We had a fantastic wedding planner, Katie, who has done more than day-of planning for us. She is…read moreexactly the type person you want to be your wedding planner: detailed-oriented, RESOURCEFUL, responsive, nice and polite but makes sure things are done the way they should be done (esp. when the bride can be a little particular at times), all around wonderful to work with. The record high flooding in Chicago happened on our wedding day. Yes, our venue flooded. With the generosity of our caterer who had their own venue and Katie's help, we were able to move venue, get everything setup, and had the best wedding ever! Katie took care of the entire move! I didn't even break a sweat through all this all because I know I can trust Katie to get the job done. Katie was so helpful throughout the wedding planning process and very good with what she does: making sure your day is as perfect as it can be for you!

Our Wedding Coordinator was Kara Superfine, of Bliss Weddings & Events…read more. I cannot say enough how amazing she was to us! Our wedding felt flawless thanks to Kara.. if anything went wrong, she fixed it, and we knew nothing about it.. she did everything in her power to make our day go smoothly and look beautiful... In the weeks prior to the wedding she talked/met with all of our vendors, and caught possible gliches before it was too late.. Above all this, she is a lovely person, and great to work with.. all of our family kept telling us how amazed they were with how organized she was, ( Even with my big crazy family lol) HIGHLY RECOMMEND KARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Swetal and team helped make our fairytale wedding a success! They were incredibly easy to work with…read morethroughout the entire process, inclusive of providing budget friendly recommendations of how to dress up our space for the sangeet, ceremony, and reception. Swetal was also accessible in convenient ways -- I knew if I texted or e-mailed her, I wouldn't have to worry about constantly having to follow up to get an answer. We received numerous compliments on our wedding decor, and I would definitely recommend working with this team!

Swetal and her team did an amazing job for a last minute engagement party! She was helpful and…read moreworked within our budget to create this beautiful stage within 1 week.

Date of Wedding: October: October 20 2019 Abington Banquets…read more Alina was so easy to work with and super patient. She listened carefully to what we wanted and was very flexible. She helped us change things around to match our budget. We worked with Alina for a few months before we put down a down payment so I thank her for her patience on that. Alina takes alot of pride in her work and refuses to use cheap materials. Alina coordinated our entrance and stage. It looked wonderful in the photos.

Olga from Prestige wedding decor helped make our dream wedding happen, after COVID caused us to…read moreswitch to plan B. Olga worked with us to help plan our fairy tale wedding when we were supposed to get married this May. Her suggestions were right in line with our style and her prices were very fair. When we had to pull the trigger on our big fat 500 person Indian wedding, Olga worked with us to design a whole new mini outdoor wedding this August. She helped transform a little outdoor gazebo into a beautiful wedding mandap, and truly worked with us on every detail until the last moment. She was very helpful when we had to postpone and let us move our deposit to a different day with no issues. When I asked for extra decorations last minute, she went out of her way to make it happen for us. I will definitely be using Olga and Prestige decor for all of our future events!

I am struggling to put into words how to thank Lindsay Gaeta and her team and acknowledge every…read moresingle detail she knocked out of the park and executed on our wedding day! Throughout the planning process there were so many little behind the scenes details she saved me time on which I am so appreciative! I will miss seeing her monthly on our planning calls! I don't plan to get married again anytime soon but I do hope our paths cross again! I am speechless about her help from the rehearsal to the very last minute of shutting down the after party!! The top 3 highlights that people mentioned to me on the wedding day were 1. Dad's speech, 2. Florals, 3. How hard she HUSTLED!!! My bridesmaids and close family constantly approached me on the wedding day with sentiments of "wow, she's good!!" She exceeded our expectations and anticipated our every move! I have close family in the hospitality business (who are the harshest critics about everything in the event planning world) and were over the top satisfied with her commitment and follow through to make the day as seamless as possible! I am sure there were many hiccups that day that were not brought to my attention and for that, I give Lindsay full credit! I was able to relax, be present and have a B+ personality that evening instead of my typical A- for all things attention to detail! I felt completely comfortable 'handing Lindsay the reigns' and entrusting she would handle everything as necessary, which she did!!!

We are beyond grateful for Kim Weinberg of LivenUp Events! From the very beginning, Kim was the…read moreultimate professional, so patient, kind, and supportive, even when I, as the bride, was feeling overwhelmed. She has this incredible ability to stay calm, cool, and collected no matter what comes her way, always finding solutions effortlessly and proactively preventing issues before they even arise. Her industry knowledge is unparalleled, and her planning experience truly shines through in every detail. From her amazing vendor connections to her creative, thoughtful ideas, Kim went above and beyond to make our wedding not just beautiful, but absolutely seamless. She kept us organized, on track, and stress-free throughout the entire process. But what really sets Kim apart is her heart. She genuinely cares about her couples, listens with empathy, and makes you feel supported every step of the way. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding planner. She is a true gem, and we feel so lucky to have had her by our side. Kim Weinberg didn't just plan our wedding; she made our dream day a reality, and we will be forever grateful.

