Holly was an absolute pleasure to work with at our WIPA St. Louis event. As the production team supporting the stage and A/V, we get a unique perspective on presenters, and Holly truly stands out. She is incredibly professional, well prepared, and thoughtful about every aspect of her presentation. From our first interaction through her time on stage, she was collaborative, communicative, and clearly very experienced. She understands how to work with a production team, which makes a huge difference in creating a smooth and successful presentation. Most importantly, Holly connects with her audience in a genuine and impactful way. Her message about breaking down barriers to networking in the wedding industry resonated strongly with attendees, and the feedback we heard after the event was overwhelmingly positive. Any organization looking for a speaker who is engaging, professional, and easy to work with would be fortunate to have Holly on their stage. I would absolutely recommend her for speaking engagements. read more

Holly spoke at our inaugural WIPA St. Louis event and absolutely stole the show! All of our attendees absolutely loved her fresh approach to breaking the barriers to networking in the wedding industry. I would absolutely recommend Holly for any speaking engagement! read more

Holly was the first, and best decision we made once we started planning our wedding. Every time someone asked me about wedding planning, I began to wax poetic about Holly and how she made the process enjoyable, as stress free and possible, and that we knew she and the vendors she recommended were going to execute our vision to perfection. Holly brings expertise, humor, fun and color to the wedding planning process. She comes with a vast knowledge of talented vendors and helped recommend and put together the perfect team. Our wedding was everything we dreamed of and if anything wasn't right, it was fixed before we had any idea about it. So our day was perfect. Our guests have been raving about the wedding and every single one of them has mentioned Holly and her team. Also, she is a delight to spend time with and we adore her as a human. Pick Holly. read more

Holly helped us plan our 2020 wedding... and then helped plan It again for 2021. Doing literally anything in the middle of a pandemic is hard, (like putting on pants for a Zoom call), so having to plan and then postpone a wedding is, let's just say, VERY hard. Though we were in the unknown, Holly was there for us every step of the way. Any questions we had, even if not directly wedding-planning-related, Holly went above and beyond with her willingness to help. Holly hooked us up with the greatest vendor team in the biz, and communicated with them from start to finish. Though we had many Zoom calls, she made an effort to meet (safely masked and 6ft apart) when we could for the larger moments like venue walkthroughs, a flower market visit and multiple wedding dress alterations. Throughout 2020-2021, Holly was a huge believer in approaching events with a safety-first mindset, and advocated for Covid-safe protocols. We dealt with family drama, masking mandates, the inside vs. outside gathering debacle, needing to downsize our guest count, and all of the other hurdles the pandemic threw our way. With how cautious Holly had been, we fully trusted her call for when it ultimately was safe for us to get married. The day of our wedding turned out exactly how we had hoped, and we have Holly to thank for that. It felt joyful, full of color, and truly was Anything But Gray. read more

Anything But Gray Events - Party & Event Planning Near Me

Here's the thing, dear review reader. Brevity is the soul of wit and I hope you will find this review both succinct and informative. Then you can promptly book Holly so that she may, for a time, shine her light on a special moment in your life. If I could give six stars I would. Holly is like a 3-star Michelin chef but her kitchen is your venue and your event is the dish she carefully and lovingly crafts with all your favorite ingredients. Not just my partner and I were blown away by the creativity, attention to detail, and professionalism that Holly brought to our wedding--but our guests shared in that sentiment as well. Many claiming it was "one of, if not the best wedding" they've ever been to. You can't put a price on that. And if you read any of these other reviews, you will see this feedback is common. Talk about consistency! Lastly, I want to state the obvious. Not only does Holly bring the above noted qualities to the table but she also carries with her an impressive catalog of world-class vendors who can assist in elevating your event into the stratosphere. When it comes to creative, uniquely you events - do not make the mistake of hiring anyone else. read more

You will make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions about your wedding. The absolute best decision we made was hiring Holly of ABGE as our planner, and doing it early in the process. Every other choice stemmed from Holly's base of expertise, creativity, organizational skills, and network. She listened to our ideas and vision, and made them better than we ever could have hoped, in a way that felt fully, uniquely, and unmistakably us. Holly does not do cookie-cutter weddings! Over the course of more than a year, Holly got to know us, our personalities, and our tastes. She broke down the intimidating process into digestible tasks, spread out over key time periods, so we were never overwhelmed. We are an LGBTQ+ Jewish couple, and she incorporated our traditions and kept the whole experience inclusive, meaningful, and fun. With Holly comes a legion of inclusive professional relationships. She makes tailored recommendations on floral designers, photographers, stationers, beauty experts, clothing designers, and more. By encouraging us to be true to ourselves with every creative choice and hired vendor, Holly crafted the elevated, colorful, romantic fairytale wedding of our dreams. Simply put, she made magic happen. It would be enough to recommend ABGE by saying the end result was, according to our guests, the "best wedding ever" and "the Met Gala of weddings." Our officiant, who has decades of experience, said it was the best he'd ever seen. And it was those things. But Holly was also a shoulder to cry on when life threw curveballs at us, and she was a steady hand to guide us through the emotional process of wedding planning. Her empathy was as essential as her creativity in making our wedding as special as it was. You can't do better than Holly, seriously. read more

