I was asked to perform a ceremony yesterday - Carolyn and the team did an amazing job herding all the cats. The rehearsal went flawlessly as well and although I didn't see all the work put in, everyone was where they needed to be and calm and focused on enjoying Their Day. Kudos to AELO for making a special day for so many go off without a hitch. Thank you! read more

We cannot recommend working with AELO more! Lauren was incredibly responsive and attentive to every detail. She took the stress off of us the second we met her. She created a timeline and communicated with our vendors to make sure everyone knew exactly what to do, and that helped us to be present and enjoy the most incredible day of our lives! If you're on the fence about a day of coordinator, let this review push you to the other side. Best investment for our wedding day. read more

We could not have made our wedding happen without Carolyn and the amazing team over at An Event Less Ordinary! They are highly organized, motivated, and timely in all aspect of their work. We can't recommend them enough! read more

Carolyn and her entire team were an absolute dream to work with. From the moment they got involved in planning, they made everything so incredibly easy for us. We are so grateful and happy that we went with An Event Less Ordinary. Carolyn really helped make sure we had the wedding of our dreams. read more

We worked with An Event Less Ordinary, but more specifically, their coordinator Lauren and her assistant Helen for our wedding this year and were amazed by the seamless execution they brought before and during our event. Lauren's expertise was exactly what we needed to tie the knot without any headaches or concerns. Her kindness, compassion, and professionalism were above and beyond anything we could have imagined. At any moment, we felt comfortable and fulfilled by any needs that were brought up. We could not recommend AELO and the team more for your event. The partnership we shared in crafting this wedding was really what made the event go from good to great. There is nobody else we would rather recommend than AELO for your wedding needs. read more

I figured that hiring a day-of coordinator was a wise option, but I didn't realize that hiring An Event Less Ordinary was going to be one of the best decisions ever. Working with Carolyn and Kaitlin was an absolute dream. They kept us on track, were always transparent with their processes, and were pros at anticipating all of our needs and anything that might come up. They take all of their expertise to guide all aspects of the wedding, from vendors to schedules to wedding parties to timing to EVERYTHING. Being able to completely focus on having fun and enjoying the experience of the day without having to even imagine worst case scenarios was amazing. Carolyn and Kaitlin from AELO met with us to create our wedding day schedule, communicated with all of our vendors, dealt with all of the legal contracts and permits and all of that stuff I still don't know much about, all in the weeks leading up to it. It's all work you'd have to do yourself otherwise and it was such a load off during those last few hectic weeks. Hiring them to plan your whole wedding from start to finish must be nirvana. Do it! read more

After my very first discussion with Carolyn, I knew we'd found the right coordinator for us. We were primarily looking for month-of coordination, but we were also interested in additional help planning certain aspects of the wedding, the biggest of which was our rehearsal dinner. Our idea was complicated, and Amy and Carolyn perfectly coordinated five food vendors and a venue. I already felt confident in things going well on the wedding day, and the success of the rehearsal dinner only reinforced that feeling. On our wedding day, Carolyn and her assistant perfectly orchestrated everything. Guests transported from two hotels arrived on time and comfortable. The venue, the tables, the chairs, and the decorations were all squared away before anyone arrived. Ceremony went exactly as rehearsed. Bride and groom gracefully whisked away for a moment alone -- and a waiting drink -- before staged photos. Room flip and photo booth setup all done while our guests were enjoying cocktail hour in the bar. Buffet dinner service right on time with full plates delivered to us at the head table. (And at my explicit request, Carolyn made sure I hydrated between glass of beer and whisky. EL OH EL!) Truly everything went as scheduled and planned, and many of our guests said it was the best wedding they'd ever attended. We absolutely could not have done this without AELO. If you need a coordinator or a planner (partial or full), book An Event Less Ordinary as soon as you can. read more

An Event Less Ordinary - All set! (Photo by Maddie Blecha Photography.) - Wedding Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

After interviewing multiple day-off coordination companies for our wedding, my wife and I chose An Event Less Ordinary because we felt they were actually listening and responding to our inquiries and requests. We were self-funding and coordinating almost 10 vendors for a very unique and specific type of wedding celebration, but knew we would require someone on-site to take care of the details while we were going through our nuptials. We met with our coordinator Carolyn only 2 or 3 times and she was able to accurately take note of all of the extensive details that made our event work. She even decided to bring on an assistant due to our wedding having two locations, which ended up being a very smart move. Our team was on hand at our wedding rehearsal dinner to help coordinate our small wedding party and make sure everyone had a copy of the meticulous schedule. On the day of the event, everything worked smoothly. The detailed plan was correctly planned and everything went to schedule. All of the vendors were in their right place when we finally arrived with our party to the reception and we couldn't have been happier. All the tips for vendors had been organized before hand and our coordinator handed those out on our behalf. She also stayed till the end of the evening, which was above and beyond. Highly recommended! Not planning to get married again, but if I did, I'd hire them again! :D read more

