An Event Less Ordinary

n capable hands. If you are waffling over whether or not you should hire a planner, I am here to tell you: yes. And that you should hire AELO. One of the things that I found stressful about wedding planning was that every big decision came with 1,000 micro-decisions. It’s overwhelming and difficult to keep track of, and there are so many little details that you’re like “wait, but who takes care of this?” CAROLYN DOES! She is organized and easy to work with. She is honest, affirming, fun, and brings a confident, calming energy to a time that can be chaotic, emotional, stressful, and overwhelming. Working with AELO made it possible for me to just have fun on my wedding day! Everything felt smooth, even when something went a little off the rails (like the almost impossible challenge of bustling my dress… Carolyn & her assistant were right there with my MOH, hooking buttons and keeping everyone from freaking out). She made sure I ate and stayed hydrated. She rolled with last-minute oops we forgot to tell you about this changes. I had pretty much no pre-wedding jitters because I knew Carolyn and her team were in my corner, overseeing all these moving parts. Also my other vendors love her and love working with her, which is great because you just know everyone is having fun and doing their best to make your day amazing. I can’t imagine what our wedding would have been like without Carolyn and AELO. I don’t WANT to imagine it. I can’t stress enough how vital AELO was to making my wedding the best day of my life. A joy to work with, great communicators, and just straight up good people.

go unnoticed. Our day really came to life through their hard work, and my husband and I both feel strongly that AELO went above and beyond for us. They helped keep everyone on a schedule, remained positive and organized throughout the entire day, and always reminded us that there were no "stupid questions". Plus, they’re just really cool, down-to-earth people and we love that! Carolyn and Sierra set up all of our decorations flawlessly, made sure we saw our venue setup prior to guests filing in, and Carolyn packed up our car at the end of the night! These were wonderful additions to our contract and simply above and beyond what we expected from AELO. Their team was an integral part of making our day truly memorable and we cannot thank them enough for being a part of it. Signing with AELO for our wedding coordination was one of the best decisions we made, and we'd recommend this company to anyone!

e upmost confidence that everything would be handled successfully. I highly recommend An Event Less Ordinary for all your wedding coordinator needs.

line and communicated with our vendors to make sure everyone knew exactly what to do, and that helped us to be present and enjoy the most incredible day of our lives! If you’re on the fence about a day of coordinator, let this review push you to the other side. Best investment for our wedding day.

we could not have asked for anyone better to guide us on an almost 2 year journey into the chaos and beauty that was wedding planning. She listened to our ideas, concerns, confusion, and worries, reassuring us the whole time, supporting all of our wishes, hopes, and dreams, recommending vendors who were amazing fits and beautiful people themselves, and kept everything organized and ahead of schedule. She is warm, funny, and so so so kind! When Carolyn took over for the final few months and day of, we missed Amy immediately - though that is not a dig on Carolyn at all (more soon), but rather a testament to how much joy we got from working with Amy. And Carolyn is a hilarious force, perfectly suited to the task of coordination and final details; she got our vendors and families in line, kept everything running so smoothly, took care of things we didn't think of (and we're sure things we didn't know about on the day - thanks for sparing us some anxiety), and was the very best wedding boss for us. She has an easy authority that makes you want to listen to her, and then stick around to hang out with her - a hallmark of AELO, and definitely of Amy, Carolyn, and Madie (another amazing day-of coordinating assistant). Carolyn and Madie were somehow everywhere at once, wrangling people for photos, getting everything and everyone where they needed to be, and putting us at ease all day; and we were lucky enough to have Amy along for a bit during the day too, so naturally everything was PERFECT in their 6 capable hands. Work with AELO for anything you can, you will be so much happier after working with them - not only because of how much heart and thought they put into making sure every detail is just right for every unique situation, but also just because they are amazing people to get to know and to spend time with. They were far and away the best decision we made for our wedding and we only wish we could marry again to do it all over!

y so we could concentrate on enjoying it :) Would 10/10 recommend!

ommend working with this team of professionals.

