We had an amazing experience with Laura. Guidance was the most important thing since we were the…read morecouple that didn't really know what we wanted but we needed it on a budget and she delivered! Helped to right the wrongs I had done hah! and steer me in the right direction with the small stuff. Helped us quickly and efficiently answer the debatable items which kept me and my fiancé calmer than we would have been. She has a great (and reliable) network in the wedding industry. Saved me hours upon hours searching for the right vendors. She always had a calming demeanor which kept me calm, because weddings shouldn't be these huge stressors and having Laura definitely kept it that way.

I am so excited to be the first to review Laura and her wonderful business, The Ideal Day! It was…read moresuch a joy to have her help while planning my wedding - I never thought anyone could be as excited as the bride about every little detail! I hired Laura as a DOC (day of coordinator), but she really did SO MUCH more than that. She helped with vendor recommendations, she made timelines, and especially in the weeks leading up to the wedding, she really made sure everything was in order. When I was in the early planning stages, I wasn't 100% positive I really needed a day of coordinator, but I decided to at least see what they had to offer. What sealed the deal for me is when Laura showed up to our first meeting with a sample binder she'd put together for another bride's wedding. A binder! With organized tabs and labels and everything! A woman after my own heart! Sold! Laura helped me get the ball moving with lots of vendor recommendations. She even offered to come to our meetings with vendors or to provide us with some questions in advance to ask when interviewing vendors. Then once we had most everything in place (venue, dj, florist, photographer, caterer, etc. etc.), there were only a few emails exchanged between me and Laura until about 4-6 weeks before the wedding. During that time, I mostly emailed her with "wedding etiquette" questions, which she is very knowledgeable about! Then, about 4-6 weeks before the wedding, Laura asked me to send her ALL of our vendor contracts. It was actually pretty hard to gather them all up since some were saved on the computer as PDFs and others we had as hard copies. But I eventually scanned all the hard copies and emailed Laura PDFs of ALL of my contracts. Because I was so busy with work, I didn't really have time to explain to her what everything was when I sent the email, but lucky for me, Laura set up a time for us to meet and go over everything. And then... she brings it... the glorious binder! Filled with all of our vendor contracts and a detailed day of timeline she's put together simply by reviewing the contracts! I didn't have to explain a thing - she read through all the contracts herself and put the binder and timeline together on her own! It was beautiful. A work of art, really. From then on, Laura and I spoke much more frequently. She made sure we were on top of final payments. She offered to come with us to all the final meetings with our vendors. She circulated the day of timeline with all our vendors in advance and served as the main point of contact so I didn't have to be bothered with all the little questions. It was so incredibly comforting to know I could rely on her to handle everything. I trusted her completely. She had it under control. Then about 5 days before the wedding, I gave Laura all of the "day of" items she would be in charge of (programs, bubbles, card box, cake serving set, toasting flutes, cake topper, escort cards, table numbers, guestbook, etc.). I never for a second worried about any of it - it was all in good hands! The wedding went off without a hitch! Maybe that's bad luck, but I'm really not going to complain. Everything was flawless, and I have Laura to thank for that. I never had to question or double check anything on my wedding day - I got to enjoy every moment of it with my new husband, knowing Laura had everything under control. It was amazing. Thank you so much, Laura!! Oh, and when we got back from the honeymoon, everything we'd given Laura before the wedding was sitting in our living room waiting for us, along with all of our gifts. We'd given Laura a key to our place in advance so she could bring everything back there for us after the wedding. It was perfect. Laura was simply phenomenal from that first meeting through to the very end. I don't hesitate in recommending her to anyone!

She was unprofessional, missing half the night, and made errors throughout the entire wedding…read moreweekend. although the worst part was her negative and snarky attitude and tone to everyone including the family and friends. Do not waste your money.

