Cygnet Events and Design

Kate is amazing and has wonderful planners in her company! I really can't say enough good things about her. She was a joy to work with - always organized, professional, principled, warm, and fun. We couldn't have asked for anyone better. She made the whole process easy and far less stressful. When things went a little sideways, she handled it very professionally and got things back on track quickly. The vendors she recommended were terrific and they all did a beautiful job on the big day to create just what we had hoped for. I highly recommend her and wish I was going to be planning another wedding so I could work with her again!

While we can’t necessarily compare Kate and the Cygnet team to other vendors in the planning space, I’d find it nearly impossible to believe there’s anyone else out there that does this better. We worked with Kate on a “full plan” basis and can’t say enough about how great she was to work with and how amazing the final product was. Kate was responsive, kind, thoughtful, articulate, and an overall amazing partner to work with. She guided us through every major decision and provided just the right level of guidance to give us space to make decisions but with a level of confidence that we were making the right ones. She was always on top of things, staying in touch with us on a regular cadence when things were slow and then providing us a detailed timeline of everything to do once we got closer to the big day. The months leading up to the wedding day felt easy and stress-free thanks to Kate. On the day of the wedding, she handled everything so well that we had nothing to worry about, and everyone on-site with us was shocked at how “chill” the hours leading up to the ceremony were. As far as the day itself, everything came together perfectly across all our vendors: design, catering, floral, photography, rentals, DJ, etc. all thanks to Kate! She handled all communication with vendors during both planning and day of, so we were able to feel like guests at our own wedding instead of checking our phones and emails all day. Looking back just a few weeks later, there is absolutely nothing we would have changed, and we owe it all to Kate and Cygnet. I can’t stress enough how instrumental they were in giving us a perfect wedding - and would encourage anyone that’s on the fence about having a planner to have one conversation with Kate to be convinced it is 100% worth it.

Kate and her team are absolutely incredible! We hired Cygnet for the couple of months leading up to our wedding and as a day of coordinator. I immediately felt a weight lifted off my shoulders once Kate took over. She's organized, kind, incredibly responsive, and very on top of things! Our entire wedding party and family loved her. On the day of of my wedding, she was taking clips out of her own hair to help fix mine - that's how committed she is to making sure you feel special and taken care of on your big day. My husband and I cannot recommend her and her team enough - we adore them and are so grateful they were part of our special day.

Having Gina as our onsite coordinator for our September 2023 wedding at The Joinery was one of the best decisions we made. As someone with a background in event coordination myself, I was thoroughly impressed by Gina's exceptional organizational skills and her ability to think of details that even I hadn't considered. Gina seamlessly blended into our special day, handling everything with such professionalism and ease that we didn't have to worry about a single thing. Her presence allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the joy of our wedding, knowing that every aspect was being expertly managed. The level of detail and attention she provided started well before the wedding day. Six weeks out, we had a comprehensive call with Gina that covered every aspect of our event. This call set the stage for a flawless final walk-through and ensured that every element of our wedding was meticulously planned. Gina's ability to anticipate needs and manage all the moving parts of our wedding day was nothing short of amazing. We are incredibly grateful for her dedication and skill in making our wedding a perfectly orchestrated and stress-free celebration. If you're looking for an onsite coordinator who is not only highly organized but also genuinely invested in making your event a success, Gina at Cygnet Event and Design is the person to go to. She's a true professional and an absolute joy to work with!

Kate is the simply the best!! We got engaged last year, and knew we didn’t want a very long engagement. In order to pull off a wedding with less than a year of planning, we decided to enlist the help of a planner and I am so happy we did! We found Kate through a family friend, and she made the entire process a breeze. We opted into a partial planning package, focusing primarily on the design elements (although Kate definitely went above and beyond what our package called for.) She kept us on track, connected us with the best of trusted vendors, set perfect budget expectations, and helped craft a consistent vision. Kate is the embodiment of professionalism, with a very warm and friendly touch. It was a delight getting to plan my wedding with her throughout the process, and I always looked forward to our calls. In terms of day-of coordination, our wedding day was absolutely stunning and seamless. My husband and I got to “check out” of planning mode and enjoy our day, knowing that Kate had it all handled with no stone left unturned. She was there to fix all last minute problems, even hand sewing a button back on my husband’s tux right before the first look! We are so grateful to Kate for perfecting our wedding day, and would recommend her services to anyone! :)

