Creative Joy Event Solutions, LLC

Meredith was fantastic! She's friendly, a great communicator, and super on the ball. She was on top of everything leading up to our wedding, and she immediately handled any hiccups that came up on our wedding day so that we didn't have to.

Hiring Creative Joy Events was the best thing we could have done for our wedding day. We had our wedding on Memorial Day weekend at my family's home with about 150 of our closest friends and family. We needed a planner who was going to be in control, professional, effective, and a true leader. Meredith and her husband were exactly that. Meredith and I spoke on multiple occasions leading up to the day and was always willing to adapt when I asked to change things around. She was able to keep us on track day of while being kind and persuasive. Hire this team, because it will make your event a smoother experience.

Best decision we made. I cannot say enough about Meredith and CJES! We hired her for month of coordination and not only did she take over and handle everything the 6 weeks or so before our wedding, she checked in every month leading up to the big day. She was always available for any questions and gave ideas, suggestions, and advice whenever I needed anything. It was so relieving not to have to plan and coordinate specifics for day of with EVERY vendor!! As for day of, if there was ever a problem or concern, I never knew! She lets you enjoy your day without a worry in the world. She and her husband Casey went above and beyond for us on our day and we can’t thank them enough❤️

Hiring CJES'S full planning services was by far the best money we spent on our wedding! Meredith truly knows her way around wedding planning and worked with us to bring our dreams for our wedding day into reality all while helping us ensure that we weren't breaking the bank. Having Meredith and Casey's help throughout the process and on the day of allowed us to focus on enjoying the day. The day turned out beautifully and we could not be happier!

Creative Joy Event Solutions did a great as the wedding coordinator for our daughter's wedding. She helped us work with the timeline until the bride and vendors were pleased. She ran a week organized rehearsal and worked well with the officiating minister. The reception went smoothly and everyone enjoyed themselves. I highly recommend Creative Joy Event Solutions.

Donna and Creative Joy Solutions were amazing. They took care of all the details from beginning to end. They made our day so special , and we didn't have to worry about a thing. Donna even found an iron to iron my shirt just hours before the ceremony began!! She made sure everything was perfect the day of the ceremony! We couldn't have made this happen without them! Donna is such a pleasure to work with and made the experience of planning a wedding so enjoyable!

I could rave for days on how amazing Donna is! We could not be more pleased in how organized everything was right down to the very last detail. We had the most perfect seamless, stress-free day of our lives. Donna did everything thing she said she would and more. There is no way our big day would have been such a beautiful & amazing day without her and Brandon. So very grateful we found her. Nothing but Love, Brandie & Eric

CJES did a wonderful job with our wedding! Meredith and Casey always ensured that I felt reassured with all the moving parts of our wedding. I threw a lot of curveballs their way and they handled it all with grace :)

CJES were absolutely the best part about planning my wedding. Meredith was so helpful and always helped me put in order what needed to be done first so everything wasn't so overwhelming! I loved the fact I could add on some parts of the wedding planning I needed extra help with. Whenever I was lost and had no idea where to start, Meredith would provide me with lists of suggestions to help get me started. When it came to wedding weekend, if anything was wrong or anything needed to be decided on I was never bothered and have no clue if anything needed to be fixed. I would recommend CJES to anyone!

My husband and I got married last month and used Creative Joy Event Solutions to help bring our wedding vision to life! Donna was such an incredible help and made sure everything went beautifully. It's a big deal to trust someone to coordinate one of the most important days of your life, but Donna is a true professional who is amazing at what she does. She stayed in touch throughout my wedding planning and made sure I was doing well throughout those months of prep! When it came to the actual wedding weekend, she expertly ran my rehearsal and made sure all of our bridal party knew what to do and where to go. And on the wedding day she was working behind the scenes to create my vision. I cannot say enough good things about Donna and her team, you can tell how much they care about making your day a success. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a talented wedding planner/coordinator!