I was recommended to AELO by my florist Lynn of Pollen Floral Design and I could not be more thankful that I was because AELO was amazing and I could not be more happy with being able to work with them. Everything was beyond perfect and I could not have done that without Lauren. When I sent in my initial request about 1.5 years before my wedding, I got a note back immediately from Carolyn and we got started. Lauren was put as the coordinator for my wedding. I booked the Day-of Coordinator package and I was pleasantly surprised when Carolyn told me that that means Lauren would start the month before, but I could still talk to Lauren and get her opinions or ask questions anytime I needed it. Lauren reached out to me soon after and we set a meet-up to talk together and get to know each other a little better. It was so nice to get to do that and made me feel better about going forward especially since I am very detailed and particular. Lauren was beyond amazing and it was such a pleasure to work with her. She was so on top of everything and had an answer for every question I had. She was so detailed and made the entire weekend so perfect. I loved all her help at the end to contact vendors and getting the schedules done for us so everyone knew exactly where they needed to be and when to be there literally down to the minute. It was the most helpful thing that was done and she was the most helpful at everything. I cannot imagine having done that wedding without her. I think it would've been a mess and very stressful. When we got to a week before I also got another nice surprise and got to meet Lauren's assistant, Lily so for $1600 I got a wedding coordinator the month before the wedding to help tie up all the loose ends and then she had an assistant for the rehearsal and the day-of the wedding. Absolutely the best thing I ever did for the entire wedding and they were the best people. So professional, nice, accommodating, and helpful. I never thought I could feel that good about getting married and felt so calm and excited the week- of when people are normally freaking out. Lauren and Lily were so amazing. I would work with them again in a heartbeat. They made my wedding day beyond perfect and I can't thank them enough for that experience. read more

The services we had for day-of wedding planning was $1900 and mediocre at best. We were disappointed. I've never met the owners, Carolyn and Amy, but I sense they either need to train their team better, or oversee events themselves. As a whole, I noticed that all of the An Event Less Ordinary staff on site seemed pretty disinterested and not "present" during our wedding. This is the consensus of the bridal party. One of the assistants told the Best Man that pictures were finished following the ceremony, before we were done taking pictures! Sadly, he left without us knowing and had his phone on silent. We were supposed to be done around that time, but we were taking immediate family pictures so they could leave. The AELO assistant didn't ask the photographer what was going on, and he even had an assistant AELO could've asked! We'll never have a picture of the full bridal party picture at the altar. When I needed to reach our main coordinator on the ride from the church to the reception, her phone was dead. And stayed dead. For cocktail hour, we had fun tropical music playing in a tropical greenhouse. Sadly, the music was turned down to the volume of background music in an elevator. Not audible over more than a whisper. Nobody from AELO thought this was a problem. We worked hard and loved that playlist.. very bummed to find out people could barely hear it! When we walked into the dinner room and sat down, AELO immediately started playing the wrong playlist.. it wasn't even a playlist marked wedding. Not a huge deal, but at this point, I was chasing down the event coordinators to fix things, when I could find them. We weren't asking them to DJ, just press play. And when I asked them to fix it I got a look like I was being rude. Pffft! One of our groomsmen didnt have a place setting at our head table! Nobody from AELO noticed this, eventhough I had sent them the head table seating chart and even a illustrator drawing of where everyone goes. This was a major embarrassment. No apology or explanation, Just the "deer in headlights" look we'd been seeing most of the day. The "Mr and Mrs" table sign was falling over in the center of the head table (not their fault), but they tried to tape the wood sign down to a tablecloth. Yeah, that didn't work.. not a good solution, but they never tried to fix it. I fixed it myself with two glass votive holders and it was fine the rest of the night. Wasn't a huge deal, but this was in the center of our head table and in a million pictures. Wish they would've made a real effort. At the end of the night, AELO put our birdcage full of money gifts in a dark corner by an unlocked exterior door in Garfield Park. 10 of our envelopes were stolen. They should've informed someone so we could've locked it in a car. This was negligent. There was more... but the point is I do not recommend An Event Less Ordinary. When I sent the owner a list explaining the problems we had, I didn't get a phone call. The owner said I had been rude and that my being late to the wedding caused the problems (I was late to the wedding because our limo driver went to the wrong hotel. Ironically, AELO didn't notice that fact or care.) They did point out all of their good reviews, which I do see here on Yelp. Sorry to break the trend. My advice to couples is to make sure you talk to and even meet the actual person(s) who will be there on your wedding day before you sign anything! read more

