"Wow, you are so calm." The new wife and I were hearing that a lot as the wedding day kept getting closer and closer. Seemed like everyone we talked to was surprised that we were not stressed out of our minds. We answered most questions about the planning and organization of the wedding with, "Oh, yeah, our wedding planner Kim is handling all of that." Kim G. and the BCB staff did an incredible job. The entire planning process was spoon-fed to us. Everything leading up to and including the big day was more or less stress free. Kim gracefully fielded any problems we could throw at her (even the last minute stuff). And most importantly, the big day itself was beautiful and everything ran smoothly. The wife and I decided to hire a wedding planner almost out of necessity because of our hectic schedules. However, I would definitely recommend Kim and BCB to anyone regardless of their circumstances. The peace of mind is worth every penny. read more

This is long overdue. But it seems that I could not come up with words perfect enough to reflect the perfection of the day. Claire planned our November 2nd wedding at Room 21 in Chicago. From the get go I knew that she and I would connect. And I was so happy when my now husband liked her as much as I did. But what I didn't know at the beginning of the 14 month planning process is how much Claire would do for us and how perfect she would make our day while keeping it in budget. She helped with every vendor and helped us think through every decision. She was patient with my endless ideas and thoughts - keeping me focused on the important stuff. Claire brought energy, creativity, and calmness through every decision. Beginning with setting our priorities all the way through making sure that my nephew had a cape to wear down the aisle - Claire made it happen. Our wedding was everything I dreamed it would be. The moment I walked into the venue I was taken back by how much it reflected every aspect of who we were as a couple. She "Claire"ified every detail - including a touching shelf of family photos with candles. I could go on and on - but I will say I am jealous of the brides who get to work with Claire and Big City Bride in the future. Because it was an awesome and nearly stress free experience. I could not say enough. But I can say Thank you! read more

The best decision we made in the wedding planning process was working with Claire and Big City Bride. She helped us with every little detail possible. From timelines, invitation wording, food, and so much more Claire was there every step of the way. Claire just got my husband and me and was able to help us translate that into a beautiful and memorable night that I relive in a daily basis. Claire's knowledge of incredible vendors, attention to detail, and calming presence make her the perfect wedding planner. Even though we planned the wedding in a short 7.5 months, I couldn't have asked for a more calm, stress free, and enjoyable experience! read more

Hiring Chrissy was the best decision we made in our wedding! I'm not a big planner and my now husband and I both have jobs that can be demanding, so we knew we would benefit a lot from hiring a wedding planner. We interviewed a couple of wedding planners and Chrissy stood out as someone who seemed very experienced - this was particularly important as, while we had a high level vision of our wedding, we had no clue about all the other details that comes with planning a wedding. We came out of our first meeting with her with full confidence that she will be a great advisor to us, will take our vision and guide us along the way and will have great input given her experience. Chrissy kept us on track throughout the planning process. She had a very positive attitude and bubbly personality, which was very helpful to keep us engaged especially when meeting with her after a long day of work. She was diligent about following up and was patient with us as we took time to make decisions on certain things. The day of the wedding, we didn't worry about a single thing! I woke up that day with no stress (maybe except for the weather cooperating) and thinking, I'm just going to do what Chrissy tells me to do! It was a stress-free day and we really just took everything in and enjoyed ourselves with family and friends. The DJ, music and dancing were important elements of our wedding (we wanted to make sure it was a big party!) and Chrissy helped us execute the way we wanted everything to play out. We received a lot of compliments that our wedding was beautiful and was so much fun! Up to this day, we have friends commenting what a big dance party our wedding was. We actually went back to BCB a few days after our wedding and added more to the tip for Chrissy's assistants. We just felt the need to do so after having some time to reflect on how great things turned out. I didn't shed a tear during my wedding but I did when I said goodbye to Chrissy in person a few days after. Totally didn't expect it but it just happened - I'm usually not emotional in public! I think I felt like we were letting go of a really good friend who we relied on a lot in the last few months and, although we knew it was coming, it felt so sudden at the time while we were still on a wedding high. Overall a really great experience for us. We look back to that day as the biggest party of our lives. Thanks to Chrissy and the BCB Team! read more

Claire at Big City Bride made our big day absolutely wonderful. I was initially skeptical of using a planner at all, but I 'm glad my wife found BCB. These guys will think of logistics and ask the questions that you would have no idea needed asking. They will make it so that on your big day, you are focused on having fun and getting married, rather than worrying if all of your vendors are getting there on time and if there's a table for the DJ. Leading up to the event, Claire made sure that we knew what vendors we paid and who we needed to pay, She came to the rehearsal to make sure we all knew the order of the procession, etc. And when we were unsure of a decision to make, she had TONS of advice and connections from previous weddings to help us figure out the way to go. Everything went perfectly - I could not have asked for more. read more

