hydrated, and ensured that we had a few moments to ourselves directly after the ceremony to decompress in peace.
I often thought, ‘Wow, I’m really not stressed about this wedding!’ because Merida took care of everything so well. 10/10!!
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![Sumleigh]()
Sumleigh Sent on 03/04/2026Worth Every Penny!
Merida was the best investment for our wedding, hands down! We did the wedding management package, which was perfect for us. Merida handled all of our vendors for us, including coordinating the getting ready process with our beauty team and photographer. She ran our wedding rehearsal smoothly and explicitly told our families to reach out to her with any problems. On the day of the wedding, she solved problems I wouldn’t have even thought of. She brought a day-of kit that had everything we would have needed. Merida kept us all on track and made sure we were all taken care of so that my partner and I could just enjoy our day. -
![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 01/19/2026Merida is a must hire
Merida is the wedding planner we dreamed of for our big day. Right away from our first meeting with her, we recognized her priority was first-and-foremost about our experience as the couple, which we truly valued. In a world where family, friends, social media and the wedding industry can pull engaged couples in every which way, Merida was our North Star through it all! Our months working with Merida were incredibly fun, hilarious and light-hearted while always keeping us on track, taking all the stress out of planning. Merida also VERY experienced, in-tune with venders, industry standards, necessities versus nice-to-haves, while always staying poised and sharp for any and all issues that may have arose.
Our wedding was a quirky venue and theme and she took on our challenge of “A Hobbit Hole Wedding with hints of America Revolutionary War” at our family farm, without missing a beat. Merida was able to start shaping a vision based on her experience almost immediately with dozens of vendors but helped narrow it down we could reasonably choose and tailor our experience to the wedding of our dreams. The choice process was super easy from floral options to photographer, Merida created a very helpful “bracket” to help us find vendors who best fit our style.
Merida ensured that we were able to keep a sense of peace through the process by coordinating the 17 vendors (Merida, thank you and we are so sorry for being so extra). She was always a phone call or text away to resolve any questions that came up super quickly and helpfully and with a super friendly and warm experience. We know we were not her only clients but sometimes it felt like we were with all her attention.
By the weekend of our wedding, it truly felt like we as a couple were able to enjoy every moment of our experience. The experience was joyous not just for us, but for everyone at our wedding and that was all down to Merida and the carefully curated event. Without her guidance, we may have chosen some rogue elements and as a couple who got married the same year as a ton of friends, the stories you hear can be so stressful. We cannot stress enough her industry knowledge absolutely saved us from any worries.
Merida is the absolute GOAT. We cannot recommend her enough, especially for all you creative couples out there. She is the biggest cheerleader, support, the wisest counselor, and King Solomon when you need her to be (sometimes you do two cakes because theres no need to disagree when you need that much cake anyway). Merida, we love you. Truly. Thank you for the best weekend EVER.
Brava Merida! You’re a queen and a wizard.
~Dan & Emily -
![Anna]()
Anna Sent on 12/29/2025The Best Planner!
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Merida! From the very beginning, she was organized, calm, and truly made us feel supported every step of the way. As a lesbian couple, it meant so much to work with a planner who was genuinely inclusive. Everything felt natural, affirming, and thoughtfully handled without us ever having to explain or correct anything.
Planning an out of state wedding while juggling busy schedules can be chaotic, but Merida was endlessly patient and kind. We weren’t always great at sticking to scheduled appointment times, and she never once made us feel stressed, rushed, or pressured. Instead, she met us where we were and helped keep everything moving in a way that felt supportive rather than overwhelming.
On the wedding day, everything ran seamlessly. She arrived with an entire case of emergency supplies, from electrolytes, to double-sided tape for dresses, to straws for drinks so we wouldn’t mess up our makeup. She handled vendors, timelines, and all the behind-the-scenes details so we could actually relax and be present.
Beyond being an incredible planner, Merida truly became someone we looked forward to talking to. By the end, she felt like a friend. We were genuinely sad when the wedding was over and realized we wouldn’t have our regular Zoom check-ins anymore!
Hiring Merida was one of the best decisions we made. We are so grateful for her professionalism, warmth, and care, and would recommend her without hesitation to any couple. -
![Anna]()
Anna Sent on 09/06/2025Hire Merida!!