The best part of hiring Kate was hearing all of our guests stories about how helpful she was throughout the day! Even a month after the wedding of our dreams, friends and family are telling us stories about how Kate stepped in to save the day with everything from fixing a broken dress strap to cleaning up scrapes on someone who took a spill on a brick floor (yikes! they are fine) - each story was news to us as we were blissfully ignorant of anything that didn't require our input on the day of. At the end of the night, Kate was the last to leave and packed away all of our DIY items in a storage unit. We just collected those items this weekend, and they were so neatly and categorically packed away. To the last minute, Kate was incredibly detail-oriented and in full control of every vendor and minute of the day. We had over ten vendors come together to create the wedding we envisioned, and we could not have managed it without Kate keeping everything on track.

I don’t think I can ever say enough amazing things and thank Kate enough for her work on our wedding. I want to start this review off by saying that wedding planners are NOT all created equal, and Kate is the best in the business. This is a sentiment shared by not just us, but every single one of our vendors, our wedding party and our guests. We had separate conversations with our vendors, and they all said, “oh you made the best choice with Cygnet Events and Design.” Then, our wedding party expressed how lovely Kate was. And then, during and after the wedding, our guests came to us and shared how impressed they were with Kate. Kate's professionalism is unmatched, and she effortlessly commands the respect and admiration of everyone around her. Her ability to keep every detail on track during our final walk-through left my wife and me in awe. We watched as she orchestrated everything flawlessly, and in that moment, we knew our wedding day was going to be epic because she had it all under control. Throughout our wedding day, whenever I had questions she'd reassure me with a grace and a tone that was so friendly. It ended up being my favorite part of working with her and I have a hard time finding words for how nice it was, but the way she spoke to me when I had a question during the wedding was the best. Her tone was reflective of “I got this, and you just enjoy” which really translated into me enjoying the day ever more than I already was. Kate sticks to every deadline and her attention to detail is mind-blowing. I love that she has an opinion on design and will guide you through your thoughts. Wedding planning is hard and being able to lean on a professional to give you advice on what will look best or work best for the day is really amazing. When Kate is with you, you have her full attention, and she makes you feel like the most important people in the world.

Kate and her team were incredible throughout the entire process and especially on our wedding weekend, and I still can't get over how smoothly everything ran – especially given that they had to adapt on the fly to last minute changes we decided to make. My fiancé and I had a very unique vision for our wedding, and we can both be pretty strong-headed, but Kate + co. did a perfect job making our vision come to reality, gently pushing back when she knew certain things would cause challenges we wouldn't have foreseen, and ensuring every single one of our vendors was on the same page. It was so special seeing everything come to fruition, and not having to worry about a single logistic or detail on our wedding day so we could focus entirely on celebrating our love!

Kate Reavey of Cygnet Events and Design is truly a maestro in the realm of event planning. Her creativity, vision, and meticulous attention to detail transformed our wedding into an unforgettable event. She approached every element with an artistic flair and orchestrated the entire event seamlessly, making our vision come to life. Her passion for her work shines through in the quality and elegance of her designs. She is a superb communicator, always responsive and supportive, which made the planning process incredibly smooth. On top of her professional prowess, her warm, personable nature made working with her a genuine pleasure. If you're seeking an expert who will go above and beyond to ensure your event is perfect down to the smallest detail, we can't recommend Kate highly enough. Thanks to her and her team at Cygnet Events, our day was truly beyond our wildest dreams.

Hiring Cygnet Events and Design was the best decision we ever made. My fiancé and I worked with Kate and she was our favorite person during the entire wedding planning process. Her professionalism, reliability, attention to detail, and overall character kept us relaxed throughout the day itself; we were able to feel truly present and she made everything feel easy. We cannot thank Cygnet Events enough for everything they've done to make our special day be stress-free. It was incredible work with incredible people.

We worked with Cygnet Events and Design for our wedding and cannot say enough about how incredible our day went because of our planner. There was nothing left to chance and the organization and attention to detail was outstanding. We had such an amazing wedding day because of all the hard work of our planner and would recommend this company to anyone looking for a wedding planner for their special day.

