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Recently an old friend from childhood summer camp got in touch with me through my personal blog. We had been reading each other’s blogs for quite some time but didn’t realize we knew each other until we started emailing back and forth! Yep the world is small indeed. Anyway, she contacted me because she was frantically looking for a make-up artist - hers had taken $1200 up front and was now unreachable.
Yesterday was the first time I heard of the problems brides had been having with Tess and the Artistry Group. I then emailed my old summer camp friend, and asked her if she had booked Tess. She had.
Many of you commented on yesterday’s post that you were shocked people paid in full before receiving any services and without having met the vendor. I think everyone actually met Tess in person, and they reason they paid in full was because she offered a 25% discount if they did so.
I emailed Tess and asked if she’d like to share her side of the story. I received two auto-replies where she provided contact information for other make-up artists, as well as a link to her blog where she explains what happened. I’m still waiting to get a direct statement from Tess, but meanwhile, please read these brides’ experiences.
$1200 for doing your make up? Am i reading that right? That’s way too expensive!
sorry I think that was hair and makeup for the wedding party.
it’s like one of those pre-wedding anxiety dreams where everything goes wrong! except it’s not a dream!
i read her blog and she recommends Design Visage (Southern CA). i also recommend DV- they did awesome work on me, 4 BMs and my mom. if you need hair & makeup to come to you they have really reasonable prices and dont charge you extra for additional makeup artists.
Yup ladies, it’s all true. She scammed so many of us! And the reason many of us paid her in full (aside from the 25% discount) was that she is seriously the most highly regarded and popular hair and makeup person on the knot. I have gotten almost all of my vendors from the knot.
It seriously is a sad situation. What kind of karma did this woman drudge up for herself??
Her blog posts seem to contradict one another. In her most recent post she describes how she wants her clients to be aware of her personal situation, and she always regards clients more than just a professional relationship. However, in an earlier post she says “it is none of your business” in regards to her divorce. The lines seem blurred to me, and she is not making much sense. I do wish her well, but I think that the brides who have booked her have been badly treated and the situation needs to be fixed immediately.
Wow - so sorry for all of you ladies. It’s a horrible thing to have happened (for whatever the real reason is)!!
Unfortunately her blog does not tell the full truth about her situation. If I had not talked to other brides I would have felt sorry for Tess too and loaned her money because her personal situation sounds so bad.
It was after my wedding that I was told about the lies told by her.
Please do not fall for her story blindly.
“I think everyone actually met Tess in person, and they reason they paid in full was because she offered a 25% discount if they did so.”
Actually, most of them DID NOT meet Tess in person before giving her their money. Most had not even had their trials yet. She had a sterling reputation in L.A. and was extremely good at what she did so most booked just from emailing with her.
Wow…can’t believe those stories! I highly recommend STUDIO M Weddings http://www.studiomweddings.com
They are professional, friendly and do awesome makeup and hair in LA
They ask for a deposit and then to be paid in full prior to the wedding day. But they give a contract and have a great reputation in the industry
i had a terrible experience with DESIGN VISAGE: they were late with my makeup (so my ceremony was late and the time for pictures was shortened), got MAKEUP ON MY VEIL (foundation, which did NOT come out), did a poor job (two of my bridesmaids’ updo’s fell out before half the day was over), and were unprofessional and inconsistent - karen, the owner, promised me “3 girls” if i had 12 services. however when i booked 12 services, she said “we can get it all done with 2 girls”. i had my wedding planners call to fight for me, at which time she conceded and sent 3 girls. i had also been promised a different girl for me for bridal hair and makeup, only to find out 2 weeks before that i was never guarenteed her and someone else who requested her got her. design visage was the one vendor that caused me the MOST havoc and stress on my wedding day. i do not recommend them to ANYBODY.
@miss gentle:
I can’t agree more with miss gentle. However, my problems weren’t with the artists. My main and primary problems were with that witch owner, caren lazurus. she is a nightmare to deal with. Beware anyone who books with this company: if you do a deposit with a credit card…she will only take cash from your bridesmaids for the final payment which is due beforehand. I found this out the day the payments were due because my bridesmaids called in their credit cards and she didn’t even bother to call them or me and let us know she wouldn’t accept them. Instead, she cancelled EVERYTHING even though I called and offered to pay for all of them with my credit card, she refused to take it. My wedding planner tried to intervene to no avail. I had to scamble to book a whole new make up and hair team with one week left. You just don’t need this kind of grief one week before your wedding. She is miserable to deal with. Her people are nice but she is not worth it.
I, too, had a horrible experience with Design Visage. They are extremely unprofessional. And for what they charge… sheer ridiculousness. I only went with them because they were so highly rated and recommended by my site. I was told that I MYSELF had to pay for all the services up front on MY credit card. And I was never given a breakdown, just one total, arbitrary number. Whenever I tried to contact the salon to ask for a breakdown they would avoid my question so I refused to pay for it all. I insisted that everyone was paying for their own service. At this point I was told, “Oh! No problem”. Right. And, surprise, surprise all of a sudden when everyone was paying separately the “total” I was given did not match up. If I hadn’t have insisted on that they would have just charged me some random amount so that they could add charges on without me being able to identify what they were. I couldn’t believe it. My hair on the big day was another huge disappointment; pieces were falling out all over the place and there were visable bobby pins throughout; they even showed up in my pictures. And my hair was in a very simple style. Design Visage was my BIGGEST regret. Ridiculously expensive, unprofessional (bordering on down-right criminal; adding charges for services and products not rendered), and not satisfying. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS.
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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!
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