Conradie Event Design

going above and beyond to make our special day unforgettable. One of Melissa's standout qualities is her vast knowledge of the industry and her extensive network of vendors. She effortlessly connected us with the best in the business, ensuring that every element of our wedding was top-notch. Her expertise not only saved us time but also gave us peace of mind, knowing that we were in capable hands. What truly sets Melissa apart is her unwavering positivity, especially in the face of challenges. Weddings are notorious for unexpected hiccups, and when things didn't go according to plan, Melissa's calm and reassuring demeanor was a lifesaver. She handled every situation with grace, ensuring that we could enjoy our day without worry. In summary, Melissa's talent for going above and beyond, her extensive knowledge of industry vendors, and her remarkable positive attitude are a trifecta that any couple would be fortunate to have on their wedding planning team. She turned our dream wedding into a reality, and we couldn't be more grateful. Melissa at Conradie Event Design is a true professional and a pleasure to work with. - Sincerely, Anne and Aaron

ryone involved with and attending all of our events from the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Design wise Melissa was able to highlight our preferred color selection, modern and Fall but not too Fall aesthetic, along with incorporating my husband’s very personal connection to and creation of stained glass pieces and of course our adorable little pup. Everything cohesively came together in a space that felt elegant, welcoming, comfortable and like us. As for planning, the Conradie Event Design team (Melissa and Dawie), guided us through each step of the process from connect with vendors we had previously selected to others that were recommended (each and everyone of them were amazing), ordering materials, scheduling tasting and of course the week, day of and even week after the wedding. All questions were answered in a helpful, kind and timely manner. We felt more and more at ease after every response and chat, even as the day was rapidly approaching. Our one major goal was to have an event where all of our friends and family could come and just have a wonderful time. It was a bit of a task to get our very involved and helpful family to not be worried about doing anything for the wedding and to just enjoy the day. After meeting Melissa and Dawie, everyone quickly realized that it was all handled and they had an amazing day. Everything happened seamlessly from set-up, shift from ceremony to cocktail hour, a brief rainstorm changing our outside set-up (briefly), reception, clean up and the next day pick-up. Friends and family are extremely important to us and the Conradie Event Design team made us, the guests and most importantly our mothers feel like we were a part of their family. They were welcoming to all of us and created a bond that we hope will continue beyond the event (we know our mothers have a continued fondness for Melissa and Dawie). Our wedding went from our two ideas and one major goal to an amazing event that some of our guests said “just felt like LOVE”. We will be forever grateful to Melissa, Dawie and the rest of the team for creating such a beautiful space and allowing myself, my husband and our mothers to relax and enjoy our special day! We wholeheartedly (10 out of 10) recommend Conradie Event Design!!

e, we trusted them to handle the details locally. Everything was sheer perfection, from the selection of wonderful vendors to a carefully planned, stress -free wedding day schedule and gorgeously decorated setting, our daughter and son-in-law had the magical wedding of their dreams. Even though they chose a micro wedding, the care and attention provided by Conradie Event Design was very evident and the results were simply stunning. Thank you, Conradie Event Design!

knowledge of the industry and her contagious positivity made our experience with her better than we could have imagined. She executes quickly and was so supportive throughout this process. Our wedding would not be as special as it was without her. We recommend Conradie Event Design to anyone that wants a memorable and fantastic event! We are grateful to have gained a dear friend in the process.

ndors, helping us with design decisions, organizing every detail and much more. When anything didn't go as planned, she was prepared with a backup or helping us work through ideas. And she does it all with the most calm and positive demeanor - I don't know how she does it! She is truly passionate about what she does and has the best team around her. Everyone in the event community raves about her and loves working with her too! She is simply the best.

working with Melissa and Dawid specifically - absolutely MADE our wedding, and made the big investment we put into all aspects of our wedding even more worth it. Leading up to a wedding, you hear so many people warn you that your wedding day will "go so fast" and "don't forget to be present." We didn't experience any of this. Melissa and Dawid handled literally everything - from fielding questions from family to hand-knotting 100 napkins because I casually mentioned I liked the style (sob). Because of this, we were able to soak in our day, talk and laugh with our guests, and dance all night while absolutely all details and hiccups were being taken care of. Best of all, they're just cool, kind, creative people who are fun to plan and hang out with. I can't put into words how highly I recommend working with them! Thanks, Melissa and Dawid, for making one of the most joyful days of our lives possible <3

of our hiccups and problems were fixed. She was a dream to work with and I can't even begin to explain how perfect our wedding day was. Everything was perfect!

