Overall I was impressed with atmosphere from the start of the wedding service until I left in the…read moreevening. Since the weather was extremely hot extra self serve "watering stations " were available to keep people hydrated Plenty of room between tables is a major plus so that people can sit comfortably and servers can swiftly come around to do their duties Due to the extreme heat just wish they had some kind of fan system to keep people cool

I attended a wonderful wedding last night at the only barn wedding facility in the state. Women…read morewore dresses, skirts and pant outfits. Men wore suits, business casual and jeans. The barn was nice and clean. They have beautiful bathrooms. The wedding ceremony was at 500pm in front of the oldest hickory tree in the county. They set up 200 chairs with an aisle down the middle for the wedding party to enter. The property has a nice area to take pictures and enjoy and outdoor pre-reception. Our reception was inside the barn we ate comfortably and heard bride and groom stories, prayer, a charge from the father of the bride. Dinner was catered by Thunder Bay Grill. The wedding party DJ played nice taped music during the dinner. Dessert was a cheesecake. At the end of the reception we launched balloons with lights in them sending off in the air on a new adventure, just like the bride and groom. A beautiful night. I highly recommend this facility.

Blue Fancy (BF), unfortunately, did not meet our expectations. I don't think it's necessary to go…read moreinto detail listing all of the things that went poorly, and I, of course, want to give them credit for the things that did go well. Context: we are both from Wisconsin, but are currently living out of state with stressful, time-consuming jobs, which is why we wanted to hire a planner. Our budget was lower than what I'm guessing BF is typically used to working with (less than $60,000), so I'm not sure if that was a factor. We got married in Fond du Lac and most of BF's contacts/experience is in the Milwaukee area. We had a backyard wedding at our family members' homes (a small ceremony at one location and a larger reception at a second location) over a holiday weekend. We hired BF 1.5 years prior to our wedding date leaving plenty of time. Pros: -BF was very helpful with providing structure (a to-do list, timeline) and recommending vendors. -They were insightful when finalizing the rental company contract in terms of backyard wedding details that we would not have thought of. For example, generator needs, water hookups, etc. -Day of set-up. They provided us with 3 team members, which was incredibly helpful with setting up chairs, tables, a few decorations, etc. Cons: -All together, we had a total of 3 planners. Our first planner quit and our second planner had to take a step back due to a serious personal matter. This resulted in poor communication, confusion, and stress. It was often unclear who was taking lead on what and we felt the team did not have the bandwidth to actually manage our wedding. We constantly felt like we had to double-check everything and take care of things ourselves because it was unclear who was doing what and we did not want things to fall through the cracks. Despite this, things did fall through the cracks. For example, we did not finalize our catering contract until 1 month prior to the wedding, which ended up being $8,000 more than we originally agreed because we had no other choice. Additionally, the band that BF recommended pulled out 6 weeks prior our wedding. This was not their fault and they found a replacement within one week, but this was still stressful . -They seemed to take a 'copy and paste' approach as in they just replicated what they did for previous weddings instead of really listening to what was truly important to us. More of a you fit us instead of we fit you. For example, although they provided recommendations for vendors, we ended up having to find some on our own because their recommendations did not align with our preferences/budget. Examples: photographer, videographer, and hair & make-up team. When we mentioned wanting a videographer within a certain budget, we were told this was unrealistic and received no help. We did find a videographer within our budget and he did a great job! So happy we found him. -Poor attention to detail. This was pretty concerning and prevalent throughout the process. A couple of examples: (1) they neglected trash removal and only had solutions for the Milwaukee area when we brought it to their attention. We ended up coming up with a creative solution on our own; (2) at the rehearsal dinner, the lead planner did not know the location of where to tell the hair and make-up team to go the following morning (day of). In sum, we're hoping our experience was abnormal. Nonetheless, we never received an apology, acknowledgment, or a thank you for using their service or any sort of contact after the wedding, which we find unprofessional. We were extremely sympathetic to the series of events that were out of their control, but ultimately, the way it was handled was subpar and the planning process/day of execution was stressful. We wish them the best and hope things are improving.

