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

I can't imagine our wedding without the help of Five Grain Events. Joan and Emily are a dream team and 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. read more

I absolutely cannot recommend this company enough for wedding planning - this was probably the best money we spent on the wedding. We were lucky enough to have Kelly as our wedding planner, and she was a dream. She began working with us two months in advance of the wedding, which was a month before any other day-of coordinator we found, and she was fun, friendly, and completely on top of her game. She asked questions I'd never thought of needing to answer, she covered every single detail, communicated with our vendors without even having to be asked, and took such a huge weight off of our shoulders. I relaxed (as much as one can before a wedding) so much when we started working with her because we just immediately felt like she had every detail covered. I found out later that a couple of things went awry at the wedding, but I never knew about any of them because she had them completely handled. I would 110% recommend Five Grain Events for your wedding, they're fantastic. read more

If you're looking for a wedding planner, hire Five Grain Events ASAP! Joan and her staff at Five Grain are amazing. Planning a wedding can be an extremely stressful process, but Joan made it a breeze. Joan is super organized, which made the whole process much easier. She told us exactly what we should do when, and sent us friendly reminder emails when necessary. Joan also did a great job of helping us vet venues, vendors, etc., which was particularly helpful given that Chicago has a million options for everything. Joan also was awesome about working with my mom when I was busy at work during the time leading up to the wedding. My mom picked up a lot of the planning slack for me and Joan was great about working with her to finalize things while still keeping me in the loop. I also can't say enough about how amazing Joan and her staff were the day of the wedding. Literally, all I had to do was show up. Joan had thought of everything. She'd coordinated the vendors, set a schedule, emailed my wedding party... you name it, she did it. To this day, I have no clue if anything went wrong the day of my wedding because Joan took care of everything seamlessly. Joan is also incredibly thoughtful. For example, Joan left me and my husband a box of donuts (we had a donut tower instead of a wedding cake) in our car at the end of the night. It was a small gesture, but it was soooo thoughtful and we really appreciated it. Our wedding was everything we hoped it would be and more all thanks to Joan and Five Grain Events. Hire them. You won't be disappointed. read more

Five Grain Events provided us with an amazing wedding planning experience! Leading up to the wedding our wedding coordinator, Kelly, helped keep us on track and ensure we were meeting all our deadlines for the big day. On the day of, Kelly and her team set up all of our decorations (as we did not use a florist) and laid out a very clear timeline for our wedding party and all the vendors. Kelly was with us each step of the way and we never had to question or worry during our big day. Not only were Kelly and he team members organized, professional, and experienced, but they were amazing people which made working with them very easy. We cannot thank Kelly and Five Grain Events team enough for everything they did. There's not a doubt in our minds: hiring Five Grain as our wedding coordinator was the best decision we made for our wedding! We highly recommend Five Grain! read more

Joan was absolutely a necessity for our wedding. She is so kind and thoughtful on top of being insanely organized and extremely responsive. We had to postpone 3 times due to COVID and she and her team were such a huge help in re-organizing vendors and updating everything. She didn't leave a single stone unturned when going over all the last minute details, and the day of the wedding- wow. We honestly couldn't have done it without her. The entire event was impeccable and if there were any snags, we had absolutely no idea. The only job my husband and I had was to enjoy the entire day and we 100% did, thanks to Five Grain. I highly recommend them!! read more

Kelly and her team at Five Grain Events were indispensable to us leading up to and through our wedding day. Seeing that they had worked with many couples at our venue, we reached out. After the initial consultation, I already had two or three pages of advice, suggestions and tips, and felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. Though we only got month-of planning, the team provided great recommendation lists and other tips as we needed them prior to their work officially starting with us. I counted down the days until Kelly stepped in two months ahead of the wedding, and as soon as we'd had our official meeting, I was stress-free (or as stress-free as a bride could be!) Kelly and her team were a joy to be around on our wedding day, helped smooth out any small fiascos (like getting a tomato stain out of the front of my dress!), helped set up and tear our personal items beautifully (see the name plate table!) and went out of their way to not only take care of us, but our family and guests in ways both big and small. If you're questioning whether a coordinator is worth it, my husband and I would emphatically say yes - and all the more so with a professional, well-connected and well-experienced team like Five Grain Events! (Beautiful photography by Angela Renee Photography) read more