th her leading up to our wedding and the week of our wedding she was on another level - she absolutely hit it out of the park. Her entire team worked diligently to ensure that everything went smoothly with a smile on their faces the entire time. I was in awe of Melissa's talent - I can't imagine not having her there through the process. I would absolutely recommend Conradie Event Design!

an, we were tired and lacking the enthusiasm you normally have going into planning an entire wedding. From the first call with Melissa, we knew that she would be exactly what we needed to turn our dreams into a reality and get us back on track to our dream day! Melissa is creative, organized, professional, responsive, solutions-oriented, and just downright a really amazing human being on top of it! Melissa has the ability to be both calming and outgoing, while at the same time directing your vendors, bridal party, etc. are in the right place at the right time (a huge feat for my wild group!). We spent months getting to know Melissa through the planning process and our confidence in her just continued to build and build during the months leading up to our wedding. Melissa's approach to planning is to ensure that your vision becomes a reality, provide guidance and support from her years of experience, and make sure that any inevitable twists and turns along the way are solved before they even have the chance to become a stressor! Everyone was asking how I was so calm on my wedding day and leading up to it, and I can honestly say it’s because I had 100%+ confidence that Melissa and her team had everything under control or would figure it out if need be. Melissa and her CED Team, including her wonderful husband Dawie, are the cream of the crop. Additionally, she has amazing vendors that love working with her, which makes a huge difference in the teamwork necessary to pull off all the small details of your big day!

hem enough.

to bring your vision alive for your special. Our original date had to be changed because of Covid. Melissa took all that stress away. She is very knowledgable, respected and well liked in northern Michigan and within a few days she had contacted all our venders and coordinated a new date. Melissa was always available when we needed her, she was organized and kept us on track, she listened to us and also had great ideas and she always paid great attention to detail. Melissa and her team were at our vineyard venue first thing in the morning until very late at night working hard to insure our daughter's wedding would be as beautiful, special and stress free as possible. And it was all that and more! I could go on and on writing about how Melissa went way above our expectations but more importantly she was kind and thoughtful to everyone. We became friends and I will always be grateful to her for playing such an important role in making our daughter and her husband have such a magical wedding day!

lissa and the CED team truly exceeded all of our expectations and absolutely blew us away with their creativity and thoughtfulness. After some initial discussions to get a feel for our style, we gave Melissa and CED the reins. When we walked into our venue on our wedding day, we were in awe. (All the happy tears!) Melissa has a gift, and we were so glad we gave her the creative freedom to showcase her amazing skills. But, the absolute best part of working with Melissa is how amazing of a human she is. We started this process with a wedding planner and finished with a friend.

wedding in my hometown in Northern Michigan. Soon after, the pandemic hit and I (admittedly) nearly lost my mind. There were so many uncertainties - should we keep our date, or postpone? Will we be able to have a dance floor? Will everyone be required to wear masks? How would we even find a new date that works for all of our 16 vendors? We had put so much work into planning so far, I was BEYOND overwhelmed by the idea of planning it all over again. Melissa helped talk us through what was most important to us, provided her opinions on realistic expectations, and offered solutions to my biggest concerns. She was truly an angel among all the chaos that happened in 2020, and eased my worries throughout the entire 2 years of planning. There were many calls that started with tears, and ended with me knowing that everything was going to work out. We ultimately decided to postpone our wedding to September 4th, 2021. Things feel different being at your own wedding vs someone else’s, and I felt some pressure and jitters about whether everything would go as planned, or if I had forgotten something major. The moment I saw Melissa and Val in the church for rehearsal, ready with their binders of notes, the weight lifted off my shoulders. They coordinated all the little details I would never even THOUGHT of (and I am a pretty organized, Type A person). It rained at our reception, and when I say it rained, it actually POURED to the point where Melissa’s husband and our venue coordinator were out on the dance floor sweeping the rain off during dinner. Melissa and her team stood outside holding umbrellas over each of our heads for the bridal party's grand entrance into the tent. If you had told me 2 years ago it was going to rain on my wedding day I probably would have cried, but the day went so smoothly and everyone had so much fun that we didn’t even care. So many of our guests told us it was the best wedding they’ve been to. Melissa’s attention to detail is impeccable, too. She made sure every single linen was steamed, my veil was centered perfectly in my hair, all our decorations were in the right places, and my bouquet wasn’t blocking my dress when I held it. Melissa and her team (inconspicuously) communicated through earpieces throughout the day to make sure all logistics went smoothly and everyone was walking down the aisle at the right time, the DJ was playing the correct songs, and speeches were on schedule. If I had tried coordinating all of that on my own, it would have been an awkward disaster. Not only is Melissa a talented and organized wedding planner, but she is also a kind, thoughtful, wonderful person. We are beyond thankful for her and all the work and thought she and her team put into making our wedding day so fun and beautiful. If you don’t think you need a wedding planner, I’d highly suggest reconsidering and reaching out to Conradie Event Design!

