We had an absolutely wonderful experience working with An Event Less Ordinary for a birthday…read morecelebration. From the planning process through the event itself, the team was kind, responsive, knowledgeable, and incredibly easy to work with. They helped us think through details we never would have considered on our own, offered thoughtful advice and support, and brought so much expertise to the overall planning. On the day of the event, they made everything feel seamless. It was such a relief to know they were managing all the details and making sure everything went according to plan. The decor they created was truly magical. When I came downstairs after getting ready and saw what they had done with the greenery, candles, and overall setup, I was blown away. They added beautiful touches I never would have thought of myself. It completely transformed the event! Most importantly, they made the actual celebration happen without a snag. We truly could not have done it without them, and I'm so grateful for the care, creativity, and hard work they brought to such a special day. Highly recommend!

Martha was incredible! She was detailed orientated and so warm. Her calm demeanor and organization…read moremade this process so easy! highly recommend AELO. I do not know what we would have done without her!

Needed a photo for my passport renewal. I'm old so I decided I deserved a photo with better…read morelighting than at Walgreens. And that's what I got. I'm still old in the photo but I look less scary than in my previous passport photo. They were fast and efficient and easy to park as well! And I think the cost was about the same.

Evanstonians just head here for all your government 2x2 reqs. . CVS central, Walmart Greenbay Rd…read moreand PhotoAid all failed me. I should have just gone to Duron and saved myself 120 dollars in uber and wasted usb and photo payments. Paying it forward and leaving a review!!! DURON gets it done fuss free.

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.

I am struggling to put into words how to thank Lindsay Gaeta and her team and acknowledge every…read moresingle detail she knocked out of the park and executed on our wedding day! Throughout the planning process there were so many little behind the scenes details she saved me time on which I am so appreciative! I will miss seeing her monthly on our planning calls! I don't plan to get married again anytime soon but I do hope our paths cross again! I am speechless about her help from the rehearsal to the very last minute of shutting down the after party!! The top 3 highlights that people mentioned to me on the wedding day were 1. Dad's speech, 2. Florals, 3. How hard she HUSTLED!!! My bridesmaids and close family constantly approached me on the wedding day with sentiments of "wow, she's good!!" She exceeded our expectations and anticipated our every move! I have close family in the hospitality business (who are the harshest critics about everything in the event planning world) and were over the top satisfied with her commitment and follow through to make the day as seamless as possible! I am sure there were many hiccups that day that were not brought to my attention and for that, I give Lindsay full credit! I was able to relax, be present and have a B+ personality that evening instead of my typical A- for all things attention to detail! I felt completely comfortable 'handing Lindsay the reigns' and entrusting she would handle everything as necessary, which she did!!!

We are beyond grateful for Kim Weinberg of LivenUp Events! From the very beginning, Kim was the…read moreultimate professional, so patient, kind, and supportive, even when I, as the bride, was feeling overwhelmed. She has this incredible ability to stay calm, cool, and collected no matter what comes her way, always finding solutions effortlessly and proactively preventing issues before they even arise. Her industry knowledge is unparalleled, and her planning experience truly shines through in every detail. From her amazing vendor connections to her creative, thoughtful ideas, Kim went above and beyond to make our wedding not just beautiful, but absolutely seamless. She kept us organized, on track, and stress-free throughout the entire process. But what really sets Kim apart is her heart. She genuinely cares about her couples, listens with empathy, and makes you feel supported every step of the way. We couldn't have asked for a better wedding planner. She is a true gem, and we feel so lucky to have had her by our side. Kim Weinberg didn't just plan our wedding; she made our dream day a reality, and we will be forever grateful.

I can't imagine our wedding without the help of Five Grain Events. Joan and Emily are a dream team…read moreand helped so much every step of the way. From planning to coordination, they held our hands and completely delivered on each stage of the process. I would recommend Five Grain for any event, words can not express how thankful we were to have found them. While my bride was the MVP of our wedding, Emily was a close runner-up. Five Grain Events is the best in the game. 5 stars. I might not be married without the work they put into our wedding. Could not recommend more.

Joan planned a wedding for my friend Kate. Everything about the wedding was perfect. She was very…read moredetailed oriented and thanks to her hard work the wedding couldn't have gone any better.

