About this vendor
A Fresh Event is where creative direction, storytelling, and world building meet the kind of wedding experience people feel in their bones. I believe life moves quickly and the good stuff cannot wait, which is why I create celebrations that you can actually be present for. Events that feel like your inner world made tangible. Moments that linger long after the night is over.
I work with couples who want something more than logistics. People who care about atmosphere and meaning. People who want an exceptional experience that feels lived in, cinematic, and deeply personal. My work is tailored to you, not to trends, and it is designed to bring your story to life in a way that feels effortless and real.
I hold space for you to be yourselves, for your people to feel welcomed and seen, and for your weekend to unfold with intention. No templates, no rules you did not choose, just a fully realized world that reflects who you are and what you love.
If you want a celebration that becomes a memory your guests carry with them, you are in the right place. Your story deserves to be felt, remembered, and honored. I would love to help you create something extraordinary.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- Honeymoon Planning
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Honeymoon
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bachelor Party
Awards and Affiliations
5-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2024.2023.2022.+2 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.076 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
Choosing Jen to be our wedding planner was the BEST DECISION!!! When we got engaged we knew we wanted a high quality wedding planner that would be very involved in every aspect of ...
our wedding. The perfect person for the job was Jen.
First, Jen is extremely kind, creative, and very personable. You can tell she thoroughly enjoys what she does and loves to create relationships with her clients. We had multiple meetings/hang outs with her where we discussed our vision for our wedding, but also just talked about life! She got to know us very well which made making the creative decisions so much easier!
Second, Jen is extremely organized. Her timeline during our two year engagement was perfect. Both of us were not stressed leading up to the wedding. Additionally, we cannot speak highly enough about the organization of all our weekend events. Jen and her staff were fabulous. Every event went sooo smooth. We got to enjoy every moment of our wedding weekend without any stress!
Lastly, Jen was such a fun person to work with. We loved bouncing ideas off of her and getting her professional opinion. She knows the BEST people to work with in Chicago. Our DJ, photographer, makeup and hair, catering.... all of them she had built a personal relationship with and knew that we would vibe with them!
We highly recommend Jen - your wedding will be absolutely stunning and the best day of your life guaranteed!
Jen Ganson is the best wedding planner in existence, PERIOD! We worked with her for over a year and a half planning our very eccentric bathhouse wedding, and I truly believe there ...
was no one better on Earth for this job. The wedding was a smashing success.
We knew we wanted to do something a bit untraditional for our wedding... But by throwing out the usual rulebook, we felt a bit lost on how to still make the day feel like a wedding. Jen has a seasoned perspective on what makes a great event, and she immediately got on board to help us bring our vision to life. So many times throughout the process she jumped in with a perfect vendor, the correct recommendation, the exact words we needed to hear, etc.
One moment that I will always remember was when my fiance and I were about to go out in front of everyone for the ceremony. We were both a bit nervous, but Jen came to fetch us and when she did, she said: Just be yourselves. It helped reassure me in a way that I didn't know I needed!
By the end of the process, Jen has become such a dear friend to both of us and we are endlessly grateful to her for all of her momentous effort and expertise!!!
TL;DR Choosing Jen and A Fresh Event as your wedding planner is the easiest and most important wedding decision you will make. If you're debating working with a planner, DO IT! If ...
you're deciding which planner to work with, choose Jen and A Fresh Event. Full Stop.
When evaluating which planner to work with, we were extensive in our search, connecting with over six different planners to make sure we found the right match. After research, we found Jen to have extensive experience, a fantastic personality (that matched our style), and a competitive pricing model.
After making this selection, my partner and I worked with Jen over two years as we worked to plan our dream wedding. As cliche as this is, words cannot describe how incredible Jen is at her job. While Jen has supported hundreds of couples over the years, she still demonstrates great patience and invests the time in gracefully answering all your (in our case, very silly) questions and educating you on the process and why steps or decision points are sequenced the way they are.
When we first selected Jen, I think I sent her at least 50 random e-mails with questions or ideas, all of which she responded to and took notes of in our profile to be re-visited later.
Jen does an incredible job helping you plan YOUR ideal wedding. She isn't just recycling old formats and ideas, but truly works to understand your vision. For every major decision point, before you even engage in conversation, she has some sort of questionnaire that helps to draw out your vision and preferences. The wedding world is FULL of vendors, and it can be overwhelming to look at venues, photographers, food, etc. By leveraging these questionaaires, she's able to cut through all that and then provide a recommendation of 3-5 vendor options based on your answers. If none of the options she listed are what you envision, she's always happy to iterate and try again, but in our experience, we never had to ask for more options, she hit the nail on the head with the first set of vendors she proposed for every decision point.
When it comes to vendors, Jen has extremely high standards for her vendors. She's well-known throughout the industry and immensely respected. Whenever we'd meet prospective vendors, they'd always worked with Jen previously and always had positive things to say about her, which was relieving when first going through the process. As we spent more time with Jen, we learned she has a contract for all the vendors she works with outlining expectations, respect, inclusivity, etc. If she has a bad experience with a vendor, she will cut them from her repertoire to assure she only works with the best.
