Joelle Charming

This review for Joelle and Joelle Charming is long overdue since we got married on 9÷1÷13. But my husband and I are forever grateful to Joelle for planning our dream wedding. From start to finish, we always knew that Joelle was a necessity to our wedding day. But it wasn’t until after our wedding was over that we really understood how important Joelle was to our wedding. We really couldn’t have pulled it off without her help.
While we were getting ready, having pictures done, and basically enjoying our wedding, Joelle was there with her team making sure everything was perfect. None of our wedding party or family had to put place cards out, deal with vendors, or any of the «behind the scenes» stuff during our wedding. Joelle did it all for us. Not only did we get to relax and enjoy our day, but everyone else did as well. I think that in itself is priceless on a wedding day.
To this day, I am still amazed and giddy when talking about my wedding. All the little touches that made it special was because of Joelle. Thank you again for giving us one hell of a wedding.

I am surprised to see some low reviews of Joelle, because even though my wedding happened back in 2013, whenever I think about my wedding day (and its more than you’d think because my friends keep getting married), I can’t imagine how much harder that day would have been without her.
We hired Joelle for month of coordination, which was very important because though we live in Texas, we were getting married in Camarillo (where I grew up). Joelle handled everything from working with vendors to the venue and put my mind at ease while I was over 1,000 miles away getting ready to travel out for the wedding.
Even when there could have been disaster – we found out the week of our wedding that a nearby field had put up a huge, unsightly water pump (we were married at McCormick Home Ranch) – Joelle came up with an immediate solution for us and even made sure the pump would not be running during the wedding. The day of, I didn’t even notice it was there.
Joelle went above and beyond to make sure our special day was as amazing as it could be and we can’t imagine it without her. I consider her just as much of a key part of our wedding as I do my wedding party, because she really was by my side throughout the whole process.

We really did not want to and were not planning to write this review on Joelle. The unprofessionalism, the incompetence and the lack of communication wasn’t enough for us to make us feel ok about writing a bad review about someone’s business, BUT. The more we think about it, even months after the wedding, the way Joelle has handled herself (or lack thereof) on all the things she messed up on, we feel we need to give feedback so other couples don’t make the mistake of entrusting her with one of the most special days of their lives.
First off, Joelle was hired as our month-​of-​coordinator, not a planner, so the responsibilities we were expecting of her were very minimal. We didn’t rely on her for any creative help, it was just a matter of us hiring someone who can take care of logistics for the day of. Even with those minimal expectations, Joelle was a total disappointment.
Everything done by Joelle was messy, not planned out properly, and unprofessional. Just a FEW of the examples — she listed her own cell number wrong on the timeline which was to be sent to all of our vendors (I had to correct her), she charged us an extra few hundred dollars to make our table signs for the reception — we had a very specific idea about putting famous quotes about love on wooden signs (I sent a great example of what we were thinking from Etsy to Joelle, and when asked if we should go ahead and use the Etsy vendor, Joelle said she could do them instead and charged us EVEN MORE than what the Etsy vendor was charging, but we just used her since we thought it would be easier to have her do them). We pored over the internet looking for quotes for these signs and sent them to her weeks in advance. She said they were great and note, had almost a MONTH to make them. It wasn’t until our wedding reception that I realized the wooden signs were literally not even close to the ones I asked her to replicate, but most importantly, the quotes weren’t even on there. When I asked her what happened, she nonchalantly replied, «I have some bad news. Do you want me to tell you now or later?» When I asked her to tell me, she proceeds to tell me that the NIGHT BEFORE, her Pay Pal account was hacked and she and her husband lost $ 3000 and that’s why she couldn’t get the signs done. WE HAD ASKED HER TO DO THESE A MONTH BEFORE THE WEDDING. How did this person think it was a reasonable excuse to tell me she couldn’t get the signs done because she was distracted the NIGHT BEFORE? It’s almost insulting that she thought this was a viable excuse. So she told us she would send us a check in the mail to refund us for the signs she did not make, and after we checked in with her since we hadn’t received the check after months, she said it «slipped» her mind (which is a perfect example of everything she represents as a wedding coordinator), and that she would send the check. Well, it’s been over a week and we still don’t have the check.
Also over a month in advance, we told her we really wanted a sparkler send off, she said that would be no problem and that she would take care of it. Well, we found out on the DAY BEFORE our wedding, after the rehearsal, and only because I asked her, that she couldn’t find sparklers near our venue and that sorry, but the sparkler send off isn’t going to happen. Again, she said this so nonchalantly. Well, after learning of this situation, one of my friends literally made one call, and we found sparklers within 15 minutes. And that’s the only reason our sparkler send off happened.
Can’t leave out the part where she tried to have me walk down the aisle while the bridesmaids’ song was still playing, and that mishap was only prevented because I had to TELL her I’m going to wait until the bridal music plays.
Also — my bridesmaids had a very hard time getting a hold of/​finding her on our wedding day. Thank goodness my bridesmaids were so on top of everything, they helped the day go smoothly. Truly, if it weren’t for my amazing bridesmaids and our other very professional and efficient vendors, who knows how many more glitches there would have been under the supervision of this woman.
When we finally sent her a respectful and detailed email after she asked us for feedback, her reply was literally one sentence long saying she understands our «frustration,» but would still really like to use our photos from our wedding day. Unbelievable.
We are SO disappointed with Joelle and feel that we wasted so much money in employing her for «month-​of» coordination, when what we got was DAY OF at the very most. Even that, she didn’t fulfill. We feel like this review needed to be shared so other couples can make an educated decision before possibly making a big mistake of hiring her. All of our vendors for our wedding were PHENOMENAL, and the only mistake we made was hiring Joelle. She did the absolute bare minimum — she coordinated the timing of the day, made a few signs, but we didn’t pay almost 3k for a day of assistant.

