Our daughter's wedding was May 27th, 2012 at the University Club in Chicago. It was the most…read morewonderful day for all of us, largely due to the efforts of Lisa & her team. She is amazing! I was introduced to her through a college friend (thanks MB) and after just one phone call I knew she was a perfect fit. She has great experience, a wide range of contacts in everything from bands, venues, photographers and florists to ceremony ideas, invitation design specialists, welcome bag and gift options, hair & makeup options .....and everything inbetween. After meeting with us, she had a great sense of the wedding vision we had and her suggestions & ideas were spot on. She was always available, even as a busy, working mom mom of 4 kids!! And most importantly, I always felt that out wedding was her number 1 priority, even though I knew she had another wedding the same weekend as ours! That is a great skill! We had some unique challenges along the way.... with our date, which she helped us through....with our ceremony details, which she helped us through....and with the day of details, which she again helped us through. Lisa is always cool, calm and collected which is unbelievable considering the potential stresses of planning and organizing a large wedding. I myself am really happy I have just one daughter and 2 sons!!! That being said, Courtney & I would like to thank Lisa & Ryan for their work in creating a most wonderful wedding day...It was Perfect! PS Lisa, My husband Mark, says it was the most beautiful wedding he has ever been to...Big compliment from the man who was not into the details!!! Love Mary & Courtney

Lisa is fun, organized, creative, timely and generally so easy to work with. We loved her vender…read moresuggestions and she kept us on track with the budget. She made my daughter's wedding vision come true. Our day was so smooth and I was comfortable just having a good time, not at all worried that things wouldn't get done. We had our event at the reopened Chicago Athletic Association ( now a boutique hotel) on August 6, 2016.

This is actually my second time having the pleasure of working with Nichole and her amazing team…read more Last minute (well a few months before) I decided I needed something beautiful to set the tone of our wedding weekend and have floral and decor for our wedding eve/rehearsal dinner at the Chicago Firehouse. I wanted a vibey/moody setting to really accentuate the dark wood and old Chicago feel of the building and knew that Nichole was the perfect fit from the start. I simply told her where it was and her proposal came back PERFECT. Beyond that, when it came to life it was 10000% times better than on paper in the proposal. All evening we received so many compliments about how everything looked and how beautiful everything was. Nichole is also an incredibly kind vendor - one who is always responsive, goes out of her way to make sure your vision comes to life and the truly best compliment you can give her and her team is to simply get out of their way. She has a way of seeing beauty in spaces and venue to make your vision come to life and she's such a gift to the wedding and event community in Chicago. Working with Nichole and her team, you will feel a sense of calm and contentment knowing that your dreams are in the very best of hands.

One look at XO Designs Instagram page and we knew Nichole and her team were the ones we wanted for…read moreour wedding. Nichole is a beautiful person, everything we discussed upon our initial conversation was brought to light on our wedding day, she truly delivered magic. Her creativity in building the floral assortments were simply stunning, our guests were in awe of the beauty. All of the flowers took my breath away, I will forever be daydreaming about them. We couldn't have asked for a better team to be with us on our wedding day, they were all very professional and kind. We can't recommend Nichole and XO Designs enough, they truly made our day magical

Nicole, Colleen, and the rest of the Urban Allure team did all of the florals for our wedding and…read moreit completely exceeded all of my expectations. Nicole worked with me over several meetings to help me bring my vision to life. She had amazing creative ideas that I would have never thought of on my own and really understood what we were going for. They hung florals, disco balls, and even chandeliers over our dance floor, creating the most stunning environment. Colleen, who handled a lot of the floral sourcing, even included some beautiful blooms from her personal garden in our arrangements. It was such a special touch. Choosing Urban Allure was one of the BEST vendor decisions I could have made and I'd recommend them to anyone.

I agreed to work with Nicole on 2/23/24 and paid her $2,000 based on her assurance that there would…read morebe no issue securing sponsors and selling tickets. However, after more than four months had passed, there were no sponsorships or tickets sold and for that reason, I had to cancel the event, which was only two and a half months away. Here were two assurances in her contract: Create impactful promotional content Assist in sponsorship level creations & materials While I can't prove if the promotional content was impactful, it certainly didn't appear so given there were no sponsorships or tickets sold. And while she did create sponsorship materials, they clearly weren't helpful either in terms of selling tickets or securing sponsors. She also said that she had previously hosted a fundraiser for the charity I was looking to raise money for, so I believed her claim that she could secure sponsors and sell tickets without a problem. When I asked why there were no sponsorships or tickets sold upon cancelling the event, she said the market was unusually bad. If that was the case, I don't see how she couldn't have known this information merely four months earlier when we agreed to work together. Is it reasonable to think that the market changed so drastically so quickly? And why didn't she tell me the market was bad sooner before she started spending more time? She could have offered me the option of requesting a refund and suggested I cancel the event some time sooner. I should also note she did not create promotional materials until 4/5/24 and did not share a task list until 4/6/24. I then waited until 5/11/24 and saw that she hadn't contacted anyone on the list yet, so I sent over 100 e-mails over the next week, but hardly received any interest. The event was scheduled for 9/16/24, and since we didn't have any sponsorships or tickets sold, I decided to cancel the event on 6/27/24. I know people don't always buy tickets early, but the fact that not a single ticket was sold made no sense. At the very least, given that she materially misrepresented what she could offer, I would think Nicole would have offered a full or partial refund or at least a credit if I agreed to work with her again, but she made no such offer. I initially communicated all of this information through the Better Business Bureau, who reached out to Nicole multiples times, but Nicole did not respond to any of their requests. If she did, then I wouldn't have written this review.