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Our wedding was absolutely beautiful and went off without a hitch thanks to Joan and the rest of the team at Five Grain Events. I would whole heartedly recommend Five Grain for anyone planning a wedding or any other type of event. Joan pretty much solved every single problem/issue that arose before we even knew it needed to be solved. She truly cares about making sure you have the best event possible and it showed. Joan's organization, attention to detail, and thoughtfulness were instrumental in our wedding day running absolutely smoothly. Of all the decisions that went into our wedding, I truly feel that hiring Five Grains was the best decision we made. read more

Five Grain was recommended to me by a friend and former colleague who had Joan Cinquegrani do her day-of wedding handling. Without knowing it, another former colleague of ours Shannon Gonzalez was now working for them and as Joan was unavailable for our wedding date, I quickly requested Shannon. We paid for our wedding ourselves so we were only able to take them up on the day-of stuff. Having said that - Shannon and Joan went above and beyond the call with getting us ready in time and making everything perfect. I swear, I have no idea if anything didn't go perfectly, because of how amazing they were. The day of, Shannon was everyone's hero and while I know her personally and love her, everyone else who realized she was the planner were so impressed.. Even my maid-of-honor, who is a do-it-all-herself type of person, was like, "What would you have done without Shannon?" I don't even know.... Five Grain anticipates every problem and questions and has tons of resources. If you can afford more of their help, I guarantee your pre-wedding life with get tons easier. But even with the "cheapest" package, we got soooooo much help from them! And everyone at the wedding loved Shannon and her assistant, who would have stayed out of the way, I'm sure, but I kept introducing them and thanking them profusely. Seriously, one of the best parts about our wedding planning AND day of!!! read more

My first review of Five Grain Events was filtered by Yelp for an unknown reason...so let me reiterate... THANK GOD FOR SARA BALSOM FROM FIVE GRAIN EVENTS!!!!!!!!!!!! If it weren't for her, my June wedding at Salvage One would never have launched as smoothly and beautifully as it did. It was the best day of my life and it never would have happened without the attention, detail-orientation, conscientiousness, and talent of Sara. The owner, Joan, was also extremely easy to work with...and felt like an old friend...not a vendor. Fantastic customer service! Excellent! I would recommend this vendor and service to anyone! The price was excellent and VERY WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY! Thank you, Five Grain Events, for making the wedding day of my dreams a reality!!!!!! read more

It was a great pleasure to work with Shannon and her assistant Kelly at our December wedding! We were initially on the fence about hiring a coordinator for our wedding, but it was the best decision we made. I don't know what we would have done without them on the day of the wedding! Within a few months leading up to the wedding, Shannon started by creating a detailed timeline of the event, and included all of the small details of the day that I didn't even consider. I was blown away over the attention to detail when I first read the 3 page timeline of the day. Then we had a few meetings where we walked through the day and nailed down all of the details of the set-up and vendor coordination. There were so many meetings and other necessary things to take care on the few weeks leading up to the wedding and it was a huge relief to have Shannon to take care of all of the major communications. She asked all of the necessary questions during the venue walk-through, and kept everything organized in her impressive three-ring binder made especially for our wedding, where she kept all of the contracts, timelines, etc. She also took all of the decor items we bought or made the week before the wedding and made sure they were set up the exact way we imagined it on the actual day. Shannon was there to walk the wedding party through the rehearsal, which was a huge help since I would not have known what to do or tell our friends what to do. On the actual day of the wedding was when Shannon blew us all away. First, she was constantly communicating with and directing our vendors, which would have been a burden for me to have to do on the day of the wedding. But also it was like she was reading my mind the entire night. Whenever I had a question, or lost something, she was there resolving the situation. She and Kelly were also so friendly and fun to hang out with, that by the end of the night they became our friends. My friend even mentioned Shannon in her toast :) All of the wedding blogs will tell you that something will go wrong on your wedding day, but literally nothing went wrong on ours thanks to Five Grain Events! read more