Megan and her team are the absolute BEST! Our 300 person wedding was cancelled last May due to…read moreCovid when we decided to reach out to Megan who was able to plan a small, safe 50 person gathering within a matter of only a few months. Megan knew everyone in the industry and ensured that our event was not only magical and perfect but also followed all event safety guidelines. She is the best in the event planning business and we would recommend her to anyone- cannot say enough positive things about our experience!!

Throughout our time with Karolina, she was very unorganized, forgetting many details that had…read morealready been discussed. We spoke to her a few times about her lack of organization, but she didn't seem to correct it. Karolina may need and assistant as she seems too busy. I wrote out all of the details so she wouldn't forget and I also provided the venue with a copy as back up. Karolina did not seem comfortable with conversing via phone so it was difficult to reach her. She sent long emails, ignoring our preference of communicating via phone due to our busy work schedule. Karolina's true lack of organization was obvious during our wedding rehearsal, as she did not know what to do. Everyone was lost because she didn't bring copies of the ceremony schedule. It was very embarrassing for our wedding party and the venue staff to keep telling us how unorganized, overwhelmed, and how much of an amateur she looked, and how rude she was to them when they asked simple questions. I explained to Karolina that she was unorganized and everyone could see it. She stormed off screaming "I am organized. I am organized", which was one of the most unprofessional and bizarre moments I have ever experienced. Karolina disappeared many times during our almost THREE hour rehearsal, leaving us to figure things out. She left without apologizing or even saying bye to me. The rehearsal put us behind 2 hours, which forced us to cancel our welcome reception for out of town guests. We had to be the mediator for some issues Karolina and our vendors had. Our makeup schedule was thrown off because Karolina lied about sending the wedding day timeline to our makeup artist. BUYER BEWARE: She will make up lies about us firing "many wedding coordinators and florist" , which is SIMPLY NOT TRUE. Not apologizing for how much stress she gave us, as SPECIFICALLY cited above, not addressing her performance, and completely making up lies, truly shows her true colors.

Dear Future Bride,…read more I am happy to give you nothing but my utmost recommendation that you book Karolina and book her now! I would like to give you a balanced review in which I tell you all the good things but also mention things to be wary of, but unfortunately I cannot-- I don't have a single negative thing to say! If there is one thing in our wedding planning that was absolutely worth every penny (and more!), it was hiring Karolina on as our day-of coordinator. She is by far the most reasonably and affordably priced day-of that we've seen, and her dedication to your wedding cannot be matched (and will be apparent immediately). As far as "value for the cost"-- look no further! She is priced WAY below the "big name" (and not so "big name") coordinators, and her attention to every one of YOUR details will make you feel like you've gotten away with a steal! She never asks you anything twice-- she will know every detail of your dream and vision as well as you do! While she is a "day-of" coordinator, her work starts the moment you hire her and she communicates with you and your vendors constantly up until the moment you say "I do." Her response time via email is almost immediate, and you never have to wait more than a few hours. In fact, she often emailed me reminders and such before I even had to contact her! I don't communicate very well over the phone, so I can't comment on her availability via phone, but if she is at all as attentive by phone as she is by email, you have will have no problem! The timeline that she creates is very thorough and very helpful. She helped keep everything organized and moving throughout the wedding process. She actively communicates with all of your vendors throughout your planning and the day of your wedding, and I didn't worry about anything on my wedding day-- I knew she had it covered! She is very friendly, and her demeanor is pleasant. This is a plus when she's dealing with wedding issues, as people feel comfortable around her and do not feel like they're being yelled at. She was punctual and professional, and was always there to help with "emergencies," even if it wasn't outlined in her job description (i.e. I forgot vase marbles and she was there with a full bag!!). Overall, I highly highly recommend her as your day-of coordinator!!