. We can't recommend them enough!

nd happy that we went with An Event Less Ordinary. Carolyn really helped make sure we had the wedding of our dreams.

hey brought before and during our event. Lauren's expertise was exactly what we needed to tie the knot without any headaches or concerns. Her kindness, compassion, and professionalism were above and beyond anything we could have imagined. At any moment, we felt comfortable and fulfilled by any needs that were brought up. We could not recommend AELO and the team more for your event. The partnership we shared in crafting this wedding was really what made the event go from good to great. There is nobody else we would rather recommend than AELO for your wedding needs.

gig but was not a professional. However once we spoke with AELO and they worked with our budget, vision, and timeline, we knew we couldn't go with anyone else. We worked with Lauren, who was just fantastic. She was extremely detail oriented, kept up with vendor communications, and really made sure we had nothing to worry about on our wedding day. My fiance and I agree that hiring AELO and having Lauren as our DOC was one of the best decisions we made throughout our entire planning process. Thank you Lauren!!!

ized for a wedding. AELO came and saved the day! Carolyn has so much passion for her work and experience in the field, it was so easy to trust our wedding to her/her team! She took away allllllll of the stress possible in the week leading up/the day of the wedding with communicating with all of our vendors and handling the schedule/timing of everything. We are so grateful!!!

and doing so during a year when we were so busy with intense jobs and traveling for other peoples' weddings that often the planning of our own felt overwhelming. In the last few months leading up to our wedding, Lauren helped us stay organized, assisted with vendor communications, reduced our stress, coordinated a venue walkthrough with our vendors that worked within our extremely limited availability, and ran our wedding day so beautifully that we never had to worry about a thing, and it was a perfect day. Even with the challenges of us having our ceremony and reception in two different locations, and one of those locations being a public outdoor space, it all came together seamlessly and everyone had a blast. Lauren is so on top of things, so experienced, so thoughtful, and a delight to work with! We're super grateful for all her help. We felt such relief in the knowledge that we were in great hands with AELO every step of the way.

us and say "I'll handle this" or "don't worry about this, I've got it." And then her and her assistant did just that. Small things, big things, they handled it so my wife and I could enjoy ourselves. And not things we had to ask of them. They would just do it or when someone else would ask us questions, she would step in and say "we'll take care of it." From the very outset, she showed she was competent and experienced and we immediately trusted her. Lastly, the price point for An Event Less Ordinary was significantly lower than other vendors and worth every penny. If you are planning your wedding and considering a coordinator, first do it and second, you could NOT do better than Carolyn and her staff. We could only give five stars but they deserve even better. First class all around.

that could not have been more perfect and more us. They know all the best vendors in Chicago and are prompt communicators, sympathetic and charming, and super flexible. We ended up needing a monthly video call on top of routine emails to stay on track, and they were more than willing to accommodate us. In fact, we felt like both Amy and Carolyn were more like friends than folks we'd hired by the end of things. I couldn't recommend wedding planners in general enough, for sanity's sake, but Carolyn and Amy in particular are incredible. You won't regret hiring them.

hired AELO for part of our day to help with setup, the ceremony, and teardown. It was exactly what we needed. Brittany was very communicative and made our wedding look beautiful. Carolyn got everything cleaned up in a very timely fashion. Highly recommend AELO for any couple with any budget.

ured that we had all of the little things covered, but she even went above and beyond to coordinate things directly with our various vendors. Hiring Brittany turned what could have been an extremely stressful few weeks leading up to the wedding, into stress-free weeks. She had everything covered and we knew it. On the day of the wedding she was at the venue early, working with our vendors to ensure things went smoothly. We cannot state enough how good of an idea it was to hire Event Less Ordinary -- if we had to do it all over again, hiring them would be a no-brainer.

