Big City Bride

dors in Chicago. We have enjoyed every single vendor we worked with, and they all went above and beyond. Every detail was thought of, and Johnna did an amazing job being the liaison between us and the vendors. She made sure that we were getting the best bang for our buck, and make sure that no money of ours was being put into something that wasn’t necessary. This allowed us to add additional fun things to our vendor packages, without going over our budget. All of the stressful and generally not “fun” things to deal with in a wedding (such as contracts and the fine print details) were dealt with ease because of Johnna. Specifically, we had our initial wedding planned for 2021, when we decided to push it back to 2022 due to restrictions on international travel (we have a lot of family and friends abroad). Johnna beautifully navigated contracts and vendors so we didn’t lose any money/deposits when we changed our date. Having Johnna took so much pressure off of us to deal with this process. When it came to the big day, Johnna was the most incredible planner you could imagine. She and her team made sure everything was done perfectly so my husband and I didn’t have to worry about anything and we could just enjoy the day. Some of the small things she did that made such a difference to us were, 1) carrying around my wedding heels and flip flops and making sure I switched between them when needed to keep my feet fresh (by my request!), 2) fixing a bridesmaid dress BEAUTIFULLY when it broke before the ceremony 3) coordinating all of the vendors so none of them had to bother my husband or I during the day 4) making sure we had staff that reminded us to eat and drink throughout the day. In all, she was an absolute delight to work with. She was incredibly professional, friendly, caring, and made us feel so special throughout the process. We would HIGHLY recommend Johnna and BCB to anyone who is planning a wedding. They plan the best weddings!

phone consultation to post-wedding follow up, Arin poured her heart and soul into making all of my wedding dreams come true. She has spent many years becoming an absolute expert in the wedding and event industry, while simultaneously maintaining a fun, positive and innovative approach to planning a wedding that will be perfect for you! Not only could I rely on Arin's well-informed professional opinion, but I could also trust that she would joyfully encourage, support and ensure that any vision I had for the wedding was brought to life. Her communication skills are unmatched-prompt, respectful and comforting. She is patient, thoughtful, reliable and extremely smart. Weddings come with many emotions; Arin graciously helped my family navigate through each and every complex situation with ease. On our wedding day, the mesh material of my "backless dress" completely ripped, while we were leaving our photos-requiring multiple people to hold it together! Never once did I panic or even cry, because immediately, I had my entire bridal party calling Arin. I knew I could trust her to find a solution, no matter what challenge the day presented. She kept me calm, smiling and even bustled my dress while it was being sewn back together. To this day, only a handful of wedding guests even know it happened-A MIRACLE- that I attribute to Arin and her incredible team of assistants!!! If you are getting married in Chicago-truly, look no further than Big City Bride. They are the BEST of the BEST! I feel lucky to call Arin much more than my wedding planner, but now a very dear friend.

ilies, and all of our guests to have an amazing time without a worry in the world. From the months leading up to the wedding they were incredibly attentive and helpful with bringing all of my dreams to life. All of my friends and family were shocked at how relaxed and calm I was leading up to the wedding day, and that was 100% because of Johnna and Arin. I felt like all I needed to focus on was getting excited because all of the logistics were completely taken care of. Come the big day, Johnna was a superhero - I didn't worry about a single thing all day long and she took care of absolutely everything with the biggest smile on her face and the kindest attitude the whole time. I am forever grateful to them for all of their hard work, and would one million percent recommend them to anyone planning a wedding. They are hands down the best (and sweetest!!) in the business!!!

me such a "chill bride" the month leading up to the wedding. That is all thanks to Kayla. She made everything seamless, and took so much off of my plate. My wedding day was absolute perfection. She was there at every turn to make sure everything happened at the exact time it was supposed to and in the exact way it was supposed to happen. She dealt with all the vendors, the last minute details, and just was so amazing to work with. I'm so sad my wedding is over because I don't get to talk to her everyday. Do not walk, RUN to Big City Bride and have all of your wedding dreams come true with ZERO stress. Cannot recommend this company enough. Ugh, I'm going to have another wedding just so I can work with them, and Kayla, again. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

s, and also gave her opinion on how to get something done. Our wedding could not have gone more perfect with her coordinating everything. We were at the Drake Hotel downtown where both the ceremony and reception were held in the Gold Coast Ballroom. She was a dream come true and couldn't have asked for a better wedding planner. I highly recommend Big City Brides because I felt like they have worked with so many venues and vendors to put together a great wedding! I wish our wedding could have lasted longer but knowing i was in good hands with Claire made it more enjoyable and not stressful. Thank you Claire for everything :)

