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Be Thankful you did not register for Wedding Week 2010 !!!!

As many of you know this week was suppose to be Wedding Week 2010 in Norfolk Va. with a lineup of some of the biggest names in the wedding industry instead it turned out to be SCAMMED Wedding Week 2010.

Event Director Lynn Dula of BridalNetwork Inc. and Owner of Posh Style Events in Chesapeake Va. cancelled the event the evening before it was suppose to start approximately 6:00 p.m. however she continued to sell tickets and promote the event the night before and day of cancellation.

Unfortunately people had already began to travel to Norfolk,Virgina one Bridal Cosultant that traveled all the way from the country of Columbia in hopes of learning for top industry professional others still arrived the following day with absolutely no idea the event had been cancelled including some of the show guest speakers!!

Reason being due to the "economy and low attendance" but the thing that gets me is she knew last week she could not have the show but continued to accept payments I paid her $300 for an all inclusive ticket on Friday March 19, 2010 in addition to purchasing airline and prepaid hotel accommendations....

To add insult to injury she did it by way of Facebook and Twitter she has not returned phone calls or emails what she has done is given a statement to WVEC News in Virginia that she would be refunding all ticket money as well as travel arrangements however you have to contact her so with that being said you now have to go through a screening process before she accepts your emails and then when you call she does not answer....Way to go for contacting her ...

It is sad to know that you have so many people willing to knowingly hurt others just to get a buck in this case she received several thousands dollars as well as merchandise from the event sponsors as well as put a dark cloud over the wedding industry in Norfolk Virginia !!

I have spoken to MANY true Wedding Professionals in Virginia and surrounding areas (DC,Florida,Georgia etc.) who have taken it upon themselves to personall call and email me to apologize for something they had absolutely NOTHING to do with they have shown true professionalism,hospitality and compassion..

So for all of you who might have had dreams of one day doing something similar in your town you have Lynn Dula of The Bridalnetwork Inc and owner of Posh Style Events to thank for making it that much harder on you to earn the trust of top industry Wedding Professionals, your peers as well as corporate sponsors.

Good Luck to any of you who registerd for Wedding Week 2010 !!!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Omu Obilor on March 26, 2010 at 7:19pm

I am truly shocked at the way this ended.
I was going to scrounge just to be there.
I had been so dissappointed when I cldn't make it.
But now I thank God. But I am really shocked
and disappointed that after all that advert they
messed it all up. BAD!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Platinum Touch Events on March 27, 2010 at 9:28am

Wow, that is horrible. Unfortunately, Ms. Dula has probably just ruined her credibility and career, as well as cast a dark shadow on wedding networking/educational events. Best of luck in getting your money back!

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Permalink Reply by Ebony Sparkes on March 27, 2010 at 3:07pm

Wow! I so wanted to go to this and I'm glad that I didn't. I'm so sorry for your experience all of the others that have to go through this. This is definitely NOT a good look and I would imagine that this would also make it hard for someone else who would like to legitimately host an event like this in the future. Sad. I hope you get your refund soon!

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Permalink Reply by Elisa Mitchell on March 31, 2010 at 12:00am

OMG! I can NOT believe that!

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Permalink Reply by Dina Eisenberg on April 6, 2010 at 2:48am

That truly is a shame. There's been talk in the photography community and some in the wedding community, too, about the value of educational offerings and workshops. Learning and growing into a profession by educating yourself is the mark of a true professional. But the workshops have to be high quality, interactive and really offer information that's honest and useful.

For those reasons, I'm considering devoting part of Positively Wed as a review site to gather more information, like a rating system. I feel it's especially important to have feedback-good and bad- from participants so that others can make informed decisions. You could search it for upcoming conferences, workshops, teleseminars, maybe even wedding planner training to get reviews.

If there was such a rating system, would you use it?
What would be most helpful for you as the end-user, i.e. an overall star rating; a multiple rating (on cost/value, quality of content and customer service) or something else?

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Permalink Reply by Julie Barnes on April 10, 2010 at 8:50am

Dina, I would definately use it. I would like a rating on the categories that you listed. I think they pretty much cover the main areas. This whole Wedding Week 2010 scam is such a shame. There was one recently in Boston as well.

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Permalink Reply by Dina Eisenberg on April 11, 2010 at 12:08pm

Thanks for the feedback, Julie. It feels like a natural fit since I'm offering educational stuff too. There's an ongoing conversation in the photographer community that makes me think it's time for such a tool. Too many rockstars, according to them.

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Permalink Reply by Lynn White on April 20, 2010 at 3:52pm

So sorry that you had such a difficult time! I wanted too attend this event!

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Permalink Reply by A Luxe Design Company on April 21, 2010 at 3:35pm

I am truly shocked (as is everyone) at the audacity of such a thing! When I saw it advertised here on this network and on facebook, I kept clicking the link to go to the website and it kept telling me "page not found." I tried it a week later and it was up, but (in my humble designer's opinion) the site was not designed properly and I thought it best to leave it alone after not being able to get to the site in the first place, then getting to it and it looking elementary. For those of us who were trying to go and for "some" reason could not, let's thank our lucky stars, count our blessings, the whole nine.

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Permalink Reply by FlowerFriendsZ(frenzy) Events on April 24, 2010 at 3:06pm

This does not surprise me one bit-1st and foremost, to attend a "wedding week" with top professional names would be more than 300.00 minus room and travel- a wedding show with most reputable large companies is 200-350.00 for 1 day- so there is a red flag for sure-

I am sure her intentions were good and maybe it was a case of biting off more than she could chew- in any event, it was her reputation and name which is attached to it, and if she wants to save face, she will hopefully do all she can to make her potential clients and fellow vendors happy. -

like Realtor saying goes for selling- location location location- for the wedding industry today it is research research research. This is an interesting article in the special events magazine-
http://specialevents.com/weddings/newbie-wedding-planners-plague-th...

There is a difference in experience, and companies which rely on more than Facebook and twitter to build a business with- no slight to them, but they too are a breeding ground for scams and fake offers.

I know this industry is flooded with marketers, magazine and bridal show producers trying to get some business- think what a bride has to do just to make a decision about anything- no wonder they turn into Bridezillas.

Some companies for example, A very large bridal dress chain Or celebrity who makes a frame from bark DIY person ( not mentioning names) , can get "the biggest names in the wedding industry"

Big names in the bridal world change quickly according to which celebrity got married and who Oprah is using. I am not a planner, as you could not pay me enough to put up with the stress.
I sorry for all who had this experience, and you get back what you invested, and look on it as a learning experience. Corporate sponsors and wedding professionals respect experience and the proof in the pudding. Good luck to all

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Permalink Reply by Rhonda Hicks/AmazingGraceEvents on May 21, 2010 at 2:11am

I, too was a victim of this event and I am STILL waiting on my money! I have tried to contact Linda on several occasions and to no avail. This is business at it's worst and I will definitely be contacting the Better Business Bureau to report her and her work ethics, or lack thereof!

I was SO looking forward to this event as I am "officially" new to the event planning business and now, hundreds of dollars later, I am firing mad!