Simply Elegant — Attraction in Calgary

We were bullied by Simply Elegant in to cancelling our contract. We have our event booked at Waterfront Parks (original venue at Skyline which apparently closed according to Simply Elegant) for July 2021 and they told us around 20 days before our event that there was a scheduling conflict so we cannot have the venue anymore on the date that we're suppose to have our event.

They offered us a refund of the venue cost if we move our date, or move us to Venue 308 or Brownstone but with no compensation for the trouble, or full refund to cancel our event. All of these options are made on their own terms with no room for negotiation (we tried negotiating!!). We don't understand how they can double book the venue and choose to kick us out instead. Either they accidentally double booked or a bigger client wanted our date so Simply Elegant chose to boot us out, which was a clear breach of contract.

We wanted a refund before (even just 75% of our money back) but they wouldn't let us which I understood because we signed a contract but we asked them anyway just in case they will allow it. And then 20 days before our event, they are springing the news to us that we will not get the Waterfront Park venue. That was so shady. They told us that there was a scheduling conflict with the Shriners which was a lie because we checked the Shriners website and they do not have an event at that venue on our date.

We were left scrambling and we felt cheated and bullied by this company. We would have settled with them moving us to a different venue if they would just refund us the venue cost but they did not budge. They didn't even try to meet us halfway, they did not want to negotiate.

We were suppose to have a skyline view, then they moved us to Waterfront Park which would have given us a lake view (so comparable to our original venue), but now they wanted to move us to another venue with no view - so we felt they should at least compensate us. Changing our date was not an option given how late it is already for us to ask our other vendors and our guests if they can work with that.

We chose to support them during the pandemic (we booked our event and signed a contract in October 2020) but as soon as everything opened up, they chose to screw us over because now it is convenient for them.

I am 6 months pregnant and the emotional distress they have put me through is unbelievable - especially for a company that is supposed to be a champion in hospitality and client service.

We decided to deal directly with the venue that they were going to move us to as I couldn't imagine them still holding our event after how they treated us. As soon as I told them that we would opt for the full refund (after us trying to negotiate and them not making any counteroffers), they told me that they will mail me the cheque - knowing full well that we need the money right away so we can pay the new venue and new caterer. There was no sense of urgency on their end. When we paid them they were etransferred so they received our money instantly, and for the refund they wanted to just mail the cheque. We ended up picking up the cheque and that's how our relationship with them ended.

They're probably just going to delete this review....

EDIT: Hi Mr. Vidra. I would love to have a chat with you of what "reality [I] believe exists". I have not dealt with you directly so maybe you were also misinformed of what happened.

Please do not dismiss my grievances by insinuating that what I wrote on my review did not happen. I have emails to prove all my claims. I'm not here to start a fight, I was just leaving a review base on my experience with the company.

Also, a couple of things:

Our original date was not September 29, 2020. Please check with your staff for the correct date as I might not be the client you're referring to. I did not say that COVID did not exist. I said I felt bullied but I didn't say that COVID...

I had wanted to write this review for a while. This company has cited others not understanding their situation during Covid-19, but that's rather hypocritical for a company that has time and time again shown how blinded to the needs of their clients they actually are. As the world was halted by the on-going effects of Covid-19 for a year and a half, this company tried to force us to undergo unwanted experiences during a pandemic.

My partner and I had booked Skyline in Kensington for our wedding in 2020, but of course the global pandemic disrupted those times. The same restrictions for covid-19 which have been in place since March 17, 2020. Further we had sent our wedding venue deposit of $3000.00 on March 16, 2020. Less than 24 hours before the government announced provincial restrictions, we were told by the venue that the deposit is now non-refundable. In an effort to try and not feel discouraged about our wedding by this company, and wanting to support local businesses, we decided to see if we can delay it by a year. While I do appreciate that the accountant (that's right, only person we had contact with the entire time because they only reached out when they wanted more money) helped move our date, this was simply not enough.

As we know, much of this year had remained the same with covid-19. As such, we had requested the venue to return the deposit as the conditions at the time did not allow for a ceremony of any kind and at that point as we did not want to keep delaying our wedding. We were told that that was not possible and that we had to have 150+ people since that was the original plan. Okay, frustrating but again we are understanding people. In an effort to compromise, we asked to hold a smaller ceremony instead and use the deposit towards a more elopement style ceremony from their ad. Nope, again the company told us that that was not possible and we would have to spend over $20k in order to not forfeit our deposit.

Please note, that like any engaged couple, we would have LOVED to have a big celebration, had it been regular times. However, we were doing our due diligence to follow provincial guidelines at the time and even tried to compromise on multiple occasions. We contacted legal professionals and they also indicated we were in the right and we would have a case in civil court. Ironically, we have since found out that Simply Elegant was shutting down Skyline (again from the same company) the same day we would have had our wedding (July 17, 2021). We were not told of this, and they kept our deposit and likely others and used it on their new Waterfront venue without any notice. In the end, we got married somewhere else and we had to plan a wedding in a month because of this mess. I would recommend everyone else to tread lightly with this company. Over-priced, unprofessional, and only responsive when they want more money from you.

Also, if the owner responds to this, that would actually be great since we have requested to speak with you multiple times and each time told you didn’t have time and were “not available to talk to us”.

Edit: well look at that, CEO responds with no accountability. Btw, we were also not told anytime in the 3 months prior to Skyline shutting down, except when your accountant asked for even more money. And we still haven’t received any “reaching out”. We had to find out on our own through Facebook. Just...

"I like to call her the wedding fairy"

I had the privilege to have Simply Elegant manage our wedding. This business is comprised of a team of extremely talented professionals that will truly treat you nothing short of a princess or a prince.

Our wedding was a large wedding of 600 guests! I had a vision of a Parisian glamour themed wedding and was very worried a size this large of a wedding would quickly turn into a nightmare. Let me tell you, I was wrong!

Enter the Wedding Fairy, Sharon Barwick and Simply Elegant owner, Robert Virda.

Sharon is everything you would dream a wedding planner to be. She is empathetic, a great listener, an excellent problem solver (she actually foresees problems before they occur) and an extremely talented artist all in one. Her approach is so refreshing, she will not let you panic, provides creative solutions and is always there to listen to any concern you have, no matter how many you have!

Sharon designed my floral including my bouquet, my bridesmaids’ bouquets, the groomsmen's boutonnieres, floral at the venue, tables decor, cake table, our wedding party table and much more. All this while providing ways to cut on cost without compromising our vision. Did I mention we had 600 guests?

Sharon and Rob were there for us the entire time helping us plan and providing us with valuable insight. They also learned about our culture and how to address everyone in our family. On our big day, Rob and Sharon had become a part of the family. Rob came and congratulated us and we felt like we were in great hands.

Sharon was there reminding me to enjoy every moment, look up and smile while going down the stairs and walk with grace, she helped us stick to our schedule to the minute. Really she was my angel guardian that day. Due to my outfit changes we had a tight schedule, she made sure everyone was where they needed to be at the right time and let me tell you; that is no easy task when there are this many individuals to manage! She even managed my aunt who came from overseas and only spoke French! Yes, Sharon speaks French as well :) I could honestly go on and on about how amazing Rob and Sharon are as well as their talented team who always smiled when they saw us and treated us like family. If you are thinking about Simply Elegant for your wedding, don’t hesitate. It will be the best decision you made after getting married of course...