Anticipation Events were so great in helping my Wife and me with our wedding! Heather and her team were always available, quick to respond, and effective in getting our wedding set up and executed to ensure it was as amazing of a day as it could have possibly been. They were knowledgeable of the venue and their people, and gave us recommendations based on previous events at the venue. Heather was instrumental in every way, and we couldn't be more satisfied with our decision to partner with Anticipation Events for our wedding. read more

Anticipation Events - Party & Event Planning Near Me

I am a control freak. I repeat, I love control & I love planning events. To release control of an event, geared for me, seemed UNIMAGINABLE. But now, I was planning my wedding, and not just any wedding, a covid wedding in my own backyard. I knew I needed a coordinator, I knew it would be worth it, but it did not fully hit until the day after my wedding just how different my wedding would have been if it wasn't for Elizabeth & Anticipation Events. Imagine your wedding day, imagine wanting to relax, but as the bride everyone asks you questions - nope not with Elizabeth. Imagine having to make random strange decisions - but instead just letting someone else do it & know it will be a-okay. Imagine coming home after your wedding to every little thing picked up, organized, locked up. Imagine being on the dance floor wanting a drink but not wanting to leave - wait suddenly theres a beverage in your hand! Imagine trying to delegate those tasks to your friends/family and GUESTS of the wedding who should be there to fully enjoy and celebrate WITH you. The best choice I have made was to give up control and give it to Elizabeth. You can trust her and her team. You can rest assured that she is aware of what will stress you out and she protects you from all of the small things that will happen (and they do) but you would never know - because BAM she just DOES it. Thank you so much to the little elf behind the scenes who made our wedding day one we will forever remember as a day of celebration. xx read more

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Anticipation Events goes above and beyond! We used their month-of planning services and had an absolutely incredible experience! Elizabeth was organized, kind, and committed to making our day exactly what we wanted it to be while providing extremely helpful advice from her years of experience. Her and her team went above and beyond to make our wedding weekend a success. She even ran over to my hotel room to get a different outfit for me when the straps on my wedding dress broke! She was also available to answer questions over email before the month of which was also immensely helpful because we were able to run quick questions by her even though we didn't need full on planning services at that time.. We were so lucky to work with Anticipation Events and you should too! read more

Anticipation Events was the best decision I ever made. Newly engaged brides-- the month leading up to your wedding, no matter how organized of a planner you are, you will be SO overwhelmed that having a team to keep everything together will allow you to be 100% present at your wedding. Lets not forget that we were working together throughout Covid-19. I rescheduled twice and AE was so helpful and accommodating. I know it was difficult for them as a small company but they really made the best out of a horrible situation and I don't know I would have done this without them. Aimee was phenomenal. Every single detail that was important to me was accomplished. She also is a beast at following up with vendors! Many of our friends were part of our vendor team and they commented on how committed Aimee was to making sure everyone had what they needed. They joked about the long email threads but these are creative minded individuals that needed to be kept on their toes and Aimee did just that. Nothing fell through the cracks. It. Was. Flawless. And the best part- she brought all of our decor including boxed meals from the wedding and all the desserts to our condo for us the following day! When you work so hard on the menu, you want to experience it yourself and it Was so amazing to have our wedding dinner with all the desserts the next day. read more

