My husband and I had the wedding of our dreams in Mexico thanks in large part to Jen! We could not have planned a destination wedding without her! Jen was on top of her game the entire time and worked so hard to make sure that we had the most magical and stress free experience.She is knowledgeable, creative, and has a take charge attitude. You couldn't get a better wedding planner! I sometimes struggle with indecisiveness, and Jen was fantastic at helping us pinpoint what was most important so that we could easily make decisions. Because of her, we (and all of our guests) had the best time. I would very highly recommend Jen if you are planning a destination wedding in Mexico! read more

Thanks to The Event Mexico, we had the wedding of our dreams!! When my husband and I decided to get married in Puerto Vallarta, we were a little worried about how we would be able to plan the wedding from a distance, especially for a group of over 100 guests! We live in Chicago and it was hard to research/contact hotels and vendors in Puerto Vallarta. We knew that we didn't want the typical hotel package for our wedding (and we definitely didn't want to pay the typical tourist rates!!), so we needed some help from someone on the ground in Mexico. Lucky for us, we came across the opportunity to work with Jeniffer and Rebeca at The Event Mexico - they were absolutely wonderful!! Most importantly, they helped us create our perfect wedding while staying well within our budget. They negotiated incredible rates for us with the hotel and all the vendors - we would not have been able to afford our wedding without their local knowledge, contacts, and negotiation skills. A lot of hotels have an onsite wedding coordinator for destination weddings, however those coordinators are often unable or unwilling to customize the wedding details. They usually offer a couple of packages depending on what you can afford, but they don't work with you to pick out your perfect centerpieces, flowers, dance floor, rehearsal dinner set-up, etc. Jen and Rebeca took care of ALL of this and more. We got everything we wanted on a very limited budget. Another reason I loved working with Jen and Rebeca was the rehearsal dinner. At our rehearsal dinner, many of our guests asked me "how is the wedding going to be better than this??" We had a BBQ on the beach with miami style lounge sofas, lantern lighting, and latin lounge music playing in the background. It was such a great party and precursor to our wedding, which of course exceeded everyone's expectations. I can't say enough about how amazing our wedding was. So many of our friends and family are still talking about it (6 months later...). Everyone said it was one of the best weddings they had ever been to. For all of this and much more, we are forever grateful to Jen and Rebeca... Thank you for making our dreams come true! read more

I am STILL in awe of the wedding I attended last year......it was magical! Everything was planned perfectly, from beginning to end! No detail was overlooked and I have no doubt that this was due to the attentive planning of The Event Mexico! Everything was beautiful; personal touches were added according to my friends', the bride and groom's, tastes. The decor was gorgeous and the food was ah-mazing. Should I ever get married in Mexico, I would love to seek out these professional planners. I can look at their photos for hours......SO gorgeous. They will undoubtedly make all your dreams come true! read more

Attended a wedding last month put on by this group and it was absolutely amazing. I usually wouldn't review such a service but felt they deserve it. The team in charge went above and beyond to make sure my girlfriend and I had everything we needed whenever we wanted. Upon arrival we had transportation (waiting for us, not running late which I expected) and promt, fast, friendly, safe service. The actual wedding and decor was incredible. I did not expect such attention to detail and such a beautiful set up. From the personalized pillow gifts upon arrival to the dance floor extended over the pool I was thoroughly impressed with the entire event. I would highly recommend The Event Mexico for a wedding or small to medium sized corporate event in Mexico. read more

I could not have planned my wedding without Jen!!! She was a lifesaver!! First off, she knows weddings in Mexico like the back of her hand. Jen was on top of her game the entire time - from little details like where my husband could get lightweight groom/groomsmen suits on sale to bigger details like a budget plan, 15-month timeline, contract negotiations and vendor referrals. She came highly recommended to me through another couple that used her for their Puerto Vallarta wedding. They said that Jen planned an unforgettable wedding for them, and she did the same for us. What I loved most about Jen besides her sweet, fun personality and genuine excitement is that she really works hard at understanding and listening to your goals. This was incredibly important to us, especially given the complexity of getting married in another country. We met in person multiple times to discuss details and talk about next steps. We felt incredibly confident going into what could have been a very confusing and stressful time. We are truly grateful for Jen's help!!! She made the experience extra fun and special - and she is such a pleasure to be around :) I HIGHLY recommend her! read more