day, and they were able to find ways to make it all happen. They were able to connect us to vendors we loved and fit in our budget, they kept us on track with our to-dos, and the week-of and day-of coordination was amazing. I can't recommend AELO enough! Thanks, gals!

ake it to the venue and back and she took care of everything. If you are planning your own wedding, do yourself a big favor and hire AELO so that you can actually enjoy the big day you've been working so hard to plan. Kaitlin and her assistant Maddie were so professional all day and had everything working like clockwork!!

arolyn and Kaitlin was an absolute dream. They kept us on track, were always transparent with their processes, and were pros at anticipating all of our needs and anything that might come up. They take all of their expertise to guide all aspects of the wedding, from vendors to schedules to wedding parties to timing to EVERYTHING. Being able to completely focus on having fun and enjoying the experience of the day without having to even imagine worst case scenarios was amazing. Carolyn and Kaitlin from AELO met with us to create our wedding day schedule, communicated with all of our vendors, dealt with all of the legal contracts and permits and all of that stuff I still don't know much about, all in the weeks leading up to it. It's all work you'd have to do yourself otherwise and it was such a load off during those last few hectic weeks. Hiring them to plan your whole wedding from start to finish must be nirvana. Do it!

oriented, kind, and helpful. All of the spaces looked absolutely fantastic and their organization allowed the day to be perfect! Everyone had an absolute blast! Rachel was our main contact and she responded very quickly via email and text which was incredibly helpful.

for a planner with good reviews but within budget we came across AELO. We were paired with planner Rachel Belk to help with day-of-planning which also included help the month leading up to the wedding. We were planning from out-of-town so Rachel accommodated us with phone calls and FaceTime. Rachel is a fantastic communicator and made sure that every detail was perfect! Rachel made sure that all the vendors were coordinated and that everyone was where they needed to be each moment of the evening. We cannot thank AELO and Rachel enough for seamless coordination of our wedding day!

itional help planning certain aspects of the wedding, the biggest of which was our rehearsal dinner. Our idea was complicated, and Amy and Carolyn perfectly coordinated five food vendors and a venue. I already felt confident in things going well on the wedding day, and the success of the rehearsal dinner only reinforced that feeling. On our wedding day, Carolyn and her assistant perfectly orchestrated everything. Guests transported from two hotels arrived on time and comfortable. The venue, the tables, the chairs, and the decorations were all squared away before anyone arrived. Ceremony went exactly as rehearsed. Bride and groom gracefully whisked away for a moment alone -- and a waiting drink -- before staged photos. Room flip and photo booth setup all done while our guests were enjoying cocktail hour in the bar. Buffet dinner service right on time with full plates delivered to us at the head table. (And at my explicit request, Carolyn made sure I hydrated between glass of beer and whisky. EL OH EL!) Truly everything went as scheduled and planned, and many of our guests said it was the best wedding they'd ever attended. We absolutely could not have done this without AELO. If you need a coordinator or a planner (partial or full), book An Event Less Ordinary as soon as you can.

ve been happier from the very beginning. We had a couple of phone calls with Carolyn to hash out some details prior to our in person meeting. When we finally met her in person at our walk through, it felt as though we had all known each other for years! She jumped right in at our walkthrough to take details and responsibilities off of our plate. We didn’t even need to ask her- it was like she was two steps ahead of us at all times. Additionally, she also created a timeline for the day of the wedding and contacted all of our vendors as needed, which put us at ease. On the day of the rehearsal she worked so well with our church, families, and bridal party and assisted in transporting any items to the venue. On the actual day of our wedding, my wife and I couldn’t have imagined any other person. The day of your wedding is so chaotic, but Carolyn (and her assistant) maintained a calm and welcoming, but detail-oriented presence that helped make every part of the event go incredibly smooth. She even brought a suitcase full of emergency items! Throughout the entire event, Carolyn and her assistant were always ready and willing to step in and even provided us with excellent tips on how to cut the cake together. Who would’ve thought?! Before leaving, Carolyn checked in with us one last time and handed over the reigns to her assistant. All of our cards, belongings, etc. were so neatly packaged and ready to go at the end of our night and we couldn’t have been more thankful. I wish there were 6 stars to give Carolyn and AELO because they certainly deserve it. My wife and I cannot express how grateful we are to Carolyn and the AELO team. Our wedding experience wouldn’t have been the same without you!

