"I thought I could handle a small wedding...70 guests, how hard could it be? I never even thought of getting a planner, my sis, my maid of honor did...& boy am I glad we did! Before Tara came along, there were so many mishaps that stressed me out, but the moment I hired her, my stress just seemed to have vanished and everything began falling into place. She was our lucky charm! Finally, someone was comprehending my vision and bringing it to life! She's so sweet and polite & I always felt like she really cared. It wasn't just about a paycheck for Tara-she really loves weddings & it shows! We love everything you did to make our wedding so perfect and we are forever grateful!!! All the best to you, Tara!!!"
Alexis + Kirt
Brittany + Adam
"Tara is so sweet & her pricing is FANTASTIC for what she does! She made our wedding day run so smoothly!"
"Tara was absolutely amazing! I could not have asked for a better wedding planner to make our day so special. Even leading up to the month of, Tara checked in on a regular basis. She was so accommodating and hands-on throughout the entire process. Tara made everything look so beautiful and perfect in every way! We are so grateful she and her team were such a special hardworking asset to our day! I strongly recommend her and wouldn't have wanted to work with anyone else!"
Dana + John
"Hey Tara, I just wanted to let you know that I thought you did a beautiful job with Jake and Rebecca’s big day. Everything went smoothly and if it didn’t, then nobody knew. You are obviously very good at your job. They got to Italy all right and are having a wonderful time. Thank you!!"
Cindy - Mother of the Groom
Cynthia + Kevin
"My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary on June 16, 2018. We did not have a wedding when we first got married so we decided to have the wedding of our dreams and vow renewal ceremony this year (two months ago today) at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Since we live in Maryland, we wanted an experienced wedding coordinator who was friendly, organized, knowledgeable and familiar with local VA Beach vendors. We chose Simply Southern Weddings and Events by Tara, and could not be happier with our decision. Tara and her team did an outstanding job! We purchased the partial package to reduce costs and b/c I wanted to coordinate various details of the wedding. As our special day drew closer, I fell behind on completing the seating chart, ordering printed signs and a few other details. Also, we had an unexpected death in the family within days of the wedding, along with 12 unexpected guest cancellations after giving our final headcount. I was feeling overwhelmed and didn't know how everything was going to work out. Tara was a God-send and stepped in during my moment of distress to save the day!! She voluntarily went over and above the contract terms to get the job done. She fixed all the seating issues, ordered the signs, and flawlessly executed all the day of coordination with the bridal party and vendors like a seasoned pro! When I walked into the room and saw how beautiful everything looked, it took my breath away. I'm so thankful we had Tara as our wedding coordinator. She is simply the best and far exceeded our expectations. She was always responsive to our needs, offered helpful advice and vendor referrals and played a key role in making our 30th anniversary a dream come true! I have rated Tara's services 5 Stars in all areas. Having her on our Dream Team was one of the best decisions we made!! Her expertise, friendship and professionalism gave me the peace of mind I needed, and her services were more than worth the investment!"
"When I first moved to Virginia Beach I was engaged for 4 months. My fiance and I had already set a date for our wedding, but had no idea where to begin when it came to planning it. After sitting down and making a full wedding to-do list, we knew we couldn't do this alone. I didn't search long before a mutual friend recommended Tara to me. From the moment I met her, I knew she was the PERFECT planning companion. From her elegant style to her vibrant personality, I fully trusted that she would turn our dream into a reality. Soon after I hired Tara, I already knew it was one of the best decisions I had ever made. She made what used to be stressful and overwhelming, EASY and exciting. Did I mention my wedding was IN FLORIDA!? With Tara and I both living in Virginia, you would think this would be a difficult event to plan. Absolutely not!! Tara found the most amazing vendors Florida has to offer all from five states away! The day of the wedding took my breath away. I knew Tara saw the vision I had for this day, but her work surpassed all expectations. Between our dream and her professional experience, our day could not have been more of a fairytale. You can see the passion in her planning sprinkled through every wedding she creates. Being engaged to a man in the military means moving away from all friends and family is inevitable, but I can honestly say that Tara felt like family through this entire experience. Thank you for giving us a perfect day."
Alexis + Aaron
Janelle + Evan
"From the first meeting with Tara, she was such a gem to work with! She worked very hard to understand and grasp my vision. The moment I arrived at the venue on our wedding day, I was in awe! Tara had taken care of absolutely everything! She took my dreams and made it a seamless reality. She truly has a talent, not only for being a devoted wedding planner, but also for developing a relationship with each bride to make sure her day is as perfect as she imagined!"
"Tara was amazing. For someone who only did a "month of coordinating," she kept in contact with me throughout my whole planning process, which was a total of 10 months. I'm a pretty simple bride but she always asked how I was feeling every now and then and even met up with me when I was stressed about family related issues! If anything went wrong at my wedding on the day of, I wouldn't have known because she was on top of it throughout the whole day."
Bernaline + Hector
Kristianne + J.V.
"Tara and her team were so wonderful to work with! She absolutely helped make our wedding vision come to life. My husband and I were absolutely stunned when we walked into the venue and it felt so unreal that everything we envisioned was a reality. We used Tara's "Month-of-planning" services and she provided us with so much more than just "month-of" planning. She kept in touch with us throughout the wedding planning process and made sure we weren't forgetting anything along the way! My husband and I are very crafty, detail oriented, and big planners, so we were really looking to just have someone deliver our vision on our wedding day so that we could just enjoy our big day and Tara and her team provided exactly what we needed! We had so many DIY decor and so many details and Tara was able to put everything together exactly as we had envisioned it and we couldn't be any happier! We knew that this task was going to be a LOT for any wedding planner, but she listened to every detail and really helped to make our wedding day as magical and beautiful as we had hoped!!!! We were SO impressed with Tara's services, not to mention how organized she is and how willing she is to really help you make your wedding dreams come to life. She is very sweet and kind and really went above and beyond what we expected, and if we could do our wedding all over again, we would definitely have Tara help us again!!!!"
"Made my wedding day stress free!!! She helped me create the perfect table layout and plan a wedding for 200+people! Loved working with Tara - highly recommend!!"
Rachel + Nate
Kathleen + Jeff
"We ( I ) hired Tara to do our wedding with her "month of planning" package. Tara did an absolutely amazing job with our wedding. From the beginning she went above and beyond any of my expectations. Hurricane Matthew hit our venue and it didn't have full electricity. We were unsure if Tara was going to be able to get out of her street because the roads were blocked off. Tara had quick thinking and suggested we request the venue push our timeline back two hours so our guests would all be able to attend (and vendors!) When We walked into the ballroom and it was all setup with the vision We had, I nearly cried. In the time that I worked with Tara she made me feel like I've known her forever and we are so grateful she was a part of our day. I would highly recommend that anyone that is planning a wedding use Tara because she reduced my stress level and I don't think I could've done it without her. ??
Additionally, while our venue required a planner, I would bet that we saved almost as much as Tara charged by utilizing her rentals instead of purchasing. Things like centerpiece rocks, vases, chair covers, sashes, and signs all add up and she has VERY reasonable rates for these items. (This is why I added event rentals also :) )"