Jen is impeccably organized. No matter when you start, she has a timeline laid out for decisions that need to be made and when. She also shares this fully with you, so you can check it out yourself if you have any questions. She also sends a weekly Friday e-mail with updates on topics as well as any "to-dos" for the couple. One of the reasons we chose Jen was because of our perception of her organization, and even then she over-delivered. She was ALWAYS on top of everything.
To wrap up, our actual wedding day was perfect and flawless. Jen likes to say, there is no "perfect" wedding day, but I can say, there IS a perfect wedding planner, and her name is Jen.
If you're reading this, stop looking and book a consult with Jen. We were lucky to work with her and are now lucky to call her a friend.
When we look back at our wedding day the Number 1 thing we always talk about is how outrageously INCREDIBLE Jen and A Fresh Event was (and continues to be) for our special day. Jen...
is more than a planner, she is that ride or die friend that will do everything she can to make sure your day is truly YOURS. We felt like we had not only a planner, but a coordinator, a cheerleader, and most importantly a friend. Jen really takes the time to get to know you as a couple and helped us realize our vision when we didn't even realize we had a vision. She is truly a miracle worker and the best thing we could have ever done for our wedding. We'd get asked constantly if we were stressed wedding planning and the honest answer we gave was "actually, no! We have Jen!"
As an LGBT+ couple we also felt especially supported and cared for. If we were to get married again, we know we'd ask Jen in a heartbeat.
Our wedding day was beyond what we could have imagined and it was all because of Jen and the rest of A Fresh Event Co team. She took time to understand our vision and really get to...
know us. She enabled us to make the best decisions to make our wedding dreams come true by suggesting (the best) vendors and concepts that fit our needs. When it came to the weeks leading up to our big day and our big day no detail was missed and she was there 24/7 with any questions or concerns we had. The weekend went seamlessly (even when red wine was spilt on my wedding dress). The way everything came together and was executed was absolutely amazing. We didn’t have to worry about anyone or anything the day of the wedding. We are so fortunate to have worked with Jen and this team!
My husband and I felt so extremely calm leading up to our wedding, and on our wedding, and it was all due to the amazing and passionate work by A Fresh Event!!! Jen and her assista...
nts were incredible to us the whole way through. Jen helped us incorporate the dream wedding we wanted while also helping us stay within budget. We had no worries on our wedding day. A Fresh Event is filled with extremely talented and personable people, and you couldn’t ask for anything less when planning a wedding. Jen also introduced us to some incredible vendors who I’m so thankful we connected with as well! The very best of the best.
I would've given a 100 star rating if I could. Our planner, Jen, was beyond magnificent. She planned the hell out of our wedding, and it was the best day of our life. Everything...
was so smooth and easy and looked beautiful and perfect. We could not have done this without Jen. She is a master event planner and now is someone I consider a great friend.
It is not very often that you meet a person who can execute a complex, multi day event AND also become someone you consider a great friend by the end of it, but Rachel is that pers...
on! She was kind, patient, professional and a calming presence on my wedding day. From the very beginning she was my cheerleader and sounding board and helped me curate my absolute dream wedding!! She helped us choose spectacular vendors and went above and beyond to meet the needs of both myself and my family. She anticipated every possible contingency on the day of (down to the clear umbrellas in case it rained) and ensured that both my husband and I got to throughly enjoy our entire wedding day! Cannot recommend her enough!
1000000/10 - highly reccomend their services!!
Our planner, Rachel, did a tremendous job and was there to guide us in anything we needed. From the vendor selection, website help...
, gift basket assembly and invitation designs, there was nothing she didnt help with. Our day would not have been what it was without AFE!!
I recently had the pleasure of working with Jen, the wedding event coordinator for my sister's dream wedding. I cannot express enough how grateful I am for her incredible efforts, ...
especially when it came to the last-minute floral arrangements for the day after brunch. Jen proved to be a true floral fairy godmother, and her dedication and passion for her work made the entire wedding experience unforgettable. If you're looking for someone who will treat your special day with the love and attention it deserves, look no further than Jen. I can confidently say that she will forever hold a special place in our hearts for making my sister's wedding truly magical. Thank you, Jen!
A Fresh Event made planning our wedding a breeze! Rachel helped us plan our wedding long-distance, as we live in Seattle and got married near Chicago. She clearly laid out all of...
the needed steps to have the day of our dreams and very clearly indicated when each step needed to be completed. She met with us late into the evening and on weekends to accommodate our full-time work schedules. Rachel and the A Fresh Event team are also queer-friendly. They were courteous, kind, and compassionate toward myself and my wife throughout the entire process as well as found other queer-friendly vendors for us to access for dress shopping, tailoring, accessories, etc. A Fresh Event has excellent and plentiful connections within the wedding business, which creates opportunities for discounts and partnerships that they can uniquely provide to enhance your wedding planning experience. When our special day came, we had two knowledgeable planners with for the entire day to problem solve, which allowed us to truly be in the moment to celebrate our love. They are worth every penny. If you need a communicative, no-nonsense, driven, effective, passionate wedding planner to make your wedding dreams a reality, look no further than A Fresh Event!