When I grow up, I want to be Donna! I wish I could give a million stars... Talk about a fierce boss lady who has the whole package! From day one, I had confidence and trust in Donna and her team to help me with my wedding. I hired her as a Day-Of-Coordinator, but honestly I wish I had booked her for the entire planning phase. For a DOC, she was attentive every month, sending emails and getting updates. She was in the loop the entire time and especially for the last 30 days as we set up logistics and schedules. She found several discrepancies that no one else (not even myself) had seen, and she handled everything like a boss. Not only that, but I had issues with my venue and Donna was there the entire time helping me focus on the positive and she helped bring immense joy and peace during the day of the wedding. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. If she is available for your weekend, please book her - you won't regret it. She's the best there is, and I couldn't have wished for a better coordinator. Thank you for everything, Donna!

My husband, Logan, and I got married in October 2021. One of the best decisions that we made was to hire Donna Radford of Creative Joy Events as our wedding coordinator. From the beginning, Donna was a positive guiding presence as we navigated planning a wedding during a pandemic. We soon began to look forward to our regular check-ins with Donna, knowing that she would patiently listen to all our concerns, answer our questions, and provide us with wonderful advice. Due to her warm and positive personality, working with Donna felt like planning an event with a close friend. Donna also planned the florals and décor for our wedding. During planning sessions, she got to know our style and helped to establish a budget. A few weeks later she sent a design proposal of how each space would look and included a detailed spreadsheet outlining the cost of the various items. Not only were we pleasantly surprised that she came in under budget, but we were also very impressed that she perfectly captured our vision for our decorations. Truly, we didn’t change a thing. During dinner at the reception, I looked out at all our guests, turned to my husband, and said, “This is perfect. This is exactly what I had hoped everything would look like.” Our wedding was unique in that we had three different venues – one each for the ceremony, dinner, and dancing. Planning décor for three spaces and wrangling guests from one space to the next required a great deal of planning and organization. With Donna’s expertise, the wedding seamlessly flowed from one venue to the next. The greatest gift that Donna gave us was the ability for my husband and I (two very Type-A people) to not have to worry about any of the logistics. We completely trusted Donna and her team to execute all the plans which allowed us to be fully present to enjoy our special day. Creative Joy is the perfect name for this company. Not only was our wedding a joyful occasion but working with and getting to know Donna was an absolute joy. Planning a wedding can be overwhelming but knowing that we had a wedding coordinator on our team who was organized, thoughtful, kind, and professional made the process fun and less stressful. If you’re planning a wedding or event in the near future, I can’t encourage you enough to work with Donna Radford of Creative Joy Events.

Donna was so amazing and created the most beautiful bridal shower for my daughter. I wanted to enjoy the shower and not worry about all the details of organizing an event. Donna did not miss a single detail from the invitations, decorations, food, games & photography. I knew Donna would do a great job but she truly wowed me! Everyone was in awe of how beautiful the venue was decorated and how great the food was. Thank you, Donna!!

My partner and I were laboring under the delusion that we could and were going to handle most of our wedding coordination on our own. That is until our venue called and insisted we hire a coordinator immediately, 3 weeks before our wedding, in August. As you may guess, availability was an issue. Thankfully, we found Creative Joy Events. They were nothing short of excellent. In just a few short weeks, they had spoken with us, took time out to hear what we wanted, and advised us in areas we had no idea we needed advisement. They coordinated with the hotel and vendors which took a tremendous load off of our shoulders. On our wedding day, Meredith, her husband, and coworker separated to make sure all of our party was on time and in the right place. Furthermore, they were responsive to our every need. They even went so far as to bring drinks to us when we couldn’t leave our table. At the end of the night , without asking, they removed our gifts and had them waiting in our room. I can’t say enough good things about Creative Joy’s professionalism, attentiveness, and willingness to to go the extra mile. Highly recommend them!