We had originally thought that we had stumbled on a gem when we found Joelle. Her website seemed thorough, and the fact that she had put forth that she had an artistic niche was a plus. Just a bit of background on myself and my wife: we work endless hours in the production and design industry so it was a huge sigh of relief to finally be able to lean on someone to help us curate our wedding. A DIY wedding was not part of our plans, which in the end we had to do.
We opted for the full-​service package, booked her two years in advance since we had a longer engagement while we needed the time to save up because we were paying for the costs on our own. What we got was a few missed meetings, ignored phone calls and e-​mails, and not a single usable design proposal.
In her lapse of responses to e-​mails and calls, we would check her instagram and she would be on a wine retreat or something luxurious on a Tuesday. We wouldn’t get a response e-​mail a week later only with an excuse that something had gone wrong with her e-​mail…
On top of it all, a month before our ceremony, we decided to call the venue ourselves for some very time-​sensitive detail only to find out that she had a severe lapse in communication with them to the point where none of the details that we had planned for would have materialized.
It’s taken me a while to write a review, but it still doesn’t sit well with me that we invested some serious money in hopes of getting some services promised. I lost $ 2,000 with nothing to show for as her services go. The venue, the color palette, everything, every single detail of our wedding, had to be done by my wife. To top it off, when we fired her, I thought it was reasonable to ask for our second installment back because at that point she would have only really fulfilled part of the services which was at that point a formality. I was willing to let the first installment go. She didn’t bend on it, nor did she even acknowledge her own short-​comings which is worse for me.

I hired Joelle recently to create a stylish yet magical logo for my business’s rebranding campaign. She went above and beyond my expectations creating numerous versions for me to pick from. She made every little minor change in a timely manner and without any complaint, she was during the whole process super friendly and easy to chat with. In the end I had 2 amazing logos so perfect I struggled to pick my favorite! Without a doubt Joelle fully understood what I was looking for and delivered beyond my expectations!

I was the maid of honor recently for a wedding that Joelle helped coordinate and I have never seen a wedding go more smoothly! Joelle and her staff were attentive, accommodating, knowledgeable and really easy to work with. They made me feel relaxed and I actually got to enjoy spending time with the bride and fellow bridesmaids while we got ready. There were no emergencies or any reason for me to have to panic. The evening ran on time, as planned, and I got to enjoy a perfect day with my good friends and family.
If you want the day to go smoothly for everyone involved then hire Joelle.

Brides beware.
I’m a groom and had to console my bride to be after our horrible experience. We wasted $ 3,000 on her «services» or lack there of. She did more harm than good while we had her on contract. For example, we paid her an extra $ 500 for budget planning, but when we started calling her «recommendations» found that they were either over budget or unqualified. She wouldn’t answer calls and when questioned via email we’d receive rude, one word responses that were neither helpful or respectful. It was like she took our money and decided that was enough work for the day.
In fact, when we fired her, she made us send her termination letter via certified mail and then sent our letters (multiple) back return to sender so she could keep collecting on our deposit, then refused to refund us at all. We thought her premium price meant premium service. We were wrong.
Do yourself a favor. Find someone else.