Amy & Carolyn were wonderful Day-of Coordinators for our wedding on December 4, 2010. When I met them for our initial chat I had a good feeling about them because they asked the right questions and share a genuine enthusiasm for weddings and helping people have wonderfully sane wedding days. Our wedding involved a number of logistics that could have been tricky - working with a caterer that is really a restaurant but was catering our wedding as a favor to me, rentals coming in from the suburbs on a snowy day, an angry and stubborn ring bearer, flipping the same space from ceremony set-up to reception set-up - but they handled everything with grace and aplomb and I'm sure put out tons of fires on that day that I don't know about nor ever have to! They hooked us up with a lovely jazz pianist to play during dinner and helped us out with last minute sound needs. And maybe best of all, as we came storming down the aisle triumphantly and headed to a little room for a moment alone after our ceremony they had glasses of sparkling rose waiting for us and had the maid of honor guard the door. These ladies have been in the business for a year or so, but that shouldn't deter you from hiring them - it's a good thing because they're fresh & not at all jaded by the wedding industry. They truly love working with their couples and want your wedding to be absolutely lovely. They have their act together and will help you execute the wedding you want. If you want more info or a recommendation about AELO message me on Yelp. Thanks Carolyn & Amy for everything you two did for us. Our wedding was wonderful and AELO is worth their weight in gold, platinum and diamonds. read more

Amy and Carolyn did a fantastic job as our day-of planners/coordinators. Without them, our wedding day would not have been as much of a success and surely would have added to the stress my wife and I had in the weeks leading up to our big day. Because of our budget we could only do the day-of planning but Amy and Carolyn were available to answer our questions by phone or email and also help reassure my wife when she was worried about our caterer or other planning issues she was not sure of what to do. AELO's guidance along the way and especially in the last few weeks before our wedding really helped put us at ease and feel confident that they had everything under control. Less than a week before our wedding my wife and I sat down with Amy and Carolyn and went through everything, from our vendors and their contact info and our entire timeline. After going through every detail (which we apprecaited) and asking all the right questions my wife and I felt great about the wedding and that the coordination was in good hands. We were having some major issues with our caterer and Amy and Carolyn not only took over communication with them weeks before the wedding but AELO was firm with them about what was going to happen and how and to leave my wife and I alone before the wedding. Our caterers were obnoxious in so many ways but AELO really helped take control of the situation and tell us how things will proceed with them. During the last week we had a lot of communication with AELO and all of our questions were answered. Carolyn ran our rehearsal with ease and my wife and I gave all of the things we wanted to be set up for the wedding (boxes and boxes of stuff, wishing tree, gift box, centerpieces, candles, table #s, etc) to Carolyn after the rehearsal and the next day everything (including the flowers we had delivered to the hotel) was set up beautifully in the ceremony space. The actual wedding day could not have been more of a success. The ceremony and reception were beautiful and went extremely well. Amy and Carolyn took control of the logistics, set up/breakdown, and everything was in order and went off without a hitch. It was such a whirlwind day it was nice to know we had a great team that was behind us the whole day. Once of the main worries my wife and I had was how will everything look when we arrive at the reception? Will everything we communicated be where it should be? One of the best moments of the day was walking into the reception site from the shuttle and peeking into the room and seeing how magnificent everything looked and how everything was exactly how we wanted or even better! The only couple really small complaints we had were that we felt during the family pictures after the ceremony it was a little chaotic trying to get everyone we needed for each picture. AELO didn't have the list of the order of pics and who is in each pic so I had to get it from the photographer and yell out people's names myself along with my wife. I wish AELO would have taken control and yelled out the names and got everyone together quickly as this pics took longer than expected. The other thing was that there was clearly a sound issue with the mic in the reception space and we were hoping AELO would talk to the DJ to figure out the problem before the speeches started. However, they might not have noticed being busy with other logistics and the DJ was more responsible for fixing this issue himself. All in all AELO may be new and still gaining experience but they proved to be a fun, reliable, knowledgeable and take charge coordinating business that gets the job done for a great price. Amy and Carolyn took so much of the weight off our shoulders in the last few weeks through the day-of and helped make our wedding day unforgettable! read more

We had our first post COVID event and had a birthday party outside at our house. This team did a great job planning the party and coordinating at the event. I will definitely use them again! read more

