Millie Renea Tutson My 50th Birthday Soiree was supposed to be the most memorable night of my life, however due to the failure of Johnnie Winston III and his company “Exclusive Designs”; it was a night I wish I could forget. After four months and $5,500 invested in working with Mr.Winston, the perfect party that was promised to me never occurred. . All went well and on March 15th, 2016 I signed a contract with Mr.Johnnie Winston III.
Upon arrival to Rendezvous, there was supposed to be a canopy near the front door, and balloons surrounding it in order to notify guest that they had arrived at the correct location. Neither of these two items were done. Along with this, there was supposed to be a red carpet stretching from the front door to the dining area where guest would be seated. Although there was a red carpet, I later discovered that Mr. Marcus Wood offered his own once he discovered that Mr. Johnnie Winston did not provide one. Once guest entered the building and took an immediate left, they were supposed to be handed a “Complimentary photo” ticket and instructed to take a photograph in front of my personalized backdrop. After this, they were supposed to receive two of the same photo, one for them, and the second to be signed and placed in my guest book. There was no backdrop provided, no one instructing guest on what to do or where to go, and I ended the night with a completely empty guest book.
The theme of my event was meant to be “Renea and Co” mimicking the popular jewelry brand “Tiffany and Co,” when we discussed this Mr.Winston agreed that all decor would be Tiffany blue, silver, and white. The tablecloths and chair covers were supposed to be either tiffany blue or silver, however there were black and gold chair covers throughout the room. Some of the tablecloths were blue, while the rest were gold. My head table where my husband and I sat was gold and white and was placed in front of a white, crinkly curtain. Underneath the tables, a large carpet was supposed to sit at the feet of my guest, yet this was not done. In the center of each table, Mr. Winston and I discussed that there would be personalized water bottles and candy boxes with “Renea and Co” on them. He told me prior to the party that he had them ready, yet they were not present at my event. The white flowers that were meant to be placed around the room were also missing. Along the walls, white curtains were to be draped around the room. There were also supposed to be colored lights at the bottom of each that flickered light colors of my choice. However, white chiffon curtains were hung in a I was introduced to Mr.Winston by Marcus Wood, the owner of the event hall Rendezvous where my event took place. On or about March 14th, Johnnie Winston III, Marcus Wood, my husband Victery Tutson, and myself met at the event hall in Morrow, Ga for a consultation to discuss what I wanted, price, and if he was going to be able to meet all of my requestsloppy manner on a few walls. These white curtains did not cover from wall to ceiling, so the striped curtains behind them were visible. The chandeliers I asked him to hang were nowhere to be found. Along with my decorations being incorrect, the food and service that accompanied it were even worse.
Mr. Winston agreed that he would provide enough food for 140 guest. I directly told him that I wanted no plastic or paper products at my event, including the forks, knives, spoons, plates, and cups; however that is exactly what was provided. The menu we agreed upon consisted of; salmon bites, mash potatoes with roast, raspberry vinaigrette strawberry salad, jerk shrimp on skewers and macaroni. He also said that he would provide two cases of water, two cases of Coke, two cases of Sprite, gallons of sweet tea, and gallons of lemonade. I was also promised that there would be two servers present, we even discussed the attire that they would wear. He did not provide any of the drinks, and if I had not brought extra, my guest would have went without. The menu was completely changed and I was not made aware until the party had already started. He prepared shrimp that was overcooked, chicken that was overcooked and mushy, and an overcooked cajun pasta. He also prepared a salad, however the salad dressings were served out of cups because he had no other dishes available. There was not enough food for the 140 guest that were present and we ran out of food about midway through the event. To finish off the meal, I requested that I had enough cupcakes and cake to feed the 140 guest, however I received only 20 cupcakes and a cake that fed around 40-50 people. To accompany the food and entertainment, alcohol was expected. Mr. Johnnie Winston stated that he would provide an additional stand alone bar, with a licensed bartender. I purchased 20 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of Bacardi, 1 Ciroq 1800, and 3 Coconut Bacardi, 2 cases of Heineken in addition to what he was supposed to bring. In our contract, I was told that he would make a blue signature drink called the “Nae-Nae” yet this was not provided either. Instead, during the party, he took the bottles of liquor that I purchased and mixed them without permission.
I was not allowed to view any of the decorations, taste the food nor the cake, or get any form of a sneak-peak to how the party would turn out because Mr. Winston stated that he wanted me to have the “WOW factor” when I walked in the room. M night did not turn out the way I wanted and after spending nearly $6,000 everything should have gone according to our contract and multiple text and email exchanges. The night of the party, Mr. Winston stated that his crew of 150 were in a car accident on the way back from South Carolina and therefore were unable to help him set my event up. I told him that same night that I was unhappy with how the event went and he admitted that he knew it did not turn out correctly and that we would be able to discuss reimbursement the following day. The next morning I awoke to being deleted on social media, and I proceeded to email and text him the following days after my party yet I still have received no response. I had guest travel from states such as Indiana, California, and Hawaii and I was unable to make the memories that I planned to make due to how embarrassed I was at the way my event turned out. I hope to receive all $5,500 back from Mr. Johnnie Winston.