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When we started planning in February 2018 for our wedding this past September 2018, one of the things that I and my then fiancée were considering was getting a wedding planner/coordinator. A lot of our family and friends gave us recommendations on who to work with and one recommendation that stood out was Anticipation Events as they planned/coordinated my cousins wedding in July 2012. We scheduled a meeting with Elizabeth to discuss our needs and expectations and one thing that stood out during the meeting which was that the services and value that her and her team offered is "an investment in the wedding". She offered us different types of packages, which was nice as it showed that she catered to the needs and budgets of her clients and she stressed that they do not overbook themselves, which ensured us that she would be able to give us the focus and allow her to execute throughout the planning and when the day came. While we liked about her was her down to earth spirit, experience and creativity while still being a professional in all sense. We selected the "Month of Coordination" package but that didn't entail Elizabeth starting to work with us just on the month before our wedding as in April 2018, she provided us checklist and time documents and reference that was truly a huge help in our preparation. These documents definitely opened our eyes to details we weren't even considering or thinking of during the planning process. Elizabeth did an amazing job during our planning process as she reviewed all of our contracts that we had with our vendors and pointed out things that we totally overlooked such as if we booked enough time for our photographers vs our timeline of the day. She would follow up with us to ensure that our planning process was coming along. Wedding planning does have its stressful areas and Elizabeth was always available to provide her input when we were unsure about something or wanted her opinion on it. She gave us a lot of comfort at times when we felt like it was the end of the world in regards to planning. Elizabeth became more invaluable as the days came close to the wedding. One thing that she made sure happen was to schedule a walk through at the reception with the reception director a couple of weeks prior. Having her plan and do this was so vital to formalize the details of where things were placed, where items were to be at certain times of the night and where other things ended up. Having Elizabeth and Anticipation Events working with us on our wedding day gave us (as bride and groom) the ability to really enjoy the day and take the wedding day for what it is. Even though you can prepare as much as you can, having her and Journey (her team member) there on the day of the wedding was a major game changer. TRUST ME ON THAT. She compiled all the information from our multiple vendors (and even handled getting their meal choices so it was something we didn't have to handle). There were so many things that Elizabeth on the day of the wedding and below is just a short list of things that she did: - Elizabeth was at the ceremony to help us there while Journey was at the reception hall working with the vendors and venue in ensuring that everything was set up o At the ceremony - we had a large wedding party and Elizabeth was there to ensure that all people were lined up and were where they were supposed to be. We started on time. - Transportation of items from hotel room to ceremony and reception and moving things back to the hotel room after they were done at the reception - Ensuring the flow of guest - Coordination among DJ/MC to planned program for the night We had larger size wedding with about 340 people in attendance and her and Journey did a great job. While Elizabeth was working behind the scenes per say even my guests recognized her work during the evening as after the wedding, many of them told me that they saw her running around the venue, doing all the little things that made it easier. Our guest really complimented on how smooth and efficient the reception flowed from start to end. In hindsight, I honestly cannot think of anything that went amiss that evening. Even the slightest detail that Elizabeth did will remain in my memory from such things as leaving some of the wedding cake for us up in our room was a beautiful touch to an unforgettable day/night. Overall, Elizabeth and Anticipation Events went above and beyond what we ever expected and we are 100% more than happy with all that they did for us. If anyone ever asks about wedding or event planners, I would recommend Elizabeth and Anticipation Events for any major/important events. Even our guests at the wedding would recommend her as well read more

We hired Elizabeth as our day-of coordinator for our June wedding at the Byron Colby Barn (Grayslake, IL). With our venue you bring everything in separately -- like caterer, alcohol delivery, chairs for the outdoor ceremony -- and do all your own decor. So we had our hands very full. A 4-page inventory of craft projects and decor, etc. About 4 months out I realized -- there's no way I can orchestrate all this on the day! And I don't want to saddle my family members with this. We needed, as my theater-world dad said, a stage manager. Enter Elizabeth! For a reasonable fee she handles everything on the day of the event, which really means a ton before the event too. She asked to be copied on all emails with my vendors and even family (wedding-related topics of course!) and then offered her suggestions when needed. She offered to help with decor -- she is incredibly talented, just check out her blog -- and came with us for a walkthrough of the venue, where we went over everything in detail. She wrote me a day-of timeline and we tweaked it together. She confirmed all details with my vendors and reviewed contracts. I really felt like we had a full-on planner. A few things will go wrong on your wedding day. Any time something needing fixing on our day (from turning up the a/c to dealing with a late florist) Elizabeth was ON IT. She even coaxed our dear sweet ring bearer out of his momentary stage fright. I'm sure there are a bunch of things she handled that I'll never know about. Everyone in our wedding & family remarked on how cool, calm and collected she is, even as she rushes around to be in ten places at one time. Elizabeth was also was so attentive to my husband and me on the day. She made us plates from the buffet and then made sure we sat down to eat! (For that we are eternally grateful -- our food rocked). She brought bottled water and cocktails out for the bridal party during our 80-degree photo shoot. She kept us on schedule so I didn't have to think, just enjoy. And enjoy we did! She also followed up after the event on a few other matters. I'm now of the opinion that you can't afford NOT to have a coordinator. I shudder to even think of our big day without her. In fact, I know. Elizabeth was booked on the night of our rehearsal, and offered to send a colleague instead, but we stupidly, stupidly said nah, our officiant will run it. Well, it was pretty much chaos. Never underestimate the value of a true expert running the show! And did I mention she returns calls & emails promptly and has a great sense of humor? I could go on... read more

My husband and I had a really long engagement (2+ years!) - we hired the photographer and booked the venue right away, and then kind of forgot about everything until five or six months before the wedding. So when we met with Elizabeth about two months out, we were feeling a bit stressed. I wasn't sure we could make our DIY-heavy budget stretch for a day-of coordinator, but I wanted to meet with her and see if we could make it work. I knew our personalities lined up right away - in part because she didn't give me the same "are you completely out of your mind?" look that most vendors gave me when I said that I was getting all our flowers from the farmer's market the morning of the wedding and that I didn't care one bit about linens, etc, and in part because the second we told her that we were going to LA & Palm Springs for our honeymoon, she asked if we were staying at the Ace. (We were!) Procrastinator that I am, Elizabeth was already booked, but mentioned that Aimee was available. I was a little bummed that we wouldn't get to have Elizabeth there on the day-of, but we clicked immediately with Aimee, too, and she went out of her way to make sure we had the chance to get to know her. It ended up feeling like we got two awesome day of coordinators for the price of one, because they were both an email or text away anytime I needed them! I can't count the number of times my husband and I looked at each other in the days/weeks before and after the wedding and said that hiring Elizabeth and Aimee was some of the best money we spent on the wedding. They made all the carting things over (we got married at Salvage One, where you can bring your own alcohol, desserts, etc) and setting my DIY projects up so much easier. I can count so many ways that the day-of would have been hectic without Aimee, but instead I got to enjoy everything with a glass of champagne in hand. read more