As someone who is currently planning a wedding (closer to home), I was impressed with Jen and Rebeca's ability to communicate with my friends who were having their wedding in Mexico. Everything from the rehearsal to the after-party was beautiful and well organized. A 12 piece mariachi band playing during your first dance while fireworks reflect off the pacific ocean? I'm jealous. Well done ladies. read more

Jen planned our wedding for us in November 2013. She was really great to work with. My husband, Rocky, found her online. His google search was Mexico + Wedding + Chicago and he found Jen's blog. We wanted someone to help us combine our two cultures--my American culture and his Mexican culture--into a great event but we had no idea where to start, we didn't even know exactly where in Mexico we wanted to have the wedding. Jen took us through the whole process from setting up site visits to determining to cost of each of our options to negotiating rates with the hotels. She assisted our guests in making their room reservations and arranging their transportation to and from the hotel--even the little things like making sure those with young children had car seats in the vans. She assisted us in putting together a plan for decorations, entertainment and even came up with some creative ideas for place settings. She has a lot of contacts in Mexico in terms of vendors for music, perform the service, etc. For us, our best event was our Rehearsal Dinner Event (although it wasn't so much of a dinner as it was a whole day lunch, DJ, day at the beach, dinner) that was really amazing. Our guests really loved that event and talked about what a great time they had--that day was all Jen's planning. She found the venue, set everything up, gave suggestions for menu, cocktails. It was a very hidden spot--we would have never found it on our own! We had probably a different wedding than most and our focus was maybe a little unconventional and Jen really worked with that. She worked within our budget, understood what our focus was and we were very happy--we wouldn't have changed a thing. She spent so much time with us and her fee was worth every penny. Really a ton of time! We met with her every month for a first few months then closer to the wedding, it was every week. I think I am missing the "Bride Gene" so she helped me get excited about things like a dress and finding bridesmaid dresses and even helping to pull in ideas when it got messy. But, she wasn't pushy and didn't try to push her own ideas into the wedding. Jen is very classy and elegant but has a very eclectic personal style but she was great at finding fun way to pull in the style that WE never knew we always wanted for our wedding. Then, about six weeks before the wedding, I got very sick with terrible migraines that left me hospitalized for several days and sick for several weeks. At that time, Jen really stepped up to the plate. It was around then that our numbers went from 80 guest to around 100 guests and we sized ourselves out of the spaces we had reserved at the resort. We didn't have a place for the ceremony or the reception that the resort said could accommodate our group. Jen quickly took care of the details and got what we needed fixed. She made the big problem a non-issue. She was able to work with the resort and send some of her contacts to find a space that could accommodate our group and it ended up costing us just a couple hundred dollars in chair rentals. We realized at our reception that Jen really did so many things behind the scenes when I got another severe migraine right as dinner was getting finished up. Rocky immediately realized what was happening and my maid-of-honor took me to a quite place. Rocky told Jen what had happened and without even thinking she took off to the nearest pharmacy and found a high dose of Imitrex for me and was back before I could even realize it. She didn't ask for money to be reimbursed or a Thank You for the expensive medication--she just took care of the problem because it was that important to her that we have a great party. Within 10 minutes, my headache was gone. Without her, we could have spent our wedding night in a Mexican ER or at least back in our room while our friends and family enjoyed the party without us. After reading some of the other reviews, I am actually kind of shocked and wonder if it is just more about people taking out their own frustrations on the wrong person. It's Mexico. You have to realize that when you are having a destination wedding and working with Mexican vendors. Jen was very organized and had a binder that she carried everywhere every vendor's telephone number and contact information. Also, she absolutely can work within a budget. Anyone that knows my husband and me knows that we are very tight with our money and spending it on a big elaborate wedding was not something we were going to do. It was about getting our families together for a time that they would not ordinarily have been able to do. We could have planned something on our own at a Dreams or Secrets Resort without Jen. But, it I know it would have been much more and our guests would not have had such a unique experience. Everyone remembered the great Mariachi band that we had and the great Beach Club that Jen found us. I can honestly say that the details that people remembered the most were Jen's. read more