I am so happy that we chose CJES to help plan and coordinate our wedding. The cost was reasonable and affordable for the amazing work that this team does. Donna is amazing! She was gracious and patient when we decided to postpone our wedding from 2020 to 2021. No questions asked—she was only supportive in our decision. Donna is professional, a quick communicator, and detail oriented. Her husband, Brandon, was great as well. He was positive and nice to the entire wedding party. She made our entire rehearsal and wedding day run smoothly. If anything did not go to plan on our wedding day, I have no idea! Other vendors mentioned to me how great and easy she was to work with. Donna keeps the happiness of the couple a priority. She even made sure to get me a plate during cocktail hour to make sure I had something to eat. She is so sweet. I 100% recommended Donna and team for your wedding! By far the best vendor I booked for the day.

(Groom speaking…) CJES is the perfect planner that will take care of anything for you, all you have to do is ask. They took care of any and all things, from our wedding website to putting together lists of vendors for us to choose from, and handling all contracts and communications with the vendors. We began working with Donna, Brandon and Meredith with CJES in late 2019. With the onset of the pandemic we decided to push our wedding from September 12, 2020 to June 12, 2021 and CJES was fully supportive. They didn’t ask for more than the original quoted price and assured us they would be there for us through the whole process, no matter how long it took or what hoops we had to jump through to reschedule with our vendors. Once we initially met with them, showed them our venue and vision, they put together a perfect design that incorporated everything we wanted. Donna went to bat for us at all hours throughout our planning process. There were times when the stylist didn’t show or our signs were damaged and there wasn’t time to order a new one, one call to CJES and our worries were over, they took care of everything. They’re extremely organized and kept us on track, even with the rescheduling with multiple vendors. One of the best things is that Donna has an amazing command presence and is able to keep everyone in order and on track. From the rehearsal dinner and dealing with unruly groomsman, to the ceremony and throughout the reception she ensured everything was covered and went flawlessly. In the event throughout the night we (bride and groom) had a request, we knew we could go to Donna and she would make it happen. She has people for everything you need and is fully committed to ensuring you have the wedding of your dreams in the way you envisioned it. Beyond simply being our wedding planner, we felt as though we were truly sharing one of our most cherished moments with new friends that had our every interest in mind. We have zero complaints and recommend you to consider no one other than CJES for your wedding planning. Our only complaint is that we have nothing more on the horizon to plan and will miss our scheduled phone calls. (Bride Here) - If you are on the fence about whether or not you think you need a wedding planner or even just a day of coordinator, hiring CJES will be the best decision you've ever made. They took all the stress out of the wedding planning, so my fiance any I were able to enjoy the process. I call CJES our "lifesavers" because that's exactly what they do.

I would highly recommend Donna and her team for any of your events. If you want a smooth stress free experience she is the one. Monthly payments were a breeze and flexible. I believe the mark of a truly good planner is to keep you calm and bug everyone else and that's exactly what I got. If you aren't physically in her area, that's no problem. We didn't meet in person until the day before our wedding but we'd been planning for a year. By the time we met face to face she was already family! All in all the greatest!

If you are looking for a wedding planner then look no further! You need to hire this amazing dynamic duo Donna & Brandon at Creative Joy Event solutions. They exceeded all of our expectations. They guided and communicated with us from day 1 to wedding day and took our dream wedding and made it a reality without all the wedding stress! Chris and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect flawless day! Thanks again for everything ;)

RUN, don’t walk to this amazing woman. Donna provided day of services for our wedding and we will forever be grateful for her on our wedding day. She reached out once a month to make sure we were on track with planning. A couple weeks before the wedding we had a meeting to make sure that we were on the same page with everything and on the day of I didn’t have a care in the world. I got to spend the day getting ready with my girls and both the ceremony and the reception were flawlessly taken care of. I wasn’t asked a single question on our wedding day and that’s the most anyone can ask for.

