Big City Bride

Simply the BEST.

I cannot say enough about Big City Bride!!!! We could not have planned our wedding without them! When we got engaged in February, we were just slightly late in the game for planning the summer wedding of our dreams. After meeting with Claire Weller from Big City Bride, we... Read More were certain she could make our dream a reality in just 5 months!! She was so positive, upbeat and fun and we loved her enthusiasm! She got on the venue search immediately and she guided us in the decisions that needed to be made right away. With my mom helping with the planning from Ohio, she did an excellent job of keeping both of us informed in every detail. Claire made the wedding planning process FUN and easy and allowed for us to enjoy our season of engagement. Because of Big City Bride's amazing connections and relationships with all of the best vendors in Chicago, we were guided to incredible people to work with, while staying within our budget. Claire navigated every obstacle with ease and we were so impressed with her ability to stay positive and adapt to anything and everything that came our way! The Big City Bride team made our wedding day the absolute BEST day of our lives. It was totally stress-free and all we had to do was show up and enjoy! They had the day planned to the minute and when we saw the room for the first time, we were absolutely blown away. It was more beautiful than we had even dreamed it could be! Our guests had an incredible time and so did we :) We know how much time and hard work went into every detail of our wedding and we could not be more grateful to Claire and Big City Bride for everything they did to help us create our urban, elegant and "twinkly" wedding of our dreams!!

WOW! Where do I begin?! Big City Bride, and specifically our wedding planner, Kayla Mousser, were absolutely incredible to work with from start to finish. If you are seeking a responsible, hard-working event planner, I cannot recommend Kayla enough! She is beyond friendly, very... Read More knowledgeable, organized, accommodating and extremely approachable (with anything!). Throughout our entire professional planning process, I feel as if I gained a new friend at the end. I initially located BCB merely by a quick Google search. Their company had a 5 star rating, and I organized a consultation to learn a bit more about the process. At this time, I was still deciding if I was going to tackle the wedding planning process myself or hire a professional. After a brief initial meeting with Kayla, I was absolutely sold! She was so attentive during the entire 1.5 years of planning. I will begin by stating that I am very particular when it comes to style and details, and Kayla truly made my winter wedding dreams come to life. From her vendor recommendations to her personal touch suggestions, I couldn't be any more happier with the outcome. She even welcomed all of my far-fetched ideas along the way to make every single vision a reality. As any bride would agree, wedding planning is extremely stressful. My now husband and I were also tackling several other life changes last year in addition to wedding preparations, so to say we were under quite a bit of stress is an understatement. Knowing this, Kayla took the reigns and really stepped up to the plate. Once the wedding day arrived, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY! The entire day was a dream! From the flawless timeline to the stunning display, my husband and I cannot stop gushing about the day. Kayla and her assistant Erin ensured that the day ran perfectly. As a result, I was able to actually enjoy my wedding day, which is a piece that I will be able to cherish forever! I truly felt as if I was a guest since all of the details were already handled. Even if there was a minute problem, I'm still not aware of it. :) Brad and I made a point to constantly stop, look around, and soak all of the bliss in as often as possible. This is something that likely would not have been possible without the help of Kayla and BCB. Thank you SO much for making my bridal dreams come true! If you are even considering hiring a wedding planner, book BCB now! :)

