We truly cannot say enough good things about Jessica at Aspen & Ivy (formerly Pink Diamond Events). If you're wondering if you need a planner for your wedding, my humbly biased opi...nion is that you probably do - and you need Jessica. And this is coming from someone who considers herself to be highly organized and loves project planning (my wedding planning spreadsheet has 40 tabs, and the bridal party-facing version has 11 tabs), and yet I STILL firmly believe that partnering with Jessica was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding experience. Here's the thing: you can be incredibly detail-oriented, organized, thoughtful, and even enjoy doing it all yourself - but there's a big difference between thinking it through and pulling it all together / pulling it off. There are just always going to be things that a pro like Jessica can help you think about that you wouldn't have ever considered - and instead of kicking yourself later and obsessing over the "what-if's" and "could-have-been's", you can rest assured that Jessica will be there to kindly and gently remind you of things, consult on challenging decisions, and often just straight up take care of things and get sh*t done so you don't have to worry. A big selling point of our decision to partner with her and her team is their ability to deal with the unexpected. I've been to my fair share of weddings and though thankfully the guests often don't see these things, I'm sure any bridesmaid or bride can tell you that there is ALWAYS something unexpected that crops up last minute. Personally, I didn't want to be the one to have to deal with last-minute would-be mini (or big) catastrophes like rampaging drunk uncles, dropped wedding cake, broken heels, forgotten speeches, vendors running late, missing jewelry, etc. etc. And thankfully, we didn't experience any of those issues because we had Jessica keenly looking out for us and proactively preventing any issues (and if she did deal with issues day-of, then I was blissfully unaware).
The BEST gift we got on the day of our wedding was the ability, time, and mental space to be fully present and mindful during the entire thing - to enjoy every moment and truly let it all sink in. Everyone says the day will flash by in a blink, but to us, it was gleefully long, and we have solid memories of so many once-in-a-lifetime moments. And a big part of why that happened was because Jessica and her team were seamlessly and skillfully steering the ship; we never had to wonder or worry what was going on, if we were on time, where we were supposed to be, or what was supposed to happen next because they let us happily glide through the day while they took care of so much. Jessica is incredibly kind, knowledgable, and compassionate. Her expertise is solid, her communication style is thorough, she's detail-oriented, and she has the most amazingly calming presence that brings an stress-free element to the entire experience.