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The best money we spent on our entire wedding. Seriously. They would have been worth it at twice the price. Our lead contact Emily R. was prepared, thoughtful, patient, creative, responsive, informed, generous with her time, and thoroughly professional. And everyone else on the team we interacted with was just the same. These folks love what they do and clearly care about their clients. Their emotional investment in their work shows in every interaction. As for the fees and duties - they catered a package for exactly the services we needed, and didn't try to push us on services we didn't. Then they proceeded to go above and beyond on the limited scope of their contract anyway. They gave much more of their time than the contract stipulated. And as for their fee, they probably paid for themselves with the deals they were able to help us negotiate with various vendors. Plus most importantly, they provided us with invaluable counsel. Their recommendations were informed by deep familiarity with the entire Chicago wedding industry, from vendors to venues to transportation logistics to you-name-it. And they weren't afraid to tell us what we didn't want to hear. Most of the time they figured out a way to make our preferences a reality. But on more than one occasion, they talked us out of something we wanted to do - and each time, they turned out to be right. It takes confidence and credibility to provide this kind of honest counsel, rather than just agreeing to everything your client says. On the day of, we were completely protected from any and all drama. We were able to float happily through our day, unburdened by logistics, problem-solving, money, vendor conversations, relative-wrangling, etc. This was very much due to Emily's diligence and competence, as well as our confidence in her. We really did have the perfect day that we wanted. And the two of us were perhaps the only ones who knew how much of that was due to Emily and FGE. Because somehow she managed to keep the whole circus clipping along while remaining pretty much invisible to the average guest. I should also add that right in the middle of the busiest preparation crunch-time weeks, Emily had to deal with a serious personal matter that could have very reasonably taken her out of work and off the project completely. It would have been absolutely understandable. But not only did she remain in contact with us, still providing critical and helpful counsel, but Joan and the rest of the team stepped in to cover her in a seamless manner. This is the level of personal investment and care that made us so grateful. They really do treat their clients like family. We felt like our day was personally meaningful to them, and it showed in their work. Hire these people. Tell everyone you know to hire these people. Five stars. Six, ten stars. Eleventy-billion stars. All the stars. read more

Joan was, in a word, incredible. Organized, responsive, professional... Joan time and again impressed my now husband and I with how she helped us realize our vision for our wedding. She handled every detail, put out every fire, was there to talk me off every ledge or speak to my mother when I just couldn't do it anymore. And she did it all flawlessly with a reassuring smile, delivering us our perfect day while helping us keep our sanity. Oh...did I mention that this woman HAD A BABY in the middle of all of this? She had one of the most important personal milestones in her life, and never once did we feel like the ball dropped for our wedding. Hire her. I'm going to say it again...HIRE HER. You can thank me later. read more

Hiring Joan was quite simply one of the very best decisions we made when it came to our wedding. We had a relatively short timeline by Chicago standards (got engaged just before Christmas and were married in July), and I'm really not sure how we would have pulled it all off without her. She provided great insight during the process of choosing all of our vendors, and her recommendations helped us narrow down the totally overwhelming number of options, which saved us loads of time and probably money. She was incredibly organized and kept us on track in terms of our "deadlines," and if we'd had any questions about whether or not we'd made the right decision in hiring her, she completely blew us away in the month leading up to the wedding. She was totally on top of everything, and most of the time when I asked her about whether or not we had to do X thing that had never occurred to me but some blog or magazine or person who felt the need to give me "advice" mentioned to me, she'd say, "Oh, yeah don't worry about that - I did that last week!" I almost certainly owe having a full head of hair on my big day to her being so on it during the blur of those last couple weeks before the wedding. On the weekend itself, Joan and her team were totally professional and did a fantastic job of ensuring everyone was where they needed to be while still ensuring the event was about the two of us and our families and friends. She was totally visible and accessible to me, but the average guest likely had no idea she was even there, which is a difficult balance to strike and is part of what makes Joan so good at what she does. I was never the girl who has been planning her wedding since childhood, and after our incredible day, I was frankly thrilled to have the whole wedding prep process be over with, but I was legitimately sad that it meant that I wouldn't have an excuse to chat with Joan anymore! If you've gone through the whole wedding bonanza and find yourself thinking, "Aww I'm going to miss my planner!" when it is done - I truly can't think of a more ringing endorsement than that. I would recommend Joan and her team with absolutely zero reservation! read more