From day one, I had complete confidence in HBIC. Diane immediately made us feel like our wedding…read morevision actually mattered, and when we were paired with Heidi, everything came together even better than I imagined. Heidi was a rockstar: detail oriented, calm, and unbelievably efficient. Whenever something popped up, she handled it instantly without us even realizing there had been an issue. Friends and family kept pulling me aside to say how impressed they were with how organized and professional she was. The planning tools HBIC gave us made life so much easier too, from guest list trackers to layouts to checklists. Instead of stressing, we actually found ourselves enjoying the process. On the big day, my wife and I were able to live in every single moment without worrying about logistics. For me as the groom, that was priceless. HBIC gave us the gift of being fully present, and I'll recommend them to anyone who wants their wedding handled by true pros.

From our very first meeting with Diane, we knew HBIC was the planning service for us. Their focus…read morewas on making our wedding feel authentic to who we are while taking every bit of the behind-the-scenes logistics off our plate -- exactly what we were looking for. We were paired with Heidi as our planner, and we truly could not have asked for anyone more perfect. She was attentive, professional, warm, and incredibly efficient. If an issue or change came up, Heidi handled it seamlessly and with complete grace. So many of our family members and bridal party even commented on how organized and on top of things she was -- she made the entire day run flawlessly. Leading up to the big day, HBIC provided us with easy-to-use planning tools that kept everything organized and (dare I say) even fun! From guest list management to designing the room layout to checklists that made sure no to-do was forgotten, everything was simple and stress-free. Thanks to HBIC, we were able to be fully present on our wedding day -- soaking in every moment with each other, our family, and our friends -- without worrying about a single detail. We are endlessly grateful and would recommend HBIC to absolutely everyone!

When my wife told me her vision for our wedding reception centerpieces, I was a little skeptical…read more Moss and succulents sounded so very different from the traditional flower arrangements to which I was accustomed. I had come to accept that I was marrying an artist with unique ideas, so I let her run with it. Davenport Design took my wife's concepts and made masterful displays. Not only did they create beautiful settings, their price was far more reasonable than the other florist my wife approached for a quote. I knew she was thrilled with Davenport Design's work but I didn't realize exactly how much until last week when she sent them a gift card to a restaurant as a thank you for greatly exceeding her expectations. Carl and Scott made our wedding day more beautiful and made my wife very happy.

Davenport Design makes dreams come true. I knew that I made the right decision to hire Davenport…read moreDesign for my wedding when I received a text prior to arriving at the ceremony/reception venue from my good friend who was the ceremony vocalist. It simply said, "This is gorgeous!!" Well, I take that back- I knew before then. I had worked with them for many events previously when working for a former employer planning their large fundraising galas. In that role I used them for at least 5 of our large galas and was always impressed. It was Davenport Designs' professionalism, ease to work with and extreme talent that made them my first choice for doing the flowers for my big day. However, I must admit that they did far exceed my already high expectations of them. Having an arts background, visuals are very important to me and to nobody's surprise I had a definite vision for the ceremony and reception decor. The look combined elements of both a woodland and vintage design theme (which prompted a look of doubt from my then-fiancé). Their execution was elegant, creative and nothing short of breathtaking. This wasn't your typical vase of flowers at the center of each table like most wedding receptions. These were a work of art. The ceremony back drop was equally stunning and provided a focal point like no other. Davenport Design is amazing to work with from start to finish. Thinking about how beautiful they made our venue still makes me smile.

My wedding was perfect and it was all because of Jenna and her vendors! Everything was all planned…read moreout a set months before my wedding date, which left time for me to relax! Everyone had a blast and my husband and I were very happy!