Merida is an absolute powerhouse! She has endless knowledge, is very organized, reliable, and came more prepared than I could have imagined. Having her by my side on our wedding day eased every single worry I could have had. We had to make a last minute change due to the weather, but she was amazing at walking me through it and ensured that the venue had everything under control! Our wedding day would have been 10000000x more stressful without Merida! 100/10, highly recommend!! -
![Joey]()
Joey Sent on 07/29/2025Best thing we did
My wife and I were drawn to Merida's work for her untraditional approach, and we were not disappointed. She helped us design the perfect party for us, our friends, and our family. We aren't big dancers, so she helped us find all kinds of fun things for the guests to do through the ceremony. She was our Emotional Support Planner through the whole process. She keeps her cool when it feels like everything is falling apart (spoiler: it's not). She and her assistant handled family drama skillfully. Hiring Merida was one of the best decisions we could have made for planning our wedding! -
![Annaliese]()
Annaliese Sent on 06/03/2025Incredible and Inclusive Wedding Planner
We could not have made our wedding at the Franklin Institute without Merida's wedding planning! She helped us find an incredible group of vendors that created a beautiful queer wedding; was a joy to work with; and was prepared for every surprise, twist, and turn of us traipsing through a science museum. -
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![Calvin]()
Calvin Sent on 05/14/2024Merida is a gift
If you gave me a million characters in this text box I still wouldn't be able to express just how grateful I am to Merida and her team.
My husband and I have been together for over two decades and had already spent an enormous amount of time thinking about our wedding over the years, but after coming out as a trans man in 2019, I quickly realized that planning a gay wedding would involve additional challenges I hadn't considered. The thought of reaching out to vendors and getting misgendered as the "bride" over and over was an incredibly anxiety-inducing prospect. I knew we needed help from someone who understood our situation and would ensure we were both treated respectfully by an incredibly cis-heteronormative industry.
From the moment I engaged her, about a year before our wedding date, I knew that I'd made the right call. As a member of the community herself, Merida was my biggest advocate and fiercest champion. Her zero-tolerance policy of anyone who showed signs of homo/transphobia weeded out any problematic businesses and in just a few months she was able to book us an almost entirely queer team of vendors, all of whom did a spectacular job on the big day. I've never been so thankful to have someone like her in my corner.
Each and every call with Merida was an absolute delight. Not only is she an incredible wedding/event planner, but she is one of the most delightful people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. She is brilliant, thoughtful, and hilarious, putting you instantly at ease. No matter how nerdy or esoteric our ideas, Merida was here for it and helped us bring every little detail to life. Anytime I said the words "I know this is kind of crazy but could we possibly..." she would listen attentively, smile, and reply with "We can do that." Week after week things I thought would be impossible came together and fell perfectly into place.
On the day of the event (04/07/24), Merida and her team were like a SpecialOps team, complete with a full arsenal of emergency supplies the likes of which you've never seen. She kept us on schedule but never rushed us, leaving time for spontaneity; for every minor question or concern she had a plan, not one detail was overlooked.
The wedding itself was absolutely perfect. I cannot stress this enough. It was PERFECT. It was everything my husband and I had ever dreamed of since we were 15 years old. Thanks to Merida there was not a single thing we had to compromise on for the sake of someone else, there was not a single bad vibe, it was truly the most beautiful, entertaining, and triumphant celebration of queer love any of us had ever experienced. I was genuinely concerned my face would break from smiling with euphoria all day. It's been over a month now and I'm getting emotional all over again just writing this review.
I never thought I would be able to be my whole entire self on my wedding day.
Thank you, Merida for turning my gay little anime prince dreams into reality.
If you're queer, a huge nerd, or just someone who marches to the beat of their own drum, please hire Merida. She will make all of your dreams come true.
Check out our mini-video here!
https://vimeo.com/931825218/f5280e5cea -
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![Nora]()
Nora Sent on 12/31/2023Book Merida Now
I don’t think words can really describe how amazing Merida and her team are. From the initial phone call looking for planners, Merida’s personality and get it done mentality had us sold! She took the vision we had and not only executed it, but let us enjoy our day - worry-free. Merida is a true professional and well respected in this industry. All our vendors shared that our wedding was so relaxed from getting ready to every event on our timeline. Thank you for such an amazing day. We are grateful to have your guidance and advice professionally and as a friend on our big day! -
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![Nickki]()
Nickki Sent on 12/30/2023Two words about Events by Merida: HIRE THEM.
Services we utilized EBM for:
Full Planning, inclusive of day of services.