We hired Carolyn from An Event Less Ordinary for a full coordination of our wedding that took place July 11. It was the first decision of many, but it might have been the best. I'll try to look back over the year and recreate a picture of all the ways she helped us so as to best shower her with all the compliments she deserves. From our first consultation, I knew An Event Less Ordinary was the planner we wanted to work with. They were prompt and thorough for our first meeting, but more importantly, so easy and fun to talk to. In interviews with other coordinators, I already felt overwhelmed as they ran through massive checklists of items asking us, "Do you think you'll want help with this? What about this?" Carolyn, on the other hand, asked pointed questions about our vision for our wedding and our shared history. It felt like getting coffee with a new (extremely interested) friend rather than a business transaction. Since my husband (still get a thrill out of saying that) and I are busy people, our main reason for hiring a planner was to keep us on track and save us the trouble of wading through every vendor listed on the internet looking for the perfect fit. During our venue and vendor search, Carolyn found options that perfectly lined up with what we wanted, made appointments, provided feedback based on our impressions and gently nudged us when we needed to hurry up and make a decision. At an appointment with one vendor, I leaned over to Carolyn and said, "It's amazing how everyone we've met with have been so wonderful to work with and keyed into what we want." She smiled and said, "Yes, that's why I recommended." As we got closer to the date, we were in communication with Carolyn almost daily. I started talking about her so much that a friend asked me, "How did you and Carolyn become friends?" I had to admit, "Actually, I hired her. I just feel like she's my friend." (A friend that is as interested in my wedding as I am, and incredibly organized...) But the day I really realized the value of An Event Less Ordinary and Carolyn was our wedding day. It was whirlwind of activity and emotion, and in the thick of it I probably couldn't have even told you my own name. After the wedding, when my mom asked how I thought Carolyn did at the wedding I said, "I was just so happy every time I saw her face." I knew she was fully on board for what we wanted, completely invested in the event, and totally in control of what needed to be happening and when. Every time I saw her face, I thought to myself, "Everything is under control. All you need to do is have fun." I cannot imagine a better assessment of a person with the word "Planner" in their title. The day after the wedding, as we sat in our hotel room overlooking downtown Chicago eating reception leftovers Carolyn snagged for us since we were too busy dancing to eat, I thought, "I hope every bride can be as lucky as me to have such a heartfelt and dedicated team working to make their wedding special." read more

Carolyn is everything we wanted our coordinator to be. We wanted someone to take the pressure off my wife and I on the day of our wedding. Very often Carolyn would approach one of us and say "I'll handle this" or "don't worry about this, I've got it." And then her and her assistant did just that. Small things, big things, they handled it so my wife and I could enjoy ourselves. And not things we had to ask of them. They would just do it or when someone else would ask us questions, she would step in and say "we'll take care of it." From the very outset, she showed she was competent and experienced and we immediately trusted her. Lastly, the price point for An Event Less Ordinary was significantly lower than other vendors and worth every penny. If you are planning your wedding and considering a coordinator, first do it and second, you could NOT do better than Carolyn and her staff. We could only give five stars but they deserve even better. First class all around. read more

Hiring An Event Less Ordinary was the best decision I made in my wedding planning process (besides the husband). I selected them for day-of-coordination and from start to finish, Carolyn was the consummate professional and made every step seamless. We had a meeting a few weeks prior to the wedding to review all of the details. An event coordinator myself outside of the wedding industry, Carolyn thought of details I hadn't even thought of and had amazing suggestions to help me save time and money along the way. From that meeting, she coordinated directly with all of my vendors making those last few weeks prior to the wedding, which can be chaotic, a lot more stress-free. She was always responsive to any questions I had. Carolyn also assisted with the rehearsal, helping to organize some pretty rowdy boys so I didn't have to :). The day of, however, is where Carolyn and her assistant Tina really shined. When there was a snafu with my flowers, they jumped into action ensuring everything looked beautiful so that I didn't even know there was an issue. She assisted with set up of my DIY items and the venue truly looked like a dream thanks to her creative touch. Throughout the evening, Carolyn reminded me to eat (you forget as a bride!) and made sure all of my guests, including a few youngins and those in wheelchairs, were comfortable and happy. My wedding was a week ago and my mother keeps commenting on how wonderful Carolyn and Tina were (and she can be hard to impress!) If you are questioning whether you need a day of coordinator, do it. And, if you want a team that is thoughtful, professional, and generous, turn immediately to An Event Less Ordinary. I would work with them again and again. read more

We hired Carolyn from AELO to be our day of coordinator for our wedding in August 2017. When we started wedding planning I wasn't sure we needed a coordinator, but in hindsight it was the best money we spent. First of all she's so easy to work with. We live in Philadelphia and our wedding was in Chicago. She was great about doing things over the phone or email and arranging our in-person meeting around our crazy travel schedule. She is crazy competent at her job, and really fun to work with. Living so far away, we had a lot of fears about last minute issues that we wouldn't be able to handle, but our final walkthrough with Carolyn put our minds at ease and actually turned out to be a ton of fun. It was so great to end the stressful experience of wedding planning on a high note! Second, she did a great job organizing all of our vendors and dealing with last minute issues and questions from our crazy families. Having someone to run your rehearsal isn't something you realize you're going to need until you get there. It is so helpful to have someone (besides yourself) who can tell everyone where to go and what to do and to provide perspective. On the day of the wedding she arranged everything and even built, like actually built, our chuppa (no small feat, that thing was huge, and from what we can tell, lacked clear instructions). With her taking care of everything we were able to relax and enjoy the day. At the end of the night she bundled all of our cards and gifts (and a few slices of cake!) together and gave them to us, so we could take them home. The end of a wedding is just as crazy as the beginning and it was nice to know someone was keeping track of all of our stuff. An Event Less Ordinary, and Carolyn in particular, were a dream to work with and turned the stressful process of wedding planning into an event that we could sit back, savor, and remember fondly for the rest of our lives. The work they do is impeccable and we honestly can't thank Carolyn enough for all she did for us! read more