e all the obstacles of planning a wedding from abroad during a pandemic. We’ve never had so many solutions to problems before we knew the problems existed! Everything was so thoughtfully taken care of on the day, that we didn’t have to think of anything other than having fun and enjoying the event we had been envisaging for three years. We really appreciate them going above and beyond to support connecting us to our UK family remotely, it meant so much to both us and them, and was in the end a highlight of the day. Thank you Melissa and team!

a planner, she will become your friend and take a genuine interest in your lives together as a couple. She is respectful, organized and professional. When you mention your Airbnb has no body wash she shows up the next day with stress relief Lavender soap. If you casually mention something you're interested in as a wedding detail she will do the research to find a way to make it happen. On the day of when it starts pouring rain she gets soaking wet moving things under your tent and keeps going as if it never happened. She takes pride in what she does and we are so happy with how everything turned out. Val was also a huge part of the day and very attentive to the bride on the day of. It will be the best money you've spent on your wedding. Leave it to the professionals, especially the ones at CED who truly are dedicated to giving you the wedding day of your dreams.

dding was made 100% easier with them! Myself, my husband, and my mom felt very supported through the entire process. Melissa is so FUN and a great person to spend time with. I really can’t say how grateful we are. There really isn’t a more professional, communicative, or encouraging team out there!

r worried about anything being missed or forgotten and if it was I would've never known. Melissa is a professional and I could not recommend her partnership on your special day!

referred vendors are professional & reliable (highly suggest using her vendors) and we continue to receive compliments from our guests on the food & service (Boathouse), DJ (Avatar Media- Aaron is unmatched), decor (Event Theory), & Flowers (Field of Flowers). The CED team went above and beyond to make our day carefree and seamless. Thank you CED team! We look back on our wedding with the biggest grins because of you :) XO, K & C

Melissa for over 2 years (through the rollercoaster of the COVID-19 pandemic) and she was nothing short of extraordinary. The entire CED team is generous, attentive, thoughtful, creative, and kind (read that again, I cannot emphasize this enough!!!). They recommend and work with an all-star vendor team that will make your event/ day/ week absolutely magical - if you can dream it, they will MAKE! IT! HAPPEN! We got married at the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor and I had numerous guests tell me it was the best wedding they had ever been to, and I 100% credit that to CED. Endlessly grateful for this incredible and brilliant team. If I could give them fifteen million stars, I would! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

ise allowed our family to truly enjoy and cherish my son and daughter-in-loves special day. Especially since my son had to change his wedding several times during Covid, Melissa stepped right in one month before the wedding and pulled off a miracle. She was pure perfection to work with. Thank you Melissa!