Where do I start with Jen & AFE!?
I could go on for days about their impeccable service & professionalism!
I was about 6-7 months out from my winter wedding when I had my initial...
call with Jen.
I do not enjoy planning but had a vision of how I wanted our special day to look.
She listened, gave great recommendations and even informed me about a wedding that she planned in just 4 months, that went off without a hitch! Talk about impressive.
We clicked right away and I knew she was exactly what I was looking for.
What I greatly appreciated about Jen from the beginning, was her ability to allow us time to process next steps, upcoming decisions and necessary emails, on our time, while also gently nudging if we needed to pick up speed. I found the process to be overwhelming at times, along with every day responsibilities and she made it completely manageable.
Jen is so very detail oriented and didn’t skip a beat when it came to vendor correspondence, contracts, scheduling, reminders, spreadsheet fun ;P, budgeting, check-ins and all things that require tending to.
Jen brought my vision to life, flawlessly.
There is no better feeling than having 100% confidence in someone to plan your dream wedding and I am ecstatic that we found that in Jen.
She also made the process SO fun!
We had several wedding planning “wine nights” horoscope chats & the best vendor meetings together.
My husband and I truly walked away from our experience with having had the most beautiful wedding and a new friend!
We love you, Jen!
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for your unwavering dedication, persistence in ensuring we had everything we wanted and your passion & expertise in knowing the industry inside and out.
I would highly recommend Jen again & again to all my family & friends.
Her team, Mary & Rachel, were also beloved by all guests for their kindness and willingness to go above & beyond when assisting on our big day.
With full hearts and memories to last a lifetime- THANK YOU.🤍
Working with Jen and AFE was the best decision we made in our wedding planning process. Jen listened to our vision and gave the best recommendations, always gave us different optio...
ns, and always had a great attitude. She took as much stress out of the planning process as possible. On the wedding day, everything went smoothly and stayed on schedule. We had the MOST FUN because the AFE team was taking care of everything. Jen and the AFE team made it so we could ENJOY our day and our friends and families. We are so thankful for and love Jen!!
A Fresh Event recently helped plan our daughter’s wedding and it was truly a wonderful experience. Jen and her team were exceptionally responsive throughout the entire plannin...
g process, offering suggestions and, creating a manageable time line with our budget in mind. Their knowledge of locales, vendors, music, and decorations fit our vision beautifully to provide a remarkable event for family and friends. I would highly recommend Jen and the AFE team to plan your special event.
Beverly McGuire
May 2023
Jen Ganson
A Fresh Event
Recommendation
A Father of the Bride Perspective
My wife and daughter interviewed five Wedding Planners during July 2021 for a November 2022 wedding. Af...
ter the interviews they both enthusiastically selected Jen Ganson (Jen) and the A Fresh Event (AFE) team. Their instincts were right on point and we all highly recommend Jen and AFE.
Jen very effectively guided us and acted as “the invisible hands” from start to finish. As parents, that do not live in Chicago, Jen provided many insightful options for our consideration. Those options focused on the venue, food and drink, decorations, bands, budgets and all other details related to a wedding for 150 people. Planning sheets for these options and the related budgets were prepared by Jen and AFE in advance and updated after each meeting. We referred and relied on those planning sheets throughout.
The end result was “a remarkable wedding weekend.” Our friends and guests offered many compliments throughout the wedding weekend and the accolades have continued afterwards. Jen Ganson and the staff at A Fresh Event met or exceeded all of my expectations. I wholeheartedly recommend Jen and AFE.
Dennis K McGuire
yp99iu@gmail.com
A Fresh Event Co. is fantastic, and Jen is a dream to work with. As both of us have event planning and management experience, we had high expectations and Jen exceeded all of them....
From our first conversation to the final follow-ups in the days after our wedding, Jen was responsive, thoughtful, caring, and passionate about our wedding — keeping her focus on our wants and needs and ensuring our vision was implemented in the best ways possible.
Jen was extremely organized, attentive, and proactive. She incorporated new ideas while also helping ensuring we maintained our budget. We highly recommend Jen for anyone in planning their big day.
-Jared and Molly
Rachel and the AFE Team were nothing short of incredible! If you are looking for a wedding planner/coordinator, I highly recommend AFE. Rachel was very well-prepared, organized, an...
d extremely responsive. All of this combined to result in a relaxed, stress-free, and enjoyable wedding date. Thanks again, Rachel! - Drew and Clem
Hiring Jen and A Fresh Event were easily the best decision we made in our wedding planning process.
From the very beginning, it was unbelievably helpful to have someone holding ...
your hand and making sure you were focusing on what you needed to be focusing on, and not worrying about things you didn’t need to. The peace of mind knowing that everything was accounted for and there wasn’t some little thing we were forgetting that could ruin everything was priceless.
Jen also made choosing venues, vendors for flowers/drapery/etc so much easier by preparing briefs of potential options so that we could more easily understand them. Anytime we had an idea, no matter how half-baked, Jen helped us achieve our vision. A trolley taking the wedding party around Chicago for pictures? Easy. Shuttle to a rented out room at a bar for an after party? She made it happen.
