For almost two years, Karen Brown firmly stuck with me throughout the whole long process of making…read moremy wedding a reality. My husband and I got married on a perfect weekend last April in Brooklyn. The wedding went on without a hitch, and it was better than anything I imagined. Our guests keep saying that it was one of coolest weddings they've ever been to, but judging from that you wouldn't think that there was a long backstory involved to make it happen. Karen is a master in keeping the plan on track, and she coordinated all possibilities no matter what happened the entire time. Something new always seemed to pop up, from an unexpected wedding date and location change, to me suddenly having to move to a completely different city 300 miles away, to ceremony changes, and to us considering starting from scratch to do a city hall wedding midway (which we didn't). AND she seriously saved the day when our photographer couldn't show up at our wedding. Karen Brown's crisis management skills are the sh*t. We would've had to make do with someone's iPhone pics if it weren't for her finding another photographer at the last minute! We couldn't have been more grateful for having her as our planner that day. I thought she took care of that amazingly well: the original photographer called her the night before explaining he couldn't come, and Karen then immediately contacted another photographer, who was thankfully available, and booked her that same night. Karen handled the crisis on her own before she told me on the morning of the wedding so that I didn't have one more thing to worry about. I was completely stressed out in the days leading up to the wedding. If she called me the night before about this I would've lost my mind. So I was engaged for a long time but kept putting off wedding planning since I was always too busy. Karen got me started, making it easier for me by preparing a neat folder of all the info I needed and discussing the big picture. All my husband and I really wanted was a small casual party with good food, and Karen helped us develop a creative concept that fit our budget, which was also small. Being a former interior designer, she knows how to design good-looking events well. In working with her, I felt that she really took the time to really understand us and our needs to give us ideas that spoke to us, using her extensive knowledge of wedding places and people in the NYC area. Karen also had a great way of helping me see answers more clearly when I'm indecisive about things in the process, and that was great since being the decision maker on most everything was pretty stressful. Most importantly for me, since I had so much going on in my life, was that Karen created a personalized month-by-month checklist of what I need to do prior to my wedding date and followed up with me regularly for more than a year to make sure I created a guest list, bought my dress, sent out the save-the-dates, etc. When we were looking around for a venue and vendors, she took time out of her day to come along with us and asked them important questions that I didn't even think of. She also formulated a timeline for the wedding weekend scheduling each happening by the minute and sent it to all the vendors and the wedding party to keep them in the loop. Having everyone on the same page just made everything run much smoother. One of the best things I remember about Karen was that one day she mailed me a letter that was stuffed with exclusive sales at local wedding and accessory shops. She collected these from a recent wedding planner's gathering and thought of me. I was pleasantly surprised and so touched! Not only is Karen the most organized person I know who can be trusted to cover all the bases, she's also very conscientious in everything she does, and she's so pleasant to work with on top of all that. I had quite an exciting adventure with Karen Brown and can't believe we finally pulled it off so nicely! Needless to say, I've recommended her to everyone and will definitely get her on board for my next big party!

I found Karen online and was incredibly impressed with her reviews...and so now too, I am a…read morebeliever. We hired Karen to help us with a company cocktail party for about 100 guests. This was party on a terrace on the 16th floor, in midtown, and had lots of moving parts to be coordinated. She found us a great caterer;worked closely with our DJ; took care of every detail we could think of (and she thought of many things we never even considered) ..and when the going got tough two days before the event, and rain showed up in the forecast, she managed to get us a tent for the event, which worked out perfectly. All in all Karen was great to work with and our party was a huge success!! Thanks Karen, for taking the responsibilities away from me and allowing me to totally enjoy our party.

Chelsea, Sarah and the entire Brilliant Events team had to be one of the best decisions we made…read moreduring wedding planning and I'm so happy we had them on board for the month of coordination! I had a relatively small wedding in the Hamptons and assumed early on that I could figure out most of the details myself. I quickly realized that nothing compares to having experts like them who know how to handle any last minute issue and have wealth of experience working with vendors/venues across NYC. Chelsea had great recommendations for vendors I neglected to look into earlier on in the process and was a huge help in making sure critical details, such as the rain plan, were worked out. Where the team really excels is making sure you do not deal with any stress on the day of the wedding and focus on having fun. I was so impressed with how professional, patient, kind and calming the entire team was. They made sure the bridal parties all were on schedule, vendor setups were done on time, food was set aside for my husband/I during cocktail hour, swapped out my heels when they saw I was in pain and even ran back to the house when we forgot our marriage license. These are just some of the little details the team took care of so we didn't have to worry about anything. They truly are your eyes and ears and it was such a relief knowing they got it handled. They truly love their jobs and their passion for what they do shines. Please do yourself a favor and hire Brilliant Events! I'm recommending them to all my friends for their weddings and events.

Chelsea single-handedly ensured that my wedding got off without a hitch and remained hassle and…read morestress-free throughout. Her team was absolutely fabulous, so kind, detailed-oriented, and they executed everything at the highest level. Admittedly, I hired Brilliant Event Planning at the 11th hour leading up to my wedding, right at the two month point when everything started to become overwhelming and all-consuming. Chelsea jumped right into action, handling most everything from that point forward. Hiring Brilliant Event Planning, and more specifically Chelsea and her team, was one of the best choices I made and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

My uncle's Funeral Repass was here After we Buried him at Canarsie Cemetary we came here to eat…read moresome catering food, My family was in town from Canada, Orlando-Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. Etc This place is very spacious and huge, There also an outside roof balcony and bar for drinks, and room for catering service to feed the guests. The stairs to lead upstairs its pretty deep, it would probably be hard for elderly people to walk up those stairs, as well as long their young gentlemen to walk up the stairs to help the elderly person. Big shout out to the owner he gave me a white tablecloth when I was one of the last people to leave the venue ) This is right across from Canarsie Plaza Mall : ( Dollar Tree, Bj's warehouse, Liquor store, Dunkin, Petco, etc stores at Canarsie Plaza mall ) P.S.: There prices are reasonable instead to the Catering hall on Glenwood Road on East 45 Street next door to the beer & soda shop. The elementary school ( that's painted all in black, there very overpriced) Very convenient by the MTA transportation: Bus: B17, etc bus