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Shannon Gonzalez on our October wedding. We hired Shannon to be our day-of coordinator, and my fiance and I agreed, hands-down, that it was the best decision that we made in the entire planning process and for our wedding (with the exception, maybe, of the decision to say "I do"... ). We had a couple of meetings with Shannon in the couple of months leading up to the big day, where she collected a TON of detail about our family, wedding party, plans/desires for photos, ceremony, processional, reception. You name it, she thought of it. While I knew she was super organized and could see it would be helpful to have her there, I didn't realize just how critical she was to the day until that day. She and her assistant Sarah made everything flow seamlessly, and shuffled people from place to place just as we had planned. I didn't have to think about ANYTHING -- she even brought me my cowboy boots immediately after I was done with our first dance, because I had planned to change to be more comfortable. And she did all of this with grace and a huge smile. It really was a great experience to work with Shannon, and I would recommend her to anyone who asks. Or anyone who doesn't ask. read more

Hiring Five Grain Events was the best wedding decision I made by far. I worked with Jennifer and she was amazing - so friendly, kind, responsive, and professional! I am an out-of-town bride, so I really needed help and Jennifer was there every step of the way. My entire wedding ran so smoothly I can hardly believe it. Everything truly seemed effortless and I know that is because of Jennifer and Five Grain Events. I am truly impressed by what I saw, and the fact is that she was probably doing a million things behind the scenes that I don't even know about. HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

Joan from Five Grain Events was amazing to work with. After planning so many events for my job, I thought a wedding would be a piece of cake. Little did I know that in the weeks leading up to the "big day," I would come to rely on Joan more than I ever thought! While I was busy working 14+ hour days for an unexpected work project, Joan kept me sane by coordinating all of the details with each vendor, sending me friendly reminders and occasionally checking-in to make sure I was doing alright. I have no doubt that without her, our wedding would not have been nearly as seamless or stress free!! I would definitely recommend working with Five Grain Events for your upcoming wedding or event - they did an amazing job!! read more

If you are looking for a wedding planner who is organized, resourceful and just plain lovely, there's no one better than Joan. She truly went above and beyond her duties and made our wedding day flawless. Although my husband, parents and I handled a lot of the pre-wedding planning, Joan was there every step of the way and did far more than I had imagined. In the weeks leading up to the wedding and on the actual day, she truly excelled. I'm sure there were things that didn't go exactly as planned, but I had no idea! I had guests (both male and female) tell me how they'd never been to a wedding that went so smoothly and appeared completely problem-free. Thank you, Joan! We couldn't have imagined a better day. read more

If anyone in Chicago were to ask me for any advice in planning a wedding, I would say four words: Hire Five Grain Events. I would follow that with three more words: Hire Them Now! Planning a wedding is simply a daunting task... There are countless decisions to be made, details to literally obsess over, logistics you've had the foresight to plan for, logistics that you didn't know you needed to plan for that you realize you REALLY need to plan for, lots of people to accommodate: all in the pursuit of planning an emotionally-charged event that you will (hopefully - don't hit the bar too soon into the night...) remember for the rest of your life. So do yourself a favor and work with Joan and her AMAZING team who will make the planning and execution of your big day a dream. Do yourself an extra favor and ask to talk to JENNIFER - she was the genius who pulled our event off. Simply put, they made the whole experience - the planning through to the event itself - sing. Jennifer was kind enough to answer every single email that we sent her (and we sent her a terrifying number of emails). We had a lot of very specific ideas of what we wanted, but had no clue how to pull everything off - Joan and Jennifer recommended perfect vendors for us each step of the way who made our crazy ideas come to life. And then in the weeks leading up to our wedding, we were continually impressed with how organized and thorough Jennifer was in making sure that everyone was poised to execute our event flawlessly. And that's just what happened - we handed the reins fully over to Jennifer a few days before our wedding, had an even more magical wedding weekend than we could have imagined, and everyone marveled at how effortless the whole event seemed. Call/email them now. Seriously. You won't regret it. read more