Big City Bride: Best Decision We Made! Big City Bride exceeded our expectations across the board. We worked with Susan Cordogan, the owner of BCB, who I reached out to because she was the planner for my sister’s wedding 9 years earlier, which was also amazing. I can’t say... Read More enough about Susan and BCB. Susan’s experience and expertise with wedding planning in Chicago was a huge advantage. Our first task to pick a venue is typically the most challenging part of the process, especially in a city like Chicago with such high competition to secure a date. However, Susan set up just one day to visit ten venues, and by the end of the week we had our dream pick at the Chicago Cultural Center for the date we wanted. From then on, our expectations continued to be exceeded. During the actual planning process, the biggest benefits were Susan’s familiarity and close relationship with the vendors, as well as her ability to manage and work within our budget. Right away Susan narrowed down vendor options to those that fit our style and budget, and worked out significant discounts. She was also a great liaison with the vendors, which was very convenient because it allowed us to focus on the more important (and fun!) aspects of the wedding. Our planning process was incredibly organized down to every detail; she proactively kept us on track, and our friends and family were shocked as to how relaxed we were throughout the process. No matter what type of obstacle we encountered, and we ran into quite a few, Susan resolved it quickly with an incredibly positive and professional attitude. For the day of, we did not have a worry in the world. Susan and the team made the family and wedding party feel relaxed, and everything was perfectly timed (which I assumed to be impossible based on many of the weddings I had been to previously). What surprised us the most, aside from how smoothly everything went, was how astounding the wedding looked beyond what we could have imagined, especially the décor and overall look and feel. Susan played an especially large role in that, and her hard work showed. BCB and Susan were the best investment we made in the entire process!

I am a self-starter, decisive, and incredibly well organized. So I naturally assumed that these skills would be transferable to our wedding planning process. How hard can this be? There are plenty of magazines, websites, and wedding blogs that can inspire and provide guidance.... Read More So I went into the process thinking, “I got this – surely I can plan a wedding in Chicago – from Dallas.” Wrong. After nearly a month of me initiating web-based inquiries to different venues while pouring through websites and magazines, I realized that I was “sinking”. I was lost in the barrage of photos, concepts, list of “do’s and don’ts”, and countless idea boards. I was feeling overwhelmed. There were decisions that needed to be made, but I had no idea as to where to even “start.” My friend recommended that I contact Chrissy Magliano at Big City Bride. Chrissy received my call on the day that I reached out. She took some basic information and then she began to ask me a ton of questions about our “vision” and our personality styles. From there she outlined a gameplan with key dates and deliverables. Within 2-months of working with Chrissy, we had a date, a venue, florist, and photographer. She was certain to infuse every detail of the wedding with touches of our personality style. She coordinated with the vendors, helped negotiate contracts, and she just "handled" everything! With Chrissy’s leadership, we were able to experience the wedding of our dreams in just 6-months of planning! Our friends and family are still talking about how wonderful the experience was. Here are some of the things that I loved about the process: · Listens attentively and incorporates your input/feedback · Budget management · Site & venue selection process · Vendor selection and contract management · Organization across all fronts – from the wording on our invitations to on-site support on the day of our wedding · weekly or bi-weekly calls to check in · Attention to detail · Professionalism · Coordination Chrissy has a wonderful style and energy – we are blessed that she was a part of our special day!!!!

I typically would not write a review, however, our experience with Chrissy Magliano of Big City Bride left an unforgettable impression upon me and my (now) wife. At the onset of our wedding planning process, I could not understand the cost associated with hiring a planner. How... Read More

We were referred to Christine, from Big City Bride, by a good family friend. Christine wasn't available for our NYE wedding, but Claire Weller was! She did not disappoint. She made everything seamless for me and my family while planning my wedding. She is a doll and her... Read More enthusiasm is infectious. I would definitely recommend her or someone else from Big City Bride.

Honestly, I do not know where to begin with our experience with Big City Bride. Our New Year's Eve Wedding turned out so magical that guests are still talking about the wedding - from the decor, food, service, lash & lip bar, Connie's Pizza truck, etc. Our wedding planner,... Read More Chrissy Magliano, is THE BEST! Absolutely wonderful to work with and is so on top of everything - we didn't have a worry at all! I wouldn't have been able to plan such an event without her - she is a must have when planning your big day!