, so that you can just enjoy the wedding weekend. There are so many more details than you could ever imagine, but Arin / Big City Bride are pros and will make sure everything runs smoothly. Arin is so positive, upbeat, and patient. She has great relationships with so many vendors around Chicago, which is invaluable. They are definitely the best in the business!

ith my then-fiancé and Johnna. Happy Wife, Happy Life. The call proved to be extremely helpful. We explained where we were in the planning process, which vendors we had secured, what big picture items remained, what style and ‘feel’ we wanted our wedding to capture, etc. Then came Johnna’s expertise with a slew of excellent questioning on details we hadn’t thought of. Clearly very important items that she had been through a time or two, but ones we totally would have missed without her insight. Johnna went on to explain which planning package she felt would work best given our current situation. No pushy gold-plated sales act. She laid out a realistic package that she felt we would benefit from, which we immediately appreciated knowing full well everything in the wedding world seems to cost 2X what ‘normal’ might be. It was from that point forward our wedding was in fantastic hands. Fast forward to the night of our rehearsal. Without Johnna, I can assure you we would have had about 30 people just standing around not knowing what to do. Johnna immediately took charge, introduced herself and got the ball rolling. Who goes where, when to walk, how to hold your flowers, how to not look stupid (directed at the guys), etc. etc. etc. The process was made so much easier and completed in about 40 minutes. At the conclusion, she distributed a schedule to each member of the bridal party. Everyone felt much more comfortable about the plan and the events of the following day. Now keep in mind, our wedding was scheduled for 12/31/21, which (lucky us) turned out to be peak covid-variant-raging-through-the-world times. Not much we could do at that point, so we just rolled with the punches. Constant guest drops, table seating changes and meal-tracking nightmares were just a few of the perks due to the times. Stress levels were high on our side of the table, but Johnna was cool as a cucumber. She took the changes like a champ and worked with our venue and vendors to address. Never once phased by the craziness. Cue our Wedding Day. Johnna was full of energy and kept the wild animals (bridal party) in line. Whether it was due to stress, lack of food and water, a surprise stomach bug, or a combination of all three, my bride-to-be was a bit under the weather much of the day. This is when Johnna stepped in and truly went above and beyond. Our bridal party photos and first look ended about 2 hours prior to the ceremony, so we came back to a quiet bridal suite tucked in a secret room within the venue. It was there where Johnna had laid out some ginger ale, water, chips, bread; anything to help the fearless bride tackle this bug. She continually asked what more she could do or obtain to help her feel better. In the end, the ceremony and reception went off without a hitch. Johnna kept to our schedule for additional photo ops and NYE gear distribution, which was much appreciated as the night flew by! We could not be more appreciative of the support Johnna provided during the initial planning stages, days leading up to the wedding, the wedding itself, and speedbumps along the way. The comfort she provided made the entire process so much easier and we would highly recommend her services to anyone!

n! The wedding was everything my daughter dreamed of and more! Our family is a repeat client of Chrissy's. She planned a wedding for our family 6 years ago and truly we would never have considered a different planner- you cannot get better than Chrissy! Every detail was executed to perfection! From her idea to personalize the linen napkins at the head table for a keepsake for the bride and groom to the personalized donut boxes as guests left -nothing was left to chance-thanks to Chrissy. Beyond all her planning skills Chrissy is a kind, calm, fun, and happy person. I always looked to her for a smile and a laugh . Our family considers her a family friend after planning our daughter's weddings!

ed working with Chrissy in 2018, with an intended wedding date of Fall 2020. As you can imagine, things didn’t quite go as originally planned. Chrissy guided us through the entire wedding planning process – and then re-planning process as we had to shift the wedding weekend to a year later in 2021 – with more grace, patience, and kindness than we could have ever imagined or asked for. Chrissy held our hands through every tough decision along the way, set us up with vendors that exceeded our wildest expectations, and helped us navigate all the added complications caused by the pandemic. Our entire wedding weekend went like clockwork, with every last detail perfectly handled and directed by Chrissy and company. If a single thing went wrong, we had no idea! We truly could not be more grateful to her and everyone else at Big City Bride. It felt like we got to work with a dear friend for our wedding planning, and we already miss having our regular calls with Chrissy! If you’re looking for a wedding planner, do not hesitate to work with Big City Bride. They are truly too amazing for words!

dule and provided so much incredible advice/insight during the process. She is organized, confident and just a delightful person to work with. Her darling personality has earned her an awesome list of vendors and contacts that work with her, which is why we had an A+ team of vendors for our wedding. I cannot sing Arin's praises enough. She was the reason our wedding was so perfect. Thank you so much to Arin and BCB!