Hiring AELO as our day-of coordinator was the best decision we made while planning our wedding! Carolyn and Lauren were amazing to work with and made sure everything went smoothly for the rehearsal and the wedding day. We didn't have to think about the schedule at all during the ceremony and reception, because they communicated with all of our vendors and made sure we were in the right place when needed. They were super friendly and encouraging and always great at keeping us organized and on task. We also hired them to do a budget review, which was really helpful for us to understand at the outset of planning. read more

We had such a great experience with AELO! We worked with Lauren, and I don't know what we would've done without her! We were planning our Chicago wedding remotely from Los Angeles, and doing so during a year when we were so busy with intense jobs and traveling for other peoples' weddings that often the planning of our own felt overwhelming. In the last few months leading up to our wedding, Lauren helped us stay organized, assisted with vendor communications, coordinated a venue walkthrough with our vendors that worked within our extremely limited availability, and ran our wedding day so beautifully that we never had to worry about a thing, and it was a perfect day. Even with the challenges of us having our ceremony and reception in two different locations, and one of those locations being a public outdoor space, it all came together seamlessly and everyone had a blast. Lauren is so on top of things, so experienced, so thoughtful, and a delight to work with! We're super grateful for all her help. We felt such relief in the knowledge that we were in great hands with AELO every step of the way. read more

We hired Amy from An Event Less Ordinary for partial planning and day-of coordination. We liked her businesslike attitude and her willingness to adjust the contract for just what we needed instead of charging us for services we didn't want. We made a lot of choices that didn't fit the conventions of a mainstream U.S. American wedding, and Amy was not only nonjudgmental but supportive. Amy helped us find a photographer, a hotel for our guests, and a hair stylist/make-up artist. It took a huge load off our planning workload to not have to research these vendors ourselves, and Amy was patient in answering our questions about what was reasonable to expect and handled a lot of the inquiries with prospective vendors prior to the final contract signing. We ended up getting a spectacular deal on the hotel room block. I also really appreciated her help with finding a make-up artist and hair stylist, as there were a lot of items to negotiate for the package, and having Amy handle most of the communications took much of the stress out of the process. The day of the wedding proceeded remarkably smoothly; whenever I thought of something that needed to be figured out, I would find that it had already been taken care of. I highly recommend An Event Less Ordinary for anyone who requires wedding coordination services in the Chicago area! read more

AELO helped us plan our wedding - both leading up to the event and with day-of coordination. We're grateful that we had their guidance and expertise during the process! Our engagement was fairly short - six months - so we had a lot to do in a short period. Carolyn provided tons of excellent vendor recommendations, which really helped us save time. Instead of having to pour through Google, read hundreds of reviews, and compare unknown companies, we had AELO's firsthand knowledge to help us out. Carolyn would provide us with 2-3 recommendations at a time, facilitate meetings and walkthroughs, and answer any questions that that we had. If we liked a particular vendor, she would help us solidify a contract. If we didn't like any of the options, she happily gave us more. It really cut out a lot of the legwork and stress. When planning, my husband and I were on a strict budget. Even though we had to watch our spending, we didn't want to skimp on certain elements. AELO helped us to create an event that felt like a million bucks, but was within our budget! For example, they led us to a PERFECT venue (Ovation), which included so many awesome things in their contract. The space was the gorgeous, had the aesthetic and amenities that we wanted, and the staff was incredible - all for a very competitive price. We were simply blown away. AELO took our vibe and cost restraints into account and led us to a GEM that was perfect for our wedding day. The same was true for our florals and catering company. We couldn't be happier that Carolyn pointed us in their directions. Carolyn also gave us a timeline checklist, and followed up regularly to make sure that we were able to stay on task. She broke the list up into manageable chunks, and it gave us the reassurance that things were moving along. On the day of our wedding, Lauren and Caitlin were our coordinators. They were very kind and professional, and they ensured that the day went off without a hitch. The few questions or concerns that my husband and I had were addressed immediately. We really didn't have to worry about anything - which is exactly what you want on your wedding day! I'm so glad that we chose to use AELO for our wedding. Although it's possible to plan a wedding on your own, it's much easier when you're working with people who know the industry and can help save you time and money - and who are able to point out the little things that can easily be overlooked. We had such a great day, and we're glad that AELO was a part of it. read more

