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

I was asked to perform a ceremony yesterday - Carolyn and the team did an amazing job herding all…read morethe cats. The rehearsal went flawlessly as well and although I didn't see all the work put in, everyone was where they needed to be and calm and focused on enjoying Their Day. Kudos to AELO for making a special day for so many go off without a hitch. Thank you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best. Decor. Company. Ever. I had seen Elegance's work at prior weddings and knew I wanted them for…read moremy own wedding. When the time came around, I reached out to them immediately and was thrilled they were available for my wedding weekend! I was in contact with Swetal. We exchanged a few emails and then set up a call to go over details. I had a few ideas, but wasn't quite sure what else I wanted and Swetal was gracious to walk through and explain things that I hadn't even thought about. Leading up the wedding, we had one more call to go over last minute details and that was it!! She knew exactly what I wanted and was kind enough to point out certain elements I had forgotten about. On my wedding day, the decor honestly could not have been anymore perfect. They were punctual, the decor looked INCREDIBLE and everything was exactly like we had discussed. We were so happy with them and are so grateful for all their hard work and effort they put into these weddings, especially after a rough pandemic year. Swetal and her team are so easy to work with, very transparent with pricing/looks, and honestly just so easy to chat with! I think we talked about just normal life stuff more than the decor aspect of things because I trusted them completely to execute what we had discussed and they did! Cannot recommend them enough and hope to have them back for any of my future events!

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

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

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

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

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

Kayleigh and her team are a must have for your wedding! The best decision I made was hiring a day…read moreof coordinator. My only request for the evening was to be left alone (LOL) so that I could enjoy the night without having to answer any questions and Kayleigh made that happen for me. Kayleigh did such a good job of holding everything down and coordinating that day for me! Her team was super kind, knowledgeable and professional throughout the day. She was there to answer any questions and address any issue that came up. She even came up to me throughout the night to offer me additional glasses of champagne when my glass was empty! That day was a DREAM and Kayleigh and her team made that possible for me! If you're thinking of hiring a coordinator, DO IT and hire Event Daydreaming. They are amazing!

I have a catering business and recently had our first wedding with The Daydream team as month of…read morecoordinators. Carolina is exceptional, she makes it easy for vendors to have information on time and complete. The day was flawless and she was very hands on and let us know if there was any last minute changes. Definitely consider her for your wedding coordinator services and you will Love working with her!