We chose Dank Haus as our wedding reception venue because they allowed us to choose all our own vendors and we knew this would help keep costs down. However, it also meant a lot of coordinating between multiple vendors leading up to the wedding. For this reason we decided that even with our modest budget a day-of-coordinator was going to be a necessity. I found AE thanks to Yelp and from our initial meeting with Elizabeth, I knew we were in good hands. She created a timeline for us and picked up communication with all our vendors the week of the wedding. This meant we could relax and spend time with the friends and family who came from out-of-town rather than stress over last minute details. I don't even want to imagine how we would have pulled it off without her. We highly recommend Anticipation Events! read more

We contracted Anticipation Events for our wedding planning for our Sept 1 wedding in Chicago. I knew Laura would be helpful, but wasn't expecting to be blown away by her organization, attentiveness, and overall interest and detailed involvement in orchestrating every last little detail. She thought of EVERYTHING, and made it super, super easy for us to enjoy the big day. All we had to do was show up - everything was perfectly organized and taken care of from start to finish. Our guests are all still raving about it being the best wedding they have ever been to. I can't say enough good things about my experience with Laura & Anticipation Events. We will be forever grateful, it was indeed the best day of our lives. I wish we could give 10 stars!!! read more

What can I say about the woman who helped produce one of the biggest days of my life?? Elizabeth is an exceptional professional with impeccable attention to detail. Her hard work and determination is unyielding- melting into the background when appropriate while still being at your side before you ever need her assistance. Elizabeth is an unwavering champion in your corner when snags arise and a "roll-up-your-sleeves" kinda gal when you need the hard work done. Desiring to be 100% hands-off on "the big day", I can say with all honesty that it was just like pulling the bow off of a present; everything was so perfect. If anything was out of place or if there were snafus with the staff, we never knew. I would love to go on and on about our wedding, because it was so amazing, but I do have to say it was all due in part to the magical efforts of Elizabeth. read more

Day Of Coordinator was the only vendor where we interviewed multiple people for the position. We came upon Elizabeth at Anticipation Events because our florist (Asrai Gardens) recommended her, and we felt it was important we chose a planner who had worked with at least one of our vendors before and was familiar with our venue, Wyndham Grand Riverfront (formerly Hotel 71). Elizabeth could not have been better. We felt an instant, personal connection with her right away, which we did not get from the other planners. She really got us and our personalities. I could tell she could reign in my crazy wedding party during the rehearsal and still be cool, as opposed to a yelling task master. She made sure that we had a walk-through with our vendor and dj about 3 weeks before the wedding which was invaluable for getting everyone on the same page and working out details. We had our ceremony and reception in the same room, so getting the set up details right was essential. We had intermittent contact and questions about vendors that she helped us with over email, but she was instrumental on making sure the timeline and all vendors were on the same page the week of the wedding. At the wedding rehearsal, she could tell I was on edge with stress and did all of the organizing and inter-vendor communications. The wedding day ran very smoothly, and I know that it wouldn't have gone down like that without Elizabeth. You know she's there, but she's not "in your face". My venue manager and Elizabeth worked really well together, and all of the little details like the dessert table, program placement, cocktail hour, ceremony set up... all of those things were totally taken care of without my having to worry about it. I would highly recommend Elizabeth and Anticipation Events to anyone planning a wedding. My entire wedding party, my parents, and the guests noticed how smoothly everything went and were very happy with her services. read more

Anticipation Events helped me through day-of coordination, and more. I requested additional support from the AE team because my venue coordinator was extremely difficult and I needed someone in my corner to get things done the way I wanted to see them. Not only did AE do all the right things, but I felt like I had a friend backing me up. I worked with Elizabeth, and I could trust her style to make decisions on the day of the wedding that I really couldn't do, not being on site during set up. Her taste for design is gorgeous so I could also ask her to just lay things out and knew she'd do a better job than I would. The wedding was three weeks ago and compliments have been streaming in about how wonderful AE was. My mother was particularly impressed, and told me how Elizabeth manned all the important tables, having to stand up all my escort cards each time the door opened and knocked them over-- about 10 times. I had a couple vendors that I thought may actually not show up, because my conversations with them had been so limited. And sure enough, when I arrived I had such a sense of relief when AE told me everyone was there, on time, and they had been coordinating the game plan all week together. Plus, my husband thought she was pretty cool and it's hard to get a husband on-board with extra wedding spending. Win-Win. It was stereotypically the best night of my life and I feel so lucky to have just enjoyed it like a love-struck idiot and not worry about a single detail. AE is worth every penny and more. I would recommend to any bride to get at least a day-of coordinator. You have no idea how many details start flying in the last few weeks that you'll wish someone else was helping to keep track of with you. read more

