I was lucky enough to attend WMAW (Western Martial Arts Workshop) at the DeKoven Center in Racing,…read moreWI. The location is absolutely beautiful. Everything about the site, from the amazing gothic architecture, to the well manicured courtyard, shaded by old majestic trees, to the hourly tolling of the bell tower, make it feel like being transported to another world, or at least to another age. The center is built alongside Lake Michigan, if you have the opportunity, wake up early and watch the sunrise over the lake, I promise, it is worth the (very slight) effort. The staff are all friendly, polite, and professional, and absolutely go out of their way to make sure to be helpful and accommodating. If you are planning an event, and want a location that is beautiful, comfortable, and memorable, I strongly recommend considering the DeKoven Center!

I attended a wedding in the Chapel and reception at the Great Hall (I think it was the larger of…read morethe two rooms). The venue is nice looking and the grounds are well-maintained with flowers, trees, etc. It is also nice to have everything at one location. Overall it was a nice wedding. Just a few problems... the chapel smells a little musty and the grounds are just north of the sewage treatment plant. So a south wind (which we had) is not good. But... those are ignorable since as I said everything looked and felt nice.

I was simply impressed by everything. Rev. Pam made everything stress free and our day was simply…read morebeautiful. We got married at Pine Manor in September 2015 and I could not have asked for a more beautiful ceremony and the setting was perfect for us and the pretty garden made it feel really romantic. We selected the Everything Wedding for up to 30 guests and from there we had very simple decisions while Rev Pam and Liz her assistant did the rest. From the cake, to the violinist, vows, dance lessons, delicious food, music, beautiful bouquet, hair & makeup, wedding invitations, photography and drinks.It all was absolutely PERFECT! I must say I was kind of neurotic and emailed her a lot with random questions and requests and any request was no problem and all questions were answered quickly. She also allowed us to make payments up until the wedding which really helped. Not only is Rev Pam on top of every little detail but she's also very warm and kind and makes you feel at home and definitely makes your big day really special to you. BTW, our cake was Central Continental Bakery was amazing! We got so many comments about how delicious it was and how beautiful it looked. I gave Rev Pam a picture of the way I wanted our cake to look and she made it happen. I thoroughly recommend Pine Manor for anyone thinking of getting married. Mary & Rich Married Sept 5, 2015

We were married by Rev Pam in Central Park in Des Plaines. She is absolutely fantastic. She was…read morefast to respond to my questions regarding availability. The process to book online is so easy and fast. She is very thorough and covers all the little details. On our wedding day she gave us exactly what we were wanting, a small intimate ceremony. She has such a passion for marrying people. She is absolutely wonderful and we are so happy with our day. Thank you so much Rev Pam, you made our day wonderful!!

Rev. Phil was a great and lucky find. My husband and I don't really have the same spiritual views…read moreand we almost went with a friend officiating the wedding. When I changed my mind and decided I didn't want to leave God out of our wedding, I said that I would pay for and find the officiant. I admit I didn't shop around. My wedding planning approach was one and done. Once I found something I liked, I was done "shopping." I liked that Rev. Phil offered a free intro session before committing to his services. After the first one hour meeting, my husband also liked him and we were sold. We did the full package and I'd recommend it. The love story was definitely the best part of the service. It's true what the other reviewers said, people talked about that love story for weeks and months after the wedding. We were willing to make fun of ourselves and this really helped carry-off the fun of the story. Rev. Phil has a great knack for telling a story. Everyone was laughing, including us. So many of our pictures show me looking around to the crowd laughing at my ridiculous self and trying to make eye contact with someone mentioned in the story. We were also able to incorporate a touching candle-lighting memorial for my husband's deceased parents, as well as readings that were a mix of religious and secular. Rev. Phil is very detail-oriented and will give you explicit instructions and details about each part of the service. I found this helpful, as I didn't want to worry about all the details myself. As he says, he's the professional and will take the stress of this part of the wedding off of you. As a bonus, I heard he even "fooled" by super-Catholic mom by wearing his collar. No grief for no Catholic wedding! Rev. Phil really helped make our wedding a perfect, unique and special night! I'd recommend him to anyone!

Reverend Phil. Wow. How do I even begin to express how amazing he made our ceremony? If you're…read morelooking for a personalized ceremony that will engage versus bore your guests, call him today and cross your fingers that he is available. I couldn't begin to count the amount of times we heard how amazing our ceremony was. He will make your guests laugh, cry, and truly feel a part of your story. Although we didn't know him for years, our guests thought that he had known us from the beginning. How cool is that? I know your stressed and the to-do list is never ending. Rev Phil will make this portion of your planning seamless. He will guide you through the details and make it easy. He is organized, insightful, and truly invested in his couples. So, stop reading this and call him today.

Review: Avoid Carla Doshi and Forever Incredible at All Costs…read more Rating: 0/5 Stars I cannot express strongly enough how much I caution future couples against booking Carla Doshi of Forever Incredible. While an officiant is supposed to be a source of peace and celebration, Carla was nothing but a source of stress, unprofessionalism, and--most alarmingly--dishonesty. Our experience was a nightmare of "radio silence." After paying our deposit, we went weeks without any response to our emails or voicemails. When she did finally resurface, it was always the same: a laundry list of excuses (trips, "archived" emails, personal matters) followed by template responses that made it clear she hadn't actually read our requests or taken our wedding seriously. The breaking point came when we tried to terminate our contract due to her lack of communication. Not only did she refuse to return our deposit, but she manually altered our original invoice after the fact. We have the original documents showing the payment was not listed as non-refundable; once we asked for our money back, she doctored the invoice to "deceptively" add non-refundable language to justify stealing our money. Attempting to manipulate a contract and steal from a couple planning their wedding is beyond the pale. This is predatory behavior. Please, do yourself a favor and find someone who treats your marriage with the respect and integrity it deserves. Stay far away from Carla Doshi.

AMAZING! Carla is so wonderful. She did our wedding ceremony which was just beautiful. Our ceremony…read morewas created by her and told our story wonderfully. I loved how she had these beautiful quotes from books, poems and our own words taken from our homework. We clicked with her immediately and we loved the ceremony. She gave us a gorgeous certificate as well for a keepsake. She was also so amazing on the wedding day, I was freaking out because someone showed up at our wedding who was uninvited and she was so calm and came up with a plan in two seconds and dealt with the guest. We never had too and no one noticed anything. She responds so fast and is just amazing. So affordable and will give you a wedding ceremony to cherish.

Outside of probably having children, getting married is arguably one of the most important/special…read moreday's of your life. If you are looking to hire someone to help make that day less stressful - I would NOT hire Misse Daniel. She may be organized, but her overall demeanor and delivery throughout the whole wedding planning process - including the DAY OF wedding - was unacceptable. From family to vendors to guests - I was given negative feedback, mostly around how rude she was. I don't care how much experience you have, you should never treat people like that. Not to mention, when our trolley broke down after the ceremony in front of the church, she nor her assistant was there to assist with a solution, so luckily one of my bridesmaids (who is a wedding planner) stepping in. Hiring Misse for our wedding was a huge mistake, so sharing my feedback so others don't do the same!

This wedding wouldn't have happened without Misse. There were so many moving parts and she handled…read moreit like a champ. My husband and I had families with big personalities and they were all corralled by the Honey Bee team.