After the Engagement

n spades: organization and efficient communication, style and a bold sense of humor, a clear grasp of what elements mattered the most to us on our wedding day, a down to earth and reality-based attitude, personality and connection with us like we were old friends. She really was my dream/fantasy planner. I found myself repeating to friends and family, "She just gets it." There were times I was almost embarrassed by how much I was gushing about enjoying working with her and the entire process of planning. She provided us with perfect-match vendors, shaped a reasonable budget and negotiated with pricier vendors, she kept me calm and allowed me to let go of unnecessary traditions or elements that really weren't needed, and she was consistently very attentive to questions. Our wedding day was truly without a hitch, with all of the important elements in place. It was a dream day beyond our expectations, from which we are still reeling months later. Now that it is over I miss commiserating with her. I always heard that the planning process is very stressful. It doesn't have to be. Courtney and her team will see to that.

understanding why everyone was telling us we had to have a planner. The final ‘push’ was that our venue required a day-of coordinator. So, with that said, we met with Courtney and fully disclosed our hesitation. Well, from that first meeting it was clear that Courtney would ‘enhance’ what we wanted and guide us but not take over control which was my initial concern. We did agree to a package from the beginning that was more than a day-of so we could leverage all that Courtney had to offer. This wound up being one of our best decisions. Courtney was easy to work with and east to get in touch with. She responded to texts and emails quickly and met with us when/where we needed. She was fully of great recommendations for vendors and advise on how to pick them. She met with us and the florist and had some great suggestions which we took advantage of. She provided us with an overall timeline of what needed to be done when, and periodically checked in to make sure that we were making the progress we needed and staying on top of the key items. I never felt ‘pushed’ by Courtney and looked forward to her reaching out and checking in on things. As the day of our wedding got closer we were more in touch with dozens of little details that we did not know would come up. She was always ahead of things and we always had such great energy, support and enthusiasm when we interacted with her! We got to the point where I was very glad that for the actual day we would have Courtney there to keep an eye on everything and everyone and was completely comfortable that she would make sure we had the day we wanted and planned for. This was a huge acknowledgement for us and a huge relief! On the day before the wedding she was there to gather all of our ‘stuff’ and do a final walkthrough with everyone so that everyone was clear on who needed to be where and when. It was time to step back and let Courtney do her thing. And she did, wonderfully! Our wedding was a wonderful day and ran beautifully. Courtney and her team at ATE took care of everything as they promised and we enjoyed the full day. There was no craziness, no meltdown, no drama, and if there was anything that didn’t work out as expected, we did not know about it because Courtney and her team were on top of it. In short, if you’re considering a wedding planner…do it. And if you need to know who, definitely choose Courtney and the team at ATE and you’ll be in excellent hands. Thank you Courtney for being a part of our special day; and for making sure that all the work and planning came together without a hitch.

he first things I said to my new wife was, "I can't believe we won't be talking with Courtney every week anymore!" We found Courtney when we searched specifically for someone whose website (or online persona, if you will) demonstrated inclusivity for weddings between same-sex couples. We didn't want to give our business to someone who hadn't yet updated their marketing to reflect marriage equality (and it's hard to believe but even in Los Angeles this proved difficult). It was clear during our first phone date with Courtney that her inclusivity wasn't just good business sense; it was reflective of her value system, too. But this is just one of a hundred reasons why you should consider partnering with Courtney. Here are the other reasons: she has VAST knowledge and experience of all things weddings. She's organized, responsive (her responsiveness/availability continually amazed me), professional, creative, thoughtful, fun, punctual... she's REAL. And she gives it to you real. When you ask for her honest opinion, she gives it to you (my experience is that some vendors tell you want they think you want to hear or they sugarcoat topics/ideas/feedback because they don't know how to be honest/straightforward in difficult conversations). She has an unbelievable amount of resources and an extensive pool of relationships with outstanding vendors (several with whom we partnered). I'll also add that our wedding was a little bit non-traditional because we had a ton of stations and activities for our guests and all this required a ton of setup and breakdown on Courtney and her team's part. It was flawless, people. Flawless. I'm also willing to bet there are a TON of things Courtney did to ensure an amazing day for us -- things I'm not aware of. Our wedding venue (ceremony and reception) was a blank slate -- it came with zero services so we had to find and hire for every single service. This required a lot of coordination on Courtney's part. Again, it was all completely smooth and downright perfect. Without question, Courtney far and away exceeded our expectations. Thank you, Courtney! We miss you!

ill receiving compliments from our friends and family - it was the most fun wedding they had been to in years! Courtney is this great combination of down-to-Earth and laid-back, yet very responsive and detail oriented. We hired her for partial planning, less than a year before our date. She did a great job of helping us prioritize how to spend our $$$, and she made sure we didn’t sweat the small stuff. She always presented vendor options and helped us narrow them down to who would suit us best. She kept our stress level low. About a week before The Big Day, we heard from our officiant that he would not be able to participate in our ceremony. I called Courtney late at night in a pretty anxious state. Thanks to her awesome network, we were connected with new officiant (whom we loved!) the next morning. No sweat. Our ATE package also included day-of coordination. Courtney and her team were great. Everything went smoothly. Our families only had to worry about showing up on time and enjoying the evening! The ATE team literally even packed my parents’ car with everything that had to be taken home. My parents were able to dance all the way through the last song and then they just had to drive off! Courtney is truly fantastic. Exactly what you should look for in a planner. Thanks again, Courtney! Much love, Amy & Bryan