It's hard to put into words just how much love I have for Anticipation Events. My mom and I initially met Laura at Indie Wed about a year before my wedding and instantly knew that this was a woman we wanted to work with. She was so warm, engaging and overall just down to earth. She's someone you want by your side during the stressful weeks leading up to the wedding and running things like a boss day of (cue a Beyoncé playlist). Let's face it, planning a wedding is hard... especially when you've never done it before. Laura is so well immersed in the industry and always had awesome solutions and recommendations that helped us throughout the planning process. We're so grateful for Laura and her willingness to go above and beyond to make our day extra special. And to Elizabeth... you are a true badass and an inspiration to business owners, interior designers and dog moms everywhere. Thank you for staying true to yourself and what your company stands for. Fangirl out. read more

We held our wedding was in Chicago, but we live in New York. There were only two ways we could have successfully planned a wedding from such a long distance: 1) hold it at a generic "wedding factory" where we picked from cookie-cutter packages OR 2) work with someone like Elizabeth at Anticipation Events who is so professional, knowledgeable and easy to work with that we could plan and pull-off a wedding full of personal touches at the perfect location for us. Elizabeth was our scout, our sounding board, our calming voice and our shield from all the stress big weddings can provide. When we first contacted Elizabeth we had a lot of ideas: photographers, food, transportation, décor... She helped us turn these ideas into a concrete plan that was executed better than we could have imagined. No detail was too small for her attention and no big task was too daunting for her to take on. It is clear that Elizabeth has successfully coordinated weddings and events for hundreds of people, but we never felt like we were on the backburner or just another one of her clients. She approached planning our wedding with the same care that we would expect of a trusted friend. Anticipation Events is one of the most respected planning companies in Chicago and we can see why. We would highly recommend them to anyone we meet. read more

I met Elizabeth of Anticipation Events about a year before I was engaged. Even then, I knew she would be the ideal planner/day-of coordinator for our wedding. Twenty one months after first meeting, she helped us pull off an amazing wedding where we really had the best day ever! Elizabeth's calm and friendly demeanor meshed well with our personalities. She grasped our vision immediately and was helpful answering all of our design and logistical questions through the process. Even last minute as everything was coming together, she pulled through and helped us finish some of our DIY projects. Elizabeth was on top of everything, including wrangling all of our vendors. I received many compliments from the other vendors about how put-together and responsive Elizabeth was. It's always a good sign when one vendor compliments another! I am sure there were little things Elizabeth took care of that I have no idea about. She truly made our wedding flow smoothly and allowed us to enjoy everything. We had no worries and knew we could trust her to execute everything well. I can't say enough good things about Elizabeth. If you are planning your wedding, Anticipation Events is the best investment you can make! read more

Elizabeth was absolutely brilliant to work with. Hiring her was probably the best decision that we made. She worked with us to refine and finalize our day-of timeline and then contacted all of our vendors the week before to confirm our plans. In addition, she attended a walkthrough and helped us run our rehearsal. The rehearsal would have been madness had she not been there. The events manager at our venue was a bit snobby and inattentive at times, and Elizabeth dealt with his spaciness in a 100% professional, completely graceful manner (and in the process managed to help shelter the husband and I from the crazy). Elizabeth was so in tune to the details of our wedding day that I simply handed over boxes to her and then didn't think twice about any of it. I know she must have been running around like mad taking care of the setup while I got to relax and hang out with friends and family without giving setup a second thought. At the end of the night, she had brought all of our gifts, my veil, guest book, etc up to our suite. She included a list of notes that were tremendously helpful (for example: the top of the wedding cake is in the hotel's kitchen, I'm mailing the marriage license for the rabbi, the hotel saved 25 vases of flowers for display during brunch on Sunday, etc). I definitely get the sense that this is more than just a job for Elizabeth. She really cares that that the event turns our perfectly. read more

If you're considering booking Anticipation Events for your wedding, DO IT! Hiring Laura as our day of coordinator was hands down the best wedding decision we made. Day of Coordinator is a bit of a misnomer, because Laura gave us so much help and advice long before our actual wedding day. She was an absolute delight to work with - knowledgeable, helpful, accessible, responsive, calm, and kind. It was WONDERFUL having an event expert we could reach out to with all our many questions during the planning process. Laura made sure we were on top of the million decisions we needed to make leading up to the wedding, and she put together an amazingly detailed minute-by-minute schedule for our day and wrangled all of our vendors so they knew exactly where to go and when to be there. When our wedding day came, we didn't need to worry about a thing. Laura and her team handled all of the day of logistics and made sure all our vendors were doing their thing. They also decorated our 100% DIY venue - I basically gave her a dozen boxes of decor and said "make it pretty," and WOW. They did an amazing job - our venue looked absolutely perfect and we got so many compliments from our guests. Bottom line, all we had to do the day of our wedding was show up, and everything was taken care of. My husband and I both agree that hiring AE was the best money we spent on the whole wedding. I promise you, the peace of mind you'll feel knowing someone has your back and is dealing with all of the issues that inevitably come up will make it worth every penny. read more