When my Husband and I first got engaged we knew that we would need help planning our wedding. Once we got started with the planning process on our own, it was going to be an overwhelming experience. We knew about Big City Bride because we knew the owner of the company but we did not know how amazing of people that she had working there. We were paired up with Kayla and right off the bat we felt like it was going to be a perfect fit! Kayla connected with us and found our exact needs throughout the entire year of planning. The planning process was fun and stress free and we always found ourselves laughing. Kayla has an outstanding personality and truly cared about making my wedding as perfect as it could be. Big City Brides catalog of connections with venues, caterers, music, florist, lighting, photographers, cake decorators and cinematographers made it very easy to setup up appointments and keep up the set timeline of completing everything before my big day. I really don't know what I would have done without her. If anyone is looking to get married, hiring a wedding planner was the best decision I could have made. From the begging, through the many decisions of planning, to the day of my wedding; I could not be more pleased with the way my wedding turned out. I could not have expected a better parter to have throughout that experience than Kayla at Big City Bride. read more

If you are an anxious person at all, having a planner, especially one from Big City Bride is the WAY TO GO!!!! Whether you need a day of planner or the full enchilada, their team is there to support you. Claire was our planner and I can't even imagine our wedding without her there through the whole process. She was attentive, creative, thorough, a good listener, and just everything we were hoping for. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the day and Claire was able to keep me calm from the moment she walked in the door. Her calmness was palpable and I would've been a mess without her. Our wedding was an absolute success. Our wedding was months ago and friends and family are still talking about it. We owe it all to Claire! WE LOVE CLAIRE! read more

Claire Weller from Big City Bride was amazing and went well above and beyond as our wedding planner. It's so hard to list everything or even know where to start, but we're definitely going to try! Overall, she was on top of everything, and always 5 steps ahead. She brought things to our attention and thought of scenarios that we didn't even think about, and she had a lot of great ideas and helpful tips. Professional, extremely organized, and prompt, she got back to us very quickly and made sure we stayed calm, cool, and collected throughout the entire process, especially the day of the wedding. Friendly, creative, energetic, enthusiastic, charismatic, and very reliable all describe her perfectly. Claire and Big City Bride was very flexible when it came to pricing and budget, and Claire still helped as much as she could, even if it wasn't included in the services we got. For example, she came and helped during the rehearsal, even though we hired her for the day-of wedding (above and beyond). She was a point person with all our vendors and kept everyone (us included) on time in a very professional and respectful manner. We even heard back from vendors how polite yet prompt she was throughout the night. She was very familiar with our venue and took care of everything throughout the night while remaining very responsive. In the end, we felt it was definitely worth having a wedding planner, otherwise, things would have easily fallen apart, forgotten, and the stress would have been overwhelming. We got to focus 100% on each other, our wedding, and the fun wedding reception with absolutely no worry. We're so happy to have had Claire with us throughout the process. read more

Hiring Big City Bride as my partner in wedding planning was one of the best decisions I've made in my life! I'm the definition of a bride who struggles to give up control... so when I realized I needed help, I went to the best. I had interviewed a handful of companies, but always felt something was missing. From Day 1 of meeting with Kayla at BCB, I instantly felt at ease and clicked with her. Through every stage of a year of planning, Kayla was always there, took initiative, was my cheerleader, my sounding board, a shoulder to cry on when I needed to vent, and the best partner I could've ever asked for. She went above and beyond every step of the way. Everything was flawless from start to finish and my guests still can't stop talking about how it was the best wedding they've ever been to. Now that our wedding is over, I can't put into words how much I miss our weekly meetings and chats. BCB goes out of their way to ensure their brides not just feel like an important client, but also like part of their family. I'm beyond honored to have worked with such an amazing person and company, but even more honored to now call Kayla a lifelong friend. read more

Big City Bride - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We hired Big City Bride to be the weekend coordinator for our wedding and we couldn't have had a better experience. I met with Kim G about three weeks before the wedding and I handed over all of my vendor contracts and we spent about an hour talking about the specifics of the wedding. Kim was able to let me know exactly what else I needed to take care of and by the next morning I had an email in my inbox with a checklist of all of my "to-dos". I was most stressed out about the timing of everything having to do with all of my vendors and Kim handled everything for me. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders after just one meeting with her. She was with us the whole weekend starting at the rehearsal and the entire weekend went perfectly thanks to Kim and her team. I honestly didn't have a single worry the entire day and I owe it all to BCB. After the wedding, Kim followed up with a really sweet email which also included instructions on how to change my name. I saw a few negative comments on here that talked about BCB not catering to low budget weddings and I am proof that those comments couldn't be more false. I had a traditional, modest wedding and Kim and her team could not have been more dedicated to helping make it a perfect day. I would recommend Big City Bride to all brides in a heartbeat. read more

I had always planned on a large wedding and hiring a wedding planner. We were engaged in May 2012 and I set up a few meetings with various planners around the city and suburbs. BCB was my second appointment and I canceled all of the rest after meeting Susan. I can't stress enough that BCB was the absolute best investment we made by far. Where to begin.... We decided on the Chicago Cultural Center and with our size wedding (488 invited - although our final head count was 330), the only date they had available for the next year and a half was December 29th, 2012. This is because we were using Yates for the reception space. Once the date was set and we realized it would be a very short engagement, Susan brought on Chrissy to help with the plans. These 2 women quickly became some of the most amazing, fascinating and helpful people I have ever met. They do not miss a SINGLE detail and I have never witnessed organization on that level. They have connections to just about everything you can think of in the city of Chicago and can get answers for you very quickly. They planned my wedding weekend (a challenge all in itself!), my wedding shower and my bachelorette party. I can honestly say that nothing went wrong at any of the events. Our meetings with them were organized, timely and yet still a blast. Every staff member is friendly and courteous and went out of their way to make us comfortable. Claire is an absolute sweetheart and the warmest person to see each time when we arrived. I could go on for pages and pages but what I really need to say is not to pass up the opportunity to meet these great women, accept their talent and help, and sit back and enjoy the wedding planning. I truly can't imagine how our wedding would have turned out without them in our lives (nor do I want to). They took my vision and made it a reality and there are no words to express my gratitude towards each and every one of them. read more