The day of went even smoother than the planning process. We can’t even count how many people after the wedding commented on how smooth everything went. During the planning process so many friends/family members told us that things will go wrong on your wedding day and to not stress about it. Well clearly none of those people hired Jen because we can easily say that not a single thing went wrong and everything turned out more perfect than we could have imagined!
All in all - we couldn’t recommend Jen more highly, and we do recommend her to every single person we know that gets engaged. Truly exceptional at coordinating and planning a wedding.
We worked with Jen from A Fresh Event and I cannot explain how truly incredible our experience was. There was not a moment of the planning process or the day that was stressful. I ...
hear friends, even ones with planners, tell me about how much they have to do and how stressed out they are and I can truly say that I cannot relate. Additionally, Jen does not push having a certain type of wedding or having it be a certain type of experience. She was very open to whatever your budget it and what was truly important to you. When it came to decor, I showed Jen probably 20 pictures and said ' I don't want anything in these pictures but I want the same vibe'. She took what I thought was minimal guidance and explained it perfectly to vendors who made my vision (that I din't even have in my head) come to life. Just book A Fresh Event, it will make your wedding so easy.
We are terribly overdue in leaving a rating for….but felt like we had to share our experience with A Fresh Event, who provided us our AMAZING planner Rachel! Originally, we were in...
a big time crunch with roughly 4 months till “I do”, so we made a few appointments to feel out a couple wedding planning companies in Chicago. We met with the ladies at A Fresh Event first, and knew we wouldn’t be meeting with any other planners. I’m not sure if it was their fun, yet professional manner, obvious experience in customizing a wedding that reflected us as a couple, or creative and organized approach in helping us see what needed to be done that won us over, but absolutely no regrets in choosing A Fresh Event.
We were so impressed with the thoughtfulness and attention to every detail. Rachel had everything laid out for us in an easy to follow organized manner. She was there and responsive for any and every question, email (and odd ball ideas, or anxious concerns) we threw out to her for guidance. The carefully crafted solutions and suggestions to any design aspect my partner and I got stuck on were invaluable. We genuinely appreciated the flexibility in meeting to plan around our difficult schedules.
On our wedding day, Rachel and her assistant were there with us, and ensured everything ran incredibly smooth (my partner has never been on time to anything, but our entire day stayed on schedule with their help!!)
We can’t thank A Fresh event (and Rachel) enough for the dedication to planning, perfecting, and turning our ideas into the wedding of our dreams.
My now wife and I came across Fresh Event while trying to plan our Chicago wedding remotely. We met with a number of different wedding planners and were immediately impressed upon ...
Jennifer and Rachel's professionalism and experience. We worked primarily with Rachel and we had frequent check-ins, a detailed breakdown of action items, amazing recommendations for vendors and a lot of personal help in coming up with the look and feel of our wedding. Rachel put a lot of effort into our wedding and on the day of everything went like clockwork (or if it didn't I never knew about it :). I would highly recommend Rachel and A Fresh Event if you're looking for that perfect Chicago wedding.
We had a great experience with A Fresh Event. We were very unsure on the planning process. Rachel was able to walk us through decision making and present us with the best options. ...
AFE has a deep bench of great vendors they work with frequently but also presented a lot of new, innovative options that fit exactly what we were looking for. Our wedding day was unique, special and exactly what we were looking for and we could not have done it without Rachel and AFE.
WE LOVE JEN & THE AFE TEAM. My husband and I started planning our wedding pre-pandemic, and let’s just say it was a wild ride. Jen was amazing from the start, but she was truly our...
savior when we had the move our wedding date TWICE due to COVID. Not only did Jen handle all the ins and outs of moving the wedding (so really she planned like 3 weddings for us), but she also offered to help with our little civil wedding that we had while awaiting the big celebration that kept getting moved. Jen literally bought me a bouquet for the mini-wedding and dropped it at my house. That is the kind of person she is.
Onto the big wedding details: I’m the type of bride who had a vision but did not care in executing and I tend to drag my feet when it comes to getting things done. We hired Jen for full-service planning and Jen basically read my mind, kept me on deadlines, and made the vision come to life: it was even more beautiful than we could have imagined. All of her vendor recommendations were spot on, and everyone was a joy to work with.
When the day of the big wedding finally came, there is no one we would have wanted with us other than Jen. The day was smooth, gorgeous, and full of happy tears. We did not worry about a thing with her in charge.
Cary and I consider ourselves lucky to have spent three years working with Jen on our wedding (and building a wonderful friendship with her). We cannot recommend Jen and AFE enough. Thank you so much AFE team.
Working with Jen was easily the best decision that we made in the wedding planning process! She is detail oriented, responsive, insightful, and most importantly - really FUN to wor...
k with.
We hired Jen to do full planning services. She was very conscious of our budget, and ensured that we were offered ideas and vendors that fit within it. She and her team are a full suite - from sourcing vendors to making appointments to tracking our expenses and payments. She even picked us up and drove us from venue to venue when we were looking around Chicago! She was incredibly patient as we navigated the parts of our day that were most important to us: food and bar service, making sure we got exactly what we had envisioned.