I used this venue on January 27th 2024.Iwas pleased the cleanliness and overall quick response from…read moremanagement at every turn.The only con for me is the stairs to get into the venue.I'll be definitely using this venue again and I will recommend this place to others

I wanna thank James again for helping me celebrate my 25th Birthday at SkyRoom I've used his…read moreservices for my birthday before and everything went as planned, my friends and I had no problem getting in and got a free bottle of champagne too!!, thank you so much and really recommend him and his company

Found James last minute and (literally) within a few minutes, my bottle service was setup at Hudson…read moreTerrace with a great deal. Me and my girls were truly treated like VIP from the minute we checked in. It was a black light party at Hudson Terrace's amazing rooftop-- party favors included. Don't get conned into sleazy promoters! This is the real deal! Def recommend his company, and will be using him again for a great night out. Thanks again, James!

I went to the shop and the space is like entering a fantasy world, every item was so exquisite and…read moreperfect. I couldn't decide between the arrangement but orchids are my faves. Finally decided for one for my entrance and was delivered the same day.

I ordered flowers to be delivered to friends in New York as Ovando came recommended to me by these…read morefriends. I ordered lilies to be sent as a loose English garden arrangement, not tight and structured. The arrangement cost a total of $435 and legit looks like it came from my local grocery store. It was hideous, and looked like tall soldiers with ugly greenery around you would find in an arrangement pre-made at the store. The recipients were not happy either. Just overall disappointed and would not use Ovando again when sending flowers in New York. Only giving two stars because the person who took my order was really helpful and nice. I asked for a partial refund and they gave me $54, laughable. I could have made a better arrangement myself from Trader Joe's lilies. Do not use Ovando, you're better off visiting your local grocery store. Wasn't planning on writing this review but dealing with them after the fact and receiving that refund is insulting.

While balloons were not that important to my party, I don't feel that I got what I paid for. And…read morefor 6 tables and the simplest possible design, I feel I paid a lot. I didn't get one color that was shown to me in a text and one of the balloons came deflated. The delivery people were lovely.

I cannot express how beautiful Jennifer's work is. She was professional, efficient and extremely…read morehelpful with executing what I wanted for my Mother's 60th birthday. Even with a tight deadline, of course I decided at the last minute I wanted something as grand as only she could create, she worked with me to make everything just perfect. In less than a week she had all of the materials she needed and set up was swift and COVID safe. I highly recommend hiring Jennifer for your next event - big or small. This is by far the happiest I have been with any event coordinator/decoration specialist ever!

Angie is phenomenal! As an industry professional myself I see a lot of "wanna be event planners"…read morethat get into this business because they "love parties'. Not Angie. She does it because she's a natural at it and she gets things done in a graceful, calming way. She's a pro, highly respected, and very well connected with the cream of the crop in NYC and abroad. And for the sanity of yourself and other vendors.. please hire a planner! They are lifesavers! Chellise Michael

Angie was the "planner" for my son's wedding this past weekend. I had minimal contact with her…read moreuntil the rehearsal and wedding, but heard over the course of several months the many incident of items that she either did poorly, incorrectly or just not at all. Brief list of examples: she often took up to a week to return phone call from the bride, she double booked the bride on more than one occasion for important appointments, she was rude to the church clergy and neglected to properly arrange bride and groom's limo from the church to the reception so they ended up riding the shuttle bus with the guests. If you are looking for someone with attention to detail, this is not the planner for you.

I was the maid of honor on a wedding on Calypso. Wow!!! What a great event!! Staff exceptional!…read moreFood as well! I can speak from experience...a person who used to waitress in higher end restaurants, I am an avid foodie, cook and also a boater. These people know what they're doing. The first mate, Lou, constantly checked in with me. Pace everything ok? Any changes you would like? This crew was fantastic!!

I normally don't write reviews but felt compelled to do so after a hosting a great team outing…read morethis past summer aboard the Calypso. I reached out to the owner, Frank, via yelp and he was very responsive from the beginning. He was happy to answer all my questions and even gave me a tour of the boat. We ended up hosting a company outing for a group of 20 and the feedback was great. The food, the crew, and the boat's history made for a memorable cruise around the harbor. The captain got us really close to the Statue of Liberty which made for some great photos. The group loved it so much that we are considering doing it again next summer. Thanks, Frank and staff!

Aside from my husband I feel the only person that understood the vibe and vision of our wedding was…read moreGabrielle! She immediately got me excited because we were on the same page from call #1! I truly felt we were in good hands. Her vision board she created just for me blew my mind! I wanted moody, whimsical, dried, branchy elements and while I was afraid I wouldn't be able to properly articulate what I was looking for she took her time talk me through it and my goodness did she nail it! I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. I would highly recommend working with Gabrielle!

I booked Gabrielle for my wedding florist, and she was completely amazing!! I can not recommend her…read moreenough! From the start Gabrielle understood exactly the style I was imagining and totally got it! She was so flexible to deal with, and really without much direction from me, completely made all my dreams come true. Gabrielle not only supplied the beautiful florals but many additional touches which really brought the entire venue together, such as lanterns and candles. She is unbelievably talented. I have had endless comments on my flowers, and they were so fresh that the entire venue smelled amazing. Truly, Gabrielle - I can not thank you enough. I loved every single touch- it made my entire day. Thank you so much!!