Jenn Ganson saved my life! My daughter and I were planning her wedding together, then Covid arrived…read more(no further explanation needed...). I was working with BOKA Group and Viceroy Hotel-Chicago. At some point in 2020 the relationship between the 2 entities was severed. I was left with a very inexperienced manager(Viceroy)who was not capable of managing the details of our upcoming event. I retained Jenn(A Fresh Event)after a disastrous menu tasting along with countless questions unanswered. It was bad! Not a good experience at the venue. Jenn to the rescue! This fabulous person was able to take over the task of managing the hotel, coordinate all my vendors and create timelines to keep all on task. Jenn's communication style is beyond timely! She answers emails within minutes of hitting "send". I was always in awe of her responsiveness. My first encounter with Jenn was via telephone. I knew immediately she was the one. Jenn is one of the most detail oriented, responsive, self motivated, smart and creative person I have ever worked with. Jenn delivers on all her commitments and DOES WHAT SHE SAYS! Jenn's integrity is remarkable and admirable. NOT hiring A Fresh Event would be a mistake! Look no further, hire the best, A Fresh Event.

Hiring AFE was one of the most superior decisions my husband & I made for our wedding day. We…read moreplanned a pseudo destination wedding in Chicago this past spring, and we knew early on that we wanted a coordinator involved in our planning process. After reading such positive reviews (future couples, I hope this helps!) it was clear that AFE was our dream team. We were paired with Rachel as our main coordinator, and enjoyed our monthly calls and AFE's planning tools to really keep us on track. As the wedding inched closer, we unironically started calling Rachel our fairy godmother, because there really is no other way to describe how she helped us. There was not a single call, text, or 7th email of the day that Rachel so much as batted an eye at. I never knew that I would be SO calm on my wedding day, because I never imagined that every minute detail would truly be accounted for; Rachel made this our reality. As my friends continue to get engaged, my first advice is always to "find their Rachel". We will forever be Rachel & AFE's #1 fans!

Swetal and team helped make our fairytale wedding a success! They were incredibly easy to work with…read morethroughout the entire process, inclusive of providing budget friendly recommendations of how to dress up our space for the sangeet, ceremony, and reception. Swetal was also accessible in convenient ways -- I knew if I texted or e-mailed her, I wouldn't have to worry about constantly having to follow up to get an answer. We received numerous compliments on our wedding decor, and I would definitely recommend working with this team!

Swetal and her team did an amazing job for a last minute engagement party! She was helpful and…read moreworked within our budget to create this beautiful stage within 1 week.

Lisa handled the day-of coordination of our daughter's bat mitzvah party. She was an absolute pro…read morein every respect, which made it possible for us to enjoy the day without worry. She is organized, thoughtful, detail-oriented, and a great advisor on those judgment calls that often come up in party planning. She also dealt with a noise complaint related to our event that allowed the party to continue without interruption. The party was a phenomenal success, due in large part to Lisa's calm, steady coordination.

Lisa is amazing! As our day-of-coordinator, she made my life so much easier in the weeks leading up…read moreto, and on, our wedding day. She was extremely organized and made many helpful suggestions that I would not have thought of to make everything run smoothly, and did a wonderful job coordinating all of our vendors and setting up and striking all the decorations etc. at the venue. It also helps that she is extremely kind and patient :) I would 100% recommend using Lisa for your wedding needs!

I cannot recommend this band enough! They played the house down (seriously some people said they…read moredidn't even make it to the photo booth because they were too busy dancing) and offered a fully customizable experience. 10 stars! All the stars!

What a hoot, the Chicago Groove Collective was so great that our guests left their phones tucked…read moreaway and danced the night away... hope our photographer got the shots. One thing we really wanted was a live band and knew the Stitely group form a wedding we attended two years ago. Started off with a nice call with Jeff Stitely going over the basics and getting some numbers together. From the first call to the abundant follow up and care to ensure that we did not miss anything their attention to detail was most appreciated. It was one big piece of the puzzle that we did not need to worry about. One nice part was the list of songs on line to get you started to give them a feel for what you do and do not like, followed by a page to drop in suggestions and ideas that you may like. We sneakily asked our bridal party what their "songs" were before the wedding and added them to the play list even though they were not in the C.G.C. repertoire. It was fun to see the members of our party notice their song, smile then grab a dance. Big thank you to the group at Stitely for being a big part of our big day!