My husband and I were searching for a wedding planner so we contacted Big City Bride on the knot.com. We received a call from Claire on the same day. We scheduled a consultation with her to discuss our vision and expectations. We hired Claire as our wedding planner for our... Read More September wedding. One of the first things she did was to help us find a venue. She collected all of the information from each venue, what their available dates were, and then went with us to check them out. Claire also assists the bride and groom with establishing vendors for their big day (photographer, videographer, music, etc.). If you haven't established your vendors, she has an amazing list of extremely talented and professional individuals. Claire communicates with all vendors throughout the whole process and does most of the back and forth communication that can take up a lot of time. This is especially helpful for people who are busy or work full-time like my husband and I were. Claire addressed all questions and concerns in a timely manner. Even when she was on vacation or had to leave town, she would either remain available via text or email OR she made one of the other Big City Bride staff available to us. We were never left hanging or left with unanswered questions or concerns. Claire is very sweet, energetic, determined, and gets along with everyone! She remained professional and patient during the whole process. For brides like me who aren't always sure what they want or have trouble picturing things, Claire provides creativity and so many different ideas to help you figure out what you want and be confident that it will look great! Claire has been doing this work for many years so she knows what she is doing! It was easy to trust in the process with her as our wedding planner. Arin was also wonderful and assisted Claire with details during our engagement, as well as on the actual wedding day. Claire and Arin are truly two of the sweetest people I have ever met. But don't get me wrong....they will strongly advocate and negotiate for you when needed! They work very hard and always remain considerate of what you want. On the wedding day, they help with setting up and they also make sure that everything is packed up at the end of the night. This is really important to have because as the bride and groom, you don't want to have to worry about these things. And you also want your friends and family to enjoy and take everything in as well. I don't know what I would have done without them that day and night! Claire and Arin assisted with the rehearsal the day before and provided the bridal party and our families with all of the information on where they needed to be and when. Claire was on her feet all day and still managed to calm my nerves and touch up my hair after the ceremony! And it doesn't end on the wedding night. Claire provided excellent follow up after the wedding and even sent instructions on how to change my last name. I can't thank Claire enough for everything she did for us and I could go on and on. If you would like to see pictures of recent weddings by Big City Bride, follow their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigcitybride/ We would recommend Big City Bride for wedding and any other party planning needs!

Cannot say enough good things about our experience with Big City Bride and most importantly our planner, Kayla. We were planning our Chicago wedding from Connecticut and worried about finding vendors and coordinating from afar. All of those fears and worries completely went away... Read More once Big City Bride came into the picture. They guided us through the entire experience and helped us find the BEST vendors in the city. I was super swamped at work and honestly don't know what I would have done without Kayla mapping out every detail. On the day of our wedding, it was pouring down rain and behind the scenes Kayla and Arin effortlessly worked to make sure our wedding party and guests had the same experience as planned. Any bride who chooses this crew of women will not be disappointed - they far exceeded our expectations and most importantly made our day one that we will never forget!

Kayla Mousser was our Day-of-Coordinator, and Taylor was her assistant. The pair were absolutely fantastic. Kayla gave us so much peace of mind, which allowed us to relax, have fun, and enjoy our wedding. She is super organized, warm, excited, and wonderful with getting... Read More everything done that we needed help with. Hiring Kayla was one of the best decisions we made in planning our wedding. Very, very highly recommended!

If I could give Arin Calamari and Big City Bride 5,672 stars, I would. I cannot say enough about what an incredible experience it was to work with this amazing girl!! I began planning for our wedding on my own, we had a whole year and I thought - "why not? I'm creative!" Little... Read More did I know that when it came down to crunch time in the last month that I would need so much help. Arin was quick to call and save the day, and once she had all the details she literally ran the whole of everything with such grace, poise and excellence. Throughout the whole night of our wedding we kept getting asked about our planner and who she was and how amazing everything had come together! Just thinking about all of it still brings tears to my eyes. I don't know what I would have done without her, and our parents were so beyond amazed with her work as well. She is the sole reason why my best day ever was just that, the BEST day ever. Thank you to Arin for your hard work and patience with me and our giant wedding group (23!!) We are forever grateful and can't wait to give your name to everyone for when they get married and hopefully to see you again soon <3