Hiring Holly was the second-best decision we made when it came to our wedding - second only to our decision to marry each other! Not only is she a wedding planner, but she's also a wedding designer, and WOW did she design a gorgeous wedding for us. We are a couple of nerdy people whose interests lie in tabletop and video games, fantasy, and sci-fi... but our tastes are also upscale and trendy. We weren't sure how to combine those to make our wedding feel like us, which we expressed to Holly several times over the course of our initial design phase. Holly assured us she would design something that felt perfect for us, so that when guests entered the space, it would feel like it couldn't possibly be anyone else's wedding. We literally got that feedback from our guests, word-for-word! You get a truly unique wedding when you work with Holly, uniquely you! As a same-sex couple, it was important to us that our vendors were queer-affirming. It's also important to us to spend our money with small businesses, and the fact that Anything But Gray Events is a small, woman-owned business meant we were aligning our spending with our values. She also works exclusively with queer-affirming vendors, so having a list of vendors to choose from that are prescreened to not only be within the budget range we expressed, but also would align with our values, was a huge weight off our shoulders. Planning a wedding in LA makes the vendor options seem endless (in a completely overwhelming way), so having Holly to guide us through the process made things so much easier and saved us a massive amount of time and stress. The whole time we were planning this wedding with Holly, we kept reiterating how grateful we were to have her. We got to make the fun and creative decisions, still have a ton of input, but not have to spend time and effort on the discussions about things like the distance between the DJ setup and the nearest outlet at the venue. Plus a million other little things that we never had to know or worry about. She also helped us navigate through mishaps we would have had no idea how to fix; she was always quick to find a solution to anything that came up. One of us worked as a production manager on commercial shoots for many years, and the other one planned large scale events at a university. We could see the similarities between those experiences and planning a wedding, so it's understandable that for some people, there may be a temptation to plan your wedding on your own because the skills are transferable. We're here to tell you that they're really not! Every decision seems so important and personal, you'll feel much more supported when you have an actual wedding professional to guide you. No amount of internet wedding checklists and tools can replace the experience, talent and support of a professional like Holly. So many of our guests said ours was the best wedding they'd ever been to, including their own! No detail was out of place, and the experience was seamless and perfectly encapsulated us as a couple. If you want a wedding planner who's a kick-ass problem solver, an inspired creative, and a wonderful person who lives her values, you need to hire Holly! read more

Look no further: hire Holly as your wedding planner! Holly helped us create our dream Pan Am wedding that took over a year to put together. When Holly began the planning process, she helped us stay focused on having a wedding in which our guests would think, "Wow, that's so Adam and Joe!" every step of the way. The end result was a beautiful blend of my love of midcentury modern aesthetics and my husband's lifelong passion for aviation that took our breath - and that of our guests - away! Holly kept us on task over the course of our engagement with reasonable, bite-sized amounts of work on our end of the wedding planning bargain. In fact, we literally had nothing to do the last week before wedding because we got everything done, giving us the time to simply enjoy the precious few moments of that special period that fly by so quickly! Holly also has deep ties with great vendors, from photographers to paper goods to photobooth creators to the entire team at Pan Am Experience, who made our special day so extraordinary. When you work with Holly, you know you're getting the best of the best; there's no time for amateur hour! We can't sing Holly's praises enough! read more

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Everything we could have hoped for and SO MUCH MORE! Holly helped us plan our SURPRISE wedding and it was magical. She fulfilled our dream of having a no-stress wedding and especially if you are thinking about having a nontraditional wedding, LOOK NO FURTHER! Holly is the person for you! She planned/coordinated our surprise wedding in 3 months, and it turned out more perfect than we could have imagined. When our wedding plans had to change due to COVID, Holly sold us from the beginning: her energy, ideas, and professionalism fit exactly what we needed. From beginning to end, Holly helped us through EVERYTHING including finding/connecting us to vendors (we already had some but we loved all of the vendors she connected us to), helping us find clothes, coordinating EVERYTHING with the venue, but keeping our vision and details in mind. And then on top of that, she added surprises for us to incorporate the Disney magic that we were originally going to have before COVID. Holly took our idea and made it happen. She had everything planned from beginning to end but had the flexibility to adjust as needed. But most importantly, she made us feel loved and supported through this potentially very overwhelming process and kept us engaged and excited to allow us to fully enjoy our special night. We love Holly and it was the best decision we made for our wedding. read more

