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!

I just did my kids party with royal decor studio and Natalya and Lidia were amazing and so nice…read more They're work was beautiful. I highly recommend them.

Great work by Lidia. We hired her for Backdrop for my wife's baby shower event and she did a…read morefabulous work. She was easy to work with, great in communication and punctual. She set up the backdrop in exact 1 hr timeframe which was given to her.

Every Thanksgiving, my friend usually orders a fully cooked whole turkey from Mariano's for her…read morefamily. This year, she invited me to join them. As we talked about the menu, I told her that my brother randomly met Jenna, a Catering by Michaels culinary analyst, at a restaurant right before the holidays last year. She told him about how fabulous their confit turkey legs are so he ordered them, and now his whole family are addicted. I'm a dark meat lover too so I was sorry I missed out on trying them! I guess my turkey description made an impression on my friend because she kicked Mariano's to the curb. She ordered the turkey breast, two confit turkey legs & the gravy. Let me tell you - everything was FANtastic. "Out of this world" as my friend & her family gushed!! They traditionally make their own sides, but this turkey was so delicious that they are planning to order the whole shebang from here next year. The fully cooked turkey breast & legs were so easy, no messy carving necessary. The leg skin was crispy & both white & dark meat were unbelievably juicy. My brother & now my friend both thank Jenna for her confit turkey legs recommendation! We are all stuffed hahaha!

Planning a Chicago wedding while living in California was a challenge - especially for choosing a…read morecaterer. Shannon from Catering by Michaels was so helpful and responsive and very accommodating of our limited availability in Chicago. The food was delicious. The appetizers were unique and delicious and easy for guests to eat while standing around mingling. The dessert bar was so much fun and so tasty, too! The entrees were to die for. The beef tenderloin was actually what sealed the deal for us - my husband said that was the meal he wanted to eat at the wedding! We didn't originally love the salad options we first tried at our tasting but Shannon and the team were so open and responsive and crafted a chopped beet salad that was exactly what we were hoping for. Shannon was also super helpful as we figured out options for kids' meals and guided us to the most economical option. Throughout the entire process, Shannon and her team were super responsive and kind and we ended up with a delicious meal and wonderful experience. We definitely recommend Catering by Michaels for your Chicago wedding!

We have a wonderful time working with Jennifer and Fern. They were our "day-of" wedding planners…read morefor us but they did... oh, so much more! We started working with them well before the wedding, largely to make sure we were on track with our schedule (catering, entertainment, invites, etc). That went just fine. We also had an added bit of fun (that turned out amazing). My partner and I have been together for a long time and friends didn't know what to get us since we already have a full house. So when we told our friends of our wedding plans (and planned outfits) they decided to get us a band for the wedding. Which is great but now Jennifer and Fern had the grooms + random friends to coordinate with. Our friends worked directly with Bon Events and they ALSO had nothing but good things to say. In fact, Bon helped them secure the band and work out the final details. I feel they went above and beyond and made our wedding an amazing event. I didn't have to think about a thing on our wedding day except to make sure we ate (Bon also had secured food for us at the wedding... since it's hard to eat when you need to say Hello to everyone) and made sure our guests had a lovely time. I cannot recommend them enough!

What can I say about Jennifer & Fern…read more.. Honestly, no words can describe how amazing these 2 women are, they were supposed to just be our "Day of Coordinators" for my wife & I's wedding this past October but throughout the year and a half that we used their services we were in contact with them constantly. Furthermore, they were happy and excited to help us make sure that we were on track and that our wedding would be exactly what we wanted. They never made us feel like "just another client" or even once said "you didn't hire us for this" they were just always there, and always helpful. They were there for us anytime we needed encouragement or had fears about a decision we had made they were right there to back us up and encourage us to go for what we wanted. They also ran our rehearsal like drill instructors and made sure everyone knew their role, down to how fast they are walking the aisle and where to stand on stage. These women are really a lot of fun to talk to and work with but when it comes down to it they are professionals who take their clients needs very seriously. We hired them for the "Day of coordination" and when it came down to that they did an amazing job, our wedding probably had a few hiccups that day, maybe even a disaster or two, but my wife and I didn't see, hear or even suspect anything, more importantly neither did our guests. Jen and Fern had a staff of 3 people working under them for our event and between the 5 of them not only was our venue completely flipped from "Ceremony mode" to "reception hall" within 30 minutes but the entire night went perfectly. They even went as far as to grab food for my wife and I from the caterers so we wouldn't even have to get up from our table. Jen & Fern I hope you read this, Jen & I had our dream wedding, we put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making sure it happened and I 100% feel like you guys did too. That wedding was the best party of our lives and we owe that to you. Thank you so much for everything you did, we will never forget it.

