Monty Bloom Ensembles says:

It always pains me to receive a review of less than 5 stars! I'll admit that for us musicians, it can sometimes be difficult for us to respond to inquiries/emails/requests from sometimes 25+ different people every single week, in addition to calls and emails from the many wonderful musicians we have to coordinate for these events! I always try my best to respond promptly, and most of the emails I received from the above bride were about confirming times which had been confirmed in prior correspondence, and song requests that were routine (if the song requests were NOT doable, I would have immediately called her, but all the songs she asked for were on my repertoire list). As for flexibility, to not receive a 5 for flexibility surprises me, as I actually allowed the bride to after the fact change the time of engagement. Either way, we were there on time, played all the requested songs, and obviously received good reviews on the quality of service, that's what matters most!

Monty Bloom Ensembles says:

This review is all over the place. The most important issue here is that no matter what musician you hire for YOUR wedding, if it runs late, you will have to pay overtime. You will be approached at the end of the wedding for payment, whether it is the balance OR overtime. That is just how the business goes, other vendors have similar complaints, it's just the way it is. Best solution is to have a wedding planner coordinate payments so you don't have to be approached for payments due during your big day! As for speaking with your officiant, I did not recall you giving me a definitive answer as to whether we were going to use the speaker system or not, so I brought it anyways. Since the wedding was running way late, I decided to play a couple songs with my tracks just for fun and people enjoyed them. I didn't at all charge extra. However, I did not remember whether you were going to be having the officiant use it as well, like we discussed, so I told her not to use it unless you authorize it. I didn't tell HER to charge anything extra -- why would she charge extra to use MY speaker system? that makes no sense at all! I assumed that the extra $12.50 was a tip when I received the $100 balance, and hence didn't give change right then and there. If I was in error and did not give you the $12.50 in change, all you have to do is email me about the error and I'll quickly send you the refund! Nonetheless, I discounted you on the price of overtime, you should be more appreciative. Even with the $12.50 mistake on my part, I still charged you $18.50 LESS than what was due as per the original contract. As for not calling you, the phone works both ways, and not all of my brides want to be called by me the days before the event. We already spoke at length on the phone and by email, there was no need for further contact until the day of the event. If you were worried, you can always call me or email me and I'll answer. If there WERE indeed changes to the flow of your ceremony, it would be best for the BRIDE to contact me about it FIRST, instead of waiting for me to ask. You received a very good deal on you wedding due to the scheduling and distance convenience this was for me (only a 5 minute drive), and as you said, the music was very good.