We love Lilian, of Just Merried Events--we don't know what we would have done without her, and we HIGHLY RECOMMEND her to everyone we know.
We hired Lilian as our wedding planner, after she planned and orchestrated my sister's wedding the year prior without a hitch, all the while with a smile on her face. After seeing her in action at my sister's wedding--poised, patient, organized, responsive, and just on top of everything--it was a no-brainer to hire her for my wedding too. Our wedding was a destination wedding in Maui, Hawaii. We were procrastinators and were super busy with work, so we hired her 6 months before the wedding. She did a ton of research for us, gave us a bunch of great options for the venue and vendors, and basically set up everything within ~1 month. She found a fantastic venue for us and negotiated with all the vendors with consideration of our budget. She really went above and beyond, and completely surpassed my expectations--and anyone that knows me, knows that I'm pretty picky.
Lilian and I went on a separate trip before the wedding to Maui to see the venue and meet the vendors. That trip was so organized--she set up meetings with all the vendors, including tastings for our reception and cake, which both helped me feel at ease, as well as helped the vendors know what preferences and style I had. She was constantly on top of things, and even had all my preferences written down in advance, questions to ask the vendors, and she took notes during the meetings. She stayed on top of all the vendors via phone and email in all the days leading up to the wedding, kept track of due dates for payments, and even kept on top of us to send our videographer the DVD's and hard drives a month after the wedding was over.
We ended up purchasing all our linens (because renting is Maui was even more expensive than buying!), and she took care of steaming and setting up the venue on the day of. She had even gone to Target, etc. to get vases, etc. as some supplemental decor (since we couldn't bring a bunch with us on the plane), and picked up some of our wedding guests from the airport. We have some high-maintenance family, so we often used her as the middle man, to help keep our stress levels down--THANK YOU, Lilian--that in itself was invaluable, and we love her for that!
Besides seeing her in action exhibit all the great qualities you need in a wedding planner (super detail-oriented, organized, responsive, patient, etc.), she's also qualified. She went to school at UC Berkeley I think, and you can tell from working with her that she's super smart.
Oh, and if her going above and beyond in her work is not enticing enough, her pricing is also very affordable! Eliminate your wedding stress, and hire Lilian! read more