Joelle «Charming» is the WORST wedding coordinator and the biggest WASTE OF MONEY. We hired her for month-​of coordination, and all she did was charge us $ 2500 for an expensive bag of caramels that she sent as a «welcome gift». After that, she would ignore questions we asked, bail on meeting times, and overall fail at wedding planning. We paid her $ 500 extra to budget coordinate and ended up totally over our heads in hidden costs that she should have known about. For example, toilets. Toilets are a set cost based on guest count. But in her «budget coordination for an extra cost» she estimated only ¹⁄₃ the actual cost of toilets, which screwed us over in the long term along with all her other oversights. We could have saved thousands of dollars if we had known what a scam this woman is. We ended our contract with Joelle and have found a better coordinator who has provided more services with a better attitude at half the cost.
If I could leave negative stars, I would.

My husband and I both agree that hiring Joelle was the best investment we made for the wedding. While many people would not consider a coordinator to be essential, Joelle was invaluable, help ease a ton of stress and was truly a pleasure to work with. The day of the wedding, all I had to do was enjoy myself — and that is priceless.
We spent a lot of time meeting with several different wedding coordinators. Through our search we found everything from the overbearing to the extremely aloof and were left very discouraged. Then we met Joelle, and we knew instantly that we wanted to hire her as our day/​month-​of coordinator. First off, Joelle is an amazing person; she is also very organized, professional and friendly. She quietly and effectively takes care of business behind the scenes and makes sure everything goes seamlessly. We also really appreciated Joelle’s availability for questions, vendor recommendations, and general guidance. Bottom line, we highly recommend Joelle!

Joelle was our wedding coordinator at Saddlerock Ranch Winery in Malibu, CA. She is simply AWESOME! Honestly, I didn’t know what a wedding coordinator did, but this was a destination wedding so I felt it was important to have someone on the ground. Also, our venue was a complete blank slate. We had to hire multiple vendors that she coordinated and helped set-​up the décor that day. It came out spectacular. She went above and beyond what I expected. She was there from start to finish. She kept her cool the entire time. My family and friends commented on her professionalism and how friendly she was with everyone. I received nothing but praises about her the entire night. She kept us on schedule. The event had a wonderful flow the entire night, which allowed me to focus on relaxing and I actually had a good time at my own wedding. It was wonderful. Joelle is worth every penny hands down. I honestly could not have pulled off this event without her.

It is an honor to be able to work with Joelle. Not only is she organized and professional, but she is also bursting at the seams with creativity! She is always going above and beyond to make sure that her clients have the BEST DAY EVER. Speaking as a wedding photographer, I love being able to refer her to my clients. But speaking as a bride, I am so lucky to have someone in my corner, helping me and coming up with AMAZING ideas that are specifically tailored for me because she has taken the time to get to know ME and what I like. That is SO important!
So if you are looking for a wedding coordinator, choose A Charming Occasion! You won’t regret it.

Yes, the best investment ever, our wedding planner. Especially if you’re having a destination wedding– your wedding planning experience will be so much more beautiful and your day will be the most amazing day ever because all you have to worry about are the things that matter to you. For me it was design, guests’ experience, and showing up!
Joelle was priceless, to be honest. I trusted her entirely with days leading up and our actual DAY. So much I didn’t even flinch when my sister’s concealer dropped on my dress or when a vendor’s delivery was partial complete or when I asked the day before to have hay brought in to cover ¾ of the dance floor area because I knew, «Joelle will handle it.»
Our wedding was flooded with vendors (imagine an empty wooden structure and that’s it. Not even electricity, a single piece of furniture, or even a kitchen) and everything went so smoothly. As the bride and groom, we remember every detail of our entire wedding. We had such a wonderful time and we got to share so much of it with our guests– not at all ever thinking or worrying about the production part. I would do it all over again and again. She understood my style, taste, and overall vision to help execute or find the right vendors to execute the first day of the best days of our lives.
This is my recommendation for Joelle and for future brides to find a wedding planner if you have the opportunity. And this is coming from someone who is an experienced event planner herself.
Our wedding location: Dos Pueblos Ranch in Goleta, CA (Santa Barbara)