In an age of self-checkout and self-service, Holly Gray offers a complete and comprehensive event planning service. Holly makes a concerted effort to immerse herself in every aspect of an event, ensuring that it is a wholly complete and thoroughly thought-out and amazing affair. My partner and I were lucky enough to hire Holly to handle the event planning aspects of our wedding. We believe that wedding and event planning is an absolute art. While sometimes the finished product and the artist can be worlds apart; in the case of Holly Gray, both she and her events are incredibly similar. If you haven't yet had the chance to meet Holly in person, she is elegant, stylish, refined, adaptable and collaborative, yet she is be fun, funny, witty, and always professional and incredibly original. My partner and I would suggest that our experience in working with Holly for our incredible wedding weekend was and is a reflection of her as a person and as an artist! She gave us her all to make our wedding weekend a resounding success that we will recall and look back on fondly for the rest of our lives. In the weeks and now month since our wedding, guests still contact us and tell us that we had the most amazing wedding that they've ever attended. It is such a joy to hear such kind compliments. However, a lot of the credit should go to Holly and her team. In fairness to Holly, my partner and I are not the easiest of clients. We both have a history of event planning and hosting events for clients as well as hiring and working with vendors. Therefore, we were likely more opinionated and fastidious about certain details than other clients. To Holly's credit, she embraced this and made quick work to collaborate and work with each of our vendors. In addition, we believe that this is a testament to Holly's talent and her superb organizational skills, as well as ability to be flexible and to do what it takes to get the job done. Although many aspects were pre-selected by us, there were many things that only someone like Holly with her industry and vendor connections could handle and execute. Moreover, Holly was able to sift through the hours of discussion and a sea of options to help my partner and I decide on a theme(s) for our events. Holly paid close attention to details with the specific issues of our wedding venue and the nature of the area helped ensure that our wedding looked beyond great. As anyone who has has hosted a special event will attest after the countless hours of work, preparation and attention to every detail, there comes a point that one must hand over the reins to fate and to the people you've entrusted to assure that everything will run smoothly. When you are fortunate enough to work with Holly Gray, you can rest assured that you are in the most capable of hands, that details will be and/or are being handled with the utmost care and consideration. Indeed, we would work with Holly again! We highly recommend her to couples and organizations looking to plan an event that requires finesse and originality, elegance and refinement, but that is thoroughly fun and unforgettable! read more

Holly is everything you want to help make your wedding day truly magical! We started planning with Holly prior to the pandemic, which pushed our wedding date several times. This made our wedding date 2 years later than planned. Nevertheless, Holly continued to work with us and made planning our engagement photo shoot and wedding simple and easy; she broke down everything that we needed to do in an organized manner. We love Disney and wanted to have a Tower of Terror theme. We were blown away at her ideas and the attention to detail that were intertwined throughout the ceremony and reception. It was so much fun getting to brainstorm ideas with her during our planning sessions. Her final vision helped to transform the venue into a spooky, run-down hotel that included our guests checking in at a registration desk. Our guests are still talking about how impressed they were with the all the details and theming. The multitude of vendors that were recommended by Holly are top-notch. The invitations, flowers, and a working elevator that was used for our grand entrance as well as a photo booth, were works of art. Know that if you have the opportunity to work with Holly you will not be disappointed! read more

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Okay, I'm gonna cut to the chase right from the jump: HIRE HOLLY GRAY!!!! Holly helped us, for over a year, plan a nearly 200 person wedding that was at a BEAST of a venue and never once did she bat an eye. She is capable of everything you throw at her and more. She leads her business with endless kindness and joy. She will take your ideas and vision and create an EXPERIENCE for your guests. She comes from being a stage manager and she treats the whole day like it's a big show. Truly, the majority of my guests told me that our wedding was the best wedding they've ever been to. As much as my wife and I would love to take sole credit for that, it was all Holly Gray and her team of incredible vendors. Someone literally said "Did Steven Speilberg direct this wedding?" No, even better. Holly Gray did. Now, what are you doing reading this review?! Go hire her! read more