Venues: St. John The Baptist, Manayunk; Lark
My husband and I had attempted to plan our wedding on our own and within one week of struggling for transparency with venues to see if they'd even fit into our budget, he had suggested maybe we hire a planner. I crowdsourced for recommendations to friends on Facebook and one suggested Events by Merida. We had 1 call with Merida and - to quote Stepbrothers "Did we just become best friends? Yep!". My husband said, "Hire her." within minutes of hanging up the Zoom. The connection and comfortability with Merida was immediate and lasting. It's easy to talk to Merida and build trust. She truly wants the best for you and your partner. That she is selective in whom she works with and how many weddings EBM takes on each year added to our comfort level. We knew Merida would be focused on us.
Planning: Prior to the wedding itself, Merida became my bridal Xanax. She kept me calm, on schedule, on budget, helped me find and vet venues and vendors, chased after folks for me, offered me suggestions, made sure the contracts were written in our favor, facetimed/zoomed into calls with me, came to my fittings with me, helped me with wording and design choices for our website, save the dates and invitations and was an invaluable resource. Bridal brain is real; I'm probably forgetting a lot of the other ways she helped us during the planning process. Our wedding had Filipino ceremonial traditions and Filipino food included that had to be considered in all of it. There were some wild events that happened during planning with the church and the venue that Merida helped us work through. To say she made me feel like we were her most VIP client is an understatement.
The rehearsal & big day: Merida and her team made sure the rehearsal and day of our wedding was as seamless as possible doing everything from running our rehearsal, reminding Monsignor of important parts, vendor wrangling - all of them. ALL, time management, body taping, dress fixing, reminding everyone to eat and hydrate, guest management... you name it, we could count on Merida and her crew to handle it. There were probably 300 things EBM handled that never came to our attention; we gave them carte blanche to ensure the day was amazing. When I say we worried about nothing, I mean we worried about nothing. Zero worries. Merida and her team had everything under control. Guests are still complimenting us on how friendly and professional the Events by Merida team were at our wedding.
I am a firm believer that the wedding wouldn't have been as awesome without Merida and her crew. THANK YOU a million times over.
**we haven't gotten pro photos back yet! -
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![Cindi]()
Cindi Sent on 08/30/2023Absolutely Incredible!
We cannot recommend Merida enough! She was always there when we had questions, even if the question seemed silly to me or I felt like I was overthinking. She never made me feel like I was dumb for not knowing something. She gave great advice, and always had our best interests at heart. There were many challenges we threw her way, including difficult family circumstances, decor that didn't 100% go as planned, and a dinosaur ring bearer. She was a calm presence, while also keeping us on time, and was a beautifully kind human being throughout the whole process. Honestly, we cannot image that the day would have been as great without her and her team. -
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![Lauri]()
Lauri Sent on 05/20/2023Every bride needs Merida!
I can’t say enough good things about Merida and her team. A+++ from start to finish! Merida and her assistant Laura made me feel so taken care of on the big day. They knew what I needed before I knew I needed it and kept me sane and calm throughout the whole process. I sent Merida about 100 texts on the day of the wedding. She answered Every. Single. One. I get overwhelmed by the big picture and hyper-focused on small details. She really helped keep me on track and sort out what was important and less important. I didn’t think I needed a wedding planner. We got engaged in February 2022 and bought a house in October 2022. By the time we were moved in (January 2023) I was starting to feel overwhelmed about putting a house together, working full-time and planning a May 2023 wedding all at once. The money we spent on Merida is the smartest $$ we spent on the entire thing! She’s has a sweet nature about her—a calming energy but can be firm when necessary. Merida was recommended to us by friends of ours who got married and used her services. Everything they told us about her was true! She is excellent! I feel like Merida is our very good friend now that we’ve spent countless hours on Zoom calls with her helping us navigate our way to a damn near perfect wedding. She kept us on budget and on schedule and laughing and having fun with her over the months she worked with us. Love Merida! Highly recommend!! -
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Ashley Sent on 05/07/2023
Couldn't have done it without Merida
From start to finish, we couldn't have planned our wedding without Merida. When we couldn't get an appointment to tour our dream venue, Merida made it happen, and we were able to book it shortly thereafter. When we were stumped finding a florist or musicians, Merida recommended great vendors for us and helped us review all the pricing and contracts. Whenever we had etiquette questions (frequently), Merida helped us navigate tricky situations with the guest list and other sensitive matters. The whole time, she helped us stay positive and joyful about the planning experience - even while we were planning from two different continents and neither of us lived in the city where we were getting married. Where Merida and her team really shined was in the final few weeks of high-stress planning leading up to the big day. Merida helped us make sure no detail was missed. And day-of, Merida and Laura were absolutely invaluable. The whole day went so smoothly because of their expertise. We couldn't imagine having planned a wedding without all of Merida's help. We recommend her enthusiastically! -
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Krista Sent on 01/07/2023
Merida helps you plan YOUR ideal wedding
Merida was available whenever we needed her throughout the planning process, providing ideas when we asked, researching options and communicating with vendors. She also let us run with our ideas and the things we wanted to do ourselves. She was so supportive of all our unique ideas to incorporate our different cultures while steering us in the best direction to plan a flawless wedding weekend for us and our guests. She came to meetings, helped handle difficult vendors, and kept us on budget. She and her team took care of everything to make sure our wedding was everything we ever wanted- even handling our dogs during the ceremony and photos. So glad to have Merida in my life! Plus her rate was very low for all she did for us. -
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![Lisa]()
Lisa Sent on 10/27/2022If you're on the fence about hiring a planner, do it and hire Merida!
