We hired Elise as our day of coordinator and we highly recommend her! She is always with a smile, communicative, and an all around pleasure. We had already hired our vendors by the time we met with Elise. Still, she was willing to help us figure out many of the minor details and tried to help us secure a rehearsal dinner venue. In advance of our wedding day, Elise coordinated with all of our vendors and made sure everyone was on the same page. Our vendors told us they were impressed with her and found her very friendly. In the days before the wedding, Elise was responsive to all of our emails and calls. She even called around to help us find a tent in the days before our wedding, because the forecast called for rain (and we had ignored her earlier advice to reserve a tent out of our optimism). Throughout the process of working with Elise, we felt that we were in good hands. On the day of the wedding, Elise and her assistant Alida were attentive, warm and nimble. They realized that we had to go to Plan B and move the wedding ceremony inside. When we walked into the room, we were so touched that they had arranged for some extra lighting to make the space even warmer. It was beautiful and felt even more intimate than if we had stuck with our original plan to have the ceremony outdoors. If you need a planner, we recommend Elise without hesitation. Her calm is just right for a day that can be hectic and chaotic at times. Elise's professionalism, attention to detail, and good nature make her the perfect person to oversee and be a part of your special day. With Elise around, you won't have to worry about the details on your wedding day. Instead, you can focus on the important things and enjoy it to the fullest. read more

Where to begin! Working with Starling on Bond, and our coordinator Attie James, was without a doubt the best investment we made during our wedding planning process. From the moment we met Elise from Starling on Bond at an open house at our venue, we knew they were wedding experts. She was so warm and friendly, and even though we only booked the Month of Coordination package, she answered quite a few of our questions leading up to when our contracted service began. Eight weeks before our wedding date we were introduced to Attie who would be our coordinator. Attie was incredible from day one; she was so organized and professional, was so generous with her advice and guidance, and she didn't miss a beat whenever we asked any questions. My husband and I had the best, most relaxed wedding day, all because of Attie. Her incredible timeline for the day kept everything moving smoothly and we never had to think about where we needed to be when, or what needed to happen at any given moment. If anything went wrong throughout our day, we were completely unaware of it thanks to Attie! Not only did she handle absolutely everything gracefully, she went above and beyond throughout our whole wedding weekend. She corralled our families expertly (which is no easy feat!), helped my sister when her dress ripped down the back, made sure we were fed and had water/drinks all night, and even sent us some photos she took during the wedding the next day. By the end of the weekend, we felt like Attie was more of a friend than anything else. If you're on the fence about hiring a coordinator, do yourself a favor and hire Starling on Bond- you will not regret it! Thank you Attie and SoB!! read more

I was initially super skeptical at the idea of hiring coordinators for our wedding. It was going to be a small event, as weddings go, and my family and I pride ourselves on our skills at organizing complex affairs--why bother, I thought? I am so, so glad that I beat that nonsense out of my head and hired someone, and even more glad that that someone was Emily at Starling! From the moment Emily took the reins during our wedding timeline planning meeting, my partner and I felt so much more relaxed. She took on all of our vendor communications leading up to the wedding as well as on the day itself, so that my partner, our families, and I could focus on being present in the moment, instead of thinking about logistics. On our wedding day itself, Attie from the Starling team also joined us to coordinate setup, breakdown, and crowd control at our ceremony site in Fort Greene Park, while Emily made sure everyone got to where they needed to be on time, and orchestrated amazingly beautiful decorations at the bar where we held our reception. I'm a designer by trade and spent a lot of time leading up to the wedding planning what the decor should look like, but I never could have imagined quite where we ended up. Even my father, who is notoriously stony-faced and hard to impress, was over the moon with how great the space looked and what a fantastic job the Starling team did running everything so smoothly. Thank you so much Emily & Attie! What a delight it was working with you. To echo every other couple in these reviews: you may not think so now, but coordinators will by far be the best money you spend on your wedding. Don't think, just do it! read more