Anything But Gray Events - Party & Event Planning Near Me

Listen, I wish my review could just be me reaching through your screen, grabbing you by the shoulders, looking into your eyes and intensely whispering, "HIRE. HOLLY." I already knew she did good work since she planned my sister in law's wedding, but I had no idea just how far above and beyond she'd go to give us our perfect day. From the first meeting, she was professional, fun, and really LISTENED to what we wanted. There were a few aspects of our wedding that we were really picky about, but mostly we had no idea what we were doing. I don't have an eye for design, but I know what I like. We were able to describe the general vibe we were going for, and she NAILED IT. From the design to the rentals, to the venue itself, everything was spot on. At the beginning of the planning process, she would send us a list of vendors for us to interview, we'd make our selection, and she'd do the dirty work of declining the others and sending me the contract. Every referral was so good, by the end of the process she'd just suggest a name and I'd say, "Book it! I trust you!" For the things we were picky about (like food and drinks) she'd work with us and go through every detail. For the things we cared less about (like florals) she'd suggest a vendor, choose the design, and just send us the paperwork for approval. We were as hands-on or hands-off as we wanted to be, which allowed us to focus on the fun parts of planning. Our wedding was originally booked for October of 2020. When we made the tough decision to postpone, she reached out to all our vendors, cross-referenced their 2021 availability dates, and sent us a list of all the dates that would work. The woman basically COPIED AND PASTED our wedding on a new date. We didn't lose a single vendor! Better yet, she kept in communication with the vendors, got the new paperwork, kept track of any additional payments/deposits, and kept everything organized for us. Holly also had some great suggestions when we needed advice. For example, I wanted a way to honor my late father without bumming everybody out. She arranged to have the catering company (who were serving tacos) make my dad's famous salsa recipe, and had our paper goods vendor create a sign board with his recipe printed on it. When my sister took a bite she exclaimed, "This is dad's salsa! They nailed it!" I never would have thought of such a fun and touching way to honor my father; it was perfect. The day itself went off without a hitch. If there were problems, we didn't know about them! Every vendor showed up on time, everything was high-quality, and it was a blast. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how cool the venue was, how fun the event was, how everything was so uniquely US. My uncle later told me he'd never seen a bride so relaxed on her wedding day. I told him, "It's because I didn't have to worry about anything!" And I truly didn't. Yesterday my husband asked me, "Would you have done anything differently?" My honest answer was, "I wish I would have asked for more salsa and cilantro on my tacos." Having Holly with us through the process allowed us to focus on celebrating and enjoying our wedding. Thank you for being our superhero! read more

We NEEDED an event planner for a charity event and we GOT both an organized and whimsical mastermind with a beautiful, colorful vision with a contingency plan for the contingency plan. We gave her less than two months to plan. We gave her a barely workable budget (Don't do this!) We gave her our non-profit payment rules. And we gave her a lot of "no's". Not of this seemed to phase Holly. Holly dove in and delivered a memorable, emotion-evoking event that gave a new life to our organization as a whole. HER TEAM: Holly has a small but amazing team. And she works with some of the best vendors in the business. We didn't go with every suggested vendor - but for the ones we did - they were amazing! There is something to be said about those who surround themselves with amazing people. HER ATTENTION TO DETAIL: I'm described as super detailed, but so is Holly. She thought of things I never thought of. And that's what you get an event planner for. To anticipate things and to ensure that things run smoothly. She did that a thousand times over. HER VISION: You typically get either an organized person or a whimsical fairytale planner who can't execute. With Holly, we got both! I think to top off this review, I should say that our honorees - all at the top of their crafts - were blown away by event and the transformation of the event. And that is a testimony to the love that Holly put into this event. Thank You Holly! We could not have done it without you - and this event will forever be etched in many hearts because of the work you did. read more

Best. Decision. Ever. My mom and sister were freaking out when they realized I had barely done anything to plan for the wedding just 3-4 months out. We all agreed it would be good to get some help and were referred to Holly. And we all agree there was no way we could've pulled it off without her! The venue I booked was beautiful and unique but was "DIY" (you have to bring in everything). Having not planned a wedding before I had no idea what that really meant until we brought Holly on board. Holly was familiar with the venue and the potential challenges we may have (e.g. it can get dark so add some uplights, we need to bring in our own trash cans) and I really think it would have been a disaster had we not thought of these things. Her planning regarding safety and convenience (the things we also may have overlooked had we not had her) were incredibly helpful as well. Her great attention to detail was essential! She had a solid understanding of timing (both in planning stages, event day, post event) various wedding components (official, dancing, speakers, eating, drinking, etc) that again, we would not have thought about without her. She had excellent vendor recommendations - she really understood my style and what was going for even after just 1 or 2 conversations. On the wedding day I really appreciated how Holly was very relaxed and cool which made me feel the same. She exemplified complete discretion and a 'behind-the-scenes' approach which made it feel very organized and seamless. The day of was absolutely perfect. Our guests are STILL talking about how great the wedding was. I never thought I would be one to hire a wedding planner but now I have no idea how someone could have a wedding without one. I would recommend Holly to anyone getting married in the LA area 100%. read more

