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DOC Vent: Amy Vaught

Amy'n'Justin11/7Amy'n'Justin11/7 member
First Comment
in Illinois-Chicago
Ok so my wedding is in 6 days! And I CAN NOT get in touch with Amy Vaught, she will not return any of my emails and was supposed to call people that didn't RSVP and confirm with vendors both of which she didn't do. I'm livid right now and I don't know what to do. Has anybody else had a similar issue? I'm kinda freaking out right now...
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Re: DOC Vent: Amy Vaught

  • mrsmiller630mrsmiller630
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I contacted her on September 2nd, back when I was interviewing planners, and she told me she was not taking new clients. When is the last time you were in contact with her? If you need a backup coordinator just in case you don't hear back from Amy Vaught, feel free to email me at mrsmiller630@gmail.com and I can send you my planner's information. Good luck, I think you have every right to be livid. Megan
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  • Monkey29Monkey29 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You should be livid.  She similarly half - assed my wedding.  She never called, didn't respond to emails. I confirmed with guests and with vendors. She showed up over a half-an-hour late to both the rehearsal and on the day (the first thing she did was ask about her check).  I ended up having Kristen Janes bring over stuff from my room to the ceremony site, and having a groomsman hand out tips.  She also failed to bring an extra copy of either reading or ceremony, and to regulate how the BMs and GMs walked down the aisle. And she looked sloppy. Really not professional. Here's the thing. She will show up. She'll know all your vendors.  Your wedding will go fine.  She'll get the big stuff done, and so will your other (awesome, I am sure) vendors. At this point it might be easier for you to send a mass email to all your vendors with the timeline and make sure they know what is going on. She's a real pain.
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  • kthamekthame
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I thought the whole point of hiring a DOC was so that you wouldn't have to worry  about stuff like this?!?! I find it completely unacceptable. I would email her and tell her that her services are no longer required and request a refund (if you've given her any money) as she should be responding to you and keeping ALL lines of communication open, especially the week of your wedding.I emailed her to see if she was available for my date, like a month ago, and she took 2 weeks to reply and told me that she is prego and is taking all of 2010 off.
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  • e_feldmann_15e_feldmann_15 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I also contacted her a few months ago and she told me she is no longer accepting weddings and it sounded like they were closing the business. She gave me the direct phone numbers for some of the girls that worked for her but that was it. I am so sorry that this happened to you!  Hopefully you will hear back from her. Feel free to email me at erin_feldmann@hotmail.com if you want me to send you the names/numbers of the people she gave me.
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  • Rie028Rie028
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I've got a contract with her for this December. Does anyone know if she is still honoring her current contracts?I just emailed her, and I am waiting for the response. I'm really hoping she pulls through for you Amy.
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  • duckie1905duckie1905 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    She's been getting more and more complaints on here and I've heard more than one complaint from IRL friends.  From what I understand she really just doesn't give a crap about her clients anymore.Do you have a phone number? I would call her and at the very least leave her a message.  If she hasn't done her job you need to insist she provide a full refund.I have the names of a few DOCs (mine, a few that my friends have used).  Email me at dizzyc1018 at yahoo if you'd like me to pass on their info.  You may be able to find someone at a good price to fill in for her, then inform her that her services (lack of services) are no longer needed and you'll be expecting your refund ASAP.
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  • lizbride0609lizbride0609
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    amanda from ladi events is someone who is mentioned a lot on here. unless they are actually bankrupt i think they do have to give you a refund if they have not honored their contract.
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  • chiller721chiller721 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hello Everyone-I hired Amy Vaught recently for my October 3rd wedding.  Yes Amy is indeed pregnant with her third child and she is no longer taking any clients for 2010.  She is in the process of debating if she will continue the business or not so I think she and her husband are trying to figure out the next steps for their family, the business and the financial well-being of their family.  I can tell you from first hand experience that I hired Amy based on all the positive reviews that she received from this board.  Did she go BEYOND the call of duty prior to my wedding?  Well no she didn't because I think she truly had so much going on and being pregnant did not help her circumstances.  Did she show up 1/2 hour late for my rehearsal as well?  Yes she did.  Was I upset?  Absolutely.  I did let her know that I was not happy about it but she was apologetic and she did take control of the situation when she arrived.  Since I'm a bit of a control freak I did a lot of the little details myself because I didn't want to depend on others but the day of my wedding she was there for me and my family.  There was several mishaps that happen along the way and she did help me and my bridal party.  I know she was not feeling well throughout the night but I felt she did an adequate job.  She kept a lot of 'noise' away from me and for that I thank her.  Amy did not communicate the way I wanted her too throughout the process but she did come through the day of my wedding when I needed her the most.  Even though I'm a huge advocate of tipping, I opted not to tip her because of my experience up to that point which was the lack of communication, not following through on some of my questions, showing up late, and her ending up leaving early on my wedding since she got sick ( yes I know you can't control pregnancy illness but I felt maybe a backup should have been there just in case).   Overall, I think Amy did a good job but not a great job.  I think she'll come through for you as she did for me.  I would recommend you doing what I did and taking control of some of the details and know she'll be there for the day of the wedding. I hope that helps.G
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  • mrsmiller630mrsmiller630
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was really bothered when I heard what happened to you because I think it's really scary and unfair so I emailed my planner and she said that she's worked with last minute situations before, and to email her if you want help, and to tell you that everything will work out so don't freak out! Thinking of you!katie@simplyeventfulparties.com
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  • deedeedordeedeedor
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I hope you get at least half of your money back.  Don't be nice at this point.  This is not a time for her to be dropping the ball.I called her back in January for my wedding (also this Saturday), and she took several days to respond.  At that point I had hired my coordinator, and Amy seemed surprised.  She apologized for taking so long, and told me that she had young children which is why she lagged on calling me back.  WTF?  I don't care that you have kids.  Just like it doesn't matter that all of us on this board are getting married.  We still have jobs that we are expected to do, regardless of our personal life (while I post on a message board at work...).Then I saw her at Monkey's wedding in June and she clearly wasn't dressed for a wedding.  More like business casual.  How on earth did she get such great reviews on here for so long?  She should close up shop.  Some people can't juggle children with a career, and she's clearly one of them.
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  • citybride09citybride09 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I used Amy in August and was quite upset a few days before the wedding because she was sending incorrect information to my vendors. I left her a very stern voicemail and sent a very direct email and she fixed the problem and got back to me.As pp have said, she pulled through on my wedding day and did everything exactly as I asked. I had a very, very specific list of items I wanted her to do and I took care of everything leading up to the wedding. Basically I only used her for the day-of. My suggestion at this point would be to take over with the vendors to confirm everything is exactly as you specified, then give her a very exact list of responsibilities on the day of.
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  • kthamekthame
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I don't actually have a DOA - it's just not in the budget; she sounds awful! I mean, to me...it's all about the communication (just ask my FI - LOL). If she doesn't communicate w/you throughout the most important times (uh, the week of your wedding), and that concerns you enough to where you now need to find the need to find the time to put together an entire list of things for her to do what's the point? I say can her and ask a reliable friend to do your list. :)
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    Finally...we are Mr. & Mrs.!!! WooHoo!!!