Elizabeth did day of coordination for my husband and I's wedding on June 22nd, 2013 at the Ravenswood Event Center. Elizabeth was so completely amazing. She took care of everything on the day of so that my mother and I did not have to worry about a thing--I cannot tell you how refreshing this was after having done planning for a nearly 300 person wedding for a year. The minor glitches on the day were handled by Elizabeth and I did not even have to know about them. She also gave me her old Toms shoes to wear at the wedding as my feet were killing me. Just overall, amazing job. If you are considering working with AE, pull the trigger! read more

Hiring Elizabeth as our Month of Coordinator was one of the best decisions we made in the months leading up to our wedding! She was incredibly organized, thoughtful, and fun. She worked with us to create the wedding of our dreams. She went above and beyond, contacting our vendors on our behalf and working with us to make sure every detail was what we wanted. She created a detailed day of timeline, including a list of what we needed to bring to the venue the day before, and she took the time to talk through countless details with us over the phone and via email. Throughout the process, it felt like we were working with a friend. The day went perfectly and it was in large part due to everything Elizabeth did. We can't thank the Anticipation Events team enough! It was so great working with Elizabeth and she really helped make the day special for us and made sure everything went smoothly. We highly recommend Elizabeth and the Anticipation Events team! read more

Laura Hayes made our wedding day as stress free as I could ever imagine a wedding day being. She helped with my sister's wedding as well and we had to call her as soon as I had a date set. During the whole planning process, I had her to bounce ideas off and to break everything down so it wasn't so overwhelming. She even calmed me down if I ever got too anxious. She made wedding planning enjoyable from start to finish. Laura made sure there was nothing we had to worry about the day of and even worked with all our vendors. She was the ring leader to our circus and I could not have asked for a better planner. read more

At times I still shudder at our decision to hold an Indian wedding in Chicago in the midst of January, and I can honestly say that there's no way we could have pulled it off without Elizabeth. This is the best wedding planning decision we made- hands down. We met Elizabeth (at Lagunitas Brewery!) about a month after being engaged, and were immediately put at ease, as she managed to calmly assuage a lot of our fears and questions, while matching our enthusiasm for a wedding at Thalia Hall, a venue she was, of course, quite familiar with. We were so impressed, we quickly recommended her to our mutual friends, who were getting married a few months before us. This gave us the unique experience of being able to watch Elizabeth in action prior to our own wedding, and when we saw how she seamlessly streamlined and ran Margaret and Tito's wedding, we knew we were in good hands. Although Elizabeth was ostensibly just our day-of-coordinator, we leaned on her for a lot of our major decisions. She subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) steered us to a fantastic florist, photographer, make-up artist, and DJ, and we learned how much easier and less stressful wedding planning is when the various vendors know and trust one another. She is, as she promises, very much available with advice and recommendations from the minute you decide to work with her, and she has fantastic advice. All of her recommendations were always at our request so I never felt that I had to choose anyone she recommended. In a big city it's easy to get overwhelmed by options and for us, being able to have a planner that knew our budget and our vibe was great. She would give us three or four options and I knew they had already been vetted. As the big day neared, we came together and hashed out a detailed itinerary for every aspect of the wedding day, where she took into account not simply just our needs, but the needs of our wedding party, our families, and the various challenges of running an Indian wedding in January, including letting us have a mini-baraat right through the lobby of Dusek's. She is the most organized person I've ever met but never overbearing. She's warm and funny, always positive, and generally the kind of person you would be happy to grab a drink with after your wedding. Needless to say, on the wedding day, everything ran smoothly and without a hitch, and I'd like to tell you more about exactly what Elizabeth did, but the two of us were too busy having the most fun of our lives. We could not have been happier with Elizabeth's services, and cannot thank her enough. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Elizabeth! I hired her as our day of coordinator only two months before our wedding. She always replied promptly to my emails and made me feel more like a friend than a client. I was a very detail oriented and hands on bride, but I needed someone to handle things for me on the big day. Because of Elizabeth I truly had a stress free wedding day! Elizabeth did a wonderful job facilitating the events in the evening, troubleshooting any issues we had, helping me with last minute details and decorating just as we had planned. She was extremely organized, professional, and friendly. We received so many compliments from our family and friends on how smoothly everything went. Elizabeth truly went above and beyond...I know our wedding wouldn't have been the same without her! read more