My fiancé Dan and I have been working with Elise on our April wedding for a few months now. We hired her as a Day of Coordinator, and we're still a few weeks away from the wedding, but she has already gone above and beyond to make sure things run smoothly. We've had two sit-down meetings with Elise so far: an initial consult, and then a timeline meeting where we ran through the whole day. After that meeting, she had a full timeline filled in for the day, and contacted all of our vendors to introduce herself and make sure things were set to go. Anytime we have a question, it turns out Elise has already thought of it, and started the ball rolling on getting it fixed. Most impressively, she's already proven herself to be great in a crisis! We found out on Friday that our band double-booked our wedding date and will no longer be able to make it. With less than a month before the wedding, we were totally freaked out! Elise immediately leapt into action. She helped us craft our response to our original band, and started reaching out to possible replacements that same day. Even though it was a Friday night, she was working to find us a new band right away. I am sure I will have more good things to say about Elise once the wedding day comes! We were on the fence about whether or not it was worth it to higher a day of coordinator, and we are so so so glad we did! read more

We worked with Elise Ritzel at our recent wedding and I feel strongly compelled to comment on her services here. My now husband, our combined families, guests and I were in complete awe of Elise. She is in a class of her own -- highly organized, incredibly patient and detail-oriented. But on top of that she is a truly delightful, warm and kind person to work with. She truly goes above and beyond for her Clients. She really took care of us in the lead up to our wedding -- thinking through every detail, responding to every single question, thinking of everything. No ask was too much. No detail was too small. On the day of our wedding, she seamlessly guided everyone from our countless vendors and a colorful group of guests with both grace and power. She managed the very few surprises of the day (I stained my dress two minutes after the ceremony...and we had lots of guests come really early) like a true professional. She's an ace. We had an absolutely magical day that went so smoothly and she is single-handedly responsible for that. I am very grateful that our wedding venue required that we have a day of coordinator, because I can not imagine having gone through the months lead up to or our wedding day without Elise. It will be the best money you will spend on your wedding. Worth every penny. read more

This 5 star review is for Elise and Paulette, our day of coordinator. As an event professional, it was pretty hard for me to hand over my event to Paulette and trust that everything would go as planned, but she made it so easy for me to trust her and she executed amazingly. Her coordination was flawless and I knew she was on top of every detail. I can't thank her enough for everything she did to make sure our wedding was amazing and I'm so thankful that she was our day of coordinator. If I was able to make a separate review for floral, I would give them 2 stars. I had a very long chain of correspondence with Christina, with months of radio silence in between me reaching out. I ended up going with her against my better judgement given the horrible communication because I trusted Starling on Bond and their prices were competitive. In the end, she went out of her way to deliver the flowers, which I appreciated, however, the quality was sub-par. My bouquet wilted within 1-2 hours (literally some flowers were drooping so bad I plucked them out of the bouquet before walking down the aisle) and my husband's boutonniere flower had completely drooped upside down within 2 hours. I was disappointed from start to finish and unfortunately can't recommend them for floral. read more

Two days after my daughter's wedding, I'm a little embarrassed to admit I didn't understand the need for a wedding coordinator right off the bat. If someone needed to make sure the ice arrived on time, I figured I could stand in for that. Thankfully I didn't feel strongly about it, and my wife and daughter went ahead and hired Elise. We could have bumbled along without her, but it would not have been the same day. Elise got involved weeks ahead of time, weaving herself seamlessly between vendors and timelines and seating charts and program decisions. She was everywhere at once, all the time, but never intrusive, anticipating questions before they arose and solving problems before we heard about them. She kept track of everything, tended to the idiosyncrasies of family members who needed tending to, and made us feel like guests at our own event, instead of the harried hosts we would have been without her. This morning when I stopped by the venue to pick up our leftovers and personal belongings, everything was packed and organized and waiting for us by the door. I can't recommend her highly enough. read more

I recently worked with Elise as my month-of wedding coordinator in December and couldn't be happier. Her temperament, professionalism and organizational skills are spot on for wedding-day/family craziness! As a very hands-on bride who loves planning events, it was strange for me to have someone else take the reins for my big day. However, having someone manage the schedule for the day and be the conductor was essential so that I could enjoy my wedding and not have to worry about anything. (And there was not one thing that I worried about the whole night!) She was on top of every little detail and executed everything exactly as we had discussed. If you are debating if you need a day-of coordinator, the answer is: YES, you do.... and look no further - contact Elise! read more

We have just celebrated the most glorious wedding of our daughter & son-in-law and it would simply not have been possible without the talents of Elise Ritzel. She was the ultimate professional: a tireless perfectionist with a keen eye for detail. Every one of our vendors mentioned how efficient, reliable and pleasant she was. The moment before we walked down the aisle she smiled warmly at us and gave us a moment for a deep cleansing breath. We can say without reservation that the money we spent on Elise's services was the best decision we made for the entire wedding. The most common refrain throughout the wedding process was "Thank God for Elise!!" Thank you sincerely Elise! We will remember you with gratitude for years and years!! read more