If you're looking for a day-of/month-of coordinator, look no further than Chicago Vintage Weddings. From our first inquiry online to the very end of our big day in December 2022, the team at CVW was nothing short of organized and thoughtful. We initially spoke with Kate Reavy, the owner, who then paired us with Aly Szczek as our day-of/month-of coordinator. Aly is 10/10; 5 stars; highly recommend to a friend! From the very first point of contact, she was on it (I honestly wish there was a better and more elegant way to say it... but she truly was!). Through the 6 weeks before our wedding, Aly was focused on asking thoughtful questions, reviewing our vendor contracts, getting in touch with vendors to solidify the itinerary, etc. - all in addition to all the work we didn't see that was happening behind the scenes! Come day of rehearsal, she got us organized and rehearsed (even though we weren't on-site at the venue!) And day of, she was available, keeping us honest on timeline, and ensuring that both my husband and I were both fed and had a drink in hand all evening. And you guessed it... the timeline she created was incredible and went without any hiccups (that we saw at least, because Aly was... of course... on it). Again, highly recommend working with CVW (and their rentals!) for your planning/coordination needs. Our day wouldn't have been as stress-free and beautiful without them :)

We cannot say enough wonderful things about Cygnet Events and design. We had Kate Reavey as our wedding coordinator for our wedding in November 2022. Kate was on top of all vendor communication leading up from finalizing things and sharing itineraries to making last minute adjustments. As an events and logistics professional myself, I knew in order to fully enjoy the day I needed someone like Kate who I could trust had everything under control and could bring our vision to life. Kate is professional, calm, thoughtful and has impeccable attention to detail. I had many touches that were important to us and our families that she embraced and made sure were what we envisioned. Our wedding was an absolute dream and we could not have done it without Cygnet Events. I highly recommend the coordination services for someone who has a vision in mind for their wedding and feels confident tackling the planning piece but wants to hand off the details and logistics leading up to allow for you to focus on this special time gathering family, friends and to be fully engaged with your partner on the big day. Thank you Kate 💜💜💜💜 Emily & Michael / Photo Credit Kyle Flubacker

(2/2) On the day of our wedding, she was there from start to finish. She had this emergency Fanny pack on her with all this extra stuff in it like pins I am pretty sure.. she also did the bussle thing for my wife in about 4 seconds! She organized everything from start to finish, made sure we were taken care of. In the bridal suite after the ceremony, she gave us instructions on when we get introduced, how to cut our cake, everything that we probably didn’t even know about she told us. At the end of the night, before we were leaving, she gave us our cards, which she counted and labeled the amount to make sure we didn’t lose any!! The next day, everyone who had been to so many weddings even told us how perfect everything about the wedding was. There was nothing wrong with the flow, timing, it was perfect. They said that all the events or weddings they went to, at least one thing with timing or coordination seemed to get messed up, but because of Kate and her team here, our wedding had no errors made!! If the guests saw the perfection as much as the couple, you know they know what they are doing. Honestly, we can go on and on about how perfect everything was. At the end of all of this, my wife and I consider Kate a friend and not just a planner. There is absolutely nothing negative to write at all about her and the team. If you are newly engaged, and you read through all of this and are looking for a wedding planner, contact them now. My wife and I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with any of it. Thank you KATE and your team! We love you! R&A

(1/2) If I could give more than 5 stars I would. My wife and I were trying to find a planner for our October Wedding in late December 2021/Jan 2022. We had several meetings with a few other planners that we found and our final one was with the Kate, the owner. Immediately, we knew we were going with her. She had what everyone else didn’t have, compassion, and love for weddings and what a couple wants. Right away, she looked ay our Pinterest board when the other two planners we had previously met with told us they wouldn’t ever look at Pinterest boards (which made no sense bc they show you what vibe you are looking for), they also didn’t mention on the day of if they would be there the whole time or if it would be them or just someone from the company, Kate did. From that moment on and to the very last detail, Kate made our wedding more than a dream come true and more than either me or my wife was expecting. Perfection to Kate and her team is truly an understatement. If you think you know how to plan a wedding, the chances that you actually know how much goes into it are very rare. I never thought I knew anything about weddings before, but Kate truly knows anything and everything. For those who like to be organized, she customizes a spreadsheet for you and it’s so detailed and there is nothing that you will ever miss. If you are newly engaged and looking for someone to help, Kate and her team are more than what you are looking for! Being the owner of a wedding planning company, her saying she will be at the entire wedding and before making sure everything thing is flowing is not something that is common. Most will say they will be there for an hour or two. Not Kate and this team. The month of the wedding was a lot of stress and also excitement of course. There are so many emotions going on with everyone. Kate took over all contact with our vendors a little over a month out which really calmed the nerves. The week of, she sent out this detailed itinerary to all vendors, and VIPs of our wedding parties and families and followed up with them to be sure that everyone understood and was on board for all of it. Itinerary was detailed to the last millisecond with timing, which may sound excessive, but I realized that the itinerary that detailed was needed for a wedding to flow and it’s because Kate wanted it all to be perfect, whoever the couple is. The day before on the rehearsal, she gave us a cute gift and handwritten card that we were not expecting and it was so amazing and nice because we should be the ones doing that!