he first things I said to my new wife was, "I can't believe we won't be talking with Courtney every week anymore!" We found Courtney when we searched specifically for someone whose website (or online persona, if you will) demonstrated inclusivity for weddings between same-sex couples. We didn't want to give our business to someone who hadn't yet updated their marketing to reflect marriage equality (and it's hard to believe but even in Los Angeles this proved difficult). It was clear during our first phone date with Courtney that her inclusivity wasn't just good business sense; it was reflective of her value system, too. But this is just one of a hundred reasons why you should consider partnering with Courtney. Here are the other reasons: she has VAST knowledge and experience of all things weddings. She's organized, responsive (her responsiveness/availability continually amazed me), professional, creative, thoughtful, fun, punctual... she's REAL. And she gives it to you real. When you ask for her honest opinion, she gives it to you (my experience is that some vendors tell you want they think you want to hear or they sugarcoat topics/ideas/feedback because they don't know how to be honest/straightforward in difficult conversations). She has an unbelievable amount of resources and an extensive pool of relationships with outstanding vendors (several with whom we partnered). I'll also add that our wedding was a little bit non-traditional because we had a ton of stations and activities for our guests and all this required a ton of setup and breakdown on Courtney and her team's part. It was flawless, people. Flawless. I'm also willing to bet there are a TON of things Courtney did to ensure an amazing day for us -- things I'm not aware of. Our wedding venue (ceremony and reception) was a blank slate -- it came with zero services so we had to find and hire for every single service. This required a lot of coordination on Courtney's part. Again, it was all completely smooth and downright perfect. Without question, Courtney far and away exceeded our expectations. Thank you, Courtney! We miss you!

und logistics. We interviewed several wedding planners and Courtney’s personality seemed perfect for the job. She knew when to flexible when we were balancing multiple, sometimes conflicting needs but was also assertive in working with vendors, family members, and guests. She recommended excellent vendors that she had experience working with but also developed good working relationships with some of the new vendors we hired. She was very responsive, always answering emails within 24 hours, and gave us the extra “push” that we needed in finalizing the last minute details. On the day of, she and her team (including Ashley and Erin) did an incredible job of keeping everything on schedule and running so smoothly that we never had to really think about timing or transitioning between different components of the event. Courtney was also very professional in dealing with the multiple “personalities” that exist in our families and everyone left the event feeling thrilled with how well it went. It was only the next day that we started to think through all of the details that magically worked out, and realized that it wasn’t magic at all but rather Courtney and her team’s amazing work!

nd knew I had to have After the Engagement coordinate my wedding when that special day came. One of the many reasons we hired After the Engagement to assist with our wedding was having to take the guess work and research out of planning which tends to be cumbersome and unenjoyable. After the Engagement can assist you with a number of tasks such as outlining your budget and timeline to make sure you stay on track with planning, suggestions on vendors to work with - which gives you peace of mind that everyone you hire are great at what they do because After the Engagement has either had experience in working with them or knows the type of service they provide as ATE is well connected in the industry. I would say the biggest benefit of working with After the Engagement is that my husband and I had an amazing wedding day because of After the Engagement's contributions and expertise. Please do not hesitate in hiring After the Engagement! AET is simply THE BEST!!!

ceremony. My wife and I were lucky enough to have her as our planner/coordinator/boss lady of our wedding. She is literally a genius when it comes to planning a wedding. She handled any “bump” with ease but honestly, I couldn’t even tell you if there was an issue because we didn’t notice. Our wedding ceremony and reception were beyond amazing. The little details blew our minds. From the placemats she had made, to the bouquet holder she placed conveniently at our sweetheart table, to the easy access setup of the venue, it was magnificent. Everything ran smoothly, we had amazing communication between her team and our bridal party especially with the traffic that caused some guests to arrive late. I mention communication because we live in a different state than she does and for the months leading up to the ceremony, we cannot even mention a time where she did not communicate completely and openly with my wife and I. If I could do it all over again, I would hire Courtney in a heartbeat and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for someone to plan their big day. As far as being “open” to all kinds of relationships, Courtney is not only open to LGBT relationships but she is a supporter of the community and prides herself on working with vendors that also respect and honor all types of relationships. She was a pleasure to work with and is an example of a true professional. ~Melody and Natasha Dockery-Chleva

e which is a rare find in the wedding world. I am email dependent and it was nice to know I could drop her a note and she would respond very quickly. She is quick to supply ideas, offer tips and calm the nerves. On the day of our wedding, Courtney and her team were so great. We encountered quite a few hurdles with the venue and she was able to navigate them. In fact, we felt so comfortable with the ATE team, we just let them make a lot of the judgement calls. She was able to serve as a great advocate for us and we were so appreciative. My dad even thanked her in the welcome toast. If you're looking for an organized, flexible and responsive wedding coordinator, then Courtney is the one. Not to mention Briana and Ashley, members of the ATE team, were so helpful in getting everything organized on our wedding day. The wedding was beautiful, the party was awesome and we have the After the Engagement team to thank for that.

l be too!!

was perfect. She is super easy to get along with and takes her job very seriously. I highly recommend 'After the Engagement' wedding planning!!

quick solution and helped me stay on schedule, on budget and cool, calm and collected the day of. I told her I was going to hire her as my life coordinator!

sed and they were amazing too) and really helped keep the wedding planning stress at bay. I can't say enough great things about Courtney and her team. She made planning my wedding fun and a lot less stressful. Everything ran on time and the way it was supposed to. Everything was organized and came out beautifully. She handled everything so we could truly enjoy our wedding and not stress (as much.:) ) She truly made my wedding the wedding of my dreams.