Nicole S. Sent on 08/09/2021

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Best decision we made when planning our wedding!

Working with Stephanie as our wedding day coordinator was the best decision we made throughout the entire wedding planning process. She is so fun to work with and brings so much joy and creativity to the process. Stephanie will be transparent and honest with you each step of the way, even if there are many unknowns, which I so appreciated when planning throughout the pandemic, when it felt like everything was unknown at one point. In the month leading up to the wedding, I felt like no matter what happened on the day of the wedding, everything would be okay because we had Stephanie on our team and she's a true expert at what she does. From creating the perfect color palette, to coordinating rentals, directing our wedding party, and answering our families' (many) questions - Stephanie brought the perfect balance of fun and professional that allowed us to truly soak in the love and joy of our wedding day. I cannot recommend working with Union Event Co. enough!

Dani Sent on 07/11/2018

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

We worked with Stephanie and Josephine from Union Event Co. for Day-Of coordination services and they did a fantastic job! The wedding was in Hood River and we had to do all the planning remotely. Their services really came through in the last few weeks leading up to the wedding, with the rehearsal and actual wedding itself. Stephanie was great with answering questions and suggesting vendors in the months leading up to the wedding and was very responsive. They were instrumental in the ceremony rehearsal, since we had no clue what to do! And Josephine was our Day-Of, and she and her assistant did an amazing job. The place looked stunning when we showed up (we did the bulk of big set up the day before and they filled in all the beautiful details). It ran so smoothly and they just moved furniture around and broke stuff down as the event went on. As a bride, it was wonderful to actually get to enjoy the day rather than worry about moving chairs or setting up catering. They handled communications with some of the less communicative vendors and even went back to the venue after the big day to pick up some rentals that accidentally got left behind, saving me some fees I would have otherwise been charged. We were just so impressed and I would recommend Stephanie and her group to any couple thinking about coordination services!

Breanne Sent on 07/05/2017

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Stephanie and Union Event Co. are amazing. Not only are they kind and professional, but they are so organized and into your vision for your wedding. Working with Union is honestly the least stressful part of my wedding. I 100% recommend them to everyone that wants a company that is on their game, knows how to make a beautiful event, and takes all the worry and stress away. They really make your day your dream come true.

Michela Sent on 06/23/2017

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

I can't imagine what would have happened if we hadn't hired Stephanie and her team to coordinate our wedding. They handled every aspect with such professionalism and made the wedding day so much more relaxing for us- we truly didn't have to worry about anything in their capable hands. I can't stress enough how necessary Union Event Co. was to our wedding- I am so glad we hired them and would do it again in a heartbeat. For the amount of work they put it, their prices are very reasonable as well. If you are considering them for your wedding or event, just do it! You will not regret it.

Joey Sent on 09/30/2016

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

With a growing list of projects, costs, and uncountable unforeseen tasks involved in the planning of a wedding, it was super important for us to work with like-minded professionals who wanted to get to know us and our vision. Working within a somewhat tight budget, we were not sure a day-of wedding coordinator was possible, but now realize it should have been the top priority. We were extremely happy with our day, but we could not have done it without Stephanie.

Here’s how we found Stephanie…
Us to our friend who worked with Stephanie before: “How did you like working with Stephanie?”
Our friend (without hesitation): “It was the single best decision we made.”

Flash forward to today…
You, by way of reading this review: “How did you like working with Stephanie?”
Us (without hesitation): “It was the single best decision we made.”

From a pre-wedding strategy standpoint, Stephanie provided the insight and direction we needed and helped round out our ideas to make them more achievable. On-site for the rehearsal and the wedding day itself, Stephanie was amazing. She was running around doing a ton, but the most important takeaway for us was that she provided the logistical buffer we needed to truly enjoy the day.

Beyond any of this, she is freaking cool. I found myself wanting to talk to her more than some of our guests at the wedding. We can’t wait to catch up and buy her a drink soon!

Brendan Sent on 10/11/2016

5 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
5.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Of all the decisions my wife-to-be and I made leading up to our wedding, booking Stephanie at Union Event Co to handle our day of coordination was by far our smartest. Stephanie made our wedding day run as smooth as could be and was an amazing outlet to handle the myriad little things that came up throughout the day. Stop wasting another moment hemming and hawing about whether this is a good idea and/or worth the cost. It is and it is.

Hannah Sent on 08/19/2018

4.9 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

We used Union Event Co for our day of coordinator, and they day went off without a hitch! Josephine was so kind and helpful, and made the venue look beautiful! It was definitely the right way to go by hiring Josephine/ Union Event Co, it saved us a lot of stress and time on the day of.