There is no reason to look further. I’ve done all the research on Chicago Wedding planners for you, and you’ve hit the jackpot! I interviewed 4 wedding planners and out of them all, Kate was the only one I felt comfortable would bring my visions to life. It was May of 2020 when I started my search for a wedding planner, and as of October 1st 2022 I am finally married and I had the wedding of my dreams thanks to the most amazing wedding planner out there, Kate. Kate with Cygnet Events and Design (formerly Chicago Vintage Weddings) will keep you completely on track, she will connect you with the most AMAZING vendor list in the industry (who all adore her), and you will absolutely fall in love with her charm and her passion for your wedding day. She will be completely honest with you and not sugarcoat anything to make sure that your day is stress free and perfect. Because I was considered a “covid wedding” for a while, the amount of obstacles that we overcame were overwhelming at times, but I never batted an eye when it came to an issue because I knew Kate would fix it or present me with the best options possible. There were times when vendors told us that their policies had changed, or something wasn’t going to be what we thought it was because they hired a new staff, ie. However, Kate had EVERYTHING in writing. And I mean everything. Always. She is a master at reviewing contracts and catching tricky wording to help her clients. She is quite literally, in all sense of the word, your extreme advocate. I am FOREVER grateful to have had Kate by my side my entire wedding day and have everything go off without a hitch. I had MULTIPLE people coming up to me in my bridal party, in my family, and tell me all the same thing “your wedding planner is outstanding”, “I went to your wedding planner with X question and she helped me right away”. Did I mention my husband and I had a bridal party of over 30 people and she handled it seamlessly? The day of the wedding, my bridesmaids kept coming up to me while getting ready saying “Why do you look so calm??”, “why do you not seam stressed out?!”. Besides the fact that I was marrying my best friend and had nothing to worry about, I knew that Kate would be there with any little thing to help. Also, Kate was the only one who could figure out my bustle. I LOVE YOU KATE! YOU ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST! Anyone who hires you is the luckiest Bride/Groom in the world.

I can't say enough good things about our planner, Aly. Truly an exceptional wedding planner that helped make the process of a twice postponed COVID wedding as painless as possible for us. A few things that made Aly special- 1. I was an anxious bride. Aly was so understanding, warm, and supportive. She asked what I needed and how she could help. She made sure I enjoyed every part of the day, wasn't rushed, and had everything I needed at arms reach. She is a calming presence that felt like a friend. 2. She is an organization queen. She communicated with everyone to ensure we had a great itinerary, got that itinerary into the hands of all the right people, and was the point person for everyone. 3. She's a wealth of knowledge. About anything you can think of related to weddings, Aly knows about it. Need advice on vendors? She's got you. Need to know how to word something on your paper goods? No problem for Aly. She was able to give helpful advice to everyone in the wedding party, parents, our first time officiant, etc. EVERYONE felt taken care of with Aly. 4. She is genuinely happy to be there. You get the sense that this isn't just a job for Aly, but rather she just loves being a part of people's wedding day. She was so happy for us and excited. It was infections. I can't imagine having my wedding day without Aly. In sum, you can't go wrong with CVW. They have a stellar, supportive team and are worth every penny and then some.