You can stop searching for the best wedding planner because you found them with Big City Bride. I would give them 10 stars if I could. I had the pleasure of working with Claire for my son's wedding. From the moment we met, I knew everything would be perfect. Claire helps to... Read More make the entire planning process enjoyable, fun and completely stress free. She is very diligent and meticulous, and above all, so friendly. Our wedding was held at The Drake Hotel in Chicago and from the biggest detail to the smallest, and everything in between, Claire made sure the event was flawless. She gave my son and daughter in law the wedding of their dreams. It was above and beyond anything we could have imagined. Simply magical!! Thank you Claire and Big City Bride. You're the best!!! Mary Capotosto

I cannot thank Kayla enough for everything she did for us to achieve the perfect wedding weekend! We were honestly blown away at her attention to detail in every aspect, her enthusiastic and professional attitude, and all of the extra effort she went through to make every moment... Read More flawless in execution. Not to mention, she was tons of fun! Every person has come up to me asking who she was and what company she worked for to help coordinate our day. I cannot imagine our weekend without Kayla. She started working with us about 3-4 weeks away from our wedding. At that point, stress and excitement is high and to have someone completely take care of last minute finalizations and details was a godsend. I did not worry about a single thing. Absolute best money we spent! I recommend Kayla and Big City Bride to every Bride and Groom!

Deciding to work with Kayla Mousser of Big City Bride was unequivocally the best decision I made during my entire wedding process, second only to saying yes to the proposal! To anyone who is considering planning a wedding without working with a planner - I was in your shoes: I... Read More am type A, organized, and meticulous, and thought I would be able to handle a wedding on my own. But what I know now is that throwing a wedding is more than just coordinating a lot of vendors; 100 little things come up along the way, and Kayla is the difference between simply surviving your wedding planning process, and actually enjoying it. She takes the time to get to know both the bride and the groom, their personalities, their styles, and you truly feel as though you are talking to a friend who is 100% committed to executing the wedding of your dreams. To the point that, as a bride, you often times will turn to her for advice even before asking your groom! Her advice is always authentic, sincere, and thoughtful - she will tell you the things you need to make your vision come true, and the things you can cut out. You never once get the impression that her relationship with any vendors or other parties drives any of the decisions in your process; and she truly advocates for everything she can on your behalf. From the bottom of my heart, I can say that working with Kayla truly made the process more seamless and enjoyable. If you have the chance, you MUST work with Kayla for your event - you will not find someone whose personality is more charming, advice is more helpful, or whose execution is more flawless! Truly the best decision we made!! Kayla, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all that you did to make our day so special!! Amee & Sunny

I had the pleasure of working with Arin at Big City Bride for my wedding at the Chicago Cultural Center. I did not know how badly I needed her help until I started working with her, and thank God I did! Arin was incredibly helpful without being overwhelming in the month leading... Read More up to the wedding. She ensured we had all boxes checked, particularly with items I had not previously thought of, making me especially grateful to have someone who knows the ins and outs of weddings as a resource. Arin's extremely detailed timeline, which are a staple of Big City Bride's operations, was phenomenal-- kept everyone calm, organized, and ensured perfect execution. Lastly, she was so sweet and encouraging. I cannot say enough about Arin or the BCB team. They were a dream!

If you are an anxious person at all, having a planner, especially Big City Bride is the WAY TO GO!!!! Whether you need a day of planner or the full enchilada, their team is there to support you. Claire Weller was our planner and I can't even imagine our wedding without her... Read More there through the whole process. She was attentive, creative, thorough, a good listener, and just everything we were hoping for. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the day and Claire was able to keep me calm from the moment she walked in the door. Her calmness was palpable and I would've been a mess without her. Our wedding was an absolute success. Our wedding was months ago and friends and family are still talking about it. We owe it all to Claire! WE LOVE CLAIRE!