Jen planned our destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico which took place in December 2014. We started our wedding planning in January of 2014, and after deciding that we wanted to get married in Mexico, we found Jen through a simple Google search. Jen appealed to us because she was local (in Chicago), and is a native of Mexico. She first helped us decide on a destination in Mexico, and then sent us on a site visit to Puerto Vallarta where she had organized a packed schedule for us to see a ton of venues and vendors (hotels, restaurants, caterers, photographers, etc.). Having had to the opportunity to see all sorts of options, we felt very comfortable about making our final decisions. Jen showed us options we know we would have never found on our own. As the planning process progressed, Jen made herself available to meet with us whenever we wanted and was always patient and generous with her time. She also created a to-do list of activities for us to complete in between each meeting which made the whole process very organized and stress free. In addition to planning our wedding reception, Jen also put together guest transportation, the rehearsal dinner, and a sunset boat cruise for our guests the day after our wedding. Jen really helped with the details that made our wedding feel special and unique. We couldn't have been happier about how our wedding turned out. It was truly amazing, Jen is a great planner and she was a pleasure to work with throughout the process. read more

Attended a destination wedding put on by The Event Mexico a few months ago and it was one of the best weddings I have ever been to! The location was beautiful and the wedding planners did an amazing job! If you are thinking of a destination wedding you must consider hiring The Event Mexico! They know everything there is to know about their business and will take care of it all so you don't have to stress. I would recommend their services to anyone looking to have a wedding in Mexico! read more

Jen was extremely helpful in the process of pulling together all the moving parts for my son's wedding. She was friendly and professional. We really appreciate everything she did for us. read more

Jen is a class act! She is knowledgeable, smart, creative and has a take charge attitude. You couldn't get a better wedding planner. I witnessed her capability and persuasive ability at a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. The weather was not cooperating with the wedding plans. The gazebo was actually destroyed two nights before the wedding. I knew this because I was friends with the mother of the bride. You can imagine how upset the bride and family were when one incident after another was causing havoc for the year long preparations. Jen found a terrace rooftop and had the hotel build a small gazebo. And fortunately the day of the wedding, the storms subsided and it was a beautiful day. Jens insight, preparations and creativity made a spectacular wedding. It was a wedding that I won't forget!! read more

I was working with Jeniffer from The Event Mexico for my upcoming wedding in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Jeniffer was not willing to work with budget set out when she agreed to take my wedding. The owner of my reception venue recommended her for my wedding and put her in contact with me. Details were discussed between them in terms of price before she even contacted me. Months later Jeniffer came to me and said she would not take care of my wedding with the budget already discussed and made me be the middle man between the venue owner and herself (isn't that the point of having a wedding coordinator!). She did not even attempt to try and work things out in terms of price for me with the venue owner. She just flat out said unless I was willing to pay THOUSANDS more she would not do it. Then she suggested I look at her select locations and not follow through with my venue of choice. In my opinion she was very unprofessional. She wasted my time for months going over details with her and waiting until she was in Chicago to meet and go over more details in person. I was stuck starting over from square one with a new coordinator!! There are wedding coordinators willing do just as nice of a job for you who will not waste your time and money. She wanted me to spend as much for a destination wedding as I would have spent having my wedding in my area for twice as many people as I am having in Mexico. read more