We hired Chicago Vintage Weddings for day-of wedding planning and it turned out to be one of the best decisions. Aly, our coordinator, made sure that the vendors we found had their own network of communication so as to not bother my wife and I with minor questions and problems in the weeks leading up to the wedding. She was there with us during our walkthrough of our site with our vendors to ask questions to the site-owner and vendors about timing and services that we wouldn't have known to ask. She also provided us with some supplementary items to help with the decor! On the day, Aly was on top of EVERYTHING, she kept our wedding moving so smoothly it was a beautiful thing to witness. If you want to have a SMOOTH, FUN, and ORGANIZED wedding, be sure to contact CVW, they know what they're doing. Thanks again Aly!!

Hands down the best decision we ever made was to hire Chicago Vintage Weddings! We worked with Aly and she was beyond amazing. Our wedding had two different venues for the ceremony and reception, and there would have been no way to execute our day alone with so many pieces to it. Our wedding turned out PERFECT thanks to Aly's top notch attention to details/timeline. She is one of the most detailed people I have ever met and has a very positive personality which we loved :). Chicago Vintage Weddings also has a huge selection of rental goods to take advantage of which we did! Our wedding would have never been the day it was without Aly, Kate, and her amazing team! Look no further. CVW is the company to hire! Wish we could do it all over again :)!

Working with Chi Vintage Weddings was a dream! I owe so much to our event consultant, Aly, who went above and beyond every single expectation I had. Prior to our big day we met via Zoom, as I was planning from out of the country, in which she was extremely accommodating. Aly’s communication was effective and timely - everything a bride with a million questions could want! Our night went SMOOTH AND SEAMLESS to the point where I was shocked that not one thing was out of place. Our list for all of the amazing things she did, truly, seems endless. Aly handled all aspects of our day-of schedule, vendor communication/expectations, and ensuring family/friends were where they needed to be for photography purposes. She ensured both my husband and I had beverages and food during cocktail hour while we were off taking photos. - she even saved my dress after some street photos resulted in dirt marks on my train! Aly stayed for the entirety of the wedding and was present for every transition throughout the night. Our guests even commented on how hands-on, efficient and professional she was. Her attention to every detail was truly incredible to ensure we completely got to enjoy our night, stress-free. Thank you again for all of the work you did! Words cannot express how truly appreciative we are!

We were so incredibly lucky to have Chicago Vintage Weddings (and Aly, specifically!) be part of our day. Aly took care of all of the details and ensured that we had an easy, stress-free day. We seriously can’t thank (or recommend) Aly and Chicago Vintage Weddings enough!!!

Hiring CVW was a no-brainer after speaking with Kate. Her professionalism, industry knowledge and warm personality sold us. After meeting our coordinator Aly, it was clear that everyone at CVW is top notch! She took away all the day-of (truly month-of) stress and to-dos so that we could focus on spending time with our families and friends. And she loves dogs! As a COVID bride, I was always waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop, but with CVW it never happened. Would recommend them without reservation!

Working with Chicago Vintage Weddings was probably our best wedding-related decision!! We decided to hire CVW for coordination services for our September 2022 wedding after they came highly recommended by our venue and we had a great conversation with the owner, Kate Reavey. Once it got closer to our wedding date we were assigned to work with Aly Szczek one of the CVW event consultants. Aly is a total rock star and the sweetest person!! She was amazing from the start but it was at the final venue walk through that we realized just how important she was to our planning process and how spectacular she is at her job. She was so thoughtful and professional and asked our vendors questions that we honestly would never even thought of! She created the most immaculate detailed timeline and made sure everything ran smoothly from the minute she started working with us to the wedding cleanup/tear down. She was extremely responsive, answered all our questions, and was so enthusiastic throughout the planning process. She led us through a super efficient and helpful rehearsal the day before our wedding and then just knocked it out of the park on our actual wedding day. It felt like she was doing everything everywhere all at once - and we are certain that she is largely responsible for just how smooth our wedding day went!! We are SO grateful for everything that Aly and CVW did to make sure our wedding day was everything we had dreamed of and more. We would HIGHLY recommend them without a doubt!!!