Atalanta Sent on 10/12/2016

4.9 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

We worked with Stephanie as our day-of coordinator, and it was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding day. I can't even imagine how much Stephanie would kill it if you gave her the reigns on your whole event or wedding. Seriously, an amazingly professional person who really knows her stuff, and is a delight to work with to boot. We got some many compliments regarding her take charge with a positive can do attitude on the day. Would not hesitate to recommend her and her outfit for any event, in fact, I have already :)

Alexandra Sent on 09/20/2016

4.9 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.5 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Life savers!!! I was introduced to Stephanie from Union Event Co. after two wedding coordinators from my venue fell through. Here I was six months from my wedding and had not heard a peep from my wedding venue about all the coordinator turn over.. In comes Stephanie... My modern day super hero!! From our first encounter till after our wedding Stephanie was amazing. She listened when I needed to vent and was an amazing sound board to bounce ideas off of. I knew on the day of my wedding that everything would be amazing wth Stephanie at the helm. I would recommend everyone at union event co as they truly make dreams happen!

Erik E. Sent on 06/18/2019

4.8 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Great to Work With

We're so glad that we met Stephanie - she made our day go perfectly. Even as unexpected things came up, she made it all go smoothly and took care of those things so that we didn't have to. Neither my wife or I had been involved with planning a wedding before this, so as we were learning how to do it all, Stephanie was especially flexible in answering our many questions.

We would recommend working with Stephanie if you're looking at the Gorge area!

Jessalin Sent on 10/15/2017

4.8 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
4.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Stephanie was our Day of Coordinator for our wedding in White Salmon, WA. We don't know what we would have done without her leading up to and on our wedding day. She seriously handled everything and gave us peace of mind on the day of. Not only did she help immensely on the day of, but she recommended vendors and rental companies during the planning process. She truly went above and beyond. With knowing Stephanie had everything handled on the day of, we were able to enjoy the wedding without worrying about all the details coming together. It was nice that she was familiar with the venue and had worked with a lot of our vendors on previous weddings. She even had a backup plan prepared if the weather didn't cooperate. Even when little hiccups did occur (grandma passing out during the ceremony), she reacted quickly and professionally. My husband and I both agree that having Stephanie's help was our best spent money for our wedding. We would HIGHLY recommend Stephanie and Union Event Co. for Day of services!!

Sarah D. Sent on 08/21/2019

4.6 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
5.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
3.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
5.0 out of 5 rating
Value
5.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
5.0 out of 5 rating

Couldn't have done it without her!

I think one of Stephanie’s strongest points was helping us select vendors. We loved each of them and I think that’s because she spent a lot of time getting to know us. They each got our personalities and we had a great time working with them. The only slightest of complaints I have is that Stephanie was occasionally hard to reach, but it all worked out and everything was taken care of. Overall, I would highly recommend Union Event Company. My day was perfect and I have them to thank.

Siobhan S. Sent on 08/29/2023

1.6 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
1.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
1.0 out of 5 rating
Value
2.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
2.0 out of 5 rating

buyer beware!

i’ve gone back and forth on whether or not to leave this review however our experience with union event co. was so overwhelmingly disappointing i feel the need to share in the hopes that this experience isn’t somebody else’s.

to start out, union event co was a preferred vendor for our venue, even going so far as to have a package specifically centered around our venue which seemed like a good sign. things started out well enough, stephanie was perfectly nice and we opted for the less expensive package that included planning help starting 3 months out and day of coordination. my sister did most of our planning and organizing up until that point and when we hit that mark when union event co was supposed to step in… crickets… until we reached out to them which i found a bit off and from there things only went more down hill. two weeks before our wedding we had a final planning meeting scheduled, which stephanie asked to reschedule due to an unforeseen emergency, no worries life happens we get it. however the only date available to rebook the meeting was july 4th, not ideal but hey, we needed to get it done so i booked the meeting using their scheduling platform and confirmed it as well via an email. a day before that meeting a wildfire broke out very close to our venue and we were trying not to panic and hoped that connecting with stephanie would assuage those worries, except she never showed up for our scheduled and confirmed meeting. we tried to give the benefit of the doubt and hoped it wasn’t due to her or her family being impacted by the fire but several more days (5 at least) passed before we heard a word from her and come to find out the missed meeting was due to taking a long holiday weekend. i’m all for a work life balance but not communicating with your clients in the slightest when they don’t know the status of their venue a week out is kind of insane to me and we were left scrambling to make a back up plan ourselves. thankfully we didn’t need the back up plan but things did not get better, stephanie showed up for our rehearsal despite the fact that she wouldn’t be our day of coordinator, something i found strange but at that point i was tired of stressing out over it and tried to just go with the flow. then came the wedding day and i will say this fully if it were not for my sister and our photographer so many things would’ve gone wrong. our day of coordinator kylie was virtually non existent, i barely saw her the entire day and when she was needed she was usually found sitting around with her phone out. at one point our catering team fell behind on getting food out so there was a lull between salads and entrees and thanks to the proactivity of our photographer taylor who suggested using the break for speeches, it worked out great and again kylie was absolutely nowhere to be found. we genuinely could’ve done it without her and nobody would’ve noticed and for the amount of money we spent to have a day of coordinator that upsets me.

and finally, i’ve reached out several times about items from our wedding that we aren’t sure where they ended up and have heard nothing back.

overall i would never recommend them to anyone and if they hadn’t been a preferred/required vendor we would’ve fired them and found someone else or just done it ourselves.