If you are looking for a coordinator who will go above and beyond for your big day - and do so with a genuine smile on her face the entire time - Holly is the coordinator for you. She coordinated my recent wedding this June and while the day was absolutely perfect, it was all the hard work, planning, and help Holly provided leading up to it that made the entire process not only seamless, but enjoyable! I was constantly told throughout the wedding planning process and on the day that I seemed incredibly calm and happy and a big part of that was having Holly in my corner making sure everything was being executed the way my husband and I wanted. I came into the wedding planning process with a few ideas, no vendors, and fear of the overwhelming process we were embarking on. Holly was amazing helping us get a vision of our day while recommending the most incredible vendors that are not only top of their game, but were familiar with one another making the day they all came together feel all the more perfect. For me, having your photographers come in as excited to see you as your make up artist is important to me as you know they have worked together before and are ready to make you look amazing. Whether you know exactly what you want for your wedding or are starting from a blank page, Holly loves what she does and her passion and excitement never waver from your initial meeting to your wedding. She was a true collaborator and partner and I cannot thank her enough for not only helping us have such a magical day, but how I can also look back on the planning process with a smile remembering how beautifully everything came together. I have heard stories about the stress of planning a wedding, and while it can be overwhelming, Holly made it fun and enjoyable - we cannot recommend her enough! read more

I literally don't know how she did it. We gave Holly a, pretty much, Herculean wedding task: A backyard wedding (built from scratch), in the middle of nowhere (the Anderson Valley, 2+ hours north of San Francisco), in the middle of wedding season (June omfg why), where errybody had opinions (me, my partner, my mom, my MIL, my FIL, our wedding party, etc). So I told myself "don't expect perfect. I've been in the wedding industry for almost a decade and I know there's no such thing as a perfect wedding." And yet... it was. The day of the wedding, Holly glided in like the perfect wedding fairy and just got. shit. done. I, of course, had my own stresses (a bridesmaid bailing at the last minute, 90+ degree heat, and a flustered MIL) but it was so nice to just deal with my own stuff, and let Holly take care of EVERYTHING ELSE. By the time I got to the ceremony and reception site, she had transformed it from my Mother in Law's backyard to a Game of Thrones-meets-foodie wonderland. I still don't know how she did it. And I can't thank her enough. Her radiant smile, enthusiasm, and high social IQ made everything and everyone work together perfectly. If you're in the unique position of looking for a local LA wedding planner to help you pull off a difficult destination wedding, well... if she can pull off The Redwood Wedding, she can do whatever zany and complicated plans you may be scheming. Trust me. read more

The Short Of It: Three cheers for Holly Gray! The Long Of It: We got engaged in 2019 and set our wedding date... UNKNOWINGLY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF PANDEMIC. Holly Gray was a beacon of rainbow light in the midst of the last year! Her stellar creative mind, sharp organization and buoyant demeanor kept us on task from planning through our wedding day. Honestly, any butterflies we had dissipated whenever we brought concerns up to Holly, knowing we had such a pro in our corner. Holly's strength lies in accurately accessing her client's style and their needs, adjusting how involved she is in each phase of the project. My wife is very crafty and artistic... Holly recommended vendors but then let my wife create many of our designs and paper goods, giving excellent critiques and suggestions when needed. For things we didn't want to DIY, Holly knew exactly who to call, and had worked with pretty much everyone before, so we knew they were going to be great. One only has to look at her Instagram to see her bold and strong wedding brand. You cannot place yourselves in better hands. We had so many guests coming up to us and telling us they could not believe how much they had at our wedding. It was truly a magical night spent in the arms of my now wife and we owe it all to Holly. If you are looking for a planner you can absolutely trust to get things done, get them done right, and make the process fun even during the stress of a pandemic, HOLLY IS THE ONE!! read more

Holly was an absolute godsend for our September 2015 wedding (which took place at the Malibou Lake Mountain Club in Agoura Hills, CA). I actually found her after our original coordinator had to back out for health reasons - 4 months before the wedding! As hectic as it was to find someone new in that time frame, it actually ended up being a blessing in disguise, because now I cannot imagine our wedding having happened without Holly's professional guidance and consistently poised and cheerful presence. She was a complete pleasure to be around throughout the entire planning process and was always quick to respond to a phone call or email, no matter how busy she was at the time. Even coming in late in the game, when the pace of wedding planning was ramping up and my fiancee and I were often scatterbrained and stressed, she was calm and on top of everything from the first day she signed on. On top of being organized and composed in the face of wedding frenzy, Holly has a keen visual eye and often had ideas to help us beautify our wedding - but always in ways that spoke to the kind of event we were trying to create and who we were as a couple. We had a 'nerd chic' wedding involving lego boutonierres, a Zelda cake, movie-themed tables and signage, and a bright color pallet, and although we weren't sure how all of our disparate ideas would work, Holly tied it all together beautifully. When I saw the reception space all set up for the first time, I couldn't believe my eyes - it was better than anything I'd envisioned. We received multiple comments from our families and wedding parties about how great it was to have her around over the wedding weekend. And finally, we found her services to be VERY fairly priced - especially considering the amount of stress she took off of us on our wedding day! Overall, I couldn't recommend Holly (and her wonderful mother, a professional wedding planner herself, who assisted her on our wedding day) highly enough. read more