We cannot say enough positive things about working with Aly and the CVW team for our wedding. Our initial meeting with Kate gave us the utmost confidence in the CVW team. We utilized some of their a la carte services and highly recommend the budget consultation. It was so helpful in setting realistic goals for spending while also helping us create a checklist of all the many things that go into a wedding. Aly was our day of coordinator - she was incredibly thorough and kind in every interaction. She asked all the right questions which helped make the execution of our plans flawless. She was detail oriented and checked in with us on every point. I've been a part of a few weddings and no planner/coordinator has come close in how detailed their plans were and checklists. During the event, her and Taylor were on it and if there were any issues it was handled immediately. If I made a request for something like my change of shoes at my seat, it happened. I could go on and on. We are so grateful to Aly and Taylor for putting us at ease during the weeks leading up to the wedding and day of. Highly recommend.

If you're getting married in Chicago, this is your first stop. Hiring CVW was easily our best investment we made for our wedding! The team was extremely organized, and made the last few weeks before the ceremony go by SO smoothly; I barely stressed the entire week before! There were so many minor details that could've given us a million headaches, and the team covered everything without us even having to think about it. I personally would've imploded if we didn't hire Kate & her team. They made our wedding day exactly what it should've been: perfect. Thank you, Chicago Vintage Weddings!

We cannot thank Aly and the CVW team enough. They went above and beyond in helping us make our wedding exactly as we wanted and smoothing out the kinks along the way. From answering too many of our panicked emails, to providing excellent guidance, and beyond, we couldn't have asked for better wedding coordination. They deserve everything they are paid, and more. Aly's services were the absolute best money we spent for the entire wedding. Our only regret is not including CVW sooner in the process.

Kate from CVW was our coordinator for our May 2022 wedding, and we cannot recommend her highly enough! Our wedding was postponed twice due to covid, which led to extra complexities, vendor switches, and added stress -- but Kate went above and beyond to help navigate through all these bumps. Kate was incredibly professional, experienced, organized, and responsive, and once she took the reins about 6 weeks out from the day, the stress turned to relief and confidence knowing she was taking care of everything. We also got some great furniture rentals through CVW. We absolutely recommend Kate and CVW to anyone planning a wedding -- we couldn't imagine doing it without her!

We worked with Aly for our October wedding at the Joinery. We started talking 5-6 weeks prior to the big day with an intro call to discuss every detail. Aly made me feel comfortable from the first minute of our communication. While I was overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done, Aly helped prioritize and organize each step of the way. She coordinated our family and friends and made sure the vendors executed the perfect day. We couldn't have done this without her - I am forever grateful to Aly and The CVW team.

We had a wonderful experience working with CVW last October. Aly was our “day of” coordinator who worked so hard to make the day seamless for my daughter and her groom to be. We met Aly 6 weeks prior to the wedding date to provide her with all the details of what we had planned. Aly coordinated everything with all the vendors, so that the day off the wedding things went off without a hitch. We also did various rentals from CVW which helped complete the look and the feel for the wedding. Can’t say enough about this company! Thank you Aly!!

Where to even begin. We met Kate back in April of 2019 at the recommendation of a friend. We immediately were struck by her professionalism and attentiveness to detail. Fast forward and because of Covid we just had our "big" wedding in December of 2021. Over the almost three years we have been working with Kate (including two reschedules of our big wedding and planning a small backyard wedding) , she has shown herself to be incredible kind, generous, creative, sharp, professional and pretty much both of our families think she is "the best wedding planner ever!" We would have been lost without her! She is also incredible creative - you get not only a planner but event designer as well - she thinks of every detail to make you and your guests comfortable and having the best time. You absolutely will not regret having Kate as your planner!! While we are glad to have wedding planning behind us, we miss working with Kate! (Her whole support team is also wonderful!)

Let me preface this review by saying our wedding was in June 2021 so I am way late in posting an amazing review for Kate and CVW! However, that should really be a testament to how great she was because I have been thinking about needing to do it nonstop for six months! Okay, let’s get to it: from the initial virtual meeting to our wedding day, I felt super secure and confident with Kate’s approach to making the planning process as smooth as possible (which, given COVID, was no small feat). There was never a question too silly to ask (and I’m sure I asked a lot of them ha), and she was always super responsive! Another big thing was how supportive she was as we navigated the ever shifting regulations/recommendations from city regarding COVID mitigations, and she was somehow both realistic and reassuring every time my anxiety kicked in! When the wedding weekend arrived, Kate was on the ball with coordination, making sure everything was running smoothly and no details were missed (even when I missed them! I forgot to put a specific cordial in our liquor order for a specialty cocktail; the morning of the wedding, she caught it and sent her assistant out to get a bottle!! I had no idea until after the event, which speaks to just how stress free she aimed for the day to be for us!). My intent in working with a coordinator was to make an investment to ensure we could fully enjoy our day, and Kate and CVW exceeded all expectations!