Merida and I have been working together for almost 2 years on my wedding and it was truly so incredible to work with her. First off, we heavily relied on Merida for her vendor recommendations that fit with the design and vision of our weddings. When we hired her, we already had our venue and photographer but she helped us with the rest of our team and we could not be more pleased. She is incredibly professional but also was really there for me when I was dealing with some personal family issues with my wedding which I greatly appreciated. She also constantly reassured and checked in with me throughout the process and answered my many questions and emails in a timely manner. In the days leading up to our wedding she went over timelines with me multiple times and made sure everyone knew what they were doing at the rehearsal. The day of, she made sure we were running on time and we were often ahead of schedule because of all the built in time that we had for our itinerary (that she helped us put together!). She also kept our very large wedding party on time and was in constant communication with our other vendors. She also steamed my veil and dress and all of my bridal party's outfits in record time. There was not one thing I had to worry about on my wedding day from set up to break down and I am so so appreciative of her and her hard work. She truly helped us have the wedding of our dreams and she really helped bring our vision to life. We are eternally grateful! -
![Ellen]()
Ellen Sent on 11/06/2021Merida=Best Decision EVER!
I can honestly say that the best decision I made during the wedding planning process (aside from saying “yes” during the proposal) was selecting Merida to be our wedding planner. My husband and I knew that we did not want a basic, cookie cutter wedding, but a big, fun party with a little wedding thrown in there and Merida was the perfect partner to make that dream a reality. During our two years of planning, Merida was always available for all questions, happy to discuss any ideas, function as a sounding board when needed and just be a guide through the craziness that can be planning a wedding. When our original caterer and DJ fell through, Merida was right there to provide recommendations for new vendors who would be on board with our vision. She was instrumental in helping us to orchestra the party aka wedding of our dreams!
Though Merida was a superstar leading up to the big day, she really shined on the wedding day! She was there to ensure everyone was on time, had shirts/dresses camera ready, things ran smoothly and just be a calming presence on a hectic day. From our perspective the day went perfectly…if anything did go wrong, Merida made sure we did not know about it and that the day still went on as planned. She far exceeded our expectations…she even let me wipe my sweaty face on her shirt!
Working with Merida was incredibly fun and enjoyable! We would get married every week/month/year, if it meant we got to have Merida along for the ride! Words can not fully convey how thankful we are for Merida and all that she did to make our wedding day the best day ever!
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![Katie]()
Katie Sent on 06/18/2021Exceeded expectations
Merida did an amazing job! We hired her midstream and she jumped in feet first and got us on track, even with COVID hanging over our heads. She was prompt with communicating with us and left no stone unturned. The whole day went off without a hitch and the best part was that we relied heavily on Merida to make that happen and she exceeded our expectations!
It was a beautiful wedding and we can't thank her enough for helping make that happen! -
![Matthew]()
Matthew Sent on 10/12/2020Top Marks for a Professional Planner
Planning a wedding is challenging under the best of circumstances. During a pandemic, it was among the most challenging logistical and emotional hurdles my wife and I have ever encountered. This is why we are endlessly thankful to Merida and her team for all that they did for us. Merida was professional, thorough, responsive, creative, and personable. She helped guide us through some very awkward moments and handled the intricacies of working during a public health crisis with grace. She oversaw everything from our switch of venue, the reduction of our guest list, the procurement of vendors, and the overall flow and details of the day itself. Merida ensured that what we needed was done, full stop.