K. Mcg Sent on 09/11/2019

1 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
1.0 out of 5 rating
Average response time
1.0 out of 5 rating
Professionalism
1.0 out of 5 rating
Value
1.0 out of 5 rating
Flexibility
1.0 out of 5 rating

As Bad As They Come

As thoroughly dissatisfied former Union Event Co. clients, we know we’re in the minority. However, if you’re a smart consumer who takes time to look at both good and bad reviews for a balanced perspective, we encourage you to read about our experience with UEC and owner Stephanie. If nothing else, you’ll be better informed about what could expect if you hire her.

Our venue (Tin Roof Barn) required us to hire UEC for “day of” services. Because we lived out of town, we also contracted for a-la-carte Vendor Management services (Lodging, Catering, Bar & Beverage, Music). If you want to get married at TRB, be very clear that YOU WILL NOT BE A PRIORITY FOR STEPHANIE, both during the planning and on the day of your wedding. She does absolutely nothing to earn your business and has absolutely nothing to lose by blowing you off because she can’t be fired.

As a result of her negligence and laziness, we experienced a lot of undue stress while planning our wedding, and the joy and fun we should’ve enjoyed throughout the process was basically destroyed. If we can prevent this from happening for just one couple, this review will have been worth writing.

As business owners ourselves, we were absolutely floored by the lack of professionalism and transparency Stephanie exhibited overall, as well as her “not-my-job” attitude that inconveniently arose in the days leading up to our wedding. From a legal perspective, UEC did not fully perform as promised under the contract on ANY of the vendor management services, and did the bare minimum for the “day-of” service.

The one piece of advice we have for couples that hire Union Event Co., especially if you're hiring her because your venue requires it, is to keep detailed notes and emails (as we did) and confirm every commitment, deliverable, or scheduled meeting with Stephanie in writing. That evidence will be necessary if you need to pursue damages for lack of performance. We’re so glad we did. UEC’s own contracts outline what will happen should legal action be necessary to enforce the terms of the contract. Stephanie would be wise to review this section since it applies to both parties.

If you don’t read our review of services below for specifics, just be aware that Stephanie’s lack of professionalism extends beyond the planning to the actual event. During our reception, she displayed a shocking lack of decorum that was inexcusable. Two of our guests behaved badly by climbing up on a hayloft in the venue to dance. There was no sign indicating the loft was off limits nor anything to prevent entry, but even so, our guests should’ve shown better judgement. Stephanie yelled for them to get down but was not heard over the music. She then raised her voice even more and screamed that if they didn’t come down, she would “shut down this F---ING wedding.”

Guests standing nearby were appalled, as were we when we found out. That reaction—0 MPH to profanity in 15 seconds—particularly directed at clients, would be grounds for termination in many businesses. It’s even more jaw-dropping coming from a wedding planner. Her behavior and vulgar language showed a lack of respect for our guests and for us as their hosts, highlighted her inability to manage unexpected or challenging situations, and revealed a gaping hole where grace and class should exist.

Although we loved Tin Roof Barn, we would strongly caution any couple wanting to get married there to seriously consider whether they want to put their trust in someone of Stephanie’s caliber—she’s that bad.

As experienced business owners and professionals with 35+ years of experience, we can state unequivocally that she wouldn’t last a day in most business environments. She’s very lucky there isn’t a lot of competition close by. If there were, she’d be unemployed.

For more details about our experience, please see below.

WHY WE HIRED UEC: The venue we chose, Tin Roof Barn, requires that couples hire Union Event Co. (UEC) as their “day-of” coordinator. We live outside the area and both have busy lives so we opted for the Partial Planning option ($3,500) and signed the contract August 30, 2018 for our wedding taking place Labor Day weekend 2019. We made a deposit of $1,750 at that time. Because we were not familiar with local vendors, we also contracted Vendor Management services a-la-carte, and with those services, the total cost would be $5,400 so we made an additional deposit of $950 on 10/27/18 so that UEC had 50% of the total cost up front.
We had two very clear requests from the outset: first, we wanted great food, and second, wanted to quickly secure accommodations (“Guest Lodging”) because of the holiday and because we had special needs for several very elderly guests.