set. She was exactly what I didn't know I needed. She was my stress buffer. I trusted her to execute my wedding to perfection and she did. She came with an emergency bridal kit that was so comprehensive she was able to help fix my high heel that had essentially snapped off right before my ceremony, a coordinator and a cobbler. I could not recommend Carolyn more highly and with any more conviction. If you want a FANTASTIC coordinator that is super chill, detail oriented and a pretty great human, Carolyn is the way to go.

t came up on my wedding day, but I was not aware of anything that didn't go as planned and it was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Everything was taken care of and at the end of the evening when the party was over and we were walking out to our shuttle the gifts were all set and ready to go on carts to be easily transported! I would highly recommend :)

st money we spent. First of all she’s so easy to work with. We live in Philadelphia and our wedding was in Chicago. She was great about doing things over the phone or email and arranging our in-person meeting around our crazy travel schedule. She is crazy competent at her job, and really fun to work with. Living so far away, we had a lot of fears about last minute issues that we wouldn’t be able to handle, but our final walkthrough with Carolyn put our minds at ease and actually turned out to be a ton of fun. It was so great to end the stressful experience of wedding planning on a high note! Second, she did a great job organizing all of our vendors and dealing with last minute issues and questions from our crazy families. Having someone to run your rehearsal isn’t something you realize you’re going to need until you get there. It is so helpful to have someone (besides yourself) who can tell everyone where to go and what to do and to provide perspective. On the day of the wedding she arranged everything and even built, like actually built, our chuppa (no small feat, that thing was huge, and from what we can tell, lacked clear instructions). With her taking care of everything we were able to relax and enjoy the day. An Event Less Ordinary, and Carolyn in particular, were a dream to work with and turned the stressful process of wedding planning into an event that we could sit back, savor, and remember fondly for the rest of our lives. The work they do is impeccable and we honestly can’t thank Carolyn enough for all she did for us!

edding day - it is definitely worth the cost (I was resistant at first, but now I know that this is absolutely the way to go)! They'll take care of all the little details like setting up and packing up items, handing out tips to your vendors, being a contact for vendors that have questions that day, and helping you stick to your timeline. Rachel was our coordinator, and she was just wonderful to work with. She is attentive, professional, and makes you feel at ease that all will go as planned. We had a seemingly endless list of details for our wedding, but she handled everything beautifully. Really - not I nor the guests noticed a single thing go not as planned. We loved working with AELO and can't recommend them highly enough!

usly one of the best decisions I made during the planning process. We utilized partial planning and day of coordination services. From the beginning I knew I needed to delegate the things I knew nothing about which in my case was transportation issues. We needed a bus to transport all of our 45 guests between 3 different venues on the day of as well as needing to find a pedicab/rickshaw for us to ride off into the sunset in after the ceremony. Their recommendations were perfect. Spot on in price and very professional vendors to work with. Everything ran seamlessly and perfect on the day of. We were having a small wedding but it was very important to me it remained classy and not some shabby chic nightmare. It was beautiful! Venues were decorated exactly how I envisioned them and then some. We ran totally on schedule. And best of all no one from either family or any of our friends had to lift a finger. Usually in small weddings you have to rely on people helping, well not with Amy and her crew there you don't! I simply can't say enough about how excellent it was to work with AELO. If you are thinking of hiring help for your wedding, look no more! Seriously you won't regret it! Worth every penny! Thank you Amy and crew for making our day perfect in every way!