Where to begin with sweet Holly Gray! From start to finish, Holly had our best interests at heart, with advice and suggestions to ensure we were choosing the right vendors and making the right choices for our needs. She brings a big, fun energy, with a professionalism that gets the job done! Even though we had a very clear vision with what we wanted the aesthetic of the wedding to be, Holly helped us refine the details, knowing the space, and what would work best to achieve our dream wedding! She collaborated with our vendors and came up with the perfect creations for us. She was considerate, and caring, and took time with us. Holly kept us well informed of the ongoing changes and challenges 2021 brought to the wedding industry, and communicated with our venue and vendors with every aspect of the wedding. Holly provides this incredible support that you don't realize you need until you're in the thick of planning your wedding! Once the big day arrived, we had the most spectacular day, and are still talking about how magical every little detail was! We truly could not have managed every aspect of our wedding with the style and grace that Holly did. We cannot recommend enough that you all get yourselves a Holly Gray for your big day! read more

Holly was our day of coordinator for our wedding just yesterday. It's hard to put into words the great work she did. I always knew she had everything handled and never once felt like I had to take anything over. She covered all of the bases. She definitely knows her stuff and thinks of EVERYTHING. My only regret was that I couldn't have her plan everything for me!! She was kind and courteous to every guest, family member and vendor but her number one concern was always me and my husband. From our very first meeting I knew we were in great hands. If you are considering hiring Holly for your event it's really a no-brainier. She will meet and exceed your expectations. You will not be disappointed one bit. She does everything in her power to ensure your special day is perfect. I can't thank her enough for the great work she did - my wedding was absolutely perfect and a lot was due to her!! Thank you, Holly!! read more

Short version: Holly Gray absolutely rescued our wedding, which was Sept 18, 2016. You should definitely hire her, it'll be the best investment of your entire event. Long version: Over a year ago, we booked a venue that came with a planning staff who claimed they were taking care of everything for us. Communication was sporadic at best, deadlines were not met, and planning progress was glacial. Then, about 7 weeks before the wedding date, the venue broke their lease and disappeared, taking with them all of their "vendor hookups," etc. We were stuck replanning the entire wedding in less than two months. We took a week to find a new venue, only changing the wedding date by one day. Only trouble was they required a planner, and by this time we were wary of planners. We tried to go the cheap route and met with several planners that were rock bottom priced. They were comically incompetent, living proof of the old axiom that you get what you pay for. Then my wife happened by chance to find Holly Gray. They talked and found they actually had some friends in common. Seemed like a sign, so we signed with Holly as our "day-of coordinator." As other reviewers have noted, this title does not begin to describe the high level of service and care that Holly provides leading up to the wedding. I can say without a shadow of a doubt this wedding wouldn't have been possible without Holly Gray. And you know what? Not only did she plan our wedding in six weeks flat, but it was PERFECT. Our old planners had talked us out of some of our dream wedding stuff, saying it was too hard to coordinate or that it wouldn't work the way we were thinking. Holly brought our dreams to life flawlessly and never faltered in her belief that we could have the wedding we wanted on our terms. She had our back when others tried to pressure us out of what we wanted. As a professional planner with a great reputation, Holly came with a host of personal contacts from different vendors and was able to negotiate deals for us that we never could've gotten on our own. We also received extra personalized attention and care from some great vendors solely because they knew Holly and loved working with her. My wife and I are bad at making decisions to begin with, and also we are very busy people who don't have a lot of time when we are actually together to be making decisions. Holly was firm with us when necessary, but never impatient or overbearing. She made us feel comfortable with every step of the way booking vendors, explaining what we needed and why, and working on our budget and quickly. And that's just leading up to the big day. On the wedding day itself, Holly was completely indispensable. I showed up and got dressed and that was about the extent of my effort. Holly made all the moving parts work in perfect concert. When I said the wedding was PERFECT, I mean not one single thing went even slightly awry in any way. And that is one hundred percent because of Holly Gray. She was deftly in charge of all the vendors, getting the table settings and favors just right, placing floral arrangements, working with the DJ and the live band, multiple photographers, dog walkers, coordinating three different caterers and a baker, parking and security staff...just everything. And yet I did not see her break a sweat. In the end, losing our original venue and planner turned out to be the best thing that ever could've happened to us, because it led us to Holly Gray and therefore our perfect wedding. Thanks, Holly! :) read more