Jen also did a superior job of letting us guide the process and make our own decisions, but chimed in with her expertise and advice where it made sense - for example, seating arrangements or timeline. Every single detail was on point on our big day.
Our wedding weekend literally went off without a hitch - not a single hiccup. Transportation, accommodations, food, service - everything. She always made sure drinks we waiting for us (both at the rehearsal dinner and the cocktail hour and reception).
Jen and her team go above and beyond - I had many friends planning weddings at the same time, even with planners, who were stressed, making their own appointments and/or asking vendors for pricing themselves, and overall feeling like it wasn't worth the investment. I'll share one story that I think sums up how incredible our experience was: at the end of the night, when the lights went up and the music stopped, Jen's assistant was there. She handed me our hotel key and we walked out. Jen and her team had transported (with our permission) our gifts and cards, my bouquet, my ceremony dress and shoes, and everything else to our suite at the hotel which had been flipped from the suite I got ready in with my bridesmaids to a gorgeous honeymoon suite - my bouquet was even in a vase with water!
Jen and her team were amazing!! I cannot recommend A Fresh Event enough. Jen made the whole wedding planning process enjoyable and low stress - even as two Type A personalities, we...
never worried about things getting done in time or being done well, because we knew Jen would deliver. We felt like she understood what we wanted out of our wedding day and didn't try to influence our decisions based on her preferences. I can't begin to imagine our wedding day without Jen; everything ran so smoothly and beautifully. Also, Jen is a just a wonderful person and fun to be around. Choosing to hire A Fresh Event was by far the best decision we made for our wedding (other than the marriage itself, of course!).
Jen and her team at A Fresh Event did phenomenal work in the planning and implementation of our wedding. Super knowledgeable about the industry, excellent recommendations, and all ...
details handled months in advance. Really couldn't have asked for a better wedding planner to make our day special for everyone involved. On top of everything else, my wife and I were originally scheduled to get married in September 2020, so we had to reschedule due to the pandemic. Jen handled a huge amount of detailed rescheduling efforts and made sure the whole event was moved smoothly. Couldn't have asked for a better wedding or planner. Thank you!
If you're thinking about booking Jen, stop thinking, and do it! I found Jen in Oct 2020 through some various wedding website research and after our initial call with her, we knew s...
he was the right planner for us.
Jen is kind, dedicated to her work and damn good at what she does. We worked with Jen for full planning services for just under two years and it made our planning experience both easy and enjoyable. When friends would ask if we were stressed with planning, we could honestly say "no", and that was because of Jen's work.
Her goal is to make sure your wedding feels like you and your partner and we feel like that was achieved through working with her. From floral selections to our choice of venue, Jen walked us through all of our options, was patient with all of our questions and helped us to make decisions that were best for us, with all factors taken into consideration.
And now to wedding day - it ran SO perfectly. I think we were even ahead of schedule for much of the day! Because of Jen, everything came together exquisitely!
THANK YOU, so much, Jen! We loved working with you and are happy to count you as a friend now :)
Jen Ganson is one of those people in life I was destined to meet. My husband (!) and I had gotten engaged at the end of 2021, but knew we wanted to get married in 2022, and luckily...
, already secured our venue. But, we had no idea going into the new year, how much actually went into planning a wedding. When we started doing research and interviewing wedding planners, we were shocked with the harsh safety and financial realities. At our first meeting with Jen and Rachel, I was met with warmth, patience and transparency--things were explained to me in such a way that did not make me feel bad about not knowing realistic numbers. Right away, you could tell that these two were women who loved what they did for a living--their joy of helping to create these truly special events for others even came across via zoom. If we were going to work with a wedding planner, and put in that additional investment, it had to be someone that was a good fit for us both. Jen was the best wedding planner we could've asked for. Right away things were organized and we were given a timed checklist of things that were very necessary, but I had no idea we needed. She helped us work within our budget to create our dream wedding (initially, my dream wedding--my husband wanted us to each pick 10 people, go out to dinner, and call it a day--but afterwards, he said it was perfect, and loved everything about it, would not have wanted it any other way). Jen not only offered great advice, every step of the way, but also her friendship and support during inevitable challenges. She helped us choose the best vendors to lift up and highlight what was important to us, and helped us let go of what wasn't important. After the planning shifted into coordinating, we continued to be awed by the professionalism and mastery of this art of wedding. It felt so good to be able to breathe on our wedding day, to not have to worry about anything, because we could trust that we were in good hands. So very grateful to have been able to work with A Fresh Event, and looking forward to our continued friendship.
I couldn’t say enough about Jen and her team.
They are warm, friendly, organized, supportive, and extremely helpful. They made our wedding incredibly personal, meaningful, fun,...
and stress-free. Jen strikes the perfect balance between being supportive and enthusiastic, while not over-promising and counseling us on potential complications (while still respecting our right to make the final call). I couldn’t recommend this group any more highly.