Perfection. There is no other word to describe the experience of working with Big City Bride and Claire Weller. From the first meeting to the AMAZING EVENT I was impressed with how buttoned down Claire was. She listened as our daughter and future son in law started with a vision of what they were looking for - and a very specific vision (they were married in a record store and the parents - us and the grooms mom) performed the ceremony. I am in the film production business, I am the one that makes the world perfect for clients and it was hard to let go and trust that this is what Big City and Claire did with all of their hearts and soul for a living as well. I am sure after reading other reviews here that this is a company that is run by people who could not possibly do it any other way. Claire was open and easy, and helpful and there were no egos involved. A smile at every moment, nothing threw her off balance and in the situation our daughter decided to be married, Claire had never done it before, and it came off flawlessly. Every meeting we had, she had stored every note and every piece of input our daughter and future son in law had (they were very hands on since they are in the entertainment industry as well) given her. We sat at that table in their office as she would pull up references and type rapidly on her laptop and REALLY LISTEN. Our daughter and her future husband also had vendors they wanted to use or who they wanted to be a part of the process since they were in such a specific industry - and Claire seamlessly wove those vendors into ones that she brought to the table for us to review and work with as well. We took the whole package - at the end of the day, none of us could imagine not taking it from start to finish, it seemed to us like asking someone to write a part of the book and not finish the ending. We challenged her at every turn with things that changed or had to be added (we tented the outside of a venue and were not sure of the weather and decided a day before the tent went up to enclose it further and add more fabric and draping.) Nothing fazed her. It was all met with a smile and a sentence I will store in my brain forever, "Rosemary, don't worry, enjoy everything, it's my job to get that done." And, get it done she did. My last memory of the night was Claire out on the street running in her bare feet to get ahead of the crowd of people to get in a cab and bring it to us. The icing on the cake for us was the wedding was the lead story on Huffington Post three days later. Reading it will give you a SMALL flavor of how very different this event was. The photos show you snippets of what was total magic in a day and a night our family will never forget. There are no cons to hiring a planner. You can choose to be very involved, less involved, or not involved while they plan it all. This company follows your dreams and makes them happen. Here is the link to the story and some of the photos. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/record-store-wedding-chic_n_3240150.html?utm_hp_ref=chicago Rosemary D. read more

I don't even know where to start!!!! Big City Bride is magic. If a bride were to ask me what my #1 "no brainer" is for planning a wedding ... it would be WITHOUT A DOUBT ... to hire a wedding planner. It was the BEST money we spent!!!!!! And if you are getting married in Chicago, Big City Bride is the mercedes of wedding planning. Susan runs an incredible company and I love her hustle/energy. Plus, she hires incredible people. Claire Weller was my planner ... and she made everything about our wedding weekend seamless! She is so creative, smart, confident and is a full blown wedding ninja! I am still sitting here on could 9 and it's honestly b/c I had ZERO stress all weekend, she took my ideas and made them even better than I could have dreamed. Thank you Big City Bride, thank you Susan for the work you do, and thank you Claire for being part of our special day!!!! read more

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My husband and I were searching for a wedding planner so we contacted Big City Bride on the knot.com. We received a call from Claire on the same day. We scheduled a consultation with her to discuss our vision and expectations. We hired Claire as our wedding planner for our September wedding. One of the first things she did was to help us find a venue. She collected all of the information from each venue, what their available dates were, and then went with us to check them out. Claire also assists the bride and groom with establishing vendors for their big day (photographer, videographer, music, etc.). If you haven't established your vendors, she has an amazing list of extremely talented and professional individuals. Claire communicates with all vendors throughout the whole process and does most of the back and forth communication that can take up a lot of time. This is especially helpful for people who are busy or work full-time like my husband and I were. Claire addressed all questions and concerns in a timely manner. Even when she was on vacation or had to leave town, she would either remain available via text or email OR she made one of the other Big City Bride staff available to us. We were never left hanging or left with unanswered questions or concerns. Claire is very sweet, energetic, determined, and gets along with everyone! She remained professional and patient during the whole process. For brides like me who aren't always sure what they want or have trouble picturing things, Claire provides creativity and so many different ideas to help you figure out what you want and be confident that it will look great! Claire has been doing this work for many years so she knows what she is doing! It was easy to trust in the process with her as our wedding planner. Arin was also wonderful and assisted Claire with details during our engagement, as well as on the actual wedding day. Claire and Arin are truly two of the sweetest people I have ever met. But don't get me wrong....they will strongly advocate and negotiate for you when needed! They work very hard and always remain considerate of what you want. On the wedding day, they help with setting up and they also make sure that everything is packed up at the end of the night. This is really important to have because as the bride and groom, you don't want to have to worry about these things. And you also want your friends and family to enjoy and take everything in as well. I don't know what I would have done without them that day and night! Claire and Arin assisted with the rehearsal the day before and provided the bridal party and our families with all of the information on where they needed to be and when. Claire was on her feet all day and still managed to calm my nerves and touch up my hair after the ceremony! And it doesn't end on the wedding night. Claire provided excellent follow up after the wedding and even sent instructions on how to change my last name. I can't thank Claire enough for everything she did for us and I could go on and on. If you would like to see pictures of recent weddings by Big City Bride, follow their Instagram! We would recommend Big City Bride for wedding and any other party planning needs! read more