I struggle with severe anxiety and am easily overwhelmed by large tasks....so when the time came to…read morestart planning my wedding, I knew that I needed some help. My budget was not large enough for most wedding planning services, so when I stumbled upon Jennarose Mostacchio at A Family Affair 2 Remember, it was a blessing! The price was right, and Jenna made me feel more at ease about the entire process from the very first phone call. Jenna is the most responsive vendor I have ever worked with. It was rare for more than ten minutes to pass by without a response to my text or email, and this meant SO much to me and saved me so much anxiety and worry. Our frequent check-ins, to do lists that Jenna provided, and her calm responses to my panicked questions kept me ahead of schedule throughout the entire wedding planning process, and it was such a comfort to know that a professional was monitoring my progress and ensuring everything got done on schedule. However, where Jenna really shines is day of coordination. Her expertise was so essential to our rehearsal, as none of us had any idea what we were doing. She was organized, prompt, and had us in and out in record time! On the wedding day, Jenna was a huge advocate for me, communicating with all of my vendors, making sure my requests were met, and insisting they delay the weather call so that I was able to have my dream outdoor ceremony (I will be forever grateful for this.) She checked in on me frequently despite being incredibly busy, and retained her cool, professional composure no matter what was thrown at her. Jenna even did some quick rearranging to improve upon some of the decor setup by the florists, and it looked perfect! I am so grateful to have had Jenna as my advocate and planner throughout this incredibly stressful, but rewarding process. I had the wedding of my dreams, and she helped make that dream a reality. If you want your wedding to go smoothly and feel like you are well taken care of, do yourself a favor and rely on Jenna, I am definitely happy that I did. :) -Sarah E.

I worked with Tiffany as my day of coordinator for my wedding on 4/6/13 and she was absolutely…read morePHENOMENAL. We started working with Tiffany about 6 weeks out, and looking back, I truly didn't realize just how much I needed her. Tiffany was the most amazing and heartfelt person to work with. Everything she did up to the day was incredible, and the day of... words do not describe. Our wedding was A LOT to deal with, coordinating a concert venue, caterer, two bands, a soloist, a DJ and all the other regular things: speeches, cake cutting and the like. Needless to say, I was needy. Tiffany was amazingly responsive, attentive and completely flexible. I cannot more highly recommend the services of Soiree. I fancy myself a coordinator and hesitated on hiring someone (budget and what not) but I am a BELIEVER. Every bride needs a Tiff. Our Concert Wedding = AWESOME & AMAZING Tiffany = AWESOME & AMAZING

My husband and I worked with Tiffany the past two years for my husband's annual work gala. After a…read moresub-par performance by another Chicago planner in 2012, he interviewed a number of planners and decided on Tiffany and her team due to her experience, energy, wealth of knowledge and creative ideas. After working with her for two events, we can honestly say that we have no hesitations in recommending her and her team. I could go on and on about all the things that make Soiree amazing, but I'll try to keep this short-ish and sweet. Tiffany has helped us plan two 300+ person events. And these people aren't the easiest to please--the majority are physicians, as these are hospital events. She has been instrumental in helping us pick venues, line up top-notch vendors, and coordinate everything to come together perfectly, all while working within our budget. She's always been very responsive to any emails and calls we've made to her. Any concerns we had were always addressed immediately. We enjoyed working with a few of her staff members at each of our events as well--most recently, Janelle did an amazing job the day of this year's gala. Just last weekend was the 2014 gala. Tiffany and her team were nothing less than stellar! Everything was absolutely beautiful, and my husband and I can't stop talking about what a wonderful event it was. While we loved our wedding 5 years ago, we can't help but comment on how if the gala was our wedding, we would have been absolutely pleased. The physicians have had nothing but rave reviews as well, many noting that it was one of the best galas they've been to in the 20+ years that the hospital has had them. Needless to say, Soiree will be our team again for 2015 and beyond. And the icing on the cake...Tiffany is truly a sweet, fun and caring person! 5 stars all the way from Raul and Kari!

"That was the best food I have ever had at a wedding, hands down" - multiple guests at and after…read moreour wedding. We booked The Rookery and worked with Jewell right off the bat. We booked our venue almost 2 years in advance, so we were not in a rush whatsoever, and we always felt calm and at ease with Jewell. Our first tasting was amazing, and then soon after, the President, Greg, took over our contract and we had a second tasting because, in his words "we can do a better chicken dish." He was absolutely right! Everything we tasted, at both tastings, was literally impeccable. Greg and his staff know food. Jewell really went above and beyond throughout the whole process and Maria is such a pleasant and kind human. On the day of the wedding, everything was incredible. There were a few extremely minor misunderstandings that were frustrating for a moment but nothing huge or that made our event any less spectacular. The service staff was so incredibly fun, kind, and really elevated our wedding with their kindness and thoughtfulness. I would highly recommend working with Jewell, Greg and Maria if you have the chance!

I have worked with Jewell many times since 2015, this was my first time using "Jewell To Go…read moreCatering" and the service and quality is just as high level. Most recently used for a cold serve lunch of 3 proteins, salad and starch for 20ppl - everything was great. The sauces did not have much punch to them, they were super mild, but I thought this was ideal for a business lunch where everyone had to be comfortable in a long meeting following eating without getting to brush their teeth, etc.