Use Joan or else! We chose Joan from Five Grain Events as our day of coordinator for our August 2011 wedding. She was EXTREMELY organized, efficient and detail oriented. Joan attended our rehearsal and made sure our wedding day ran smoothly from start to finish. When my mom couldn't figure out how to bustle my dress, Joan came to the rescue! I can not thank Joan enough. She kept me stress free on my wedding day, so I was able to have fun without worrying about the details. In the weeks leading up to our wedding, Joan was in constant contact with our vendors, the wedding party and our families to answer their questions and notify them of the details of our day. A few of my vendors commented that Joan was the one of the best wedding planners they have ever worked with, so they were happy as well :) I would give her 100 stars if I could! read more

If you are looking for an extremely capable wedding planner with a fantastic personality, your search will most definitely end with Joan of Five Grain Events. We hired Joan as our day-of coordinator for our wedding last July, and we could not be happier with our choice. Joan is well organized, knowledgeable, proactive, funny and sweet as can be. I stood up in many weddings before my own, and I've seen firsthand just how difficult some planners can be to work with. Joan was just the opposite. She certainly crossed all of her T's and dotted her I's, but she was also funny, warm and a pleasure to be around. For a bride, a wedding day can be quite stressful, but because of Joan's hard work behind the scenes, the day was perfect! Joan's services are also quite reasonably priced. We only used her "day-of" services, but that included so much more than getting everything set the day of the wedding. She suggested vendors, met with us a couple times before the wedding, as well as answered many phone calls and emails. She also contacted the entire bridal party a couple weeks before the wedding, to let them know how everything would be playing out during the wedding weekend. She ran our rehearsal, and coordinated all of our vendors to make the actual wedding day seamless. Joan is AMAZING, and you would be lucky to have her with you on (and before) your special day! read more

Working with Five Grain Events and especially Emily could not have been easier. Emily was definitely a key factor in making this whole process so much easier. Not knowing anything about planning a wedding, Emily helped me navigate this crazy world and orchestrated an amazing night. I honestly had no drama or problems the night of my wedding, and if there were Emily took care of it and to this day I still don't know about them. She did way more than what was expected throughout the whole planning process; was also available to answer any questions, help lead me through the questions and issues with any vendors, and made our wedding a night that to me and my husband was perfect. I would recommend Five Grains and Emily over and over. In fact, I did! My maid of honor, who is getting married in April, finally took my advice and realized she needs Emily too! read more

I was given a list of day of coordinators from our reception vendor and proceeded to check them out on Yelp. Five Grains reviews caught my attention and after meeting with Shannon Gonzalez, we knew we had found the right one! I love to plan parties, but I wanted to enjoy my daughters wedding. Shannon and her crew were fabulous and made it possible for all of us to enjoy the day. There were a lot of logistics and it all went off perfectly. I can't thank Shannon, and her assistants, Nicole and Jennifer for their support and hard work in making this day perfect! I could not have managed without them!! Everyone commented on what a great personality Shannon has. I will miss her now that the weddings over! read more

Lauren is my girl! This company is great and Lauren is outstanding. She is incredibly organized, knows everything about everything and is super fun to work with. I hired her to be my day of coordinator and it was well worth the money, I can't imagine all the stuff I would have been worrying about on my wedding day if she wasn't there. Thank you guys! read more