I used Anticipation Events for day-of wedding planning. My experience with Elizabeth was great from the start-- she was enthusastic, got where I was coming from as a bride, and was a great go-to for tips during my planning process. Elizabeth's organizational skills and planning experience were apparent in the depth of questions she asked, the suggestions she provided, and the amazingly helpful timeline that she constructed. I worked with Katie for my actual wedding day, who seamlessly picked up the ball from Elizabeth and rolled it right into a perfect wedding. Having Katie there to manage setup, details, vendor contacts and issue-resolution was HUGE in allowing me to actually enjoy my wedding day. Not only did Katie execute everything I asked of her, but she also managed to read my mind to perfectly implement details that I totally forgot to even explain. As an added bonus, these ladies have the personality to boot. Always great to enjoy who you're working with. Would definitely recommend them! read more

Elizabeth performed day of coordination for our destination wedding and we couldn't have done it without her. She is well organized, professional, and has the attention to detail that is so important on the wedding day. We were finally able to relax with Elizabeth there running point with the vendors and timelines. She picked up on details that would have been missed, and proactively addresses situations/issues to ensure they are handled in a timely manner. We will definitely be recommending Anticipation Events! -Ryan and Katie read more

My wife and I had a dream wedding out in the Iowa countryside and couldn't have done it without Elizabeth. She was so on top of it and excited about our plan to have a wedding at a private residence that she came from out of town. She was integral in making our day organized, special, and easy - key ingredients to a perfect wedding. read more

We hired Anticipation Events and worked with both Elizabeth and Julia. Julia was our main coordinator for our August 1 wedding at the Floating World Gallery. With our venue you bring everything in separately -- like decorating, caterer, alcohol delivery, chairs, lighting, etc., etc. So of course, a day of coordinator made sense. What I wanted and didn't believe was possible was that you could hire someone and you wouldn't have to worry about ANYTHING the day of the wedding. I figured I would be fixing this or that problem and always being aware of what is and is not being done. I have to honestly admit that I did not have to worry about one thing at my wedding. I was able to get lost into the evening. Yes, there was a lot of planning and questions beforehand, but the event was truly ours to enjoy. Julia at one point was even watching our dogs outside, waiting for pet sitter to come and pick them up (they were our ring bearers BTW) and she insisted that I go back inside and forget about what she was doing. We had a photo booth for our wedding and she understood that the location we originally instructed her to place it would not work upon arrival and found the perfect spot for it. She took that kind of decision making off our plate. Actually, I may never totally know what she did and didn't do but the end result was awesome. read more

I wasn't sure if I needed a wedding planner as I started this process. I thought that I would be able to figure it all out on my own, but decided to look into it just in case. We went with day of coordination with AE after meeting with Elizabeth one-on-one. She has done weddings at our venue, Camp Wandawega, before which was a huge relief as it's unique in some ways. She was very knowledgeable and reassuring, as well as good at alerting us to areas in which we have been overlooking or thinking we could all on our own. We were later connected with Aimee who was our go-to person as we neared the wedding day. She was professional, delightfully full of energy and positive, while also being assertive in getting things moving, which is so incredibly necessary for a wedding day/weekend to happen smoothly. It was so reassuring to know we had this team with us. As with most weddings, we hit some unexpected bumps (e.g., 95 in late September anybody?) and they were on it before I could even ask. I had some issues with my mother the day of the wedding and both Aimee and Elizabeth took my hands and said tell me what you need and I'll take care of it, one of those things was making a last-minute bouquet. You really can't imagine the amount of work and thoughtfulness they put into these weddings...and when I say work, I mean WORK. I will never forget the image of Aimee slamming giant ice bags onto the concrete ground trying to make ice for cocktails while also coordinating the next part of the event. I was in awe. Listen, bottom line: If you're thinking you don't need a wedding planner, or at the very least a day of coordinator, you're wrong...and if you think you have someone else in mind, dont. AE is where it's at. Forever grateful for their help. I would have been lost without them. read more

My husband and I hired Anticipation Events for day-of coordination for our wedding and I'll say here what we tell everyone: this is the best money we spent on the entire wedding. Elizabeth (the owner) met us at a bar near our house soon after our inquiry. Not only did she answer all of our questions and lay out exactly what day-of coordination would entail (a LOT more than we expected- day-of coordination includes major work before the wedding on their part), but she took an interest in us and our wedding. We felt very confident about AE from that first meeting. We were assigned to Laura because she had coordinated other weddings at our venue (Kitchen Chicago- also fantastic!) and she was just as incredible as Elizabeth. Laura was superbly detail-oriented, kind, enthusiastic, and helpful through every stage of the process. Laura (and Elizabeth) even made a suggestion for a new vendor for the hot chocolate bar we wanted to include, which ended up being the HIT of the wedding. We trusted Laura 100% and knew that she would make everything work out. We were truly able to enjoy every minute of our wedding day because of Laura. We cannot recommend AE highly enough! read more