Elise Ritzel at Starling on Bond was one of the best investments we made for our wedding. We can't recommend Starling on Bond enough! Elise flawlessly executed every detail during our wedding day. She organized our large family, friends, all of our vendors, and timed everything perfectly. She created a detailed timeline down to the minute and listened to everything we needed. She eased our minds in the weeks before our wedding with her detailed emails to all of our vendors. She kept us and our families extremely calm the entire day and even went out to purchase something that had went missing. Starling on Bond provides a service that is invaluable on your wedding day! read more

When we first started planning our wedding, the most-mentioned tip was to hire a wedding coordinator. With Elise, we got the best one possible. From putting us at complete ease with her friendliness, organization, and expertise during our planning phase to every little thing she did for us on the actual day, she went far above and beyond. We never had to be concerned with any detail and were simply able to enjoy ourselves. Many friends and family members commented on what a seamless occasion it was. For us, it was the best, most wonderful day and we'll be ever-thankful to Elise (and Starling) for all of her help, thoughtfulness, and kindness to make it so. read more

As the partner of a Brooklyn-based catering company, I've worked alongside Starling on Bond on many events at the Green Building and 501 Union - both for design and coordination. We've worked most recently with the head coordinator, Elise on a couple of 2016 weddings. She's always been kind, quick to respond, and really helpful with the service end of events (understanding the needs of the kitchen and service-side of event production is important for a planner). She also has a calm demeanor on the day-of, which is invaluable. Before Elise, we've worked with Ashley as a coordinator - also always professional and fun. read more

Attie was the Day-of-Coordinator for our wedding at the Green Building, and we were thoroughly impressed with her from the get-go. She was incredibly organized and we felt so much more confident about the schedule for our wedding after our first meeting. Leading up to the big day, Attie helped obtain answers to all of our questions in a timely fashion and went above and beyond the call of duty to help us resolve some of our decor installation concerns. She coordinated with all of our vendors and made planning much more manageable. Our wedding day was beautiful and seamless and we couldn't have done it without Attie! read more

Here is what a wrote to Elise, our day of coordinator from Starling on Bond: "I'm not sure thank you conveys our appreciation for what you did to make my daughter and son-in-law's wedding an absolute rip roaring success! You worked tirelessly to make the evening go perfectly and it showed. Our guests were overwhelmed! I know I could not have made this wedding without your help.Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for helping make The bride and groom's vision come true. It was everything and more than they hoped for!" read more

Working with Elise and Starling on Bond made the biggest, most positive difference in our entire wedding planning process! Of course we knew that planning a wedding can be a huge undertaking, but we had no idea just how much there is to it, and they were so helpful in keeping us on track every step of the way! Elise was so friendly and patient with our constant procrastination, and she had everything to do with making our wedding day as organized and stress-free as it was. Can't recommend Elise and Starling on Bond enough! read more

We love Elise. She's the best simple as that. She was beyond helpful throughout the entire planning process. She always got back to us immediately and there was not a question she could not answer. On our Bat-Mitzvah day, she was everywhere solving every problem and making everything perfect. She picked the best team (DJ, Photographer, Catering). She stayed forever after the event with her team making sure every last item was packed up. I'm telling you there is nothing Elise did not do. We cannot recommend her enough! read more

This review is specifically for Elise Ritzel, who was the coordinator for our wedding at The Green Building on 6/11/16. Elise was an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. She's extremely organized and detail oriented, quick to respond to questions/issues, and just a lovely person overall. She truly helped minimize our stress leading up to the weekend, and when everything was actually happening we were able to just enjoy ourselves because we trusted that she had it all under control. read more

For my daughter's 27-Oct-2018 wedding we used Starling on Bond and our coordinator was Paulette. We could not be happier with how our day went. Paulette was critical in organization of the day's activity. In the planning stage she offered her thoughtful suggestions and on the day of our event was critical to organizing all of our planned activities. Paulette worked superbly with our vendors and venue. If you want your wedding to be enjoyable and to go as planned then you need to call Paulette. read more

We used Starling on Bond for our flowers as well as month-of planning for our daughter's Bat Mitzvah. They were an incredible team. My event was flawless and their attention to every detail put me at ease so that my family and I could enjoy ourselves. They were very patient with me and never seemed to tire of endless changes and emails. I cannot recommend them more highly and I would definitely use them again. read more