Donna from CJES is absolutely amazing, kind, and caring. I was unable to hire her due to some budget cuts and I was absolutely devastated. I messaged Donna letting her know the news and how lost I felt and didnt know where to start. Donna was so kind and thoughtful and wrote me telling me everything was gonna be okay and gave me some very much needed advice on planning my wedding even though I was unable to hire her. How to start, what to do and a ton of saving tips! and she even asked me to follow her on insta so she could still see all of shawn and i's wedding pics once after we say i do. Donna really touched me with her kindness and I reccomend her to anyone, she truly cares about helping you achieve your dream wedding! 💕 Thank you Donna for everything

Working with Donna from CJES was a pure joy! I'm a venue coordinator and Donna was a wonderful point of contact throughout the planning process and wedding day. We hope to work with Donna and the CJES team again in the future at Avon Hill!

Donna was AMAZING. She took care of us every step of the way through our planning process. Everyone involved in the wedding keeps commenting on how pulled together and organized she was, we owe a smooth day to her!! Thanks again!

Donna is amazing! From the moment she arrived until she left there was never a question about her professionalism and "take charge" attitude. We have been operating our farm venue business for only a short time but I can definitely say that Donna is amongst the best in coordinating a wedding. I hope we get to work together again soon!

We hired CJES as our "day of" coordinators and it was the smartest decision we made! Words can't describe how incredibly vital Donna and Brandon were on our wedding day. From the very first meeting with them, we knew we were in good hands. I was a west coast bride planning an east coast wedding and Donna met with us super late to make up for the time change (believe me, not every vendor accommodates you like this!). She helped us plan out every minute detail that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. We went over everything from length of the father-daughter dance to who was in charge of taking my nephew out of the ceremony if he was fussy. She took my stresses and worries away! On the wedding day, Donna and Brandon were on. top. of. it. Brandon drove me the 100 yards from the house to the venue because it was hot and they didn't want me to sweat. They even brought their own water to fill my centerpiece vases with. I barely knew they were there during the wedding and reception. Everything went absolutely seamlessly. I HIGHLY recommend using CJES for all of your planning/coordinating needs. Every vendor (not exaggerating- EVERY vendor) we worked with told us we were the most organized bride and groom they have ever worked with. We owe it all to CJES!

As a venue owner, it is of the upmost importance to me that a wedding planner can work well and in sync with a venue staff. Donna was so cheerful and willing to help in all the right ways, checking in when it mattered and making sure we knew what changes had been made. Donna had the perfect amount of finesse to get what her clients wanted done while also making sure it aligned with the protocol of the venue. Very professional and accommodating. We appreciate that!

We had the pleasure of working alongside Donna & Brandon as our first couple of the season chose the CJES team to coordinate their day. As a venue, we've worked with many planners so know a good team when we meet 'em! They were organized and on top of all the details but also very nice and easy to work with. Our couple's day was flawless and that is due in large part to their hard work throughout the event. The timeline was followed perfectly and our couple and their guests were so happy with their wedding day!

I can't even express how thankful I am to have hired Donna with Creative Joy Event Solutions, LLC! She was available to answer whatever questions we came up with and was able to fill in the gaps that we didn't even know we had. I couldn't imagine the day without her and her husband. They made it beyond perfect!

Donna and her husband Brandon went above and beyond my expectations. They were so down to listen to my ideas and see them to fruition. They contacted all necessary vendors and answered my many, many questions. The morning of the event I was fully expecting to have to help set up, but Donna and Brandon had everything under control, and gave my husband and I time to relax before the event. When we got there everything was perfect! Without them, our party would have not been the success it was—a party that our guests still talk about and will refer to for years to come. Cannot ask for a better team to help plan and manage an event! Highly recommend! :)

It was great to work with Donna of Creative Joy Event Solutions! My husband and I wanted to throw a reception 6 months after a courthouse ceremony. Donna was open minded to all of my ideas and helped me keep that vision going with her great suggestions and feedback. Creative Joy Events helped us track down and work with vendors, which was critical as we're from out of state. Lastly, her day-of coordination services were excellent. She was calm and collected and helped me feel the same way. She was able to ensure that my vision was applied to decor/decisions that I wasn't able to be around to make, so that when I came down to the venue it was 100% on theme and beautiful.