Working with Liz as our wedding planner was one of the best decisions we made throughout our…read morewedding planning process. Liz is highly skilled, talented, organized and responsive. She answered our (many) questions and emails quickly, and with so much patience and expertise. She has incredible relationships in the Chicago wedding industry and connected us with the best vendors who we loved so much, but we also never felt pressured into any decisions, a wonderful balance. There are so many logistics and details to handle during a wedding weekend, and Liz thought of everything - getting our large bridal party and family where they needed to be, transporting my dresses back & forth, executing a perfect timeline for the evening, and so much more. She took so much off my plate and made it so I wasn't worried about a thing besides enjoying ourselves. She also was so caring, kind, and fun to work with. Trust me, you want Liz as the leader of your wedding team. I truly cannot imagine having done it without her!

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!!!

I love using "local florists". M on the Square was just that. I ordered a designer's choice…read morearrangement on Thursday for delivery on Friday. They were so easy to work and truly delivered a beautiful combination of seasonal flowers.

Yikes! Incredibly rude employers. One star only because I am required. Don't waste your time.read more

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.

I cannot say enough about how great our experience was with Phillipa. My husband and I wanted to…read morelearn some moves for our wedding dance and we originally went to a community school ballroom class that ended with Tom and I thoroughly bored and angry with each other. We then luckily found JiveRoc. Phillipa came to our apartment and ended up choreographing our entire dance. Tom and I had so much fun after the first lesson we couldn't stop practicing after she left. She was wonderful. Our dance was challenging for us, but not too much that it wasn't enjoyable or hard to remember. At the wedding it was a complete success and all of our guests couldn't believe our dancing skills. Phillipa also gave us some tips for dancing with our parents that helped a lot too. I loved working with Phillipa. She was such a fantastic dance teacher. We know have moves to use when on a dance floor anywhere. We are so much more comfortable. Thank you JiveRoc!

Are you not a dancer? Do you and your future husband have no dancing experience whatsoever? Then,…read morePhillipa is for you!! Phillipa did an AMAZING job working with my husband and I on our first dance. Not only is she extremely patient, but she is VERY professional and really loves working with all levels of dancers (inexperienced dancers included). Phillipa met with my husband and I four different times. When she first told me that we would have an entire dance perfected in four sessions, I laughed. There was no way that my husband and I (two inexperienced dancers) would learn an entire routine in four sessions. She proved us wrong! Not only did we have our entire first dance perfected, but we had a blast each time we worked with her. After each session, she typed out the lyrics to our wedding song (You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne) and the dance moves that went along with each line/stanza. She doesn't charge by the hour and spent as much time as we needed perfecting a particular dance move. She is extremely affordable and is flexible about meeting you for your dance lessons. Our guests really loved our dance and could not believe how flawless our dance turned out. The first dance can be stressful, especially because you know all of the guests' eyes will be on you (not to mention the videographer and the photographers). Having met with Phillipa to teach us our first dance helped alleviate some of this stress and we had a great time dancing the night away! We would definitely recommend using Phillipa to help with your wedding dance! Meghan and Nick

They totally botched up my son's wedding decor. They were hired to do the mandap…read more Which the draped so low that it completely obstructed the view for my guess. They did not stick to the design of the stage on the backdrop and made it so far behind the head table that the couple couldn't even hear or see the speeches. Totally disappointed in their service . When I brought it up to their attention, they blamed their design flaw on my budget, I had paid them $21,000 for the event! I wouldn't of been so upset if they had taken accountability for their mistakes.

Yanni design studio is your only destination for over the top decor! Nobody does it like them!…read moreYanni did our wedding and now our son's Bar Mitzvah and I wouldn't have it any other way!! They took our theme Wynnwood and took it to the next level! No detail was over looked! Their designers are beyond talented and bring forth an element that no company in Chicago can compete with. It's truly an honor and privilege to work with Yanni design studio on your special events!

If you are looking for someone to go to for anything for your wedding or event, Megan is the person…read moreto turn to. One of the best people in the wedding and event planing industry. This is the person that you want on your team to make your wedding or event a dream!

From the owner: Jeanil Design, Wedding & Events specialize in making your event ideas become a reality!…read more "Day of" services, Full Service, and we also have A La' Carte options. "Dream it, Want it, Have it ~ I'll plan it!"

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!