I will never have enough words to describe the incredible experience I had working with Arin Busch at Big City Bride! I can promise you that each and every glaringly positive review of Arin and the entire BCB team is 100% true. From the initial phone consultation to post-wedding follow up, Arin poured her heart and soul into making all of my wedding dreams come true. She has spent many years becoming an absolute expert in the wedding and event industry, while simultaneously maintaining a fun, positive and innovative approach to planning a wedding that will be perfect for you! Not only could I rely on Arin's well-informed professional opinion, but I could also trust that she would joyfully encourage, support and ensure that any vision I had for the wedding was brought to life. Her communication skills are unmatched-prompt, respectful and comforting. She is patient, thoughtful, reliable and extremely smart. Weddings come with many emotions; Arin graciously helped my family navigate through each and every complex situation with ease. On our wedding day, the mesh material of my "backless dress" completely ripped, while we were leaving our photos-requiring multiple people to hold it together! Never once did I panic or even cry, because immediately, I had my entire bridal party calling Arin. I knew I could trust her to find a solution, no matter what challenge the day presented. She kept me calm, smiling and even bustled my dress while it was being sewn back together. To this day, only a handful of wedding guests even know it happened-A MIRACLE- that I attribute to Arin and her incredible team of assistants!!! If you are getting married in Chicago-truly, look no further than Big City Bride. They are the BEST of the BEST! I feel lucky to call Arin much more than my wedding planner, but now a very dear friend read more

Big City Bride is the only place you need to look for perfection, dedication, and a detail oriented wedding day! Our wedding planner, Chrissy, was hands down, THE most organized person I have ever met! She stuck to timelines flawlessly, reminded us right away on our deadlines, and really made sure everything was PERFECT. You know how everyone says "something always goes wrong on your wedding day"? Well, in 100% honesty, NOTHING went wrong... even if there was a snag in something, I had NO knowledge of it... that's how good they are at truly making sure everything is just as it should be for the bride and groom: fun and stress FREE! My husband and I live in Boston and were planning this wedding in Chicago, my hometown. Chrissy made it SO easy to conference call and Skype when we needed to, and really took on every task and every detail. It's great that Big City Bride has such an arsenal of vendors such as DJs and Photographers. That made it simple for us to choose and not have to do our own research from afar. Also, the chemistry with their vendors is even more amazing... it really made the whole experience that much more fun on the big day because they all work together so well. My mother and I had some disagreements along the way with the style/décor of the wedding... Chrissy has SUCH a way with words in making EVRYONE'S opinion feel welcome and included in some way (without compromising what the bride wants!) Not only did we have the BEST and most memorable day of our lives, but we also gained a friend in the process. I will continuously recommend BCB (and Chrissy!!) to anyone and everyone planning their wedding in Chicago. ~Liz & Matt read more

I honestly cannot say enough wonderful things about Big City Bride and my incredible wedding planner Claire Weller. Before ever meeting Claire, I vividly remember talking to her on the phone discussing mine and Tony's upcoming wedding and instantly connecting with her. I remember how funny, sweet, and personable she was. It was no surprise upon meeting that I knew for certain she was the right person to help plan our wedding and I needed her by my side. Through the wedding planning process, she was beyond organized, enjoyable to work with, and extremely thoughtful. She not only listened to my wants and needs but those of my parents and Tony as well. She was able to not only hear what we said but understand the ideas and concepts we did not even know we wanted! Claire always responded to emails in a timely manner, made herself available for phone calls, and always lent a kind ear during the moments of panic. Thanks so much for that Clairebear! Claire introduced us to the best vendors in the industry that worked so hard to bring our dream wedding to life. We absolutely adored them all, like our talented photographer Robyn Rachel and the guys at WholeHearted. Let's discuss the end result, which is probably why you are reading this. Our wedding was nothing short of an absolute fairytale and I owe so much of this to Claire and the amazing BCB ladies (hi Arin!). I could not have done this without you. The wedding day from start to finish ran so smoothly with everything staying on schedule, with no mishaps and tons of positive energy and love. We had 400 guests, many coming from out of town, which could have easily turned into chaos. The BCB Team came together, all took part in managing the day, and made things happen in a way I cannot even describe. It was unbelievable and it felt truly special that they all cared to help and be a part of our wedding day. The moment of truth for me personally (even though I never had a doubt) came after our ceremony. Our reception was held at the Field Museum in Chicago. When Tony and I walked into the venue for our reception, tears filled both our eyes and we were left speechless. I could not believe just how magnificent and dreamy the Field Museum looked; and it was all for us! The lights, candles, color scheme, flowers.... just all of it was beyond words. I will never forget that feeling or moment for the rest of my life. Needless to say, the reception was a BLAST! Tony and I felt like a King and Queen that day and during our entire engagement. To all of you to-be brides and grooms reading this, guarantee the wedding of a lifetime and work with BCB.I have heard numerous times that couples have hated planning their wedding and would never do it again. That truly makes me sad, because we had the time of our lives! Since our wedding, we have been told by countless guests that not only was this the best wedding/event they have attended but one they will never ever forget. I am so grateful for you Claire and I am so glad we have formed such a beautiful friendship that will continue on. Thank you for bringing my dream wedding to life; the memories will forever live on. Love you all! - Chère and Tony read more