Jen helped us from start to finish, to plan a larger wedding (225 people) on a short time frame (3.5 months). She helped us get started on the right foot immediately, narrowing down choices to apples-to-apples comparisons for us, and kept good track of our budget. Bottom line: Jen and her team took a huge amount of stress and guesswork out of wedding planning. The process stood out in comparison to a lot of friends and family, who also had fun weddings but had a huge amount of stress and tension and missteps in the planning. A Fresh Event was a game-changer.
We loved working with Rachel at A Fresh Event. The list of reasons we loved Rachel is extensive - she was a great communicator, organized, detail orientated always a true professio...
nal in all settings. What sets Rachel apart from other planners is her approach. She took the time to get to know us and understand our vision, even if we couldn't articulate it. That enabled us to put our full trust in her and enjoy the process while she executed the wedding of our dreams. We would recommend working with Rachel!
As maid of honor at my sister’s wedding, I got a behind-the-scenes look at Jen and her team at work.
Not intimidated by a short timeline (4 months) and big ambitions, Jen worked ...
closely with my sister and brother-in-law to make each of their requests come true. Throughout the wedding weekend, Jen was on top of it all — from little details like having an extra boutonniere on deck when the groom’s started to wilt, to packing up all our family's personal items that might’ve otherwise gotten lost at the venue.
Because Jen had everything so perfectly handled, I was able to simply focus on supporting my sister and enjoying the weekend. Truly a dream weekend that wouldn’t have been possible without Jen!
A Fresh Event truly moves mountains for their clients. My only regret is not having hired them for my own wedding!
A Fresh Event was everything that we wanted in our wedding planners. From the start, Jen and Rachel made us feel like they understood and cared about our vision for our wedding and...
also that they had the experience and ability to guide us through the process and make it happen. We were one of the many weddings that had to be pushed due to Covid, and they were incredibly helpful during that process.
Leading up to and on our big day, Rachel couldn't have been better. We knew that she had all of the details covered, and she communicated with us clearly about what was going on each step of the way. She handled our frequent and random questions easily. Our wedding day itself flowed very smoothly, and was clearly very well managed. We had several of our guests make a point of telling us just how impressive everything was - from the schedule all the way down to the small details. This can be attributed to Rachel's organization and execution. On top of everything, both Jen and Rachel were professional, courteous, fun, and a pleasure to work with. We would 10/10 recommend A Fresh Event to any couple looking for planning help.
Hiring AFE was one of the most superior decisions my husband & I made for our wedding day. We planned 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!
If I could give 10 stars I would! Jen & her team were PHENOMENAL. I had worked with Jen with A Fresh Event in Chicago as a Wedding Venue vendor in the past and just recently reloc...
ated back to Florida. Being a planner myself, I thought I did not need the extra help the month of. I was extremely wrong. I could not have survived wedding planning without the extra help! Jen kept my vendors (as well as me) on track even from afar. It was like she was down the street not 5 states away. Jen is the most organized planner I have ever worked with. My other vendors even commented on her professionalism, organizational skills and her as an overall amazing person. I cannot say thank you enough for everything Jen & her team did to make our weekend so special and a complete breeze!
Our daughter was married just two weeks ago. Being from the East Coast, we were back and forth and in between as the wedding was in Chicago. From our first meeting with Jen, to a...
ll of the subsequent meetings with Rachel, nothing, and I mean NOTHING prepared us for the end result. Planning is one thing, managing quite another. Rachel ran the wedding and rehearsal like something we have never seen. There was no detail, name, time or vendor left to chance. I cannot ever ever imagine the day without her. Rachel completely created a worry free enjoy every minute experience for all of us. With every possible detail covered, it was a day and night from Camelot, and we will be forever grateful to Rachel and Jen and A Fresh Event.
Working with A Fresh Event was BY FAR the smartest choice we made for our NOLA wedding. We could not have organized and executed our wedding without Jen and her team's expertise. T...
he list of superb things about A Fresh Event is literally endless (as are the complications of a wedding which is why you need a coordinator), but it really boils down to commitment. Jen committed to OUR vision and worked with all of our vendors to bring that to life. There were a couple hiccups on the big day that without Jen could have derailed keystone pieces of our wedding. She was there to ensure we never knew about any of it until the week after when she remained committed to ensuring vendors delivered according to their contracts. Do not think twice about bringing Jen and A Fresh Event onboard for your New Orleans wedding. She's a visionary!
We love A Fresh Event! We started working with them in October 2020 when we got engaged. Given the circumstances, we weren't sure how to plan a wedding during COVID, but Jen and Ra...
chel were so helpful! They made sure that every contract we signed had a "Covid clause" and they made sure we were safe throughout the entire process. They saw our vision from the beginning (even when we struggled to!) and we had a beautiful wedding this past March. Rachel was our main planner and she was extraordinary! She is so organized and handles even the smallest of details. The day of, she is there for anything - including when my dress broke at one point! She didn't hesitate to literally sew me back in! We found A Fresh Event through the recommendation of a friend, and we will continue to recommend them to anybody getting married!
en Ganson and A Fresh Event are amazing! We couldn’t have picked a better coordinator for our wedding. She is extremely organized and made our day go off without a hitch! We were a...
ble to relax and enjoy our day to the fullest because of Jen and her team at A Fresh Event. I can’t say this enough, stop looking and book her!!! Also, when she says to book your hotel room starting Thursday instead of Friday, listen to her! It was one of the best decisions we made. I don’t know how we would’ve been able to do everything for the rehearsal if we couldn’t have checked in until 3:00pm on Friday! Trust her with all her thoughts and suggestions, she knows what she is doing! Thank you for everything Jen!!
