- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Like all brides-to-be, one of my number one priorities is to make myself look the best that I can on my wedding day. I’ve read so many rave reviews on The Artistry Group, both on your site and on others.
After I got engaged, my first order of business was to book them for my wedding. Upon emailing Tess, I received an automated response written from Tess informing all potential clients that she is ill and may or may not be able to take on clients for the time being. However, she’d be more than happy to take the reservation and if she can’t personally be there, one of her trusty assistants would.
Needless to say, this news was pretty shocking. Yet, because of all the great reviews, I still wanted to book them and take my chances.
Until today, I was reading the messageboards on theknot.com, when I came across the following post: http://talk.theknot.com/BOARDS/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=11353738
Do you think their claims are true? Now, I’m reconsidering my decision.
~~~
I read through all the comments on theknot’s thread above. Several commenters state that Tess, owner of The Artistry Group, took payment in full then didn’t render services, return phone calls or emails, or issue any refunds. Meanwhile, Tess’ supporters say that this is all due to her battling a serious illness, so she should be cut some slack. They also say that Tess has a wonderful track record of many past brides who continue to rave about her services.
We don’t know whether any of the allegations against The Artistry Group are true, but we are in the process of contacting the owner and relevant parties to get a statement.
Please let us know if you have had any experiences with the Artistry Group!
Very interesting, but I’m flabbergasted a) that people pay that much for hair and makeup services b) that people paid that before the services was performed!!!
I’m flabbergasted that people pay money to automated emails! I’d even be careful about giving money to a person sitting right in front of me!
I think it’s a good idea to physically meet up with vendors.
They ARE complete strangers most of the time…. you know?
Stef and Ariel, I can see how brides might feel comfortable paying in full before receiving her services. I’ve paid for things in advance before- anytime I order online, from ebay.. heck everyone who pays TUITION is shelling out tens of thousands of dollars before receiving their education and diploma. Why do we pay upfront? Because we trust the seller based on their track record. If they con us, they have something to lose- their reputation and future customers.
Some of the brides DID meet Tess before booking her- and thought she was a wonderful, trustworthy vendor. Some of them were tempted to pay in full because Tess was offering a discount to those who did.
I feel badly for these brides who Tess took advantage of.
I read through all the comments as well, and I would have to say that either way I wouldn’t book that company based on that information. Whether or not her health problems are legitimate seems unimportant, as far as a vendor-client relationship goes. Either she is having trouble keeping her commitments due to health problems, and therefor you should we weary to hire her, or she is deceiving everyone about her problems and isn’t trustworthy. Whichever way it truly is they just don’t seem like a safe vendor.
And I agree, that is alot of money to pay for that service, but prices in markets larger than mine often shock me.
Miss Ant - I do see your point, however, i personally would not pay for a service entirely upfront ever. A deposit is one thing, but I definitely wouldn’t pay for hair, makeup, photo, flowers, transportation, etc without having their service performed.
Goods are a different story, as is buying on ebay - you do have protection and I have gotten my money back from the credit card company on the couple rare times I encountered a problem. As for education, I personally don’t know anybody that has paid for their education entirely upfront either…
Yea, when you have your mind set on something, it’s easy to overlook seemingly little problems.
But I’m still going to have to agree with stef.
Personally, I need to look someone in the face… because honesty shows. And I need some sort of binding contract with a real life signature on it…. for me to cough up the cash.
I feel so horrible for the bride-to-be. What stress!!! I sincerely hope that things work out…. Chin up!
I was one of the brides who had booked Tess for my wedding. Tess was my favourite vendor and turned out to be my worst nightmare. I normally would not do this but I think it’s important to share my story with other brides so they don’t go through what I did.
I was told 1 week before my wedding that Tess was lying in hospital on the East Coast and couldnt make my wedding. I was sent a replacement the day before my wedding and things didnt work out. So I madly rushed around and found a new person at 5pm the day before my wedding.
We all loved Tess. And to hear that she was ill and in hospital really concerned us and we supported her. Until things started not adding up. I called Tess to try to send her flowers to her hospital room but she had disconnnected her phone and was uncontactable. Emails were sent to my wedding planner but once we requested a refund, all contact stopped. If the reasons for this were legitimate, of course I would understand. But after other brides started sharing our stories we realized that we were being told completely different things by her. For some brides, they were never contacted and they were left waiting on their wedding day for Tess to show up, which she never did.
To add to the drama, two of her former assistants came out on the Knot to tell brides that there had been no Artistry Group for awhile. They stopped working with Tess because she apparently also owed them alot of money dating back to last year.
There are also some personal issues that Tess shared with various brides (which I wont go into here), but after sharing stories, we’ve realised that there are discrepancies in those stories too.
Tess has posted on her journal that the reason for all of this is because of her illness and her personal life. She has told brides that she is broke and doesn’t have any money to pay people back until Jan 2007. Her phone is disconnected and she is planning to also start a new makeup business for brides on the East Coast. Even if we were to wipe the slate clean and forget all the weddings in the past, all the above factors are reasons for why brides would NOT be able to rely on her to be there for their wedding.
No matter how talented, how nice and sweet a person may seem, I would personally don’t think it’s worth the gamble to have a vendor like that booked for your wedding. To this date, I and some other brides still have not personally heard from Tess and don’t know exactly where she is.