Let me start by saying, if it was possible to give 0 stars, or negative stars- I would. I was recently part of the wedding of a close friend where Jen was hired as the wedding coordinator. The wedding day itself was beautiful because the bride and groom are happy, beautiful people, the weather in Mexico was phenomenal and the hotel turned out a great party. That said, NONE of positive elements of the wedding were a contribution of Jen Kasten's wedding coordinator services. Her presence seemed to add only confusion and stress and her negative, uncooperative attitude put a bad taste in my mouth (as well as the other bridesmaids). Here is an example that illustrates her poor attitude (this is one of MANY instances): the five bridesmaids exited the bus in front of the church moments before we were to walk down the aisle. We each carried a small purse (containing bridesmaid essentials- lip gloss, compact, tissues, camera, etc.) and upon exiting the bus, we asked Jen if she would mind holding the purses for the duration of the short ceremony. She responded with a curt, irritated, "Girls, you should've thought about this ahead of time!!" before begrudgingly taking our purses (which again, were small and should've been no trouble to hold). I was floored by her rudeness and unprofessionalism. SHE should've thought of this ahead of time- it's details like this that my friend and her fiancé were paying her A LOT to think about and take care of. One of the main responsibilities of a wedding coordinator is to think ahead and anticipate the needs of the bride, groom and yes, the bridal party, so the day is smooth and enjoyable for all involved. Jen seemed like she couldn't be bothered to be helpful in any way which really mortified me since she was being paid to be there. I was married less than a year ago and paid the daughter of one of my mom's friends to act as a "day of" wedding coordinator for my wedding. This person did an INFINITELY better job than Jen and she doesn't even work in the industry and had never done anything like this before! She simply understood that her job was to be helpful the day of the wedding and think of things ahead of time that would make the day go as perfectly as possible. Jen does not seem to understand that concept. It also seemed like Jen was just lurking around serving no real purpose throughout the day, but then during important parts of the reception (toasts and dinner) found a reason to go bother the bride and groom- with God only knows what. Unless there's a fire in the kitchen (maybe not even then!), the wedding coordinator should not be bothering the bride and groom once everyone is at the reception- that's the point of thinking things through ahead of time. Overall, I found Jen to be incredibly unprofessional and to add no value to the overall event. I understand she has a bit of a niche market in Chicago (lucky for her)- being from Mexico and living in Chicago- but I would NOT recommend her services to couples considering getting married in Mexico. She's far more trouble than she's worth. Also, as people are reading other reviews and considering hiring Jen, I would caution you to think carefully about the elements the reviewers are attributing to Jen in their rave reviews. Many of the 5 star-rated reviews talk about overall elements of beautiful weddings in Mexico. If I had to put money on it- these wonderful outcomes likely had very little to do with anything Jen provided. That's the beauty of planning weddings in Mexico...Mexico is beautiful- it doesn't mean Jen's services made that happen. Just my two cents. read more

My husband and I recently got married in Riviera Maya and we used Jen to help us plan our wedding. We had no idea where to start or how to pick the best resort for what we wanted the wedding to look like. I was nervous to use a travel agent or website as I didn't want to be talked into booking a resort based on the commission an agent would get or the impersonal feel of using an Internet based company. Jen was a perfect solution! Jen met with us in person and listened to all our wants and concerns. She then did all the work of narrowing down the resorts she felt would be best for us and gave us options that were much more manageable to start! She did a great job of picking resorts that fit what we were looking for and allowed us to see the full spectrum of what we would get for our price range v. what we were looking for. She then helped us set up site visits at the resorts we liked best and meetings and tastings with the coordinators at each resort. This was amazing! I would have not known how to even begin this process. She managed the schedule for us and did all the communication with each resort to get a schedule that allowed us to stay and visit 5 resorts in only 3 nights. All the meetings were preset so we had nothing to worry about there and she was in constant communication with us the whole time to get our feed back and make us aware of any scheduling changes. She provided us with a list of questions to ask each planner at the resort which were questions I wouldn't have even thought of. Jen took the time to really listen to what we wanted. When it came time to book the resort, Jen handled all negotiations with the resort and communication which was great as she knew better what to ask for. It also helped with stress! There were so many perks Jen was able to get us because she knew the landscape and help us weed out things that wouldn't have been beneficial to us. It also is great that she speaks Spanish so she was able to communication with the resorts much more effectively. Jen presented all information to us in very organized spreadsheets and files which helped us compare all our options and the time spent gathering all that information is well worth Jen alone! Jen made us feel so special and you can tell she really cared to make our wedding as special as possible. Our wedding day was perfect, the resort we had our wedding at was perfect and we owe a huge part of that to Jen! My husband and I have said many times that using Jen was one of the best decisions we made when planning the wedding!! I HIGHLY recommend using Jen!! We loved her and we loved the experience because of her! read more