When we first started planning a wedding, we were on the fence about a wedding planner. Being new to wedding planning, we kept asking ourselves, “should we get one?” and “do we need one?”. We asked ourselves these questions over & over, and then we met Donna. There are NOT enough good words to describe Donna but I will start with what we think describes her best and that is genuine. When I first started reaching out planners, Donna was the first I talked to and the last – the moment I talked to her we knew instantly that this girl and company would make our dream become a reality and she did. Donna truly cares about you and your day just as much as you do. It was evident when planning for our special day and evident the day of. She came in ready to go and held our hand throughout the entire process – I was definitely freaking out a few times (and that’s an understatement!) and every single time she was there cheering me on, supporting me, getting me whatever I needed, etc. During our rehearsal dinner, Donna stood in front of our families and bridal party and said “Starting right now, Ania & Christian know nothing, and I know EVERYTHING!” I didn’t that we could love her more until she said that. It was SO evident how much she wanted us to enjoy our day and how stress and carefree she truly wanted to make it. It was SO evident that our family and friends noticed it too. Before Donna left for the night, my dad went up to her as well and thanked her. He told us that night “She really cares about you I saw it all night” and we knew that too ☺ The whole day and night when smooth and I owe it to Donna. A wedding is scary, nerve wrecking, and stressful. With Donna, all of that is gone. We are truly sad that our wedding is over because that means we won’t be talking to Donna as much although I am positive we will remain friends as she was just too important to us for us to let her go! For all the brides and grooms out there, your wedding is your one special day where everything is about you and there should not be ONE thing getting in your way – Donna will ensure that happens. We love you Donna!!! Love always, Ania & Christian

We hired Creative Joy Event Solutions as our "Day-Of" Coordinator for our June 2019 wedding. Donna and Tess were the single most important vendors on our wedding day. We met with Donna a few weeks in advance and she contacted and organized all of our vendors from there. Her monthly email check-ins kept me on track throughout the planning process. She ran the show at our rehearsal dinner and she made it so I didn't have to think or worry about a thing on our big day. I didn't even worry about what time it was or where to be because I knew Donna had everything under control. She took all of my crazy ideas and offhand comments, remembered everything, and made it all reality. Everything from cue-ing the processional to gathering family members for photos; from setting up our outdoor ceremony to grabbing my deodorant mid-dinner; from handing out vendor payments to managing family dynamics; from tearing down the reception to just being a great friend and helper. Donna (and Tess) were absolutely the glue that held our wedding day together and kept me from stressing about a single detail. If you are on the fence about hiring a coordinator - do it! And definitely hire Creative Joy Event Solutions!

I don’t think there are actual words to describe how delightful it was to work with Donna at Creative Joy Events. We chose to go with her full service offering, and it was honestly the best thing to happen to our June 2019 wedding. Throughout the process Donna listened to what we wanted as a couple and helped make our visions come to life! She never hesitated to go above and beyond to make sure our day was exactly how we wanted it. Whether that meant fielding the million questions/texts I was sending her way (it was seriously a lot), or handling any curve ball in the planning process like a pro – she was there and ready to make things go smoothly (which she did, every time). On the day of the wedding, I was not stressed AT ALL because I knew Donna & Brandon had everything covered from the décor to keeping us all on schedule. Everything came out beautifully and it was all because of CJES. So thank you Donna, for making our wedding vision come to life and for taking something traditionally stressful and turning into something wonderful – you are a ROCK STAR. I HIGHLY recommend going with Donna and the CJES team for your wedding, you definitely won’t regret it (especially for her extremely reasonable & fair pricing).