One question that was asked- why did we pay upfront? In Feb this year, Tess offered a 25% discount to all brides is payment were made in full. At that time, Tess had a great reputation and seemed so genuine and sweet. She is great at making it seem like she really cares for you. All qualities that made it easy for brides to just hand their money over. Everything that happened after that is what brides have nightmares about.
And if you still are unsure about whether to book Tess or not, here is another’s brides recent experience with her: http://talk.theknot.com/boards/main_frame.aspx?page=ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=68
I would strongly recommend NOT putting yourself through the stress of booking with her. It’s just not worth it.
I too was a Tess bride, however I had only provided her with a $300 deposit for my wedding in 2007. I learned about the problems 2006 brides were having with her on theknot and immediately jumped on and started getting the details. Like Justabride said, the minute we all connected and started trading stories and recent emails received from Tess, things were not adding up. Tess has since informed me (after many days /weeks of not hearing from her) that I will get a refund but not until Jan 2007….a 6 month wait for $300…sounds a little ridiculous to me. I understand it would take 6 months if she is ill, however she has since opened up a new business on the East Coast and is taking appointments so why would it take 6 months to get $300 (which is a fraction of her overall costs if she does an entire wedding party).
Tess came so highly recommended on theknot that I had no hesitation to book her over 1 year in advance and also after only having spent 30 minutes on the phone with her however, now she has become my biggest wedding headache.
As another bride affected by this situation, please, please, please take what we’re saying seriously. Besides all of the above which is mostly public knowledge at this point, there is quite a bit of information that we have come across that I don’t want to share here as even Tess does not know we have it. When Tess is still recommending other artists that we know refuse to work with her, there is certainly a problem.
My wedding has not happened yet and I am in the position of having to pay for another makeup artist without being given a refund for even partial payment. Actually, I haven’t even been promised a refund.
For those brides who do not read theknot, they don’t even know there is a problem as Tess has not contacted them.
Also, as for paying in advance, we all pay in advance for wedding vendors. Haven’t you girls given the venue a deposit, the florist, the photographer? I have yet to meet a vendor that doesn’t require some form of payment in advance. Though some brides paid in full to get the discount, many did not and are just trying to get their deposits back.
I sincerely hope that you take this seriously.
Wow - this is absolutely awful what has happened. I really do feel for you ladies. The discount for paying upfront totally makes sense, especially based on such high reputation.
So sorry girls!!!
I am so sorry to hear that you guys all got burnt by Tess. I am a hair and makeup artist in Sydney Australia and I have had personal problems in my life. My little boy has been diagnosed with diabetes which has been life cahnging to say the least but there is no way that I would ever leave any of my brides in the lurch. I only ever ask for a $100 deposit and I also offer a 10% discount if there are 4 or more full paying people. I actually fell onto this blog because I was really impressed with Tess’ website and was going to get some ideas as mine is going to be redesigned. Anyway, I hope that this hasn’t left a sour taste in your mouth as not all hair and makeup artists are this way inclined. To those of you that booked and are yet to have your weddings, all I can say is that I wish you all the luck.
I have worked with Tess once about 2 years ago, At that time her business was booming. I got paid on the spot. So, I can’t give any negative experiences.
However, I do want to send a word of caution to brides out there in general about hiring a make-up artist for your wedding:
Look at their actual portfolio: the internet is a free for all and there are a lot of image theives out there. Who will pull images from other make-up artists’ pages and try to pass them off as their own. Sadly, the majority of artists who do this are ones who market themselves for bridal work. Look for consistency when viewing an artists’ website or portfolio. Is there really high end photos (think of a revlon ad) or work from vogue as well as low quality images or mediocre shots. Which does not add up?
If an artist works with Halle Berry and has Revlon ads in their portfolio, chances are they are not going to work for anything less than $2000 and they definately are not going to “cut deals” or charge $50 for the bride’s make-up.
TEST RUN: Always always always always do a preview. It is worth the money for the extra assurance. And it might have given some of the brides who have been affected, a bit more of a warning. Most of the artists that I know, typically do things this way. They book a preview and charge anywhere from $75-200, that is paid in full on the day of the preview as well as the deposit- typically 25-50%- then the deposit is left with the artist on the day of the preview. The rest of the money is collected upon arrival the day of the wedding.
Ladies, it is not worth it to save 25%. Most artists don’t do that sort of thing.
Also, trust your gut instinct. If an artist is not getting back to you within an acceptable amount of time (48 hours max) something is not right. YOU are the client. Do not let the artist make THEIR problems, YOUR problems. Being sick or vacationing is no excuse to not have your ducks all in a row, especially if your illness is severe. You let your clients know right away, and give them options and problem solve. If you know you are running late, call as soon as you know. If you need to pay somebody, do it before you leave for vacation. Although it is unfortunate that a person has taken ill, business is business.
Be sure that you and the artist have a contract and be very specific about the terms. Cancellation fees, gratuity, services to be rendered…etc..
As make-up artists, we work in a very intimate profession. It is our job to make our clients comfortable, happy and beautiful. Especially people who are not in the entertainment industry and are not accustomed to having their make-up done by a pro.
I wish you all the best of luck with your situation, and I hope that any advice I have given helps.
I used bridal beauty by david and denise here on the east coast and they were fabulous - so nice and sweet. check them out http://www.davidmaderich.com
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Bee, New York Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet Engagement Date: May 7, 2004 Wedding Date: March 5, 2005 Venue: Westside Loft, New York About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Latest Gallery Pics