We used Epic Events for our wedding, and to say Craig brought our dream vision to life is truly an…read moreunderstatement! During our meeting, we came in with so many different ideas and inspirations, and Craig helped us really hone in on what the vision was meant to be. He took everything we shared and transformed it into something even more beautiful than we could have imagined. I was genuinely sad leaving the room at the end of the night because it was that magical. Every detail felt so intentional, elevated, and completely us. It was everything we wanted and more. 10/10 recommend!!

Beautiful work for our wedding! The flowers were so pretty.read more

We used Stacy for our wedding this November, and although she was our "day of" coordinator, she…read morewent above and beyond to make sure that our day was perfect in the weeks and months prior. Stacy is responsive, creative, detail-oriented, organized, professional, and overall a total pleasure to work with. We always knew she was on our side, making sure that our vendors followed through, finding us the best pricing on rentals, and advocating for us whenever necessary. Stacy takes such pride in her work and helped us and our families feel well taken care of. We were able to fully be present and enjoy every minute of our weekend thanks to Stacy, and truly could not have done it without her. When I first spoke with Stacy she promised to be "the first to arrive and the last to leave," but what we got from working with her was so much more than this! Thank you Stacy for helping to make our dreams come true this weekend - we look forward to hopefully working together again in the future!

Stacy has become more than a wedding planner; she has become part of my family. She has not only…read moreplanned my wedding, but has planned various other parties and events, including my son's bris this past summer. Stacy is a joy to work with. She is incredibly organized and has done an amazing job of transforming my vision for each event into reality. She is extremely responsive and I have never found that she does not return calls/emails as a previous reviewer mentioned. I also felt that she was a great advocate for my interests when interviewing, selecting, and negotiating with vendors. In regards to day of services Stacy is a total pro. I was as relaxed on my wedding day as I think anyone could be. If anything went wrong (which I'm sure things did) I didn't know about it. Stacy and her team took care of everything and my wedding was flawless. I cannot recommend Stacy more highly. She will fulfill all of your expectations and make you consider using a planner for all of your events!

We used Classy Cut Catering for an event for about 65 people. It was a luncheon, but designed to be…read moremore of a heavy hors d'Oeuvres buffet because we wanted people to mix. I found Robin to be delightful, accommodating and easy to work with. She had a large list of hot and cold hor d'oeuvres from which to select. The size of the list was a bit overwhelming. She talked further with us to get a concept of what we were wanting to achieve. She then guided us through some of the appetizers she though we might find interesting, approximately 16. With Robin's help we narrowed it down further to eight items plus deserts. The trays of food were beautifully displayed. Everything was absolutely scrumptious! Many of our guests asked for her name and phone and said it was all so delicious. We received countless complements on the event. The biggest hits were rare beef tenderloin w/ horseradish sauce, shrimp and tortellini skewers w/ pesto dip, homemade potato chip topped w/ cocoa spice rubbed pork tenderloin, cabernet cupcakes and the biggest hit of all.... oreo truffles! OMG! They are to die for! In my opinion, she was quite reasonably priced. We would have paid far more to have this event at restaurant with the same amount of food she provided. I would not hesitate to use Robin again and again and again.

recently i was looking for a way to thank the staff at a rehab clinic for all their help.. i…read moredecided to order food for a simple luncheon. that's when i discovered this great little hidden gem. everyone at the clinic raved about how delicious the food was, and asked me repeatedly where i had gotten it from. robin, the chef and owner was so helpful in planning the menu and then preparing the food. actually, she was awesome to work with, and i look forward to working with her again in the future.

After interviewing several caters, we decided on Apple A Day for my wife's birthday party…read more Absolutely outstanding. Their recommendations of passes appetizers and food for the buffet were fabulous and the quantities were spot on for this modest sized, 18 person fete. Servers could not have been more helpful and professional, and the place was left spotless. The menu included cheese puffs, potstickers, spring rolls, skewers, crudités, charcuterie, and of course a big tray of sushi... everything delicious. It was all really very impressive. Recommend them highly.

It really was lovely. Went here with a Gorup to have lunch. There is such a wide variety of salads,…read moresandwiches and more. They do catering as well which is nice. We did have a nice table for 6 close to the back so it was quiet and we had privacy. It really is a nice little place in Glencoe.We had a variety of foods from the figgy green salad (spring mix, figs, avocado, cartelized walnuts, shaved apple, bacon and blue cheese) to half salad/half soup (and more) and the cafe salad with chicken salad. Very friendly. Stop in and have a drink, a bite or a coffee! You won't be sorry!