CJES was exactly what we were looking for as a day-of event coordinator. We met with Donna a couple of times before the wedding and talked through all of the specifics. She also worked on coordinating vendors in the month leading up to the wedding. On the day-of, she did an excellent job making sure all the details were taken care of so that we didn't have to think about any of them, including making sure that everything was cleaned up at the end of the night. Donna was prompt, flexible and willing to listen to our vision and then implement it. We highly recommend CJES!

Creative Joy Events was worth every penny! Donna helped to create a magical day for my brother and now sister-in-law by offloading the stressful parts of planning on the day of the wedding. I believe I heard Donna on the phone with the DJ who was running late and I know that would have truly ruined my sister-in-law's day to deal with vendors and working with her made everything a breeze! I highly recommend Creative Joy events for your future wedding or gathering!

Donna was a total Godsend for our wedding. She was worth every penny. Donna took the time to know the vision of our wedding, how we wanted things to look and feel, and what was most important to my husband and I in each stage of our day. Donna was organized, professional, positive and fun. She coordinated with all of the vendors, made sure things were in place, and when they were not, quickly came up with a solution behind the scenes to fix it. I thought that I was on top of everything before the wedding but I can tell you - I was not - and the last thing I wanted to do while I was getting my hair and makeup done was put together place card holders, confirm vendors are where they are supposed to be, order food for our limo bus, get parking passes to people who forgot theirs, etc. Donna did a great job of being proactive and keeping the overall wedding and reception on track while also putting out the million little fires that cropped up as well. I highly recommend working with Donna!!

Donna from CJES is a pleasure to work with! There were many things I was unsure about during the entire wedding process, but she was able to answer all my questions and concerns, and was extremely helpful throughout the entire wedding weekend. Donna and Brandon did such a wonderful job making sure the wedding went smoothly, took care of all my needs during the day, and helped me clean up all the decor at the end of the day! I had many compliments on how flawless the wedding went and I've got to say, if you want a team that delivers, Donna is your lady. She is by your side until everything is taken care of. I am so happy to have Donna and CJES there for me. Thank you!

Donna is a freaking angel. She and her sweet husband were worth their weight in gold for their help at our wedding. She is so fun and super chill, which is so key for the amount of stress a wedding can bring on. She was amazing leading up to the wedding - helping us focus our energy, create to-do lists and working with our vendors. The day of the wedding, she and Brandon allowed me to truly relax (i'm a bit of a control freak) and knowing that she was handling everything helped me to just stay in the moment. I highly recommend CJES!

CJES was perfect for our day-of wedding coordination! The price was unbeatable. Donna was very available for questions and concerns before the wedding day, and the day of went off without a hitch! Donna and her team were on top of everything, and were very flexible and accomodating. I would highly recommend working with Creative Joy Event Solutions!

I will preface this by saying Donna was not my wedding planner. I tried to reach out to her to schedule some time to discuss her services. After many emails, our first appointment was cancelled - totally understandable family things comes up. I tried to reach out to her again with silence - bad correspondence. I would be so nervous going forward with her as emails and communication was so poor!

We cannot say enough great things about Donna! She does beautiful work and was absolutely amazing to work with. She was quick to get back to us and help throughout the entire wedding planning process. She truly embraced our wedding vision and turned it into a reality. Thanks to Donna, we were able to fully enjoy our wedding day!

Donna goes above and beyond. She would meet me for any little step in the process and drove from Madison to Milwaukee several times just to be there for every step of the process. She puts in so much work, never complains, and makes you feel stress free for your big day as well as all the days leading up to it. And even better, she really becomes a part of your wedding and a person you know you can rely on for the biggest day of your life. Can not recommend her enough!

Oh my, where do I start?? I am beyond thankful for all the beautiful and hard work that Donna put into our wedding. She’s a selfless, considerate and caring person that also has critical wedding planning experience that helped us immensely! If you are looking for a well-organized, generous, would-do-anything-for-you kind of planner, you’ve come across the right person! My favorite experience with Creative Joy? Being able to bounce fun ideas of my own off of Donna, as well as acquire new, pertinent information. Coffee dates encouraged :)