her job and does it so well. That exactly what you need when planning a wedding! She was really incredible, we never had to worry about anything!! People would ask if I was stressed about the wedding and I really never was because I knew she had it all under control, my daughter and I never had to worry about anything, she knew the right questions to ask in the beginning of the planning process to the day of the wedding, she knew what we wanted and how we wanted it and she made that happen. Her expertise and bubbly personality made this experience so pleasurable. Thank you again Claire!

at ease. And after a very smooth transition, we continued and finished planning with Johnna. Johnna was, quite simply, the best. I wrote to her afterwards that it felt like she was "one of us." She made the day flow effortlessly; we didn't need to worry about a thing. Johnna was personable, detail-oriented, calming, and overall a wonder. We're so glad we used BCB's services and so grateful to have had Johnna on our team.

anning process! Words can't describe how thankful we were to have her on our side. We couldn't recommend her and Big City Bride enough!

with us - truly, we don't know how she juggles it all so effortlessly! She understood our vision down to the very last detail and executed it flawlessly, even recommending ideas we never would've thought of that helped make our day even more special. The selection of vendors BCB recommends is incredible -- everyone is so professional, easy to work with and they all provided quality, beautiful work leading up to and on our wedding day. We're still receiving comments like, "We had the most fun ever at your wedding!" and "The whole weekend felt so genuine, was well thought through and beautiful!" and we know Claire and BCB are owed the credit for these wonderful compliments. We're so thankful and feel so lucky to have worked with Claire! We're coming away with not only the wedding of our dreams, but also a great friend that we plan to stay connected to for years to come.

with recommendations, finalized all the details allowing me to be completely worry free on my wedding day. I could not be any happier with the work of the entire BCB group - they were absolutely fantastic and the event was completely perfect (and well worth the wait)!

wouldn't have been half as great without her help! Not only did she guide us through every step of the planning process from site visits to vendor bids to budgeting - she really cared about understanding my vision and bringing it to life. At times I swear she knew what i wanted better than I did! She just gets it. And then came the wedding day...and WOW! Everything went flawlessly (and if it didn't, i never knew it!) and it was completely stress free thanks to her! She thought of every little detail and I'm eternally grateful. Chrissy really cares about each wedding she does with a passion, you cannot go wrong with having her as your wedding planner! Would 100% recommend her 100 times over! Thank you for everything Chrissy, we love you!

enough for that. I knew from the beginning I could put all of my trust in Johnna but I didn't know just how blessed I was to have her. She was always so punctual, friendly, encouraging, organized, and there to fully support us with any challenge that arose. But best of all is that because I could trust her so easily and place my entire wedding in her hands, my day was completely flawless (if there were flaws she took care of them so quickly and discreetly I had no idea they existed). I was fully able to enjoy 100% of my wedding day because of her!! Johnna, we do not have the words to express how deeply grateful we were to have you there for we on our wedding day!!! If you are thinking of getting a wedding planner...trust me....book with Johnna and you will NOT be disappointed! :)

ay of the wedding Arin was so helpful in coordinating to make sure all the vendors were there on time she even had a whole timeline that was laid out. I didn’t have to worry about anything as I know Arin had it under control. The whole day and night was exactly what we wanted and could not have been more perfect. Thank you big city Bride and Arin for making our dreams come true. I would highly recommend them to to anyone who is having a wedding big or small in the Chicagoland area!

a big success and memorable pleasure, taking on a lot of the stress we could have otherwise had. We worked with BCB on two weddings, one during the Covid disaster, which like for so many, caused an upheaval and stress on our 2020 plans; and the second one September 2021. My daughter and son-in-law decided not to put their lives on hold for some pesky virus and got married in church in 2020 with a small group. But with BCB's help, we pulled off a dinner, wedding cake and some limited dancing outdoors, making the day a real wedding day. Then, maneuvering through constantly changing "rules", and sad many family members dropping out due to virus-fear, BCB helped make it one of the best weddings I've had the pleasure to attend. Our planner was Arin Busch; without Arin and my daughter's positive attitude, the 2020 cancellations could have been very sad. But Arin kept checking alternatives, pursuing options, coordinating with alternate suppliers, and keeping us moving along. The result was that we had a truly memorable and great 2020 wedding. And then a few weeks ago and without a hitch, Arin took on the work of my daughter's "big wedding" including a re-enactment of the ceremony with my son "officiating", and all the traditional services . All the suppliers Arin recommended to us turned out to be great, and so much better than we could have even have hoped for. I really do not know how we could have had such two wonderful weddings so flawlessly arranged while working under big constraints of daily-changing rules. Thank you.