We got married a few weeks ago, and I'm honestly not sure how we would've pulled it off without Elizabeth and Anticipation Events. She was hyper-organized, always reassuring, and incredibly calming at what can be a stressful time. Elizabeth did a great job of taking full ownership of anything we sent her way, making sure we had nothing to worry about on the day of the wedding. Seriously can't thank her enough for a job truly well done, nor can we recommend her highly enough if you're looking for a day-of coordinator for your wedding. read more

We used Anticipation Events for the Day of Coordinator services for our wedding and it was honestly one of the best decisions we made. Julia was our actual Day of Coordinator and she was wonderful. She took care of everything from keeping everyone on schedule to sewing my cousin's dress strap back on after it snapped from dancing to transporting all the leftover alcohol back to our hotel room. My husband and I didn't worry about a thing on the day of our wedding. This alone would have been well worth the cost of a day of coordinator. However, day of coordinator services from Anticipation Events is so much more than that. The owner, Elizabeth, is not only one really cool chick, she is amazingly organized and a bit of control freak, but in the best way possible. You need someone like this for your wedding. We had a very stressful last minute venue change and Elizabeth immediately stepped in to help search for new venues and reach out to her network for suggestions. That, in addition to answering all of our wedding questions, creating a wedding weekend timeline, and coordinating all of our vendors to make sure everyone was on the same page, took a lot of pressure off my husband and me. Elizabeth genuinely cares about her clients and spent way more time and effort on our wedding than we ever could have expected even though we only used the day of services. I highly recommend Anticipation Events - it will be one of the best uses of your wedding budget! read more

To be honest... I was on the fence about needing someone for day of coordination, and I really wasn't sure if the added expense was necessary. As a bride, you think you can do it all and that you have every detail planned out so what's the use. Well looking back on my wedding a couple weeks ago, I am so glad I had Laura from Anticipation Events there with me that day. Leading up to the wedding, she was there to answer any questions I had, she drafted a timeline down to the minute, she came with to our final walkthrough at the venue, and she helped out tremendously at the rehearsal. The week of the wedding she confirmed everything with my vendors, and really eased the majority of the stress that I was feeling. I was able to give her everything that had to be set up in advance, as well as all of the payments and tips for the vendors. I didn't have to think about anything the day of which was so nice. When it came time for the ceremony, Laura had everything under control. I'm pretty sure the priest was 15 minutes late, but I had no idea because Laura handled it all. When we got to the reception venue, everything was set up exactly how I had planned it. Laura made sure everyone knew what they were doing and when. At the end of the night, I was expecting to have to help gather centerpieces or the other items we had brought into the venue. It was so nice... Laura sent me and my husband back to the hotel and took care of everything. If any of you brides haven't considered or are on the fence about using a day of coordinator DO IT! It will be the best money you spend for your day. They say you can't plan for the random mishaps that might occur that day... but if you hire Laura and Anticipation Events I wouldn't be worried at all. read more

AE was the perfect resource for my wedding this year. Not only did Elizabeth provide the best advice a girl could ask for, but she was extrememly dedicated to making our day the best day it could be. The week of our wedding we had a lot of issue with the venue and Elizabeth handled all of the stress with patience and grace. The day of our wedding there was an incredible amount of rain that actually ruined our whole plan for and outdoor wedding. Elizabeth coordinated all of the vendors and made the best out of everything, from setting tables to handing out drinks behind the bar. I can honestly say that our day would have never turned out as well as it did without Elizabeth at Anticipation Events. I would highly recommend her services to any couple. read more

Both Elizabeth, the owner, and Laura, our day-of coordinator, were involved with our planning for the final month before the wedding. Yes, that's right - even though we signed on only for day-of coordination, they were both in touch with us and all our vendors long beforehand. Both of them showed up for initial walk-throughs as well, and Laura ran our rehearsal perfectly. By the wedding day, I felt absolutely comfortable that we were in good hands - and we continued to feel that way all day long. Laura checked in with us just often enough throughout the night and did a fantastic job of making the last-minute tweaks we needed (like changing the pickup time for our final guest shuttle back to the hotel). All-around amazing experience - thanks, Laura and Elizabeth!! read more

Elizabeth is like someone else said "the best friend you never had". I wanted to work with Elizabeth years ago when I started seeing her work -- unlike so many other coordinators, the range of her work is so eclectic! She does DIY barn weddings, glamorous ballroom weddings, cool city-vibe loft weddings and so much more. As a wannabe wedding planner, I planned my wedding top to bottom but knew I needed someone to bounce questions and ideas off of, as well as fully execute my vision the day of the actual celebration, so we hired Elizabeth as our day-of coordinator. Elizabeth made it happen for me, she truly made my dreams come true. It was such a thrill being my own wedding planner and stylist, but that could have never happened if I didn't have Elizabeth as my "boots on the ground". She is the best. When you're getting married, you have more important things to be worrying about then making sure the easels are set up and the place cards are where they are supposed to be. Let Elizabeth help you -- she's a total pro and will faithfully execute your vision just as you would (or better!). One of the best decisions we ever made was having Elizabeth around on our wedding day, we are truly grateful for all the time and energy she put in to make our day absolutely perfect. Thank you for coordinating our day, dear Elizabeth! read more