Holly was my wedding planner for my wedding this past May. From the moment I met her, I knew she was the perfect planner for us! The title "Day Of Coordinator" doesn't do Holly justice. She was there for me from the moment we officially hired her, with endless advice, referrals, and answers to my millions of questions. She helped keep me calm throughout the entire process, which is not an easy feat. She has an impeccable eye and made sure that everything was set up perfectly. I am telling every engaged couple I meet that they NEED to hire her! I don't know what I would have done without her. Thank you, Holly! read more

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There are not enough great things I can say about Holly and Anything But Gray Events! We just got married in Palm Springs and live on the East Coast. Holly navigated us through the entire process with grace and ease. We gave her a high level vision of what we wanted and trusted her to make it happen. She nailed every decision, big or small, and the whole wedding went off without a hitch. She took care of everything day-of and we didn't have to lift a finger. All of the vendors she linked us with were great and the one time we had a small hiccup Holly had it solved immediately! There is no way we could have done it without her and her team. If you want your event to have to have that wow factor (and lots of color) Holly is the only choice! We're sad we don't get to work with her anymore now that the wedding is over, but she'll be our first call next time we have a major event to plan! read more

19 days to plan a destination wedding. A daunting task, but Holly made it seem easy. We barely had a venue secured, much less flowers, photographer, band, dj or anything else. While we did our day jobs in Australia, which included traveling every week for 4 weeks before our wedding, Holly did hers in LA - and made it all happen. With only a few calls (and lots of follow up emails) she made sure we were on track, and locked down everything we needed for a fantastic day. She set up the video conferences so that she could see us "in person" even though we didn't actually meet until two days before the wedding. This really helped us connect and feel like we were in the right hands. She struck a balance of rolling with the punches and making sure the key elements were in place for the day. With her extensive network, she was able to give us a few (excellent) choices for key vendors so we could make decisions quickly and feel comfortable that everything would be great. She visited the venue with the vendors and worked out how to set up and break down so that we got the most possible time and made some key suggestions about how to set up and decorate so that the backyard patio of a bar became an amazing haven just for us. Her styling and layout for the venue really pulled it all together. She was unflappable as we came up with crazy ideas, and helped make them happen - including helping my partner to get an ice cream truck as a surprise for me! She was the reassuring presence I needed when I freaked out about my dress, and was just focused on making sure that I felt happy and confident for the day. By the time the day arrived everything was all set and went incredibly smoothly. She made sure we stayed hydrated, and that we got a few moments to ourselves, to pause and take it in. Her experience was so key as she was able to just be where she needed to be to support and help me without it ever feeling like we had a wedding planner hovering and directly everything from a clipboard. I got several comments of amazement at how well I'd pulled it all off, which really all comes down to hiring Holly at the beginning. read more

Holly along with her recommended vendors (virtual DJ and virtual photo booth) created an EXPERIENCE for my daughters virtual birthday party. She handled all of the logistics, party/swag bags, zoom administration, vendor coordination with style and flair. Friends and family loved the party. My daughter was elated! Mom (me) was happy. read more

We had the pleasure of working with Holly Gray for our entire wedding planning process. We initially spoke with Holly on the phone and she was very bubbly and friendly! She didn't pressure us into making a decision, but rather encouraged us to talk to other planners to get a feel for what we wanted. Narrowing down a wedding planner can be difficult, so ultimately we chose Holly not just because her work looked and sounded impressive, but because of her personality. She really clicked with us as a couple and we loved that about her. Because realistically whom ever we chose, would heavily be involved in our lives for the next year, so we wanted to make sure we had a great connection. After we locked down Holly, we jumped right into it! She had lots of recommendations for every aspect of a wedding; flowers, videographers, photographers, cake, music, makeup, hair, etc. Holly accompanied us on our initial meetings with the vendors and spoke true to our vision. She always had our best interest in mind and made us feel comfortable every step of the way. Which is extremely important because this occasion should be done exactly the way you pictured it. There are hundreds of major and minor decisions to make, that it can be hard to feel confident in your choices. It was always nice to hear that we were on the right track and everything would be okay. On our actual wedding day, it was surreal to see everything come together. It was in this moment that we finally realized that the endless amount of e-mails and several months of planning was all worth it. Holly was running around like crazy and making sure everything was in place and exactly how it should be. But in the same breath, she would suddenly appear right in front of us when we needed her. The day was so perfect and if there were any hiccups or mishaps, we didn't notice a thing. That's why you hire a wedding planner! There are no words to explain how incredible it was to have Holly leading us the entire way. She is an absolute gem and organized the most perfect day we could have ever imagined. It was a dream come true. read more