Carolyn was godsent!!!! My husband and I had her as our day of wedding coordinator and we were blown away with her professionalism, hard work, perfectionism, and her loving demeanor. She really truly cares to make your day perfect and smooth in every way possible. I would recommend An Event Less Ordinary to any bride. That was money worth spending!!!!! She made our day carefree and smooth, and I would have been a wreck without her (being a bit type A that I am ;-)). We loooooove Carolyn! read more

LOVE AELO! We had them as our day of planners for our wedding in April 2012. I had the best wedding day because of them; I didn't worry about a thing. They created a great timeline and made sure every vender was on the same page. Anytime I had a question they where very quick to respond. If you are looking to enjoy your day please go with AELO they are so sweet and wonderful to work with. Thank you Amy and Carolyn for helping make our wedding so amazing! ~Mike & Christine read more

Absolutely the best!! A day-of coordinator was the first thing that we took care of once we had a date and venue set. From An Event Less Ordinary, we got Carolyn and her assistant Alyssa. We met up with Carolyn at a Starbucks and the love grew from there. She was really fantastic from beginning to end - the perfect balance of laid back and let's get shit done. Carolyn was also incredibly supportive of all of our ideas and let us be us. She really kept our day organized and was incredibly flexible in meeting with us. To quote one of my matrimony homies: we "had a great team this weekend. They were all leaders and always took initiative." Carolyn and Alyssa just knew exactly what needed to happen and they did it with very minimal instruction from me and that was really just priceless. With so many other things to think about and make decisions on with wedding planning, it was so nice to have someone that I could trust to "make things pretty." read more

Had our wedding at Garfield Park Conservatory with Carolyn and Nicole. Nothing but great things to say about our experience working with them. Like a lot of people, we were on the fence at first about whether we needed to hire an event coordinator. We can honestly say that we have 0 regrets after the fact. Carolyn was extremely friendly, professional, and knew how to take care of business. It was clear that she's done this a few times which took a lot of the wedding stress out of the day. Thanks!!! read more

Although my wife and I both have full time jobs and a lot of extracurricular activities, we were fairly confident that we would be able to plan our 150+ person wedding without help. With about 4 months left, we started to feel a little overwhelmed... but we pressed on, figuring we could get through it. With less than 2 months left, we realized that we were fighting a losing battle. We had picked out all of the vendors, but deciding on all the details and the timetables started to feel like a full time job! Furthermore, our venue didn't offer much help with coordinating things on the day of the wedding. The very thought of having to organize and coordinate everything on our actual wedding day was giving us both nightmares! We needed help, and a friend of ours recommended Amy and Carolyn from AELO. I was impressed at our very first meeting. They were organized, professional, and pleasant. They listened patiently as my fiance vented to them about various topics, some not even related to the wedding! They put my fiance at ease almost immediately, and that was enough for me to know that they were the right planners for us. We decided to go with their "Bravo" package which included day-of coordination plus another five hours. Over the next few weeks, we found Amy and Carolyn to be very responsive. We bombarded them with all sorts of questions, and they always got back to us with great advice. Although we were both freaking out a little bit, with each meeting they assured us that we were right on schedule and that the day would go off without a hitch. They were right. Towards the end of the night, I remember looking over at my wife and saying "So, did Amy and Carolyn really help out tonight?". She gave me a look of stunned disbelief, and then started rattling off an enormous list of things they did. Honestly, I was amazed. Amy and Carolyn ran the show so smoothly that we got to enjoy the ENTIRE night without having to worry about any of the details! I think that is a great testament to their skills. If you choose to go with AELO, you won't be disappointed. They're worth every penny. read more

All I can say, is Brittany and Tanya did an AMAZING job at my daughter's wedding. They had everything under control, events happened right on time - and both girls responded always with a smile and a "yes, I can do that" attitude. My husband and I really, really appreciated the organization and the beautiful way the venue was arranged. We just loved it and we could not have asked for more. Thank you for making a lovely day even more lovely and unforgettable for all of us. read more