options. We set up a meeting and instantly felt comfortable with going with them. Amy was helpful as we initially met a few months before the wedding and then once again a few weeks before the date to go through our timeline for the wedding. It was nice to have her handle the vendors the week leading up to the wedding and she helped a lot on the day of to make sure things moved smoothly. I'd recommend them if you're looking for a good value for a day of coordinator.

e needed instead of charging us for services we didn't want. We made a lot of choices that didn't fit the conventions of a mainstream U.S. American wedding, and Amy was not only nonjudgmental but supportive. Amy helped us find a photographer, a hotel for our guests, and a hair stylist/make-up artist. It took a huge load off our planning workload to not have to research these vendors ourselves, and Amy was patient in answering our questions about what was reasonable to expect and handled a lot of the inquiries with prospective vendors prior to the final contract signing. We ended up getting a spectacular deal on the hotel room block. I also really appreciated her help with finding a make-up artist and hair stylist, as there were a lot of items to negotiate for the package, and having Amy handle most of the communications took much of the stress out of the process. The day of the wedding proceeded remarkably smoothly; whenever I thought of something that needed to be figured out, I would find that it had already been taken care of. I highly recommend An Event Less Ordinary for anyone who requires wedding coordination services in the Chicago area!

ding, and couldn't have been more clueless when it came to the smallest details. An Event Less Ordinary took care of us, we had a beautiful wedding day. Man...I wish we could do it all again!

y with guests traveling from all over the country. After meeting with Amy and Carolyn we knew immediately that no one else could provide us with their level of service and attention to detail. From that point on, our planning was seamless and both girls were instrumental in every aspect of our big day. From big items like vendor selection all the way to the smaller details like place cards and table numbers, the girls at AELO handled every request and delivered beautiful results. Every vendor arrived at our wedding prepared and briefed on the details and our day was absolutely seamless. We didn't worry or stress because we knew that Amy and Carolyn were on top of every detail of our complicated wedding. My wife and I were able to enjoy every detail that we spent over a year planning because of AELO.

g and working with the venue, catering company, florist, dj, etc.; however, the ladies at AELO worked with us every step of the way and we are so thankful for their hard work (and willingness to have many Skype conversations). Under their guidance, we knew exactly what we needed to do on our end of things and they took care of the rest--as easy as that. As cliche as it sounds, our wedding day really was perfect. We had Amy as our on-site coordinator and she was very professional and very well-prepared (and actually seemed to really love her job, which is always good). In the days following the wedding, we received many compliments from guests about how much fun they had, how beautiful everything looked, and how the evening transitioned so seamlessly. Definitely a testament to excellent wedding planning! On a side note, and equally important, we had some reservations about working with different vendors because we're a gay couple (some folks weren't so thrilled, believe me). It was very meaningful to us that we were treated with the utmost respect and sincerity by Amy, and it is very apparent that AELO enjoys working with any and all couples. We can't say thank you enough.

friend essentially yelled DUH! and encouraged me to check out her & Amy's services. I wasn't looking for a full day-of coordinator, I just knew I needed HELP. I had been to very few weddings and had a lot of anxiety about forgetting something or panic of something not showing up day-of. I was looking for set up, ceremony running, and someone to flip my chairs from outside the ceremony to inside to the reception room. Carolyn worked with me and created a custom plan to cover just that. She came over 2 weeks before the wedding and outlined the timeline with us- even the timeline through the reception which she wouldn't be working. When she left our apartment I felt like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders and all my questions had been answered. We had a plan. One week before the wedding she came and picked up ALL my decor and magically fit it into her tiny car. I had a LOT (or, I felt like it.) We purchased all our own vintage plates, had individual records for "chargers", tons of books...I'm talking heavy serious stuff. She didn't even bat an eye. Day of she stopped by my apartment again before going to the venue and got my flowers, balloons for my bridesmaids, and a few miscellaneous things that we had acquired in that week. I literally only had myself, my dress, and my bridal party to get to the ceremony. On top of that she alerted us that our table rental company wasn't planning on setting up the tables and chairs themselves- only dropping them off. She told me they wanted to charge $1.50/ea which was outrageous, and offered to do it for us, just because. She truly went above and beyond. Everything was set up perfectly upon my arrival. A few finishing touches and adjustments made it such an easy transition between arriving at our place of marriage and getting married. She greeted myself and my husband directly after the ceremony with glasses of champagne, made sure we were okay and good to go with the rest of the evening and left. Everything was in motion and with the help of her timeline set up everything went off wonderfully. I can't stress enough how much her help made my day so much easier. I can't imagine trying to set all of that up myself plus getting ready and trying to remain sane. She's reliable, smart, hard working and reasonably priced. HIRE THEM! :)