il was accounted for before, during, and after the wedding day. She made the whole process so easy by taking initiative with design and coordination and open to change at any moment. She also had to deal with mine and my husband’s crazy requests. Another key part of her services is that she is very well connected in the industry in northern Michigan which made the experience very pleasant and easy. For such a last minute wedding during covid somehow we were able to have everything we wanted. On the wedding day we did not have to think about a thing. I was persistent on getting married outside in a very inconvenient spot on a rainy day and she made it happen. Umbrellas for everyone, tarp over our chuppa, hot cider/donuts, band under a tent, handmade benches for people to sit and a little bit of drizzle...it was perfect. Her husband Dawie was also so sweet for being one of the two people shuttling to and from the sanctuary. Even though we didn’t want to follow a strict schedule everything flowed perfectly from dinner, speeches to dancing the night away. Melissa made sure everything we needed at the end of the night was packed up and to be honest after such a long day and ending the night a little tipsy I figured something would have been forgotten or lost but nothing was. I can’t imagine what our wedding would have looked like without Melissa. She helped make the day unforgettable.

f small things that not only removed the anxiety of something going wrong, but also provided "cover" for my wife and I to enjoy intimate moments of our wedding that we feel extremely grateful to have. I'd recommend Melissa and her team to anyone!

d welcoming and beyond selfless. My fiance, Matt, and I made a very last-minute change to our wedding, moving it to September 19th at the beginning of August ( originally planned for December in Chicago at The Women's Athletic Club for over 200ppl) and Conradie Event Design was our saving grace. Being in my 30's I've attended many weddings and had very high expectations for what I was hoping to pull off in such a short amount of time. Melissa never once made me feel stressed or that I had to give up the things I envisioned due to our tight timeline. From the design to the coordination on the day of, there was an immediate sense of relief the second she went to work on our special day. When helping with the design, she was really able to capture our vision and style, giving us options and helping make sure we made the most out of our budget. I loved working with her and her amazing friends/vendors like AmyKateDesigns, Aunt B's Cakes & Desserts, and Holly Thomas Design to bring everything to life. Most importantly, when the day finally came Melissa and her team handled everything. I truly could not have imagined being more calm and relaxed on my wedding day. After the wedding hearing about the small hiccups that happened during the day (like forgetting my vail, misspelling some names for the escort card table MY BAD) and their ability to provide a solution ensuring I never knew it happened made us smile and we were even more thankful to have her. Melissa has this really warm, calm presence about her she has attention to detail but can also see the big picture. Her passion is contagious and we truly would not have been able to pull off our special day without her and her team. If I could give them 100 stars I would - I highly recommend using Conradie Event Design for any of your upcoming events.

full confidence in and that has totally met our needs. The delay to our wedding due to Covid would have been been really difficult to deal with ourselves, but with Melissa it was seamless and stress free. Can’t recommend highly enough!

inuously went above and beyond to make our day absolutely perfect. Every person from our wedding commented on how amazing Melissa and team were and how beautifully everything came together. She listened to our vision and made it happen! I can't recommend CED enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Melissa and team! We're so grateful.

was too costly for services we could do on our own. I’ll do my best to convey why hiring a wedding planner a worthwhile investment & what makes Conradie Event Design (CED) an exceptional choice. Melissa, owner of CED, is a phenomenal planner; polished event designer & does everything with class. Her business has been built almost entirely based on word of mouth, so it is clear she is well known & respected. She is fun to work with. Her leadership, time management, & communication skills are on point. She negotiated for us & handled uncomfortable conversations with tact. She is very attentive to detail (the devil is in the details)! She listened, reduced stress, made us feel special & guided me, as the bride, in my obligations to our guests, families, wedding party & vendors. She demonstrates her commitment to her clients with timely responsiveness & dedication to her business with creative problem solving when obstacles arise. I’m sure she skillfully resolved countless issues for us behind the scenes. Her goal was to stay ahead of schedule to allow time to deal with the inevitable unexpected as the wedding day approached. She consistently went above & beyond in every aspect throughout the entire planning horizon. Leelanau is a small peninsula. Availability is limited in terms of services & resources. Melissa is familiar with the local. Therefore, we had a hand up with the strong professional relationships she’s built with those vendors. All the vendors we booked based on her recommendation were NEXT LEVEL. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Presentation & Service were impeccable, personalized & thoughtful. CED had the teams working together harmoniously. Just a month before the wedding day, mother of the groom suffered a stroke & was unable to attend. It was difficult emotionally for us. CED handled the situation delicately while having the foresight to make amendments for seemingly small details such as updating seating chart with the caterer or updating the DJ to remove the Mother/Groom dance song from the lineup. Once the rehearsal came around & throughout the wedding day, we had full confidence & peace of mind knowing that we were in good hands. She was in command of the vendors & the event ran like clockwork. At the end of the night, cars were loaded, rented items packaged up according to contract terms to ensure bride & groom weren’t surprised with additional fees. We received compliments from our guests that our wedding was the most beautiful & meaningful wedding they’d ever attended which is what we hoped for when hiring CED. Our guests applauded her for her poise, professionalism, helpfulness & general likeability. Even the few out-of-town vendors we hired sung her praises. Conradie Event Design saved us both time & money while effortlessly bringing the vision of our wedding day to life. Now that all is said & done, I must admit, we wouldn’t have had the capacity to throw a party of such exquisite caliber without her, certainly not with as much grace. We would have missed out on a lot of unforgettable, magical moments had we done things ourselves. The fact that our families were able to enjoy the whole weekend without having to lift a finger was priceless. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND; HIRE HER BEFORE SHE IS BOOKED!