Kamie is AWESOME! She helped with my parents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration and I can…read morehonestly say we couldn't have made it through the day without her. We had ~150 people attend the ceremony and reception and Kamie was the glue that kept everything together and running smoothly. She brought ideas to the table and helped us execute an event that was even better than the vision we had for ourselves. I would HIGHLY recommend hiring Kamie to help with your event. The last thing you want to do is have to worry about all the fine print and details coming together on your big day...so, hire Kamie and you won't have to worry about anything. Trust me, she's got it! I would absolutely use Kamie again in the future!!!

TC weddings provided us with a day of coordinator, Kamie who goes ABOVE and BEYOND for you. She is…read moreso detail oriented and organized that she made me practically stress free the day of my wedding (she couldn't change the weather)! To save money I did plan the majority of the wedding myself but Kamie took over the details of coordinating the vendors the day of. She spent the time to meet with us before hand to go over what we still needed to do and organize everything to create the best day of schedule. She listened to what I wanted with my decor, table settings, pictures, seating chart, guest book, favors, etc and was able to set up everything at my venue while I was out taking pictures. Everything came out better than I ever imagined! She ensured the vendors dropped off everything as planned and handled the tipping for me. She even helped take everything down at the end of the night and returned the unused alcohol to Binnys, saving us a trip. Kamie has experience as a wedding photographer and took some photos of our wedding without me even knowing. To my surprise THE NEXT DAY, she had created an online portfolio with the pictures for us to enjoy while waiting for our official photographer's. She sent us a gift of a photo of our first dance which was captured absolutely beautifully! TC Weddings will make sure your day is well organized and as stress free as possible. She knows questions and details to sort out that I didn't even think of. She was so wonderful to work with and phenomenal value. We are so happy we found her and recommend her services to any future bride!

Maha and her team has been phenomenal! Her work is meticulous. Our guests were WOW'd. We got…read moremarried at the Abbington Banquet last weekend. It's only been a week, her talent really shined on my wedding day when my guests couldn't stop praising the beauty of the decorations and her little personal touches she made around the venue. The bouquets were exactly what I had envisioned and we got so many compliments!! My girls were pleased, the only thing was my husband's boutonniere didn't seem to last all night....but no one really noticed but me....everyone was just busy dancing! I was recommended to Maha by multiple friends, they all had their own style at their weddings...I kinda wanted more elegance yet simple decorations, which she did an amazing job in presenting. We met up twice before and talked on the phone couple times to make sure we are on the same page with everything. I wasn't worried about her presentations, as I have seen her work and it is outstanding!! I was more concerned about the cost and meeting my budget. It wasn't cheap but she worked with me and made it more pleasant toward the end. Walking into the reception I was speechless, she added more of her touch than we agreed on and made my wedding entrance blossom! I didn't want my bridal party to sit next to me, I really wanted to focus on our sweetheart table....and she really did make it the focal point of the room. I also had 3 Centerpieces throughout the room, each one was different but they are blended together well. I never liked big tall centerpieces that blocked guest's views...I kept it simple, yet elegant. Loved every piece. Maha did an amazing job! loved everything, from church to Venue decorations....all together she made it beautiful and it definitely stood out from all my friends that used her in the past. She was easy to work with and very open to give me suggestions. Her taste and expertise really did it for me and I would recommend her to anyone in the future!!

First off I would like to THANK Maha and her amazing group for adding the best decor to make the…read moreperfect setting. When I went to Maha for my brothers wedding I explained my budget to her and literally she went above and beyond to make the entire event look beautiful! She added even more that I thought I would have just because I agreed for her to do as she please with the decor. We gave her my brothers wedding theme color and she worked her magic! Everyone who came to the wedding took her card and began to book her for the rest of the weddings. Even up to today the wedding decor is the talk of the village. I refer everyone to her and everyone who went to her left pleased and were even more satisfied upon the day of the event. Thank you Maha and team, I can't wait when it's my turn to book you for my event!!! Thanks for always being so loving and respectful towards each one of us and the referee I sent your way.Definitely will only deal with you and your amazing hospitality!!!