sions that made me feel in control and comforted in a time when no one knew what was going on. In 2020, we needed to pivot our 200 person wedding at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in the city to a 45 person wedding at a little church and restaurant in Arlington Heights. That wedding was nothing shy of perfection because my friends at Big City Bride we’re there behind the scenes making every detail shine. This year, we were able to have our big wedding at the nature museum and it was honestly the best day of my life. I didn’t think it could beat our first wedding and boy was I wrong. It was everything Arin and I had planned for 2 years. Utter perfection. I honestly don’t know where I would have been throughout all of the chaos without my husband, my mom, and my wedding planner. They were the most important people in making the most important day the best day of my life. I cannot thank Arin enough for all that she did for me. If you’re questioning getting a wedding planner- look no further. Arin from Big City Bride has got you!

tep of the planning process and was an advocate for us at every single turn. She is extremely detail oriented, organized, and so beyond dedicated to her clients. She truly cares and it shows. She literally flew across the country to meet with us before our big day! She is as genuine as they come and as sweet as can be, but also knows how to get things done. She is without a doubt the absolute best. We would 1000% recommend hiring JOHNNA from BCB ! So lucky to have had you plan our big day J. Forever grateful for you and all of your hard work ! We love you to the moon XOX

se and helped de-stress the big day with a smile. If you want to relax and enjoy your event, get BCB behind you. You won't regret it.

ys professional, creative, patient, understanding ---and truly, great listeners! They helped me to visualize how I wanted my wedding day to look, provided amazing feedback, and kept us on budget. No detail was too small. When we postponed our July 2020 wedding reception due to Covid, they worked tirelessly to move all of the scheduled vendors to 2021 and provided us with a sense of ease. Going above and beyond, Johnna and Chrissy assisted with our small backyard wedding - developing a timeline for our ceremony, helping with little details, and arranging our original florist and photographer for the day. The day could not have been better, and I am glad Johnna & Chrissy were part of it. They, however, were stuck with us for one more year :) Finally making our plans a reality - with a 2021 reception - the ladies helped me tweak our original vision (and even change the color scheme!) for the best 1st anniversary celebration we could ask for. My husband and I enjoyed the day - without stress or worry - knowing we had the best team behind the scenes. I'm emotional just thinking about it. The party was magical. The details were just perfect. To echo another reviewer here, I will forever be singing their praises. They NAILED IT. Best day ever. Hiring Big City Bride was one of the best decisions we've ever made! I cannot recommend them enough. Johnna & Chrissy, I'm forever grateful. An absolute pleasure!

like a beautiful Castle and took care of managing all the details including the rehearsal dinner and the brunch the next day. She and her staff worked tirelessly behide the scenes, making it a seamless and beautiful event for all. We can't thank you enough!

th Arin for over a year and a half. One could say that getting to chat with Arin often was the silver lining during a challenging year. Throughout the entire experience, she was truly there for me through it all. Not only did she help us choose (based on my personal style and vision) and lock-in all of our vendors from the get-go, but she also helped us reschedule those same vendors and navigate the challenging reality of postponement, acting as my cheerleader along the way. She took care of the entire process, alleviating all the stress that came with starting from, what felt like, square one. Once there was thankfully an end in sight, it was full speed ahead. Arin worked tirelessly to ensure that our postponed wedding was well worth the wait and that it was everything we always wanted it to be. Knowing that it was a priority of mine to have floral and décor that was true to my colorful, non-traditional bridal style, Arin took the extra time to work with our vendors to ensure that every detail was thoughtfully curated and exactly what I had envisioned. Not only did she prioritize what I valued most throughout each phase of planning, but she was also on-top of every tiny detail before I could even think of them. I don’t know what I would have done without her as she assisted with every aspect from invite wording and budgeting to speaking with our officiant and crafting day-of timelines. She ensured all logistics were taken care of ahead of the big day so that we could celebrate and be fully present. As if that weren’t enough, Arin ran the entire show with ease when the day finally arrived. Not only was everything breathtakingly perfect from an aesthetic and setup standpoint, but any and all hiccups that arose were taken care of before I even had a chance to notice. She even took care of bustling my dress when my bridesmaids and I couldn’t figure it out. 😊 While she worked in the background most of the day, her presence was felt throughout it all and we knew it wouldn’t have been such a raging success without her. It was thanks to her that our wedding was truly the best day ever. While I could go on and on about all of Arin’s great work, it was her wildly upbeat, incredibly empathetic, personable, and genuinely sweet nature that topped it all. She is truly a ray of sunshine and I’m so lucky to have gained her as a friend along our wedding planning journey.