We were incredibly fortunate to have Holly Gray as the coordinator for our wedding in September 2015. Not only is Holly one of the brightest, kindest and most downright pleasant people I've had the chance to work with in ANY capacity, she is an expert at what she does. From guiding us through logistics and timelines to contributing creative ideas that fit the style of our event, she was an absolutely essential part of our wedding planning process from the moment she came aboard. Holly was always a phone call or email away, and after each of our scheduled in person meetings, my fiancee and I left with our minds put completely at ease because she was so on top of everything. She was great at catching little things that we would have otherwise completely missed and always reassured us that we were on the right track. The wedding weekend itself went perfectly with Holly at the helm. We had a very large wedding party, but Holly effortlessly took control at our rehearsal and made sure everyone knew what to do. I greatly appreciated that she handled any moments of chaos or confusion with laughter and smiles, and we received countless compliments from our friends and family about what a joy it was to have her running the show. On the day of the wedding itself, Holly was the primary reason we were able to enjoy ourselves and not stress about any of the setup or logistics. Holly was above and beyond what I was expecting from a coordinator in every regard and, being on the other side of the process, I can't imagine someone I'd recommend more highly. read more

We just had the pleasure of working with Holly at a recent Wedding. She was an absolute joy to work with! She organized the day for the bride and groom, added so many beautiful touches and was on top of everything! She defiantly made the day easier for the couple, plus for us as well!! We will highly recommend her to future clients! Wachsman-Staley Photography read more

I can't thank Holly enough for such an amazing wedding night. As our day of coordinator, she met with us a number of times prior to the event, gave us countless consultations, and coordinated with all of the vendors the week before. The day was seamless and we couldn't imagine having a wedding without her. Just leave all decisions on the day-of in her hands. She handles everything! I recommend her with all of my heart! read more

A year ago when we started the process of planning my daughter's wedding. She wanted a wedding coordinator and I thought it was an unnecessary expense. I was completely wrong! Holly was fantastic. The wedding was at our church and the reception at a restaurant ballroom. Holly completely took care of every detail. When we walked into the ballroom, everything was completed and ready to have a great party. We had a cocktail hour outside prior to our guests coming into the reception which was ready to go and beautiful. What was the best for me if I had any question or concern (which were few) Holly took complete care of it. I had no stress as the mother of the bride and this made the evening even more perfect. My daughter's thank you to me was "Everything was absolutely perfect" this was in large part to Holly's amazing work to make my daughter's dream wedding a reality!!! read more

Holly helped us have our absolute dream wedding in October 2019 at Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown (near Joshua Tree). It seriously couldn't have been more perfect. Holly is super energetic, creative, and upbeat. She kept us positive when we got stressed during the planning process. We were on a budget, and thanks to her connections among the wedding vendor community we were able to get some great deals and get everything we wanted while mostly sticking to our budget! Everyone in the community LOVES Holly so it made it really easy to find great vendors. She also has a feel for making your wedding unique - when I tried to weasel my way into using a pre-made wedding invite, she encouraged me to use my drawing skills to illustrate our invitation. She was SO right - everyone absolutely loved them and having my own drawings involved in our wedding made it extra special. When it came to the day of, everything went exactly how we wanted. It was even better than we could have imagined. Holly really helped us create our perfect wedding day. read more

I've been DJing weddings for the past 5 years, performing at roughly 250 events, and during that time I have worked with countless coordinators. After working with Holly the very first time, for good reason I put her straight to my preferred coordinators list. She's very easy to work with and consistently maintains a very high level of professionalism. While on site, she's always super easy to find, and it always seems as though she's exactly where she's needed, in the right place at the right time - super important for both the client as well as the vendors. Every event I've ever worked with her has been ran extremely smooth, without a single hitch or misstep (and if there was one, she probably handled it before anyone had even noticed!) Your coordinator the the very backbone of your event, and Holly ALWAYS puts together the raddest looking parties (seriously, no one does it like her), which seem to have extremely happy and satisfied couples (and vendors!). Every party she throws looks one-of-a-kind and absolutely STAND OUT! I would hire her in a heartbeat to run an event of my own. If you want to feel like you're in good hands and well taken care of, she's definitely your gal! Thanks for all of your awesome and hard work, Holly!!!! read more

I am working with Holly on a styled shoot. I am very impressed with her organization, her knowledge of the industry, and her connections. She is extremely creative and has the best interests of her clients in mind with every decision she makes. She has a bubbly personality and is easy to get along with. For this shoot, she has brought together some amazing talent. I can see why her brides love her so much! read more