ht of. They were there the day of, which kept everything moving perfectly. Great value, great service, overall really positive, upbeat, and friendly ladies. Could not recommend them more.

o day-of coordination. As the groom and I discussed things, we both decided we'd be happier if we just handed over planning. And wow, we will never regret that decision: one of the best we made. AELO helped us find our caterer, our DJ, our "florist" and worked with all of these people to help me avoid any stress. The look and feel of the day was enhanced by them (it was their idea to do air plants instead of flowers and I LOVED and still LOVE that we did this). And I truly had very little stress as my party approached. Day of - I worried about nothing and showed up at a fully decorated and organized venue. They packed all of the favors, picked up all of the "floral arrangements" and worked with the caterer. During the event, they brought me food and drinks as the night progressed and packed all the gifts/cards into my father-in-laws car for us. To top this off, they are just so much fun - laid back but also super organized. Like gals I'd want to be my besties. Can't recommend highly enough.

was handling. Carolyn impressively ran our rehearsal, transported box after box of our décor, arranged it beautifully, and had it packed up in my parents' car by the night's end. She also worked EXTREMELY well under the tight set-up/tear down times of our venue. Her coordination with the other vendors kept our wedding on schedule. She was even able to corral my boisterous little brother after he snuck behind the bar and tried to play bartender. She also hooked us up with a last minute videographer. Carolyn is a hardworking lady with a great can-do attitude. I know if there were any snafus she found a way to fix them. I can't say enough great things. Thank you so much for making our wedding day so special!

urch after some of the guests arrived, their team did an amazing job! They successfully dealt with the flower shop, quickly organizing the flowers when they did arrive, and helped calm me down and see that in perspective to what was happening that day, the flowers being late was just a little blip. It's easy to overreact when emotions are running high, and they helped to keep my grounded. I also did not have to worry at all about the reception hall being ready, since AELO took care of making sure everything was in place before guests arrived. Overall, AELO was the biggest help on my wedding day, and I know it would not have gone so smoothly without them! If anyone ever asks me if I used or know a wedding planner, I wholeheartedly tell them how amazing these ladies are at their jobs!

iceless. I tell people all the time that some of the best money we spent was on An Event Less Ordinary. They took care of checking in vendors, setting up our DIY projects, making sure the timeline went as planned the day-of, tipping vendors, collecting the things I needed back...they were great. They ensure that you experience your wedding day and never sweat the small stuff. Love these ladies.

ork with. We felt very comfortable leaving things in their capable hands so we could enjoy our day worry-free. I would recommend them to any bride and groom!

rs to coordinate things (and taking them away from the party) so having Carolyn as our "day-of" coordinator was the best decision we made. She took care of everything - the schedule/timeline for the day, getting things from place to place (gifts, guest book, booze, leftovers, flowers, etc) and she even made sure we each always had a drink in our hands throughout the night. She helped us find a videographer at the last minute (who was amazing) got our overnight bags to the reception, and generally took care of every detail that we didn't have to see because we were too busy having a great time at our wedding. She even found my reception shoes, which somehow got left behind at the church, and brought them to the reception. She was a complete pro at everything and I'd recommend An Event Less Ordinary for ANYONE who wants wedding planning or day-of services. They are a real gift to the bride and groom.