Working with A Fresh Event was the best part of our wedding planning process. Rachel was absolutely amazing, and all of our guests raved all night (and even after our wedding!) abo...
ut how smooth and seamless the night was. From our introductory Zoom meeting (at which Jen and Rachel made me feel like I was their best friend, even though we just met) to the custom quote they gave us due to our unique circumstances to the payment plan they worked with us on to taking care of and thinking about every single detail leading up to the day, we could not be happier about the choice we made. They are true experts who have made wedding planning and coordination into an art form. We are so grateful for A Fresh Event!
At the outset, my husband and I both were ambivalent about hiring a wedding planner. But within the blink of an eye after beginning work with Jen, we were die-hard, evangelical bel...
ievers in the immeasurable value of having Jen and A Fresh Event shepherd us through the complex and often frazzling planning process. We worked primarily with Jen, but also with Andrea and Rachel, and together they have an amazing ability to get to know you as the unique beings that you are, both as a couple and individually. You never have to worry about being pressed toward traditional or stuffy elements of weddings past if you have a different vision.
Our wedding was everything we hoped and dreamed of. And as a bride that never placed much weight on weddings or even marriage, I was completely surprised when it turned into the best day of my life. Looking back, it is easy to see how, unquestionably, this could not have been achieved without Jen. Her kindness, grace, brilliance, and ineffable composure were essential qualities, and frequently on display, in navigating us through the process… particularly in a global pandemic. We have a tendency to procrastinate (or as I prefer, ‘temporally optimize’), and it would be easy lose track of important timetables. Yet we always felt secure in Jen’s handle on our deadlines and contracts, and when we inevitably took extra time on a ‘deliverable’, she was there to apply just the right amount of pressure with friendly, gentle nudges.
At every stage, Jen asked skillful questions and listened attentively. As a result, all of her vendor recommendations felt true to our aesthetic vision and organic as personality fits. She helped us interview potential vendors and then served as liaison to ensure we were taken care of from start to finish. After our event, my maid of honor texted me in shock and jealous incredulity: “How did you find all of the best vendors?!” Not only were they each very talented artists and craftspeople, but truly awesome humans. I suffer from pretty severe anxiety and was concerned this would interfere with the joy of our wedding weekend. But when it finally came time, Jen, as well as Andrea, Rachel, and each of our vendors, were so tactful, sensitive, low-key, and expert that the weekend was not tainted by a moment of stress. After the last of our out-of-town family left Chicago, I literally called Jen in tears to let her know she had given me and my husband one of the best gifts imaginable in our life together: a memory of overflowing joy, fun, and love that commenced our path into the future.
There is not enough time in the day for me to talk about Rachel and the work she did to make my wedding absolutely perfect from start to finish. I was a Covid bride and we waited o...
ver a year and a half for our dream day.. and it was truly worth the wait. Rachel didn't miss a single detail. She would tell us things that never even crossed our minds and already had problems solved before they even were brought to our attention. I had a large bridal party, 16 bridesmaids to be exact. It was the largest party she had dealt with, and I wouldn't of known! All of my bridesmaids commented on wonderful she was and how she made sure they had enough time to relax and not feel rushed through the day. I even had down time built in, everything was truly planned to perfection. I could cry thinking about how incredible my wedding weekend was, and I can say confidently it wouldn't have been that without Rachel. Even though I know I was not her only bride, she somehow managed to juggle everything so well to make you feel as if you were. Rachel is the best in the business. The best thing a soon to be bride could do for themselves, is work with her.
Jen is absolutely amazing! My sister hired Jen as her day of planner for her wedding and we were completely blown away! She did such an amazing job that I hired her for my wedding....
Jen makes the wedding planning process extremely easy and stress-free! Even through rescheduling and hiccups with COVID. Jen is very professional and VERY easy to work with. Her communication is clear and detailed as well. Our bridal party said they've never been a part of a wedding that was so well throughout and planned. Thanks for Jen our day was everything we hoped for and more!
Book Jen. Do not think another minute about. I really can't say enough about everything she did for us. Jen is the sole reason our wedding even happened. Before COVID I already ha...
d so many good things to say about her- she was organized, systematic, and she had a way of leaving the decision making to us but guiding us in the most gentle way, already probably knowing what we'd decide even before we did. She kept us on track but more importantly kept us excited. We venue/ vendor shopped in two cities which probably isn't even allowed and double the work on her end but she didn't even think twice. She took ALL the stress out of wedding planning and I told her that first day we met her, I physically felt a weight lifted off my shoulders the day we first sat down to talk. Then COVID hit. Jen handled everything. I think she probably did more than she even should have but its because she cared SO MUCH. She moved our wedding date 4 times. And a 1 year planning journey suddenly became 3. And she never lost steam. She never acted frustrated even when we were. She never lost track of all the tiny details even though we did. She made what should have been disastrous in the end...even more wonderful than we would have imagined. Jen has become a true friend in the process and had she not been our planner, she would have been our guest. BOOK JEN NOW.