We are located in northern NJ and Merida’s location did not once impact her ability to meet with vendors or chat with us. She was exactly what we needed and my wife and I believe that she is one of the main reasons our event occurred as planned. We fully recommend her for your event. -Matt and Christina, married 8-28-2020
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![Smidford]()
Shanon Sent on 09/15/2020Merida is the Queen of Fixing Last Minute Changes!
I love Merida! My fiance and I were determined to pull off a wedding during the time of COVID-19 and Merida made it happen. Everything had to be adjusted from table sizes (ranging from 4 to 10), certain people needing very distanced seating, food allergies, a possible hurricane to the timing of everything day of. She helped get things from my house, my mothers house and was the main point of contact with the owner of the restaurant. I couldn't have made this happen without her. The rain even through us a curve ball the night before and Merida had a seating backup plan done at 11pm the night before. I would recommend her to any brides who needs someone that shows up, manages allll crises ( she glued my mother in law's fake eyelash on!! Now that's service!
Sincerely,
An extremely satisfied bride -
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![Dana]()
Dana Sent on 01/10/2020Merida is fantastic!
We hired her a couple of months out from our wedding, when we started reading some awful reviews about our venue. We LOVE our venue, but they were newer and going through some major growing pains. Merida was familiar with the space, and after reading all of her reviews, we knew we needed to call her! After speaking with her, I knew she would be perfect to help us pull everything off, and we were right - our day was PERFECT from start to finish.
Merida juggled all the coordinating with vendors arriving and dropping off, all the setup and timeline execution, and ran interference with tougher family members. She is sweet and funny, but not afraid to step up and let everyone know who's in charge, and we really needed that! She ran out and picked up a ton of beverages, cups, and ice for our wedding party when we realized that the venue didn't supply any of those things. She ran around all day making sure every detail was executed how we wanted it, and while she kept me posted on any last minute decisions that needed to be made, she never let on in the slightest if anything bad or stressful was happening! If anything went wrong on our day, we never heard about it.
We had the absolute best day of our lives, and we know we owe that to Merida for taking care of all the details and absorbing all of the stress for us. Thank you, Merida!!! -
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![Alecia]()
Alecia Sent on 08/05/2019Fantastic perfect wedding
Wow! I just had my wedding last weekend with Merida as my planner! It was absolutely beautiful. I am a little controlling and don't like other people doing things for me, but Merida laid down the law, and made me relax and enjoy my day, and it was beautiful and gorgeous. Planning a wedding in the backyard is a lot of work, and I truly feel like I barely did any most of the time which was amazing! All of the decor and vendors Merida helped arrange were amazing, and she certainly kept my very large party of 13 groomsman and bridesmaids in line so I did not have to. I highly recommend Merida for a rather stress free, beautiful, and unique wedding! -
![Nathaly]()
Nathaly Sent on 11/18/2018Stress free
We reached out to Merida when we were considering having our wedding on the East Coast (we live on the West Coast) and explained we needed a lot of support having this sort of destination wedding on our family's property back home. Merida responded VERY quick and provided some information on her packages and pricing. We discussed more of what I was looking for and she tailored her package and provided a very reasonable price for the amount of work that was needed. We set up a time to meet via phone and Merida was very easy going but straight to the point. She responds to emails quickly and gets started as soon as you decide you fit well together. Merida helped us realize how our budget would be allocated realistically and made sure we got what we wanted but was upfront if our expectations were over budget. Merida always had a few alternatives to help us get our ideas going but not break the bank. Unfortunately we ended up having to do our wedding on the West Coast, due to family preferences, and we will miss Merida's support during this time. Even if you think you can plan a wedding on your own, reach out to Merida and hear her ideas, you will realize she can support in things you never even knew you needed! -
![stephanie]()
Stephanie Sent on 11/08/2018Hands down, best decision ever
We hired Merida to put together our out of the box brewery wedding. She did an AMAZING job working with the space we had, and bringing together all the necessary components. She was always there to answer all my questions (as silly as they were) and to even just listen to me complain. It was really like working on a huge project with a friend. She was laid back, but was stern when necessary. She went above and beyond for us, and we couldn't be happier with how the day turned out. She was prepared for anything (no really, you should see her day of kit) to happen, and handled anything that did happen quickly. I can not say enough great things about Merida. I don't think I would've survived wedding planning without her! -
Will Sent on 09/09/2018Merida helped my new wife and I put on a Circus Show Wedding! She was was detail oriented, had great communication, and was able to pull together a great team to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch. Our day really turned into The Greatest Wedding Show on Earth because of Merida.