ake you feel so calm throughout the process! I felt so good knowing that she was taking care of things - she is incredibly organized, thorough and ended up becoming a good friend and confidant along the way. The thing that impressed me most was her responsiveness, she would return texts or emails within 15 minutes, and it was so crucial for keeping things moving along! Her relationships with other vendors is great, you can tell everyone loves to work her events because she keeps things so streamlined and transparent. She kept us right on track and took care of so many last minute details that we didnt even think about; extra cake trays? she's got a collection. The locked card box? it's already in her car - you get the picture! We adored our 18 months working together and I would recommend her to anyone. Thank you Melissa!

re we handed off to her. Melissa is familiar with all of the vendor options in Northern Michigan as well as their pros and cons -- that makes her advice early on a treasure! She had great input on style and practical choices that helped make our wedding a fantastic event that is already a dear memory to us, and will be forever remembered by all who came. On the wedding day itself, her team handled everything so we were free to spend time with family without worry. Melissa Conradie is an excellent event planner will help make your wedding stress free and special.

lways urge my brides to consider a wedding planner to make their day go smoothly and stress free. Melissa and her team went above and beyond to make that happen for our mutual clients and I just can’t say enough about that. It’s something you really can’t put a price tag on!! Thanks again for a great event, it was a pleasure, and I hope we work together again soon!!!

far the best! She is a true professional in the fact that she is incredibly organized, has great relationships with all the vendors (and they all speak so well of her!), has wonderful ideas, and above all is so patient and kind. She has a wonderful staff as well and they truly took care of every detail. There will always be a lot of decisions and planning for a wedding but having Melissa and her team to help makes the process fun and keeps the stress level very low. It was so lovely the day of the wedding to know that everything would be handled and we could just enjoy the day. From a small intimate wedding to a huge lavish affair, Conradie Event Design has done it and they are fabulous. I have been to several events that she has organized and they are always smooth. It will be the best decision you make!

rs that she engaged, including the caterer and the valet service were excellent. We were very pleased with the success of our event and we appreciated Melissa's gracious management style.

ximately 11 months prior to the wedding, and she was with us nearly every step of the way. Melissa made the planning process so easy. She was flexible and accessible whenever we wanted to meet or have a question. She was very organized, which was important to us. Melissa provided a lot of little touches along the way that we really appreciated. We soon found out that Melissa is not only good at wedding planning, but she is also a truly good and genuine person. When it came to the actual wedding day, everything was flawless. I'm sure that there were tons of things that could have potentially gone wrong but didn't because of Melissa. Melissa made sure that we were completely shielded from that so that we could enjoy the day fully. Our advice: 1. If you are on the fence about hiring a wedding planner or not, then please decide to hire one. It will take a lot of the planning stress away. 2. When you decide that you are hiring a planner, look no further than Melissa Conradie! She is the absolute best.

me with my big day! She has so much experience and knows what to do in any given situation. I felt like I could go to her with any questions and she would always have an answer that would comfort me. Not only was Melissa an amazing coordinator, she was also a friend (who kept me laughing in moments of stress) and now feels like family. I wouldn’t have been able to have such a wonderful wedding day if it weren’t for her and her team. Thank you again to Conradie Event Design!