CONCERNS ABOUT NON-PERFORMANCE: In January 2019, after almost five months with nothing to show in the way of progress, we wrote a long and detailed email to Stephanie outlining our concerns about what we had already paid for versus what had been promised and/or delivered at that point (which was almost nothing). It was very specific, noting the cost of each service and what percentage of the total had been completed. Stephanie responded with some high-level comments but said she would work on a detailed explanation. We never received anything from her with the level of detail that would be acceptable in any other business situation. At this point, we held our ground and told Stephanie we were finished with her.

We had provided Tin Roof Barn a copy of our correspondence with Stephanie regarding non-performance. To appease us and perhaps make up for UEC's negligence, Tin Roof Barn assured us that Stephanie would not be on the premises on our wedding day. She showed up anyway because she didn't have any other staff to assist.

The following information outlines the specific ways in which Stephanie violated the terms of our contract:

PLANNING MEETINGS: The contract included (4) planning meetings but we only had two, and they both had to be rescheduled because Stephanie actually missed—as in no-showed—the TWO scheduled kick-off meetings. She did so without notice, without excuse or explanation, without acknowledgement after the fact that she had done so, and without apology for wasting our time (which we bill hourly). We finally had a kickoff meeting the week after Thanksgiving (late November 2018—a full three months after hiring and paying UEC’s deposit). What kind of businessperson blows off important meetings and gets away with it? Answer: a wedding planner who did nothing to earn your business yet has the fate of your wedding in her hands, and knows you won't say anything for fear of jeopardizing your celebration.

CATERING ($550): Our contract specified that Stephanie would schedule and meet together with us and 2 – 3 caterers for tastings. In December, we communicated our plan to travel to the Gorge the third weekend of January 2019 in order to meet with and choose vendors. Keep in mind, this is nearly five months after signing a contract for UEC’s services and making total payments of $2,700. I contacted Stephanie the second week in January to check on the schedule for meetings for the following weekend and to our dismay, learned that not only had she not made any appointments for us—at all, for any vendors—but that there was only one Tin Roof Barn-approved caterer that was available on our date because the rest had already been hired months earlier. We hired that caterer (who was great) but the fact remains that Stephanie did not meet the conditions of the contract, and it was only by sheer good luck that this last remaining vendor was not already booked as well. Had he not been available, we would’ve been left with ZERO approved options. It’s a good thing for Stephanie that he was available or we might have filed a lawsuit against her and UEC at that point.

BEVERAGE AND BAR ($300): Buyer beware: while the responsibility of supplying alcohol is negotiable, most caterers include bar service with bartenders as part of their packages, and Stephanie knows that. As such, “Vendor Management” for Beverage and Bar requires no additional work on UEC’s part and in most situations, is just an opportunity for UEC to make some additional money without any effort. This lack of transparency was dishonest. In addition, Stephanie did nothing at all to create a bar service menu (part of the contract); we did it with the help of our caterer.

GUEST LODGING ($400): The contract stated that a list of 3 – 6 accommodation options would be presented and that UEC would inquire about special room rates, if available. She produced one option. And because it was Labor Day weekend, there were no special rates available. Any planner worth their salt should’ve known that, and it would’ve been nice if she had set our expectations accordingly. Incidentally, we were able to procure accommodations and space for a pre-wedding reception (which we had also asked Stephanie to look into) within 10 days.

MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT ($650): The contract outlined that UEC would procure up to 6 quotes related to music. She provided four, one of whom was her husband (she obviously is not aware of or doesn’t care about the appearance or actual conflict of interest). The information she “procured” from two other vendors was literally cut and pasted from their websites. For this, she charged us $400, representing 4 hours of time. Either she is inconceivably slow, or she was ripping us off, and given that she was unable to explain or show evidence that her “services” here required 4 hours of time, we’re quite sure it’s the latter.

SUMMARY: Union Event Company may be adequate in other circumstances or at other venues, but as mentioned, weddings at Tin Roof Barn—one of the most beautiful and perfect wedding venues in the Gorge— are not her priority. The fact that Stephanie doesn’t have to earn that business is a pretty sweet deal for her but a pretty raw deal for anyone that has been required to hire her because TRB clients are not a priority.

We were fortunate to find and work with excellent vendors for photography (Jos Studios - amazing), music (John Ross - great musician and super flexible) and floral (Trellis - an absolute delight to work with) and again, luckily for Stephanie, the sole remaining catering option that was available for us due to her negligence (Ahi's - great all the way around) made terrific food, and was supportive and flexible. If nothing else, the service and attention to detail provided by every other vendor shone a spotlight on Stephanie’s shortcomings.

There are so many other good wedding planners within a couple hours of Hood River so even if you had to pay a bit extra for their travel, it would be well worth it if you could avoid working with Stephanie and Union Event Co.

Union Event Co Reviews

Reviews

Awards

Union Event Co