Chrissy and her team at BCB were simply perfect. Our wedding day was hands down the most memorable, most talked about and most perfect day of all time. From start to finish, Chrissy took our ideas, crafted a plan, asked the right questions, worked within our budget & craziness and the final product was beyond anything we could imagine. She totally kept us in line and managed us with her meticulous to-do lists, timelines, meetings, conference calls, calming influence, reassurance and all with the high-energy and positive way about her. When she came on the scene on Wedding Day, she was an animal! Without making any of it about her, she owned the day and managed to ensure we were on time, in place, on schedule and it was so smooth. We can't thank Chrissy enough and can't promote her enough to any engaged couple. read more

My wedding day was titled WEDDING OF THE CENTURY by all of my guest ALL thanks to Big city Brides. I had Claire, and she was nothing but the best! All my vendors for the wedding was through them and that saved me a lot of hime and hassle to find vendors on my own. EVERYONE was exceptional and I had such a blast! I would just like to re-live that day over and over again.THANKS BIG CITY BRIDES! read more

I cannot thank Kayla enough for everything she did for us to achieve the perfect wedding weekend! We were honestly blown away at her attention to detail in every aspect, her enthusiastic and professional attitude, and all of the extra effort she went through to make every moment flawless in execution. Not to mention, she was tons of fun! Every person has come up to me asking who she was and what company she worked for to help coordinate our day. I cannot imagine our weekend without Kayla. She started working with us about 3-4 weeks away from our wedding. At that point, stress and excitement is high and to have someone completely take care of last minute finalizations and details was a godsend. I did not worry about a single thing. Absolute best money we spent! I recommend Kayla and Big City Bride to every Bride and Groom! read more

I had the opportunity and good fortune to work with Big City Bride for my wedding in Chicago and they were WONDERFUL! I worked specifically with Kayla and she was fantastic. Wedding planning can be a busy and stressful time especially when coupled with an intense work schedule. I hired Kayla and BCB to function as our day-of planner. It was fantastic that about 1month out Kayla truly began to take over all planning. She communicated with our vendors and kept a very detailed schedule of the day and evening to ensure we were on time for our event. Given our wedding began later in the evening it was crucial we kept to a schedule and BCB helped us to do just that! Our wedding was beautiful and ran smoothly and the day-of I didn't have to do anything except get married and have a great time. Would HIGHLY recommend! read more

We hired Darcey from Big city Bride for my daughters wedding last weekend. I highly recommend Darcey , she is a top notch planner who took care of all the details of the wedding weekend from managing all our vendors, creating and distributing the wedding time line, being on site the entire day of the wedding and reception. We were all relaxed and able to enjoy this very special day and I know without a doubt that it was because of hiring Darcey! If I could give this review 10 stars I would. Thank you Darcey for letting me truly be the mother of the bride and helping to make the wedding even better than we ever thought it would be! My daughter and her husband enjoyed the best day of their lives! read more

I looked for a wedding planner even before I got engaged. Yes. Crazy. But I am a planner..and you will wonder why did I want Big City Brides if I am a "planner"? I make plans for the Navy, and live over 800 miles away from my now husband. I asked my boss for a good time to take off in the next year, and my husband and I talked about getting married in November. Lots of talking..and lo and behold, he proposes! Thank goodness, because I already had a meeting with Crystal the next week! I was sold on Big City Brides after my first phone call with Crystal, but I had to sell the husband on the idea. Well..it didn't take too much convincing after our first meeting, and a grand plan was set. I was happy to have someone so flexible, professional, and someone who figured out my style, when I wasn't really sure what I wanted/liked/or could put it into words. From the rehearsal, to the church..which my family was really impressed when Crystal changed out my brother's boutonniere with absolute precision, and not delaying any photos! To the reception, I couldn't imagine a more incredible day. I was so relaxed, happy, and couldn't believe how easy the day went along. I was in shock when she told me it was 11:45pm. My husband and I referred to all of our meetings along the way and said "we can't wait to see Crystal's vision". Well when we were brought behind the curtain at our reception, we saw the vision. It was nothing short of perfect. Thank you Crystal and Big City Brides for making our day so incredibly special! read more