We found An Event Less Ordinary on OffbeatBride, and from the first phone conversation on, I knew that their "day of" package was going to be most well-spent money in our budget. Brittany always responded to my e-mails within a day, and is one of the most organized, clear-headed, focused individuals I've ever met. She and Tina were motivated and self-sufficient, and ran the entire event flawlessly, soup to nuts. Under Brittany's guidance, our venue - the Skyline Lounge at the DANK Haus - went from pretty to gorgeous. I'm a stickler for details, and I can honestly say that I wouldn't change a single thing. Brittany and Tina, we cannot thank you enough - I've seen weddings where the mothers or the bride/groom are running around, completely frazzled, unable to even enjoy the event. This was not the case at our wedding. Our families were able to relax and have fun together and focus on bonding. You gave us - and our families - a wedding that exceeded every expectation. We wish we could give AELO a billion stars, but I suppose 5/5 will do. :) If you're getting married and thinking about a wedding coordinator, absolutely go with AELO. Every couple deserves a day like the one my husband and I had, and every family deserves an experience like the one our families got. read more

Our wedding day could not have been a success without An Event Less Ordinary. On June 25th Carolyn and an intern were our Day-of Coordinators, as Amy had another wedding she was handling. Carolyn impressively ran our rehearsal, transported box after box of our décor, arranged it beautifully, and had it packed up in my parents' car by the night's end. She also worked EXTREMELY well under the tight set-up/tear down times of our venue. Her coordination with the other vendors kept our wedding on schedule. She was even able to corral my boisterous little brother after he snuck behind the bar and tried to play bartender. She also hooked us up with a last minute videographer. Carolyn is a hardworking lady with a great can-do attitude. I know if there were any snafus she found a way to fix them. I can't say enough great things. Thank you so much for making our wedding day so special! read more

Amy and Carolyn are the best day of coordinators a girl could hire. They are these fabulous wedding ninjas who take your vision of what you want and transform your space into this super awesome magical looking place. They make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I literally left them with a cart full of decor and said one thing "The two larger floral displays flank the aisle." When I walked into the room with our wedding it was beautiful and elegant and everything I wanted. And I don't think it would have looked like that without their expertise and help. read more

It hurts to write this review, because I just don't have the necessary vocabulary to accurately describe how WONDERFUL Carolyn is. Like, I need to go back to school for 4 more years just to be able to realistically describe how much of a life-saver she is. But, alas, I'll try to do it on my 4 year college degree level vocabulary. I'm super laid back but super type-A (I know, makes no sense) so I didn't go bridezilla on what exactly needed to be done (perfect shades of purple, etc) I just needed help getting it done while trying to hold down a full time job and my sanity. I had spreadsheets, lists, timelines - and Carolyn STILL came up with stuff that I forgot. Seriously from the moment she came over to meet with me (at MY apartment - talk about convenient!) I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. She's super SUPER organized, sweet, and CALM. I don't know how she does it! I would give her my financial information and have her plan my financial future - she's that smart, reliable, and organized. In the weeks leading up to the wedding she was constantly emailing and available - not getting a hold of my caterer was a pet peeve of mine - but Carolyn responded to my texts in freaky fast time - like Jimmy Johns - only BETTER. My wedding day was FLAWLESS - and I attribute that all to Carolyn and her AELO team. One of my favorite sayings is "when you've done everything right, people won't think you've done anything at all" - the day went so smoothly that I almost forgot she was there! But sure enough, schedule was on time, venue was flawless - and without realizing it I always had food and drinks in my hand. One of my favorite FAVORITE moments was when I complained about a headache - Carolyn opened up her fanny pack (!!!) and handed me two Advil without saying a word. It doesn't get any more romantic than that folks. I'll stop gushing but I have to say that the BEST DECISION I made (besides choosing to marry my wonderful husband) was choosing Carolyn to help with the wedding. Seriously - that was a better decision than the VENUE AND FOOD - that's how good she is. Take money out of your dress budget to hire her if you have to - she is WORTH IT. Thank you Carolyn and AELO team for making my day a DREAM :) read more

I LOVE AELO!! If you're trying to find a wedding planner you NEED these gals. Talk about making wedding planning easy! We hired Carolyn and Amy to plan our entire wedding. They really listen to what you want and help you find it in your budget. They never ever push ideas on you either. If you don't want it it's not going to happen. But they are also there to give you their experienced advice. Which I admit I needed. (a situation with disposable cameras...) I did not have to stress one bit the day of the wedding. I mean of course I had normal day of wedding stress. But nothing to do with my venue or my vendors or anything for that matter. My job was to look pretty. Mission accomplished! They coordinated the schedule of the day and had everything under control. They actually had two weddings on the same day. So I did not get to work with Amy at my actual wedding but she was there for the whole process. They hired an intern for the day and he came to meetings the week prior so he could get a feel of what my wedding was supposed to be. And it was just perfect. All in all these gals are detailed, affordable, and just simply amazing. I can honestly say I had my DREAM wedding and they were a giant part of making that happen. read more