There are not enough words to describe how wonderful Emily was as our wedding coordinator. She was extremely buttoned up and did not miss a beat. The three months before our wedding were the least stressful months we had due to her taking charge. We were planning from afar so she went above and beyond her job description several times to handle things in Chicago that we could not (meetings with vendors, trips to Michael's and even crafting some adorable chalkboards for our decor). The day of, she was running and working up a sweat all so it would go with out a hitch. And it did, which is AMAZING considering all of the details she had to keep track of alone. She is my HERO and not to mention a lovely person who you want to be around all the time. I miss her after the wedding ended. read more

Kelly DeMarino of Five Grain Events was the day-of coordinator for our wedding, and she was incredible, she went above and beyond to help us in every way imaginable. From the first meeting three months before the wedding through the last dance at the end of the reception when she sent us off assured that she'd take care of everything, Kelly was organized, attentive, responsive, and a pleasure to work with. If you're planning a wedding, hire Five Grain. Having Kelly on our team was the biggest factor in having the wedding go smoothly and coming together just the way we wanted it to. read more

Our wedding in November could NOT have run as smoothly as it did without FGE and Shannon. Shannon's day-of planning was impeccable, and her consultation meetings leading up to the big deal were incredibly helpful for me, and allowed me to "let go" a bit and remember that the details were in safe, capable hands with Shannon. While the wedding day was hectic, it was like anything I needed, Shannon could provide. One of my bridesmaid's dresses was staticky; Shannon had a static spray. My dress ripped, Shannon sewed it up. Someone needed floss, guess what? Shannon had floss and literally anything else you may need in her magic kit. Those details may sound small, but they went a long way to help make me relax and focus on the importance of the actual day. She was warm, friendly, but could definitely take the bull by the horns when necessary. I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. read more

Our wedding was a success because of Emily and Joan and the wonderful staff at Five Grain Events. They are the absolute best. organized, knowledgeable, dependable. They blew away my expectations. They have a very difficult job and they do it so well. By the time we got to the wedding day, I trusted them so much that I was actually calm and able to enjoy the day. I don't know what I would have done without them. Worth every penny, and the second best wedding day decision I made :) so highly recommended. read more

We can't imagine how much crazier the wedding planning process would have been without Five Grain Events. Every step of the way, there was someone to answer our questions and provide us with vendor suggestions! (And we just had the day-of coordination package!) Our day-of coordinator, Kelly, was so sweet, knowledgeable, and calm, and she made the process run much more smoothly. She got us to think about the fine details that we would have otherwise neglected, and yet didn't overwhelm us with them. It was truly a joy to work with Kelly and the Five Grain Events Team. We give you our biggest thanks! read more

Sara Balsom helped me with my July wedding just north of Chicago. All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS we had her. She helped me so much with making sure everything was planned ahead of time so that none of the things that were important to us were overlooked. My family was particularly grateful as she made sure things ran smoothly so that we could enjoy ourselves and our guests were well taken care of. All of my vendors were impressed with how on-time the whole event was. My husband said several times during the day, "I'm so glad you decided to hire Sara!" Thanks, FGE! Totally worth the money. read more

It's hard to put into words how awesome Joan and team are. I know you'll see it in other reviews, but it is true. This was - hands-down, far and away - the best money we spent on the wedding. I cannot imagine how anyone gets through the planning/day-of without Joan. Just knowing that every single detail was covered in the weeks leading up to the wedding gave my fiance (and in turn me) a piece of mind you cannot put a price on. As a guy, it might be hard to imagine the sheer amount of decisions and 'small stuff' that has to be assembled the few weeks before the day, until you see Joan's 10 page list. Sure you can get a list from the internet, but the internet is not going to put together a detailed timeline of the day, coordinate with the numerous vendors, brides maids, groomsmen, mothers, mothers-in-law, etc, and then track down or follow up with the many people ignoring your emails to commit to times, drop off equipment, or whatever it is they are supposed to be doing. The internet is not going to answer frantic emails from your bride-to-be with quick, definitive answers to whatever the latest emergency is. The internet is not going to be the last guest to leave your wedding making sure everything is packed up and accounted for. You know who is going to do all those things and a million more? Joan. I'm telling you, hiring Five Grain Events is a must. You make a lot of decisions leading up to a wedding, evaluate a lot of packages and options from a lot of vendors. This was the only thing at the wedding I could not have gone without. My wife and I can look back on our wedding day with no regrets, and know we enjoyed every minute thanks to Joan and her team. Thank you! read more