Choose Anticipation Events! You will not regret it. We worked with Laura, and while we hired her as a month-of coordinator, she was there to support us and answer questions throughout the entire planning process. She was responsive, beyond competent, and professional in all areas. She took so much stress away, especially as we approached our wedding day - coordinating our other vendors, taking care of last-minute details, and keeping everything under control. On the day of our wedding, we had some unexpected situations - a few inches of blowing snow, some issues at our venue, and a fire alarm that went off during the reception. She got everyone where they needed to be, took care of every potential issue without us even knowing, and made sure that we all remained calm and happy. I recommend Anticipation Events, and Laura in particular, to anyone and everyone that is looking to be taken care of and supported for their event. read more

There are not enough great things to say about Elizabeth. I hired Elizabeth as my day-of-coordinator for our August wedding at the Byron Colby Barn and she was outstanding. Everything at the barn is do-it-yourself: the decor, the caterer, the music, the bar - everything. I basically handed her boxes of decorative crap and said "Run with it" and I couldn't, REALLY, COULD NOT HAVE put it together as well as she did. It's like she was in my head - which, as a bride, was fantastic for me since I had a very difficult time vocalizing my "vision". She literally thought of everything. Not only did she organize and coordinate the setup of the ceremony and reception, but she kept all of the vendors in check, made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be and managed to keep me relatively sane during the entire process. Elizabeth knows weddings. If it was in the budget, I would've hired her to orchestrate the entire thing start to finish - that is how much I trust her. On top of all that, she is probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Do not look any further. Hire her. read more

We worked with Elizabeth and Julia for day of coordination for my daughter's wedding. Elizabeth was our contact up to the day of the wedding. She contacted and verified details with all the vendors and created our timeline. Julia worked with us the day of the wedding. She was amazing! Professional and well organized. She even came armed with mosquito spray for our outdoor wedding ceremony! My daughter experienced major problems with her bridal gown during the reception and Julia drove back to our hotel to get my daughter another dress to wear! Thanks so much to both Julia and Elizabeth for helping to make this a special day for my daughter. read more

Elizabeth at Anticipation Events is the absolute best! My daughter wanted a wedding planner, which I thought was silly because both she and I are extremely organized. Hiring Elizabeth was the best decision we made! As we got closer and closer to the wedding, I realized how stressful the day would be without having Elizabeth. She thought of every detail: she made sure each of our vendors was reconfirmed and coordinated with each other. She had contingency plans for any complication that could be thrown our way. Most of all, she was smiling, calm, and pleasant on a day we wanted to be perfect...and it was! I can't recommend her highly enough. read more

Hiring "Anticipation Events" was one of the best decisions we made during our wedding planning process. We found Elizabeth on Wedding Wire and reached out to her about a year before our wedding. From the very beginning, Elizabeth was warm, engaging, and relaxed. We chose to hire her for "Day-of-Coordinating-Plus" since we were getting married at an unconventional location and wanted to have assistance both on the day and in the lead up to the wedding. Elizabeth was our go-to person throughout our planning process for vendor questions, vendor coordination, and advice on organizing the ceremony and reception. When we were struggling to contact one of our vendors, Elizabeth stepped in and reduced our anxiety by managing communication with that vendor and succeeded in getting all of our questions answered. Additionally, Elizabeth reviewed all our contracts, created a day-of-timeline, and ran our entire rehearsal. When it came time for our wedding, Elizabeth was incredibly attentive and thoughtful. The weather was far from cooperative (very hot and then very very rainy) and Elizabeth worked like a champ to make sure everything went smoothly. She picked up a few forgotten items on her way in, set up for our reception in the pouring rain, problem-solved our delayed ceremony, and still somehow had time to check-in on our well-being. She was incredibly helpful during our reception, as well, and ran several errands for us in addition to helping me to cut off the bottom of my very muddy dress. I seriously can't imagine a better person to work with on your wedding day! I've already recommended Anticipation Events to a few friends! read more

Elizabeth is the absolute best. We had the most amazing wedding in October this year and so much of it is a direct result of working with Elizabeth and Anticipation Events. My now husband and I had a very unique, complex vision for our wedding and ceremony and Elizabeth nailed it and executed in a way bigger and better than our wildest dreams. She was also a dream to work with, both leading up to the wedding, calming us down and leading us in the right direction throughout the entire process. Elizabeth is extremely professional but we always felt comfortable working with her and asking her all of our silly questions. On the day, she made sure every thing went incredibly smoothly so we could relax and enjoy the day from start to finish. Our only regret was not involving Elizabeth earlier in the process. She is a rockstar. Do not hesitate - work with Anticipation Events and have the best day of your life! read more