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  • teamL09teamL09
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I called her twice and emailed her once for initial DOC pricing, but never even got a response back (rude even if closing your doors). You may want to have a solid back-up plan just in case. Good luck!
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  • girlinchicagogirlinchicago member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Wow. I just wanted to say I'm so sorry this is happening to you and I agree that you should let her know her services are no longer necessary. Why hire and pay someone for work you're having to do yourself!? Completely inexcusable. If she is unable to follow through with her contractual duties, she should be letting you know this, apologizing, helping you find someone who CAN, and letting you know when you can receive your deposit back. This would enfuriate me but I'd probably be passive agressive about it. Please don't take this!
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  • principessarealeprincipessareale member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    look at your contract and if it says she will be in assistance for planning in the months or weeks up to your wedding, and she hasn't been, demand a refund. just because she has other things going on in her life, it doesn't mean she can ruin peoples weddings and rehersals. a pregnancy and a baby can make anyone sick, overwhelmed, and so on, but turning her head the other way to paying clients is unacceptable.
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  • Amy'n'Justin11/7Amy'n'Justin11/7 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I want to thank everyone for all the support and advice, you all have truly been wonderful listening to my venting. She just emailed me back and I just don't know what to do. I'm EXTREMELY upset and just feel like I'm in a crappy situation. Thank you all again, I really appreciate it. I will keep you ladies updated on what happens...
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  • Ankea97Ankea97 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I don't think it was necessary to make this assumption- "Some people can't juggle children with a career, and she's clearly one of them."Clearly a case where making an assumption makes you look like an *ss.
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  • Ankea97Ankea97 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    As for the original poster- there are girls that have used Amy's assistants and were extremely pleased (I want to say Annika is one of their names).  I used Meg Vanderbaan and loved her- she may be on maternity leave though but she also has assistants.  I have a few other leads as well including Christine (a former knottie) who has been getting raves- PM me for her email, I don't want to post it here since it has her last name.
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  • deedeedordeedeedor
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ankea- I didn't make an assumption.  Based on what Amy said to me when she called me back on my inquiry ("I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you- I have young children"- verbatim!), then I wouldn't say there is any assumption to be made.  She made her children her excuse, which is exactly what every working mother I know works hard to NOT make an issue of.Whoops, I ended that last sentence with a preposition.
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  • johnandalice82johnandalice82
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I hope all goes well for your wedding this weekend! It may be true that in this time of Amy's life/business, she is unable to be the great DOC that she was for me. Amy was fantastic for my May 2009 wedding. I didn't have any issues with her and she was very receptive to all my demanding needs. I wish you the best!
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  • lmb5109lmb5109 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Same as johnandalice said, Amy did my 5/1/09 wedding as was flawless.
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