ay on track and get things done when they need to be. She has every little detail covered- even the ones you might forget - to help make your wedding day seamless. I loved that she presented me with every option, and gave me her opinions on what works best from past experience- yet at the same time she was very supportive of my unique ideas and things I wanted to do that might have seemed out of the box. She made all of our wedding dreams come true without a hitch- we could not have asked for a better day- and we certainly couldn’t have done it without her! Her entire event team was just as helpful and friendly to work with as Melissa was- I trusted them with everything. The very best part of all of it was that we got to enjoy every moment of our wedding day without worrying about any details - Melissa and her amazing team took care of everything day of - all we had to do was enjoy our special moment!

g to worry about (even though I tried). Most of all, Melissa and her crew were kind and always positive, even when things didn't look so good (like rain for an outdoor wedding). Conradie Event Design was simply excellent.

not excited about what I thought would be months of selecting napkin folds and centerpiece variations. Our wedding was at my parent's beautiful home on Grand Traverse Bay, an old farm house with expansive gardens and a vintage red barn...basically the perfect setup for mason jar lamps and heart-shaped wooden doodads. I am highly allergic to such things, so when struggling for a way to describe my feelings about that looming aesthetic to Melissa I said: "Just...no cursive". Little did I know she could take those few words and unspool a completely gorgeous event that somehow managed to have shades of the minimalist loft experience I envisioned but perfectly translated into the old-fashioned garden surroundings. The professionals she works with are the best in the business - the flowers and decor were magazine-worthy (Amy of Amy Kate Designs), hair and makeup were top-notch (Susan of Venus/makeup and brow wizardess & Mandy of Dream Details), the DJ kept things going all night (Aaron of Avatar Media), the food was outstanding from appetizers to midnight snack (Dan from Catering By Kelly's & Ann from Aunt B's Cakes and Desserts), and the photographer captured it all perfectly (Beth of Priceless Photography). We live in California so a lot of our work together was via email and text; Melissa was infinitely patient with my delayed replies, missed texts, time zone fails, and managed to keep things on time and on budget with amazing energy. I honestly cannot recommend Conradie Event Design enough. Melissa is a kind, genuine and all-around wonderful person with the expertise, vision and team to make your wedding as perfect as it can be. She turned three vague words into a party that guests were thanking US for attending, and is someone I felt truly lucky to meet and to know.

to her professionalism and dedication. During the planning of our event, she anticipated needs I couldn't foresee, kept me updated on a regular basis, and responded quickly, effectively, and delightfully to a multitude of inquiries. She then held my hand through our challenging, ambitious weekend, coordinating logistics in multiple cities among hundreds of guests and a dozen+ vendors, many of whom were from out of state. Melissa provided me with everything I needed to make the weekend a success, and I'm pretty sure she's single-handedly responsible for the gorgeous weather we enjoyed as well. Team Conradie treated all of us to a weekend we'll never forget, and I'm forever grateful for their hard work. Treat yourself to the VIP experience that Conradie Event Design will provide you -- you totally deserve it.

a true talent for event design. In everything from the little details to overall logistics and communication, Melissa’s passion for creating memorable and perfect days for every client shines. She does her job so well, that she allow all other vendors to focus on their specialty rather than event logistics, and the results are always outstanding. Highly recommend!

working with Melissa, and highly recommend her.

get a little sticky. On the contrary! Melissa represented the venue, I represented the institution, and the dinners were executed flawlessly. Melissa's communication skills and timely actions--coupled with her wide knowledge base of this region--made for effortless planning and highly successful back-to-back events. I would definitely recommend her for weddings as well as corporate and private events.

uring any planning process and Melissa provides just that. Her team goes above and beyond on every level. One of my attractions to Melissa’s tactical planning process (and she has many) is her ability to listen and expand on the client’s vision, always ending with a grand finale! Collaborating with her is just down right fun! Her designs are current and edgy. Melissa is one to never “follow the crowd”. Her calming demeanor is essential when dealing with guests, vendors and the tasks at hand. She delivers and never disappoints. She is the best in the business! 10+

ner for our perfect day. She worked her tail off and is worth her weight in gold!

sub-contractors were also all first rate. We couldn’t have been more delighted, and recommend her highly to anyone needing event planning assistance.