We met with a couple of day of coordinators (DOCs) and we knew after our first meeting that An Event Less Ordinary was the one for us. We felt completely comfortable with both Amy and Carolyn, they were relaxed and fun and comfortable - they felt like people you'd like to hang out with. Their rates were reasonable. It felt like a match. We were right to trust our instincts. They made our wedding day perfect. I had been extremely stressed about all of the moving parts that had to be coordinated that day for deliveries to floral to catering and... Well, see? It doesn't seem like that much... I can't even remember all the other things because I didn't have to deal with them. Amy and Carolyn made sure that the day just went smoothly. I didn't think about the timing of anything on our wedding day. They got both of us plates of food so that we didn't miss our own dinner because we were socializing (it was a casual cocktail style dinner, not a sit down). I could go on and on about how awesome they are, but ultimately they made it possible for my husband and I to enjoy our wedding day. Thank you both! read more

First word: Outstanding! More words to follow... Brittany and her assistant literally were a life saver, and we can confidently say helped make our wedding day OURS. We had our ceremony and reception at The Grove Redfield Estate in Glenview, and AELO worked to make sure we could focus on our friends, family, and celebration rather than last minute snafu's, setups, forgotten items, small breakdowns of plans, and so many other things. We used them for day of coordination, but feel like we got much more than that. We also had a chance to meet with Amy & Carolyn and they are consummate professionals with great personalities. Long/Short: I would quickly and readily recommend them to anyone I know, or they know. They were Outstanding. read more

I'm absolutely thrilled with the day of coordination that Amy & Carolyn did for my wedding on 10/22/11. I worked very hard to be organized and have stuff taken care of in advance, so I can't emphasize enough how nice it was to just hand over my day of 'to do' list. I knew that Amy & Carolyn were two people who I could 100% rely on to keep the day moving along smoothly -- and they did! read more

I'm a wedding photographer and had the pleasure of working with Amy and Carolyn for the first time last weekend. They were both very attentive, yet calm and as a result the event ran very smoothly. As a vendor, I also appreciated that they were looking out for me the whole night. They got things done, from small details to big ones. read more

Amy and her assistant, Ciara, coordinated our wedding on 10/12/13. Our best wedding decision was to hire AELO! Everything ran so smoothly. I was particularly impressed with how they put together our centerpieces. We had several pieces: books, candles, figurines, table numbers and bud vases (see pictures). We just dropped it all off, including buckets of flowers, and they arranged everything so beautifully. They really went above and beyond! Amy kept things running on time, I don't recall any issues coming up at all - at least none that I caught wind of! I felt so relaxed and relieved to have them there. It was so nice that after putting so much time and work into the wedding we were able to hand everything off to AELO and just enjoy the day of! I highly recommend hiring them for your event!! read more

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I am guilty of not writing a review sooner. My wedding was last June and like all the other reviewers, I cannot say enough about the amazing service I recieved from AELO. We worked with Amy who was nothing short of wonderful. I knew from my first meeting that all was going to be alright. Having never planned a big event before I knew I would need some help with some things but I also was excited to take on some aspects on my own. We were having a smaller wedding but it was really important to me that it was still a classy and very personal affair and not a shabby chic nightmare . I utilized their partial planning and day of coordination services. I knew absolutely nothing about limos and transportation services and feared hiring the wrong company. We were gonna be in need of a big ol' bus to transport all of our 45 guests to 3 different venues the day of the wedding and I really wanted to depart our ceremony in a pedicab/rickshaw. They recommended the greatest companies ever and at the best prices possible. We were very happy with both recommendations. Both companies were very professional to deal with. The day of went so smooth and seamless. The venues were decorated exactly how I envisioned and then some. We totally stayed on schedule. And just the fact that no one from either family or any of our friends had to lift a finger was so awesome. Usually with a small wedding you have to rely on loved ones to help with things but with having Amy and her crew there that wasn't the case at all. It was the smartest decision I could make regarding our wedding. If you are even considering hiring help for your wedding, look no more. You will be hard pressed to find better. It will be the best money you'll ever spend, I promise you that! Thank you Amy and crew for all that you did to make our day perfect! read more

A+! An Event Less Ordinary was incredible from start to finish. Their communication was always seamless and easy to comprehend and so very helpful along the way. They always made a point to meet us close to our house when we had the initial meetup and day of coordination meetings. We had many things that we were piecing together in terms of decor for our wedding venue and we couldn't be happier with how beautiful everything turned out. Look no further when deciding on event coordinators. Thank you Amy & the team for making our day simply magical! read more

We went with AELO for our day-of coordinating and they were great to work with! We ended up adding on an additional service to help us find a wedding block when that was harder than expected, and adding that service to our contract was easy. Our coordinator, Rachel, was friendly and professional! She took care of things throughout the entire day of our wedding, including helping my mom with the custom centerpieces/seating chart and managing all of our vendors. My husband and I both barely saw her the whole night, which is exactly what we wanted -- since that meant she was handling everything for us! read more