My husband and I are still both VERY happy that we hired Blue Fancy Events for our wedding and are…read moreforever grateful to have had Jan as our planner for our 150+ person wedding in Lake Geneva, WI. Out of all of the money we spent on this wedding, the one thing that honestly was the most worth it was hiring Jan/Blue fancy as our full service planner. ..We were a covid wedding (8.8.20) that had to be postponed to this year (8.21.21h and Jan took SUCH good care of us (mostly me, who had questions and meltdowns frequently) through it all. She did all of the heavy lifting with the vendors, came with me to my rentals and florals appointment for support, texted and called me whenever I needed her for advice or a question, reminded us of payments and even scheduled appts for us with our vendors and decorated/helped clean up our wedding amazingly with her team day of! Jan was just a great person to have around during this past crazy year and a half and I'm so thankful to have had her as our planner. She made me feel so comfortable right from the start and I felt like she was a friend. If you're on the fence about getting a planner and you're in WI, hire blue fancy and ask for Jan!! You will not regret it! Thank you Jan!

Are you excited to fret over what flowers are going to be in which vases at the reception? Would…read moreyou rather dedicate all your waking free time to chasing down rental and florist contacts, or would you rather sleep? Fretting and chasing are not things I enjoy. So I had an EXPERT do them for me. Except for Sarah Sarbacker, those things are not fretting and chasing - they are thoughtfully planning and cheerfully contacting. Thinking about the BIG DAY, I did NOT want to be the one in charge. I wanted to enjoy and relax with my family and friends. And I forsaw the difficulty with a family member being in charge of all the details. That person wouldn't get to enjoy the day! Unless they were a regular bossy-pants, in which case I would not enjoy taking direction from them in the first place. Let me also tell you this: 15 minutes before our outdoor ceremony, clouds were gathering and the wind started to blow. Sarah happily and confidently crawled into the back of our car (where my MOH and I were staying warm) and asked to start the event a few minutes early because the clouds were threatening-looking. Oh a more pleasant woman I couldn't have heard this from! She even took a few minutes to tell a funny personal story and get my mind off THE WALK DOWN THE AISLE. She was a sea of calm. She projected absolute certainty and helpfulness. She does not dominate - she takes direction from what you suggest. She is a wedding FACILITATOR. I believe she is truly gifted in dealing with all different sorts of people, and yet she has a perfectionistic tendency (to get the chairs just right, to get the table centerpieces just right, etc...). She is polite, cheerful, and nothing seems to throw her for a loop. It was a perfect day. And Sarah Sarbacker was a huge part of making it so.

Literally can't say enough amazing things about Andrea!! She is truly the absolute best! Our…read morewedding would never have happened without her. I decided I wanted to get married on our family farm, a daunting task that she truly brought to life. She thought of every little detail (needed a generator, bathroom trailer, lights, mosquito treatment, valet, etc) and was extremely organized and thorough. She laid out a very easy to follow timeline, checked in each month with the tasks to focus on every month, gave suggestions of professional experienced vendors, but was also willing to go way outside anything she had done before and find new options. For example we wanted really adventurous food with a mix of thai/peruvian/mediterranean/vietnamese/indian and somehow she found the perfect caterer who could make it happen. Andrea is simply the best and you will be lucky to have her, I thank my lucky stars she was available on the date we wanted. She is worth way more than she charges. I cannot recommend her more highly.