Big City Bride = AMAZING!!! No matter what kind of bride you are, Big City Bride will happily make your planning process go smoothly and your wedding day perfect!! I started the wedding process with no direction and a whole lot of anxiety. But then I met CHRISSY! She knows everything about the wedding world and took my only direction of "I want it to be fun" and made it happen! She quickly picked up on my likes and dislikes and suggested details and vendors that matched my style!! And best of all she is FUN to work with. I'll be the first to admit that I was a bride with a whole lot of baggage: I lived in Philadelphia where I am a med student with NO free time and little opportunity to be back in Chicago; my mom lives in NY, so I did most of the planning solo; I am a vegan (and so were some of my guests, inc my FIL) while my husband is a meat-atarian; I was on a tight budget, etc. But Chrissy worked her magic and made all of this issues easy to work through. Being out of state was the hardest, but Chrissy was super accommodating and created mega-planning visits for the few scattered days I was able to be back in Chicago. She was also very patient with me when I would be late in getting back to her with deadlines because school etc always had to come first. Also, all of our vendors were flexible and willing to work with us- which I credit to Chrissy because of the relationships she had with them. Because of Chrissy and Big City Bride, the wedding planning was fun and I was confident our wedding day would be perfect. Chrissy paid attention to every detail (and then some), so that on our big day all we had to do was enjoy it! And all of our guests were very impressed!! Thank you Chrissy and BCB for making our total wedding experience so wonderful! read more

Oh my gosh. I really don't know where to start!!! Chrissy planned our January wedding at the Cultural Center and there is really no way to put into words how amazing the wedding was and how smooth the planning process went. Seriously you guys, my husband and I felt like guests the entire night! Ok, I'll back up... I specifically requested Chrissy because she did my best friend's wedding, which was perfect. From the minute I stepped into Big City Bride, I literally felt like a celebrity!! A welcome sign with our name on it? Champagne and treats at our meetings? YES!!! We met once a month, but Big City Bride and Chrissy made us feel so great and important that I wanted to meet every week!!! Chrissy listened to the vision we had for our wedding and gave us amazing ideas for how to pull them off in our budget. Everything that was important to us was important to her! She introduced us to great vendors that our guests are still talking about every time we see them...the band, the flowers/candles, the food...EVERYTHING!! She made the process smooth and kept us well informed. Plus, she is SO organized!! Chrissy- teach me your ways ;) The wedding and reception were more perfect that I could have ever imagined. I actually have to pinch myself to believe that it was real. When I walked in and saw how our vision had literally come to life, my jaw DROPPED. It was that gorgeous, you guys!! I think I stood there stunned for a few minutes before I could even speak!! Going back to how we felt like guests at our wedding- it's because we didn't have a worry in the world because Chrissy was doing the worrying for us! If anything went wrong, I still have no idea because she took care of it! She kept us on a timeline where we could get pictures done and still enjoy our cocktail party and reception. At the reception, she kept things moving so that we could get to the most fun part- dancing!! She even made sure the little details were taken care of...that my dad had the special olives that he loves so much, that a particular guest had a certain drink that he only drinks- EVERYTHING! It was soooo nice not to have to worry about anything but having fun with the people you love! Chrissy and Big City Bride are hands down the best money we spent on our wedding! Do yourself a favor and run, don't walk, to BCB before they are booked solid!! Shout out to Kayla at BCB too! I felt like she was just as excited for our wedding as we were which made it SO FUN to work with her too! Love her! read more

You will NOT regret hiring Big City Bride!! We worked with Kayla for my daughters wedding. She was awesome from the beginning on . She kept my daughter SO calm through the entire process. She was super organized, full of good ideas, ALWAYS available and took care of all the little details right through the wedding day and beyond. She made the planning process a breeze. She found the perfect florist ,caterer and photographer that matched my daughters vision .She was easy to work with and went above and beyond on every task taking ALL the burden off of us and I recommend her without hesitation. We were able to enjoy a stress free gorgeous wedding weekend. read more

I cannot say enough about Big City Bride!!!! We could not have planned our wedding without them! When we got engaged in February, we were just slightly late in the game for planning the summer wedding of our dreams. After meeting with Claire Weller from Big City Bride, we were certain she could make our dream a reality in just 5 months!! She was so positive, upbeat and fun and we loved her enthusiasm! She got on the venue search immediately and she guided us in the decisions that needed to be made right away. With my mom helping with the planning from Ohio, she did an excellent job of keeping both of us informed in every detail. Claire made the wedding planning process FUN and easy and allowed for us to enjoy our season of engagement. Because of Big City Bride's amazing connections and relationships with all of the best vendors in Chicago, we were guided to incredible people to work with, while staying within our budget. Claire navigated every obstacle with ease and we were so impressed with her ability to stay positive and adapt to anything and everything that came our way! The Big City Bride team made our wedding day the absolute BEST day of our lives. It was totally stress-free and all we had to do was show up and enjoy! They had the day planned to the minute and when we saw the room [ at The Museum of Broadcast Communications] for the first time, we were absolutely blown away. It was more beautiful than we had even dreamed it could be! Our guests had an incredible time and so did we :) We know how much time and hard work went into every detail of our wedding and we could not be more grateful to Claire and Big City Bride for everything they did to help us create our urban, elegant and "twinkly" wedding of our dreams!! read more