We had Emily as our wedding coordinator and she was absolutely fantastic. Friends and family would ask me in the months leading up to the wedding how I was not more stressed out and I would just say I know Emily has it covered. We talked out every little detail pertaining to the day and any hiccups in the planning process with vendors or anything she would step in and manage. We could not have been happier with her and I know she helped make our day so perfect! read more

Joan and Five Grain Events also do bar mitzvahs! My son's bar mitzvah was a few weeks ago, and she helped everything run perfectly...I met with her several times, explained what I needed help with, and she did exactly that. My event was not huge (90 people) but I wanted it to be really special and meaningful, and Joan made sure that all the details we planned were executed just like we wanted them. She helped to coordinate with the vendors, and did the decorating and set up with the caterers while we were at the services. She did all the work so I could enjoy the party! I would highly recommend her if you are planning a bar or bat mitzvah, so that you can spend time with your son/daughter, family and friends who have come to share the special day. Joan is fantastic. read more

I cannot say enough about Joan from Five Grain Events. Working with her during the months leading up to my wedding was an absolute pleasure! Joan was a complete professional in every aspect - things were done on time and with great attention to detail. She is also extremely friendly and easy-going, two traits that I admire very much, especially working in an oftentimes stressful business. I would highly recommend Five Grain Events. read more

Joan (and the rest of the gals at Five Grain Events) are seriously the BEST. They are easy to work with, fun to be around and far more organized and efficient than even my type-A, list-making self could ever be. From the moment I woke up on my wedding day...to the moment I left the reception in our getaway...I didn't worry about a thing. They had every moment under control and orchestrated perfectly. I can't recommend FGE enough - best money you will spend on your wedding!! read more

Emily from 5G was the weekend of wedding planner for my niece. She was phenomenal--so organized, personal and courteous. It was a magical day and my family is still raving about Emily. read more

A friend recommended Five Grain Events to me and I can honestly say without Sara and her FGE team our wedding would not have happened. Sara had the unfortunate task of informing me not once, but twice that we lost our venue. The second time just months before our scheduled date. I'm sure many brides would have erupted into sheer panic but Sara approached each conversation with new venue options ready to be checked out and I knew everything would work out as long as she was there. Not only did she expertly handle the venue crisis but she provided support and assistance through every step of the planning process. I don't think my wedding day could have been more perfect and a majority of the credit goes to Sara and her team. read more

I honestly could not have made it through my wedding planning and wedding day without Joan and her amazing team! Joan was extremely professional and also down to earth. She was so organized from start to finish and made the planning process so easy. We worked with her for about 2 month before the wedding and she made sure that we were all set for the big day. She attended our rehearsal to make sure everyone was on track, which really helped! On the day of the wedding, Joan or one of her staff was with me the entire time. It was like having my own private damage control team! From start to finish, Joan and her team were taking care of every small detail, which made the wedding day very easy for us, our family, and our friends. My other vendors were extremely impressed with Joan and plan to refer her to future brides. If you are looking for a full out coordinator or just a day of coordinator, Five Grain Events is the way to go! read more

Joan Cinquegrani was our wedding planner for our daughter's wedding this past Saturday night. We worked with Joan for over 14 months in planning the wedding. She was awesome and everything went totally as planned. We paid her a fixed fee and she provided the complete range of services. She is not inexpensive, actually quite a bit higher than someone else in the northern suburbs we also interviewed, but she is totally on the wavelength of the bride and groom because she is their peer. But she also was sensitive to what the we the bride's parents wanted and navigated the path carefully. Joan even had a baby a month before the wedding and continued to be as attentive as possible under the circumstances, including personally putting together the gift boxes for hotel guests, and spending the entire day of, until nearly 1AM, on the wedding and at the venue. We recommend Joan and Five Grain Events highly. read more