I had the pleasure of working with Cindy Shanholtz of Effortless Events for our company's 100th…read moreanniversary dinner and celebration, and I cannot recommend her highly enough! From the moment we began planning, Cindy's attention to detail, professionalism, and creativity shone through at every step. Cindy took the time to truly understand our vision for the event and worked tirelessly to bring it to life in a way that exceeded all expectations. She seamlessly coordinated every aspect, from the venue selection and decor to the catering and entertainment. Her recommendations were spot-on, and her organizational skills ensured everything ran smoothly on the day of the event. The 100th anniversary dinner itself was nothing short of spectacular! The atmosphere Cindy created was elegant and celebratory, perfectly reflecting our company's history while looking forward to its future. Our guests were wowed by the thoughtful touches, from the custom table settings to the beautifully designed timeline of our company's milestones. What really set Cindy apart was her ability to handle every challenge with grace and poise. Despite the complexities of planning such a significant event, she kept everything stress-free for our team, managing all logistics and vendors without missing a beat. It was clear that Cindy and her team truly cared about making this milestone event unforgettable. If you're looking for an event planner who can turn your vision into a flawless reality, Cindy Shanholtz and Effortless Events are the way to go. She made our 100th anniversary celebration an extraordinary experience, and I can't wait to work with her again in the future! Holly Both VP Sales & Marketing, Plymouth Tube Co.

This is my 2nd posting for Cindy and her team at Effortless events. I recently hired them for…read moreanother wedding celebration in Chicago for my daughter who got married in DC. Again, they did not disappoint. Cindy's attention to detail is remarkable. She recommended the venue and took the reigns. From the flowers, decor and layout it was perfect. She suggested so many fun things...like a s'mores bar for dessert where guests assembled and "cooked" their own! We had mini individual cast iron skillets with fresh chocolate chip cookies and guests could top them with ice cream. Everyone raved about it and EE did it all...I just showed up and enjoyed it. Thanks Cindy + team!

Jenin is such a talented, artistic florist and designer. I feel SO lucky to have found her for my…read moreJuly wedding at The Haight in Elgin. Her dreamy floral aesthetic made the already beautiful venue feel like an indoor garden, and all of my guests were blown away (see the gorgeous eucalyptus garland in the profile pic!) If you want unique, personalized floral and decor services, do NOT pass up Planning for Paradise! Had I not already had a coordinator through my venue, I would have hired Jenin for full wedding planning in a heartbeat. This gal can do it all with grace and style!

From the owner: A boutique Wedding Planning Business that specializes in styling + design.read more

Went here for a 4 year old birthday party. My kid had a blast! I personally wasn't a fan of the…read morecircle gatherings, but it was cute that they brought the birthday girl out in a little carriage. I would rate it a 5 but it was a very tight space for eating and some of the items seemed questionable for safety (my kid fell off the trampoline despite the rigged mats around it) and all the kids on the bridge area was a recipe for disaster. Regardless, good for littles. I would say maybe a 2-3 year old party and parents who supervise their kids.

This place is cute for little ones. My grand daughter loved it. Very clean and the people here are…read morenice. I think it's a great place to have a birthday party for 5 and under.

I began working with Henna in November 2023 when planning my sister's wedding for the following…read moreSeptember. Over the course of 10 months, I spoke to Henna regularly where she told me about her planning services, day of coordination, and decor in extreme detail. She was reliable and understood what the vision was that my sister wanted for her wedding. She was quick to respond, transparent with pricing, and very accommodating to our budget. As we started exceeding our budget, Henna came up with multiple ideas to help cut costs and repurpose items to help us remain comfortable with our vision and pricing while also remaining true to the vision we had curated over the year of planning. Henna and her team exceeded our expectations and are so glad we went with her services when deciding on a vendor that we felt comfortable with. We are excited to use her services in the future.

Highly recommend Professional Party Planners. Recently used their service for my Eid open house and…read morehad a wonderful experience. Super professional and timely responses from Henna and team. They helped get me chairs, linen, and table decor for my party. Timely drop off and pick up. The whole thing was executed exactly the way I imagined. The team members who come to arrange are efficient and clean up after themselves. Will definitely be engaging their services again in the future.

Top Notch Rental Provided the tables, garden chairs, tents, bar set up, high boys as well as…read morecocktail round table for our 50th wedding anniversary garden party held at our home Al and his Office staff were very fair and professional in dealing with them. The two young men who set up the tables and tents were very efficient and quick. I would highly recommend Top Notch Rental

Do not use them! Poor communication-they don't answer the phone, had to send multiple emails asking…read morefor a phone call 30 minutes prior to delivery. Workers showed up in filthy muddy shoes without booties, refusing to remove their shoes and proceeded to track in mud and dirt all over my stairs and white carpet. Pictures of the room were provided prior to delivery. Extremely unprofessional!

If you're looking for an amazingly talented, creative, kind decorator and party planner, look no…read morefurther than Kio Kreations! We recently hired Kristen to plan and decorate two events (one in Feb. 2024 and the other in April 2024) and she blew our minds with what she came up with. Our guests also loved every little detail that she came up with. All we had to do was give her a theme we wanted, a ballpark budget, and she ran with it to make it as amazing as possible! She is punctual, communicative, professional, and very hard-working. We will absolutely continue to hire her for future birthdays and events!