I would not trust this place with your special day. A few days after we toured and discussed what…read morewe were looking for money-wise, we wrote a check for the deposit and went to meet with Felicia and discuss and sign the contract. It was cold and rainy that night, Felicia suggested we can just give her our check and she will email the drafted contract and we can go from there. We are very trusting people and out of good faith, we trusted she would take care of us. She emailed the contract to us, it was not what we had discussed when we walked through the venue. We went back and forth on different options with the menu to try and make it more in our budget. She would adjust the fees for the food, but then increase the percentage of the gratuity, so the total expense would come out the same as before. After a few emails back and forth, I explained that I don't have a good feeling about the situation and was not interested in having my wedding at her venue. I asked for the deposit back, since we did not sign any contract, we did not hear back from her. I would not trust this woman and her unethical business. She was initially prompt and nice, but after she had our money, she took a long time to respond and seemed to have an attitude. I am glad that this nightmare happened to my husband and I so early in our planning process. Everything happens for a reason- because of this crappy experience with Felicia and Orchard Valley Acres, we found an amazing barn venue 15 minutes away from Orchard Valley Acres , it was more cost-efficient, more beautiful, more inclusive, less limitations on vendors and the owner really put her heart into our day. DO NOT TRUST THIS PLACE WITH YOUR WEDDING/MONEY!!

From the owner: Orchard Valley Acres is located on 17 acres of land in the heart of the Kettle Moraine Valley…read more Nestled between rolling hills and wooded areas, our rustic and charming barn is the perfect space for weddings, corporate events, and more, and since 2015, it's been our pleasure to host guests' special events in our restored 20th-century dairy barn. We also provide on-site catering and event planning services, so individuals can indulge in one of our farm-to-table meals and relax while we square away all the details. Thanks for celebrating with us these past years, West Bend, and we look forward to hosting more memorable events for guests at Orchard Valley Acres in the years to come.

Megan Yanz is THE rock star of photo journalism! She spent 8 whole hours with my family and I for a…read moreday-in-a-life session in May 2014. She took photos of us in our home, at a park, of my kids jumping up and down on their beds, at my kids' sporting events, and even of us preparing lunch. At the end of the day, we were sad to see her leave because we all had so much fun together! But a few weeks after the shoot, Megan returned to our house to show us our photos and holy cow, we were sooo blown away by how she captured the personalities of my husband and I and our 3 kids so perfectly. And she made us look great! She created a slide show in sync with the perfect song and played our day-in-a-life session over and over for us as we giggled, laughed out loud, and cried because she captured our daily lives so perfectly. We were so impressed with Megan's easy demeanor and fantastic photography capabilities that we hired her again in December to tag along with us as we cut down a tree and capture the perfect Christmas card photos! If you're looking for an amazing photographer to capture 'your story', who has a dynamite personality, AND is affordable, you must hire Megan Yanz Photography. You won't be sorry!

Megan Yanz is such a talented photographer, you would be SILLY not to book her for any kind of…read moresession you would want. Her passion is so evident in her photographs, it's incredible. I booked a boudoir session with her and was blown away at the end result. This session is VERY personal, and she makes you feel like a million bucks. Hair and make-up was part of the session fee and it's so worth it. I thought I did my make-up well, but having a professional taking care of that part, is HUGE. I'm glad it wasn't even an option! I felt so confident during the session. Megan makes you feel like you're just hanging out & she's just taking regular pictures of you. Emily did an excellent job with hair and make-up. Without her make-up expertise, my eyes would not have popped as much in those photographs! I've seen the work Meg has done for weddings, engagements, day-in-a-life, boudoir, etc, on her website...WOW. She is definitely one of the first people I'll be calling after getting engaged, to make sure that SHE will be there to capture our wedding pics. :) Check out MYP. She's got a lifetime customer out of me & I will be recommending her to everyone I know. Thanks, Meg!

Came for a weeknight art event (carving ceramic plate from Gardenview Pottery) and had a wonderful…read moretime! This new studio was started by a former art teacher. She offers programming for kids and adults. The studio is preparing to get a liquor license - maybe some wine and paint nights. This would be a great venue for a party or ladies night. I look forward to coming here again for more fun with art and friends! Next time I'll take some photos.. all I have is a photo from our art project.

I took my daughter to the painted creek and she had an amazing time! Kristin the teacher really…read moreleft a mark on her and she is more interested in art. They did some very cool projects. I would recommend this studio they have a lot on offer.