Christine was our coordinator and I can't say enough positive things about her! We were one of many couples who had to change plans due to COVID. Christine was instrumental in helping us navigating many unknown variables to make the best informed decisions. When we decided to down size our wedding from 120 to 13, Christine was so supportive and went above and beyond leading up to our wedding day. We had multiple "change of plans" due to the fluid nature of the Chicago COVID restrictions and she took it upon herself early on to assist with communicating and coordinating across our vendors as plans continued to change. This was such a huge weight lifted off our shoulders, and I can't speak highly enough about her ability to work with vendors, some of which she had not worked with previously, to make sure our day went off without a hitch. Her organization and proactive nature made it so easy for us to relax and enjoy our wedding with our closest family members. I would highly recommend working with Christine for your wedding! read more

This review will never be able to describe how pleased I am with the entire staff at Big City Bride! This entire experience was amazing from start to finish. Darcey has a place in my heart forever, she made everything happen! My family and friends could not stop talking about how wonderful and friendly and polite everyone they encountered was! From vendors to staff everything was made perfect because of Big City Brides. Many brides say the wedding goes by so quickly and they dont remember a thing...I remember every minute and every detail because Darcey made sure I enjoyed myself. Spending your wedding day without Big City Bride at your side...dont let it happen! Trust these ladies and they will leave you with warmth in your heart and a smile on your face! read more

I have a very detail oriented job in real life so in Wedding planning I wanted the same. We got that and MORE! Arin is professional, a joy to work with and as detailed as they come. Arin took time to get to know us and took care of everything on our wedding day. Not one mishap that we knew of. And she did it all with positive energy and a great personality! We are so blessed to have found Big City Bride and Arin Calamari!! I highly recommend her and their services. We did the mid range package and felt that was a tremendous value! They found us an incredible band and saved us $4000 that we would have spent on a different band that we weren't sure was our best option. It took all the guessing out of everything! They have great relationships with vendors to help you build your day and make it amazing but also find you some deals here and there. We had the most gorgeous wedding and reception! Thank you Arin and Big City Bride for all of your incredible work! Chris and Pat Lynch read more

Big City Bride has a awesome staff and they very easy to work with. We have used Big City bride a few times with our client's and they always make sure that we have all of the information that we need on our end when we are providing transportation to and from their client's Wedding. We get our itineraries on time and final confirmations are always a breeze - Thank you Big City Bride read more

Working with Chrissy at Big City Bride couldn't have been better! She is an amazing person and amazing at what she does. She is extremely organized, positive, and does this job better than anyone I have ever seen. Hands down. I know my wedding wouldn't have been half as great without her help! Not only did she guide us through every step of the planning process from site visits to vendor bids to budgeting - she really cared about understanding my vision and bringing it to life. At times I swear she knew what i wanted better than I did! She just gets it. And then came the wedding day...and WOW! Everything went flawlessly (and if it didn't, i never knew it!) and it was completely stress free thanks to her! She thought of every little detail and I'm eternally grateful. Chrissy really cares about each wedding she does with a passion, you cannot go wrong with having her as your wedding planner! Would 100% recommend her 100 times over! Thank you for everything Chrissy, we love you! read more

What Steve Jobs is to Apple is Susan Cordogan is to Wedding Planning. Big City Bride is a well-oiled machine and the best wedding decision my husband and I made (well, except getting married!) without a doubt. We will forever be grateful for her services and she made our wedding the most magical, perfect, stress-free day of our entire lives. If you're reading this you are probably thinking of whether or not to hire BCB or do it yourself. You're thinking wedding planners cost money & that you could use that extra cash on flowers, church programs, transportation, a bigger cake.. but that's not the rationale you should be using. That's not how wedding planning works! For example, you go to go to a florist and explain to them your vision, they charge you $10k. Because why not? They'll never see you again after your big day. But if Susan goes with you to that florist - they will treat you guys like royalty and charge her $7k. Susan is a repeat customer of theirs, her company plans weddings all the time, they want to work with her and they want her to come back. And that is just one example. I can think of so many more places where you save money by working with BCB: Your venue is going to charge you for "chair removal" or your caterer is going to charge you for "cake cutting" or the hotel is going to charge you for "welcome-box delivery". Because again, why not? You're a one-time customer. All of those small charges that add up very quickly, won't happen when you're with Susan. If you tell Susan your all in budget, she will work within her services to fit in that budget and your planning process will be infinitely less stressful, happier, more organized and the day itself will be flawless. I can't thank Susan and her team enough - they are really the best. read more

Choosing Darcey from Big City Bride as our wedding coordinator was the best decision we made! My fiancé and I had a smaller budget to work with and you wouldn't have guessed it with the way our ceremony and reception turned out! Darcey was able to find us amazing vendors that didn't break our budget. She was always super organized at each and every meeting; always having an agenda for us in addition to a "to do" list to take home. Darcey gave us options as well which made the process so much easier and personalized. The best thing about having Darcey as our wedding planner was that we were actually able to sit back and enjoy our wedding - she took care of every single detail to perfection! I wouldn't dream of planning a big event without the help of Darcey and her Big City Bride team. read more