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Christopher Sent on 10/01/2017Merida was our day-of coordinator, and was everything we could hope for, and beyond. She's a straight shooter, will tell you like it is, and isn't afraid to insert herself when necessary to ensure things happen properly, which we appreciated greatly. Her experience was plainly evident in answering our questions, but more importantly, had the foresight to anticipate what aspects of the wedding we would miss and suggested plans and actions for things weren't on our radar. From wardrobe malfunctions, late vendors and disappearing wedding party members, she remained completely calm and deftly resolved issues. We had the beautiful, wonderful wedding of our dreams and it would not be possible without her. THANK YOU!!!
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![Hemlock.G]()
Erica Sent on 02/09/2017Full Disclaimer: I knew Merida as an event planner when she was working mainly corporate gigs. We worked together several times and I always looked forward to working with her. She is always prompt, professional, and nigh on unflappable. She always got it done. I asked her to be my wedding planner because of her capabilities in the corporate sector, and I wanted someone I knew and could trust. I knew I could rely on her to pull off what I wanted. She didn't bat an eye when I told her I wanted black as a wedding color, that I didn't want to wear white, and my partner wanted nerdy stuff everywhere and we wanted to do a hand-fasting. She took everything in my head and made it perfect. Her day-of skills are outta this world. I've seen her in corporate and at my wedding. She handles crises like a champ. -
![Jem]()
Jem C. Sent on 05/18/2023A Complete Disaster
Having Merida as a wedding planner was a disaster.
Merida recommended unqualified vendors; for example, the hairstylist she recommended to do straight-backs and romance curls asked me what straight-backs were during the hair trial. Merida also recommended Nikki Cohen, owner of Mayfaire Moon, to make my dress. Nikki was extremely late for every milestone towards completing the dress and often changed things without consulting me. About two months before the wedding, I discovered that Nikki was making me a skirt and a top instead of a dress. I told Merida that I needed my money back so I could seek another dress. Merida convinced me that she would make sure that Nikki stuck to the plan going forward. The next fitting went well and I thought the problem was resolved. After many delays, I was supposed to pick my dress up a week before the wedding, but it wasn’t ready. I went anyway to see the progress. It was MacGyvered together with VELCRO. Merida again convinced me she would get it fixed. When I picked it up three days before the wedding, the places where there had been velcro were sewn instead, if poorly (corners sticking up). Because it was now too late to replace it, I insisted Nikki fix the worst of it and took the dress. When we arrived at the venue I took my dress out of the garment bag, and a piece of the dress fell off, because it was STILL stuck on with velcro, and the velcro itself wasn’t properly attached.
Merida neglected crucial aspects of our ceremony, including the placement of fire-based heaters and religious ornaments, despite promises that these things were being handled. Misplacing the ornaments made it hard to tell which flowers needed to go to which tables for the reception. The heaters were not only religiously significant, but sitting in the cold was a danger to my partner’s elderly grandfather’s health.
Merida attempted to pull curls out of my hair without consent. Multiple people from the wedding party stopped her. I had explained how hard it was to keep curls in my hair several times, but Merida wanted them to be looser even though it was the complete opposite of what I wanted.
Merida ignored instructions to ask inappropriately dressed guests to change or leave despite earlier promises to do so.
Merida had the venue set up for the cocktail hour outside - in the cold with no heaters - in the area where we needed to be taking pictures. Then, she insisted we take the pictures while people stood around shivering and staring. We had previously discussed that we only wanted to take a few, specific, posed photos, but Merida repeatedly pushed us to take “individual photos with everyone” and didn’t stop until my partner told her ‘no’ multiple times.
Merida resisted when asked to correct the issue with the flowers and ornaments by getting the flowers to the correct tables, but when we insisted that this was religiously very important she told us she would handle it. She asked what to do with the ornaments, and I reminded her that they needed to be placed on the tables also with their matching favors. She said there were enough favors on the tables already (which was impossible, in the case of the largest table, if they were distributed correctly). We found out later the ornaments were never put on the tables. I can’t imagine any reason for refusing to put these on the tables except a complete disdain for our religion.
During the first dance the DJ kept putting on the wrong song and Merida couldn’t be found. Finally my mother-in-law got the DJ to put on the correct song.
During the toasts, the wine for the first toast, which was a separate charge in addition to being culturally important, was never poured.
When it came time to cut the cake, there were people standing up, blocking the view of others sitting in their seats. I asked Merida if she could walk over to the people standing and ask them to be seated. Merida just refused without giving a reason.
There were so many more problems but I can't fit them all here.
Are you interested?
Are you interested?