We cannot say enough about Jen Henderson and A Fresh Event!! They made the wedding of our dreams come true and they were SO helpful, so good at communicating and made my husband an...
d I feel so at ease on the big day. We have a nearly 300 person wedding and everything ran smoothly thanks to them. They were so friendly, organized, and there wasn't a single small detail left behind. They remembered things we never would've thought of. By the end of everything Jen wasn't just our wedding planner - we truly considered her a friend. They are the best - I'd recommend them to anyone who will listen. THANK YOU Jen and A Fresh Event for everything!! If you need a wedding planner - BOOK THEM! We couldn't have made our wedding day come to life without them.
We could not recommend ‘A Fresh Event’, and especially the lead planner/owner Jen enough. After our first meeting (or 10 minutes) with Jen, we knew she would help us plan our dream...
wedding and let/make us have fun doing so! She did that, and more.
Our original wedding date was scheduled for September 2020. When our original plan was looking unlikely to happen in 2020, Jen asked us our thoughts for postponing. Fast forward after a few phone calls/emails, and lots of coordination behind the scenes on Jen’s part – we had a new 2021 wedding date, with hardly any changes, rescheduled within days. I’m still not sure how she did it.
I thought I was detail orientated until I met Jen, and her spreadsheets. She gives you all the information you need for all vendor decisions, and tailors her suggestions after getting to know you both and what you have in mind. Her insight was truly invaluable every step of the way. Jen answered ALL of our questions (and our parents questions), and was there for every part of wedding planning. She handled all the communication with vendors, the venue - she does it all, and makes it look easy (although it's definitely no easy feat). It was such a relief to have someone to run ideas by, bring up important details may have overlooked, and to know we had Jen behind the scenes making everything go as smooth as possible. She made us laugh at every meeting, and we are forever grateful. Our wedding was everything we wanted, and Jen helped our vision come to life.
I am not exaggerating when I say Jen goes above and beyond for her couples.
Rachel was our wedding planner from A Fresh Event, and when I say she was the backbone of our wedding experience, that is a vast understatement! Rachel made sure EVERYTHING was tak...
en care of so my husband and I literally didn’t have to lift a finger the entire day. My wedding weekend went off without a hitch and was everything I could have ever imagined and then some. Thank you Rachel and A Fresh Event for saving my sanity and allowing me to enjoy every moment of our big day!!!
There are quite literally no words to express how thankful we are to have had AFE by our side to plan our wedding. Jen was five steps ahead of every decision that needed to be made...
and her knowledge of the planning process and local vendors was immeasurably helpful. After we had already contracted all of our vendors, Jen helped us reschedule the wedding for the next year due to the pandemic with very little work on our end. This is the second time our family has worked with AFE and we would recommend them to absolutely everybody. Thank you Jen and AFE!
We are so grateful to have worked with Jen and to have A Fresh Event Co. on our team. She was critical in helping us plan the wedding of our dreams, and that is not an embellishmen...
t. Her patience, knowledge, and guidance helped us navigate every phase of planning our wedding. There were so many details that, on our own, would have been overlooked during venue walk throughs, contracts, etc. Jen was with us every step of the way. Not only did she help us plan a flawless wedding, she did it TWICE (Covid postponement). And she did it with a smile on her face.
I was a skeptical groom early on. I went into our meeting with Jen thinking that a wedding planner was not money well spent, and that we could do everything ourselves. I will be the first to admit that I was wrong. Other than the decision to marry my wife that day, the second best wedding decision we made was hiring A Fresh Event Co. Worth every penny, and so much more.
We refer to our wedding as the Best Day Ever, and to make that possible you need the best vendors ever. After our experience working with Jen and A Fresh Event Co., we believe that they are the best help you can find. We are so grateful for the effort and energy they put into making our wedding day so special, and we cannot thank their team enough.
Jondra and her team essentially ended up becoming extended family members after an almost 3 year process due to two different postponements. The entire AFE team went above and beyo...
nd and not only made my special day go smoother than I could ever imagine, but they genuinely cared about how I was feeling and had my best interest at heart as they helped navigate the entire planning process. I will be recommending Jondra and AFE to all of my bride friends! If you need a professional, thoughtful and attentive event planning family, you don’t need to look any further!
We may have chosen the worst time to plan a wedding (2020), but we did choose the best wedding planner! We began working with Jen back in 2018 to plan a July 2020 wedding and quick...
ly fell in love with her; she was professional, fun, and took care of the most stressful parts of the planning process to make it a completely enjoyable experience for us. Her expertise truly shined through when the pandemic struck and we chose to move our wedding back to June 2021. Throughout quarantine, she was (virtually) by our side, helping us create plans based on multiple scenarios given all of the uncertainties. Ends up we were able to have a wedding and Jen came up with creative solutions to address any obstacles we came across. Our wedding was wonderful, thanks in large part to Jen being an absolute pro!
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