I am speechless - Kristen hit it out of the park again! I am a former Bride of hers and reached out…read moreto see if she could help us with a Winnie-The-Pooh themed baby shower. Her ideas and execution are beyond what I had even imagined. From the floral table settings, balloon installations and signage everything was beautiful. Her attention to detail is out of this world. I will forever recommend Kristen to all our friends and family but will also go to her for any future planning needs. I consider myself lucky to have had her through all of our important life chapters with more to come!

LONG REVIEW BUT READ BEFORE CONSIDERING USING THIS COMPANY FOR YOUR EVENT:…read more I should start out with saying I have been in contact with the owner Stacie MULTIPLE times and am left with nothing but frustration. Stacie is not a bad person but I do feel she is completely overwhelmed in running this business. I've been dealing with Funtime Services since April 1st 2025 trying to book a mobile petting zoo for my daughter's first birthday planned for June 2025 and the experience has been frustrating to say the least. Communication has been a major issue throughout the process, especially with Stacie herself since anyone else I did get to talk with couldn't help me in the slightest other than they'll leave a message for Stacie and then I never hear from her UNLESS I were to reach out and call and some how catch her available in office. Getting clear answers or even timely replies to emails has been nearly impossible. After multiple attempts to try and talk to Stacie herself once I did reach her two different phone calls I was turned away with "I'm busy right now doing something else , I can email you once I become available" (mind you then I'd never heard back at all) to which I'd have to reach out again and finally durning one of our last conversation, she provided general information she had to text to me at that moment and discussed two different pricing options for a petting zoo. She explained that she would be reaching out to two separate vendors at different price points. I informed her that I was more interested in the lower-priced option NATURALLY, but made it clear that I would be willing to book either one, as my main priority was securing a petting zoo so I would be waiting to hear back from her regardless who she was able to secure but to just let me know. So money was not the problem. Mind you any time I would voice my frustrations she keep reminding me "I don't make much money off doing this you know, at most I make $20" What should have been a straightforward booking has dragged on for over a month, and I'm still left with uncertainty and decided to not continue "service" with the company FunTime Services Event Rentals. If you're even considering Funtime Services for your event, just be aware that it may take an unreasonable amount of time just to start the process of securing your event. I really expected more professionalism and reliability for catering to such a nice suburban area like Naperville. Just leaving this review to show all what i experienced so anyone else out there knows what entails if interested in booking with them. Seriously proceed with caution.

I want to wish these people well in their new location. The two women owners are awesome, great…read morewith suggestions, honest with recommendations, and take a keen interest in customer satisfaction. We did have a slight mishap though and this is a good reason why when running an event it is important to confirm, confirm, confirm. I had suggested to my wife before our event that we call a few days before and the day of the event to ensure delivery. However we were all very busy and neither of us did. Well on the day of our event, the delivery was late. It appears our worst fears occurred and the drivers missed us. I called a half hour before the end of the window and spoke with Stacie. So it indeed was their mistake she immediately got on the case and stayed in touch with me until everything was corrected. Their prices are fair, they have a great new show room on route 59 which makes it so helpful to see tables and options in person. They also have a great selection and great ideas.I give a strong recommendation to consider them for your next party. Just make sure you take my advice and confirm your orders as well as your delivery!

My husband and I hired Barb for full service coordination and planning shortly after we got engaged…read moreand it was, hands-down, the best decision I made regarding my wedding. Originally, we were shopping for a day-of coordinator only. I was receiving ridiculously expensive quotes from coordinators. Then, I had one of those beams-of-sunny-heaven-with-angels-singing-in-falsetto moments, when I came across Just Ducky Events. It was so reasonably priced, that we opted for full-service coordination. Our experience was remarkable. Barb went above and beyond what was listed in her contract. She attended a wedding tradeshow with me to brainstorm ideas, met with my vendors, pushed and haggled for better prices, and had incredible aesthetic sense. She was most helpful with her consistency. My now-husband and I have a pretty busy schedule and she didn't hesitate to remind me of what needs to get done by what date, which was exactly what I needed. She had no problem playing "bad-cop". I had a little trouble with my photographer at first, and Barb was more than willing to get in touch with her and resolve my issue. Also, the day before my wedding, I called Barb in near-tears because my officiant (a stubborn family member) was changing the ceremony without my approval. I bugged her in the middle of dinner and she made time to talk to me. She listened to me rant and allowed me to have a bridezilla moment, but then offered some incredible advice on how to proceed dealing with this person. There were other hiccups throughout my wedding but Barb had them under control before I even found out about them. I had my dream wedding and it was largely thanks to Barb Duckworth. I could not have asked for a better planner & coordinator.

Just Ducky Events - Barb Duckworth A++++++++…read more I hired Barb after reading a review on theknot.com from another Chicago bride. I must say that I am so grateful that this other bride left her review for me to read. Barb absolutely made my wedding everything I could have dreamed of. I am a very detailed / organized person, so I had a specific vision of what my wedding would look like. Along with that were countless details that I made or had made to help make our wedding more personal. Barb really took charge and made sure all of my details were noticed. Not only did Barb help to make my wedding look beautiful, but she also helped to create our timeline of events and ensured that we kept on schedule. She made sure that all of our vendors were paid and tipped and went back to our hotel to retrieve forgotten keys so that she could help to pack up our car after the wedding reception ended. I was thinking about the saying, "She went the extra mile", but in this case Barb went the extra marathon worth of miles. I would recommend her to anyone getting married. We loved her and our wedding wouldn't have been the same without her. Hire her, you won't be disappointed!