Kayla Mousser with Big City Brides nailed it! We just experienced our dream wedding for our daughter and Big City Brides orchestrated a beautiful beautiful event! If you want professionalism and attention to detail Kayla was outstanding. We cannot adequately express our... Read More gratitude. Thank you Kayla for thinking of everything. From the reminder that our meals were getting cold to ushering in and out every item for display, for keeping us on schedule with such subtle style. We felt we could relax the entire event because we knew your watchful eye and expert mind were anticipating every possible scenario. I can't tell you how many times we heard the phrase...."Who is your wedding planner.....she is amazing!" We highly recommend Big City Brides. Clearly the best money we spent on this event. Thank you so much! With gratitude, Ann Wyant

I cannot say enough good things about Big City Bride and our planner, Kayla. Our wedding was more complicated than most, yet she far exceeded all of our expectations. Our family has been glowing about the day ever since and Kayla was a huge part of making that happen. From... Read More the minute we first spoke on the phone, Kayla made every effort to get to know us as a couple and to make sure that she understood what about the day was most important to us. She kept these priorities in mind at every stage, carrying out our ideas and making suggestions that enhanced our vision. Because we planned an Indian wedding spanning multiple days, we had many atypical (and last-minute) requests for Kayla that she executed perfectly. We had numerous long meetings where Kayla patiently waited as we figured out what exactly it was that we wanted and then she ran with it. We never felt rushed – Kayla listened and took all the time that was necessary to make sure that we were comfortable. Whether we needed a horse, a drummer, last-minute favors, or very specific ceremony decorations, Kayla researched vendor options, kept track of where we were at every stage in the process, and personally oversaw everything on the day of. She made countless checklists that proved essential and kept us all on track, reminding us of the things we had not thought of and keeping us from trying to tackle too many decisions at once. She really lightened our load and made the whole process more enjoyable. The end result: not a single thing went wrong on the day of our wedding (seriously). We never even worried that something might go wrong, because we knew Kayla would be there to handle it exactly as we would want it handled. She stayed with us from (very early) start to (very late) finish. She brought along multiple additional staff members to coordinate at all the different locations, distributed tips among the vendors, communicated with the photographer, the venue, the DJ, our families. We didn't have to think about anything on our wedding day other than spending time with each other and our families, and the day was absolutely perfect. Kayla is incredible and worth every penny!

I could not ask for a more trust worthy, knowledgable, and all around amazing wedding planner! Susan Cordigan knew EXACTLY what I wanted and helped me make our dream come true. Big City Bride kept everything organized for us and made sure to stay on top of everything... Read More throughout the whole year. We were never stressed while planning our HUGE wedding because Susan was so on top of everything and constantly would send us check-lists and reminders. She picked out all of our vendors (videographer, photographer, florist, lighting, band, etc.) and each one was the perfect choice. Susan has been in the industry for so long that she knows what works and what doesn't- I highly suggest using her for your next wedding. She comes up with small details that most people wouldn't come up with (ex. confetti during the reception while dancing). Even though she is located in Chicago, she was still able to make my wedding in South Bend, IN come to a perfect reality.

Hiring Chrissy to do my wedding was the single best wedding planning decision I had over the course of my 2-year engagement. Chrissy is the consummate professional- she was able to turn all of my half-baked ideas and Pinterest pictures into the most amazing day. She is... Read More professional and warm, handling my parents' 1000000 emails with grace and our logistics with precision and ease. Additionally, as an out of town bride, I could not be more grateful for Chrissy's excellence in structuring my three Chicago visits. She ensured that I saw venues and vendors, so I knew I was making informed choices. I cannot be complimentary enough about Chrissy's services and cannot thank her enough for creating the perfect day.

Working with Big City Bride was the absolute best decision we made in regards to our wedding. From the very beginning, they made me feel calm and confident that EVERYTHING would be handled. We worked with Chrissy Magliano, who was absolutely amazing. She helped bring my vision... Read More to life, even though I wasn't really able to articulate that vision in the beginning! On the day of the wedding, I can't even count how many times I thought, "Thank God for Chrissy". Literally every part of the wedding weekend went completely smooth without even a little hiccup. The vendors that Chrissy and BCB work with are out of this world and we could not have been happier. I recommend BCB to anyone I know who has recently gotten engaged in the Chicago area. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them, they truly made the whole experience stress-free and FUN! I'm so shocked I can say I actually truly enjoyed planning my wedding, and I have BCB to thank for that.

