The Coda's Collective Planner

Before continuing to work with Charley and Coda, I wish I'd paid closer attention to the recent reviews describing poor communication, lack of follow-through, and operational shortcomings. Several reviewers were fortunate enough to end their relationship with Charley before their wedding day. Unfortunately, my husband and I were not.

What those reviews describe is consistent with our experience.

My husband and I planned a 240-person wedding in St. Louis from out of state across multiple events and two venues. Because of the scale and complexity, hiring a full-service planner was one of our first decisions. Charley represented that she had experience managing weddings of this size. Based on our experience, that was not reflected in the services we received.

Shortly after signing our contract, we learned Charley was relocating to Australia and, shortly thereafter, her operational partner had left the company. We were assured a replacement would be hired and service would not be affected. To our knowledge, that replacement never materialized.

Throughout the planning process, we found ourselves handling administrative work we expected a full-service planner to manage, including planning documents, budgets, vendor follow-up, and logistics. Issues we believed were being addressed often remained unresolved, requiring us to personally move critical items forward. On the morning of our wedding, we learned our makeup artist was unaware he had been contracted to remain with us throughout the day despite prior assurances that arrangements had been made.

In the months leading up to the wedding, vendor selections, décor decisions, and other planning items remained unresolved despite repeated requests. We also had to request tablescape mock-ups and in-person design renderings that we expected to receive as part of the planning services for which we contracted. Some items ultimately required expedited production and shipping, and we were asked to absorb those costs despite raising these needs well in advance.

One of the most disappointing moments occurred before our final walkthrough, a meeting scheduled for months that required us to travel from New York to St. Louis. We received only two days' notice that Charley would not attend, and she failed to provide any meaningful solution. Key logistics remained unresolved, limiting the productivity of a meeting that included multiple vendors.

Additional issues included inadequate operational support that resulted in a guest bus being directed to the wrong ceremony location on the wedding day.

After the wedding, we learned through vendor feedback that several custom design elements and personal details we spent time and money creating were never used. When we asked Charley why, we were told that "it was chaotic." Some materials remained in Coda's possession and had to be specifically requested before being returned.

These issues were not a surprise. At one point, we attempted to terminate the relationship due to performance concerns. Charley acknowledge her shortcomings and we were assured improvements would be made. Given the financial and emotional burden of replacing a planner late in the process, we continued the relationship.

However after the wedding, when we raised concerns and asked for accountability, we did not receive a meaningful acknowledgment of responsibility. We also still have not received a complete accounting of our wedding expenses despite numerous requests.

Despite everything, our wedding day was beautiful. That was due to the extraordinary efforts of our vendors, friends, and family, many of whom stepped in behind the scenes to solve problems and fill gaps that should not have existed.

A full-service wedding planner is hired to serve as the operational backbone of the planning process. For an out-of-state, 240-person wedding spanning multiple events and venues, those services were the reason we hired one. Unfortunately, that was not our experience.

If you are considering working with Charley and Coda, I strongly encourage you not to.

I had a great experience with Coda's Events for my wedding on 9.24.22! They were incredibly detail-oriented, adding a special touch to every aspect. The team's fun and positive energy added to the joy of the day. Their meticulous planning ensured that everything ran smoothly. Charley especially understood the assignment. She got my vision and vibe right from the start. Highly recommend Coda's Events for a memorable and stress-free wedding!

Charley and the team at Coda's literally made our wedding happen. Full stop. When my wife and I first got engaged, I delusionally thought I could plan a chill wedding on my own - you just need a venue, food, a photographer, and some flowers, right? Twelve hours and 27 tabs of florists later, I realized the error of my ways. An effortlessly chill wedding is in fact, A LOT of effort. We had already hired a photographer and booked our reception venue when we reached out to Charley, and she jumped right in without missing a beat. Charley's greatest assets are her organization (so many spreadsheets!), her ability to stay on top of vendors who are not always as organized as she is, her desire to create a wedding personalized to each couple, and her TEAM. When you hire Coda you don't just get Charley, but Emiliana, Loren, Maggie - sometimes even Charley's mom! Everyone we worked with was so kind and just as organized and capable as Charley. In the end we had a beautiful wedding weekend that felt totally reflective of us as a couple. And if anything went wrong, I didn't know about it, because Charley and her team handled it before I could ever find out. Thank you Coda's!!

I was a guest at my friend's wedding organized by Coda's and oh my wow what a night. Every single aspect from the timing and coordination to the overall design of the ceremony and reception was exactly what you would expect from a luxury wedding and more. The coordinator was super friendly and made sure the whole night went exactly as planned. The bride and groom seemed carefree as they danced the night away knowing everything was taken care of. I definitely will be using Coda's to plan my wedding!

Ahh, Charley. She’s just the best. Professional, kind, and a BOSS. I trusted her instantly with my vision and even when the world turned on its head…she still made it happen. Even better than I could have imagined. Trust me when I say that the unexpected will happen on your wedding day. Having that person there to tell you it will all be okay is priceless. We had this incredible wedding planned at Wild Carrot for the end of March, then COVID-19 happened. As the date got closer we realized we were going to have to change our plans. We knew we wanted to get married and Charley made it happen overnight. Literally. She swooped in with her calming nature and gave us the wedding we never knew we wanted. All after working the night shift working on the frontline at her hospital job. We decided to elope at an Airbnb. We loved the house didn’t know how to make it feel like our wedding. Charley made sure it did. She came in with her calming nature and transformed the dining room into the most beautiful ceremony space with candles and florals. The florals were from Roses and Mint..one of the most talented florists in St. Louis. She contacted them when we sprung the wedding on her the day before and got us the most beautiful collection of florals from them. She picked up Mission Taco so we didn’t have to worry about food and even surprised us with macarons from her friend Abby at Spoil Me Sweetly. They were delicious. She knew how important it was to share our special day with family and friends so she set up a Facebook page for our wedding and streamed the ceremony live. There are countless other things she did to make our day perfect but I can’t possibly list them all. I would recommend Coda’s Events confidently for any event because I know Charley will make it her mission to make your vision come true. Even if you don’t know what that is yet. She is intuitive and talented making her an incredible asset to this industry and anyone who hires her.

We hired Coda’s Events for the absolute package for my April 2024 wedding and it was the best decision we could’ve made as a couple and for our wedding. We were totally clueless about what it takes to plan a wedding and Coda’s came in with the right questions about how we envisioned our wedding and presented options that fulfilled this vision. Coda’s team gave us a specific timeline and action items every few months that helped us understand what we should be doing, all while handling all vendor communication and executing design and logistics on the backend. Come wedding day, Emiliana truly was an angel – from running the rehearsal to running between groomsmen and bridal suite to making sure everything was set up and on time. Everything was perfect and I will recommend Coda’s to anyone who will listen.

I could not have asked for a better or more genuine wedding planner to ensure that we enjoyed a wedding true to ourselves! Emiliana thought of everything so that my husband and I could savor the moments of the day. She helped to create such a meaningful event for us, from seamlessly coordinating with all of our vendors to securing appetizers and signature drinks for us at cocktail hour. We would choose Coda's Events again and so should you!