Chrissy was the absolute best thing that happened to us throughout the whole wedding planning process - we couldn't have done it without her!! I'm from Tennessee and even though my (now) husband is local, he obviously wasn't too familiar with everything that goes into wedding planning so we looked for some help and found Big City Bride. Right from our first meeting, our minds were put to ease by their experience and expertise in the biz so we signed up right away. It was also really helpful that we were able to create our own planning bundle (since we had a few vendors secured by then) but they never made us feel like we weren't their #1 priority at all times. Looking back at the actual wedding, it was so nice knowing that Chrissy was there to handle any and every thing that came up - she even made it a point to ensure sentimental things we wanted to be part of the ceremony and reception were done in the best possible way and always let us know that things were under control. I would recommend BCB (and Chrissy specifically) to anyone who is getting married. Again, it was the best decision we ever made!!! read more

Wow what an experience. They were completely on their game so we could enjoy our day to the max. They took our dreams from start to finish and now we call our wedding the best day of our lives! We did our wedding on air and it could have been very stressful however they handled it like champs. Looking forward to seeing the final product air on PBS WYCC this April. For more info on our wedding go to www.thewhitneyreynoldsshow.com. read more

When my California-raised daughter decided that she wanted to marry on New Year's Eve in Chicago, I was more than a little concerned about how I was going to pull that off. Kayla Mousser with Big City Bride was my saving grace. She nailed every detail and allowed me to actually enjoy my daughter's big day in a city far from home. Thank you to Kayla and her team for giving my daughter and her groom their dream wedding. You are the best! read more

I had the best experience with Big City Bride - from beginning to ending with a spectacular, magical wedding. I spent a lot of time after getting engaged looking at Yelp and trying to sort through 1) whether I even needed a wedding planner and 2) who to pick. Well, I can't imagine having pulled everything together by myself in 100 million years and I can't imagine having worked with a better wedding coordinator - Chrissy. From my very first contact with BCB, I was impressed. I initially called several planners - one was not responsive AT ALL, and another took weeks to get back to me. BCB was responsive and curteous and immediately put me at ease. My particular struggle was that I was traveling full-time, and neither my fiance' or I have family in the area. Since we were paying and planning for it, I certainly felt a lot of pressure. In stepped Chrissy. I went from stressed out mess, to feeling like there was control over what was happening. Even more than that, I really felt like Chrissy understood what I was looking for, and provided great suggestions and recommendations. When I ended up having a make-up and hair trial disaster with my "usual place," Chrissy was at the ready with incredible recommendations. Our band, Chrissy's recommendation, was so spectacular I don't even know how to express it in words. Music is really important to my family (all musicians, and snobbish about it), and our band blue everyone away - INCLUDING the Julliard grads who danced all night. We got married at Cafe' Brauer with our reception afterwards, and the idea of NOT having had Chrissy there just seems like pure insanity. Everything was flawless. I'm still hearing from my family (and mother-in-law) that our wedding was the best one they had ever been to. I could go on and on. . .Basically, I had a day even better than I could have imagined, I had so much fun that it seems impossible that it was actually my life. Yes, so much of that was getting married to the man I love surrounded by those that I love. The point is, I was able to enjoy it all, because Chrissy and Big City Bride executed flawlessly. Worth every penny because the value is immeasureable. THANK YOU CHRISSY!!! read more

My hubby and I had the most wonderful experience working with Chrissy Magliano at Big City Bride. We did full planning - she helped us select a venue, plan the wedding, pick appropriate vendors, plan our rehearsal dinner, and just keep our sanity. Right off the bat Chrissy pulled off the impossible - she helped us secure the venue of our dreams when it was all sold out for Saturdays in the summer!! All of the vendors she selected for us were top notch. She was extremely responsive and came up with extremely creative ideas on ways to make our ceremony and reception unique. All of the vendors came in under budget and were such a pleasure to work with. My husband and I were planning from out of state and Chrissy's help, as well as the help of her team, made our wedding experience just amazing. Thank you Chrissy and Big City Bride! I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend their service! read more

If there were a choice of a thousand stars I'd give it! I contacted Big City Bride just a few weeks before my suburban farm wedding. I had most of my To-Do list checked off but a few things were really stressing me out like; ceremony music, transportation and all around schedule of the day. The first person I spoke to at BCB left me with a total felt sense of ease. She ran through all the things that BCB would be able to do to help and it was more then I could even have imagined. THEN, I spoke with Claire who would be my assigned day of coordinator. There aren't enough words or page space to allow for me to express my gratitude. When meeting and talking to her on the phone she helped me instantly with all my planning snafu's and then helped me iron out things I hadn't even thought about yet!!! She was a dream! Our wedding was in the far out suburbs and Claire was help with vendors even in our area! The second she was on my side I was able to even more truly enjoy being a bride. Until then I hadn't noticed how much the organizing was taking away from life but the second she joined me, every vendor was contacted and confirmed, details were ironed out, and to-do list and schedules were perfected! I was able to enjoy my wedding crafts and my family. The actual wedding day went off without a hitch. Seriously THE most amazing day of my life, Claire was like a superhero whizzing around setting up all my DIY projects perfectly to my vision, Keeping my squirrely groomsmen in order and basically navigating the whole night into a relaxed fun perfectly planned out day. I truly could never say enough about the amount of help, support, guidance, joy, and perfection that Claire and BCB brought to our wedding day. I am left with the BEST memories. I was told so many times by friends that, at least one thing will go wrong on your wedding day. Well, thanks to Claire, we proved them wrong! read more