KAYLA, KAYLA, KAYLA. Oh my goodness. I cannot say enough about her and BCB. Kayla helped me plan an entire wedding in 6 weeks. Literally, everything - I didn't have a dress or anything. Due to a family illness we needed to move our wedding up and move it from the West Coast to... Read More Chicago and with the help of Kayla you would have never known we planned it in such short notice. Kayla thought of everything I would have never even began to think about and then some. My heel broke before the ceremony and she fixed it. She taped my dress for me when needed. She made sure I was fed and hydrated. :) She was there for every question, and supplied me with multiple options when I asked. She also handled the little things that I did not have the time to worry about. It is amazing what she pulled off for us in 6 weeks. She was my sounding board and never appeared to get annoyed with me. :) My husband I could not have done this without her. We even had random family members and guests comment on what a great job she did running the show. She went way above and beyond what she needed to do. By the end of it, Kayla seemed more like this amazing superhero friend than a wedding planner. We will forever be grateful for what she did for us. Love you Kayla!!

I've never been to a wedding before my own and I must say of all the weddings I've seen and heard of, mine was one of the best. When I hired Kayla of big city bride my wedding plans were in ruins and my previous planner from a different company totally abandoned my wedding. I... Read More didn't trust anyone with my wedding after such a poor experience with the previous company. The venue I selected recommended Kayla of Big city bride and im soooooo glad they did. Kayla was such a joy to work with, I miss her already. She was able to deal with my dysfunctional family, my limited budget (that my previous planner put me at the top of) and still my day was more magical than I could have imagined. She was there for every tear, every meltdown and every moment beautiful moment of my wedding. I didn't have to do anything! I love how she was willing to take all of my stresses away and also keep us on track for the wedding and the planning. She returned every call, text, email and she was willing to work with me living in Texas!! Every idea I had she was able to incorporate and she was afraid to realistically tell me what we were able To accomplish. The office is so beautiful and clean and it is in a great Lincoln park community. Every question I had Kayla was able to answer and relay information to me, while considering I had never been to a wedding before. Everytime a guest or bridal party member dropped out of my wedding or an unexpected change occurred, Kayla was able to improvise in a way that my wedding wouldn't be impacted. Kayla's research is so through and she is so great at what she does it's like she knows what you need before you ask. My chicago wedding was everything I could hope For and I wish I could do it all over just to start with Kayla and Big city Bride!! I will see you 10 years from now at the anniversary destination vow renewal! Please post how many pics you want of us! I don't even know what to say my wedding was like magic and a dream all in one! I will never forget this !

Words CANNOT express how amazing our whole wedding experience was. From Start to finish - everything was smooth, organized and stress free. Claire Weller is a GOD SENT ANGEL! Claire truly listened to us and was able to guide us towards everything that made our day... Magical.... Read More From choosing the PERFECT venue, the most delicious food, best music, and photographer, it was seamless and best of all, it was “US”. It goes without saying that - BIG CITY BRIDE met every expectation 10 times over, our wedding has been exactly a month from this review and we are still on wedding cloud nine! Yury and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts; we couldn’t have done it without you!!

Hiring Chrissy Magliano as the wedding planner for our daughter's wedding was the best decision we could have made. Chrissy was able to guide Sarah and Rob through the maze of available choices for caterer (Limelight was beyond our expectations), the band (Greenlight -... Read More people are still talking about the band!), and the flowers...WOW ...Platinum Events outdid themselves with the flower arrangements. Chrissy created a schedule for the rehearsal and the wedding day (March 25, 2017) that kept us all on task but let us enjoy every aspect of the weekend. Our daughter was totally relaxed for her wedding. The photographs (Riverbend Photo Studio) definitely reflect the happiness and love felt throughout the event. Thanks Chrissy and Big City Bride for helping us create a wedding that we will always remember. We would not have changed one thing.