Choosing Shannon Gale and their wedding planning team was one of the best decisions we made for our…read moreLabor Day weekend Indian-Western wedding. A friend had recommended them with the promise that I would feel completely at ease--and that proved true from the very beginning. Shannon paired us with Cecelia McIntosh, who turned out to be the most exceptional project manager I've ever worked with, not just in the wedding world but across all of my professional experiences. Cecelia's attention to detail was extraordinary. She cataloged every element of our multi-day Indian-Western celebration, managed vendor relationships with grace, secured us excellent deals where she had negotiating power, and offered thoughtful recommendations--like the perfect florals for our mehendi ceremony. She understood the cultural nuances of our events, from the importance of removing shoes at the mandap to the way certain rituals needed to be set up. She took ownership of everything: carrying and setting up décor, assembling seating charts, ensuring plate service was flawless, and keeping the entire wedding running with a level of timing and precision that every single guest commented on. There were moments where Cecelia truly went above and beyond--most memorably when she calmly and safely helped transport a ceremonial fire to an unexpected location, taking control of a situation that could have easily become chaotic. She handled every last-minute request without hesitation, kept our planning calls on schedule, and brought a sense of structure, warmth, and professionalism that made her an absolute dream to work with. As someone who is naturally a very thorough planner, I stepped into my wedding days feeling completely calm, knowing Cecelia had everything handled. Because of her, I was able to be fully present and simply enjoy our celebration. I cannot recommend Shannon Gale and Cecelia more highly--they are truly among the best planners you could ever hire.

Hiring Marie from Shannon Gail Events was hands-down the best decision we made for our wedding…read more From start to finish, Marie was an absolute dream to work with--calm, organized, joyful, and endlessly professional. Her attention to detail, reassuring presence, and ability to handle every situation with grace made the entire planning process not only stress-free, but genuinely enjoyable. Marie took care of everything--from recommending absolutely incredible vendors, to assisting with design choices that brought our vision to life, to managing the many complicated logistics that come with having a wedding in a tent (think: flooring, electricity, bathroom access--you name it, she handled it). She consistently went above and beyond to make sure every element of our wedding weekend was perfect, and she did it all with a warm smile and steady confidence that kept us grounded and excited throughout. Marie brought our vision to life with such care and expertise--it honestly felt like we had a close friend guiding us every step of the way. She even took the time to thoughtfully put together all the welcome bags for our guests and, throughout the entire wedding weekend, handled every single detail so that we didn't have to worry about a thing. We were able to be fully present and enjoy every moment, knowing Marie had it all under control. If you're planning a wedding and want someone who is not only deeply experienced and connected in the wedding world, but also kind, attentive, and truly invested in your day, Marie is it. We love Marie so much that we wish we had another event to plan just so that we could continue to work with her! We are beyond grateful for her and cannot recommend her highly enough!

I can't imagine our wedding without the help of Five Grain Events. Joan and Emily are a dream team…read moreand helped so much every step of the way. From planning to coordination, they held our hands and completely delivered on each stage of the process. I would recommend Five Grain for any event, words can not express how thankful we were to have found them. While my bride was the MVP of our wedding, Emily was a close runner-up. Five Grain Events is the best in the game. 5 stars. I might not be married without the work they put into our wedding. Could not recommend more.

Joan planned a wedding for my friend Kate. Everything about the wedding was perfect. She was very…read moredetailed oriented and thanks to her hard work the wedding couldn't have gone any better.

Needed a photo for my passport renewal. I'm old so I decided I deserved a photo with better…read morelighting than at Walgreens. And that's what I got. I'm still old in the photo but I look less scary than in my previous passport photo. They were fast and efficient and easy to park as well! And I think the cost was about the same.

Evanstonians just head here for all your government 2x2 reqs. . CVS central, Walmart Greenbay Rd…read moreand PhotoAid all failed me. I should have just gone to Duron and saved myself 120 dollars in uber and wasted usb and photo payments. Paying it forward and leaving a review!!! DURON gets it done fuss free.

We had a great experience with Todd. After our initial call with him, to the wedding night, Todd…read moreexceeded our expectations. Our wedding was a small, 50-person event with both indoor and outdoor spaces in River North. Todd worked with that perfectly, providing a seamless sound system for both areas, along with a mic/stand for our vows and headset mic for the officiant. On the wedding day, we were running a bit flustered from photos when we arrived to the event space. We had not had a chance to meet Todd before that but once we arrived, he immediately put us at ease. He was already set up, dressed well, and greeted us in a warm, professional manner. He guided us through every moment of the night, from announcements to the first dances and cake cutting. It was a huge relief for the day. One of our biggest fears was that people may not dance much, especially with guests from different backgrounds. But Todd was exceptional at reading the room and getting the party started. He had excellent music selection and judgment. We gave him a small list of songs, including Albanian and Russian songs. He knew exactly when to play them, and our guests were on the dance floor until midnight. We received so many compliments on how much fun the DJ made the night. If you want a DJ who is professional, a great communicator, and an expert at keeping the energy high, Todd is a great choice!

Todd did an amazing job with our wedding! He was prompt with answering any questions and was very…read moreeasy to work with! He provided everything we needed to have a great wedding. We got several compliments at the wedding on such a great music selection! He even was so flexible with making day of changes that were needed! We would highly recommend hiring Todd! -Nick and Paige