Kate and her team were PHENOMENAL! I cannot say enough GREAT THINGS about our experiences. I say experiences because we (my daughter, her now husband, and our families) were one of the any that got caught in the Covid Crunch! The first go-round back in March of 2020 was great, we were on track, everything was organized and I felt extremely comfortable and happy that things would go successfully, even though we were scheduled for our wedding in mid-April. Low and behold 2 days after our final walk through, the wedding world ended as we knew it. However, Kate and her team NEVER STOPPED WORKING! Kate handled all of the rescheduling and worked with the vendors, all was good! However, the second date fell apart due to the on-going pandemic. Now, we were onto round 3, and a full year and a half after the original date, Kate and her team were still on the top to their game. What a wonderful calming influence in what had been more than a year of struggles. We had a virtual walk through, the rehearsal was seamless, the organization was impeccable, the thoughtful consideration of all of the bride's preferences were honored with integrity. Calm, organized, efficient and firm (with a very large, somewhat loud wedding party, just prior to the service), to make the ceremony one of the best in my memory, and the what felt like seamless organization during the reception. This wedding has many disastrous moments while leading up to it, however, what often felt like a wedding that was out of our control, and exasperating, because as me the wedding of everyone's dream! This dream WEDDING OCCURRED BECAUSE OF KATE....if it had not been for her this would have never been accomplished, but, because of her, it was better than we could have possibly imagined, and exceeded our expectations. If you are planning a wedding in the Chicago area, I cannot recommend Chicago Vintage Weddings and Kate ant more highly. They are impressive in every way, and they will are sure you expectations, providing you and your favorite bride and groom the wedding of your dreams. My only sadness is that I have no more children getting married and that means that I won't be able to work with Chicago Vintage Weddings and Kate again, but my appreciation will live with me forever!

For anyone on the fence about hiring a wedding coordinator, do not hesitate. It's worth every penny. I was pretty nervous planning my entire Chicago wedding from Seattle, so I knew I needed a coordinator in the 6 weeks leading up to the wedding. I just didn't know how helpful it would be especially on the actual wedding day. I consider myself a pretty organized person, but Taylor from CVW helped me catch anything I missed and nailed down anything that was still up in the air. The itinerary we put together helped everyone involved in the wedding stay on track. Taylor was able to calmly deal with inevitable issues that popped up throughout the day, ultimately relieving stress for myself, my husband, and our wedding party. She worked with the coordinator at the reception venue to beautifully transform the space. She was there from morning until night making sure everything was in place and checking in with myself and my husband. Overall, our wedding day was perfect. I know everyone says that, but I truly don't think it could have gone as smoothly without CVW day-of coordinator services.

Kate and her team are extremely professional, business oriented, well connected within the industry, and just such incredibly kind/pleasant individuals to work with. Kate captured wedding our vision from the start and was able to make everything we imagined come to life plus even more. We were so appreciative of her transparent and frequent communication, and how she clearly was looking out for our best intentions when in discussion with vendors. We were originally supposed to be married in 2020 but had to postpone, not only did she help us throughout the entire process but also made it incredibly painless to reschedule our event. We were blown away at how amazing our wedding was, and could not recommend her enough!!

I cannot say enough good things about Kate and Chicago Vintage Weddings! She made the stressful process of planning a wedding amidst ever-changing covid restrictions in Chicago seamless. I felt so much better knowing she was in control of everything and I could relax and enjoy it! She is extremely professional, kind and just an all around amazing person! My entire family loved her and my parents were thrilled they didn't have to do anything! Thank you so much Kate!!

Chicago vintage weddings was great! So much more goes into a wedding than we expected but Kate was on it every step of the way so we could actually enjoy the months leading up to our wedding and the big day itself!

Kate was amazing. She was communicative, organized, and calm. Her focus was on making the day special for my husband and I. COVID complicated things, but Kate didn't skip a beat- she followed guidelines, focused on the safety of both staff and guests, and made sure that my husband and I were having a great time. She brought our vision to life in a way I didn't even know was possible. Kate's the best!

We are pretty sure that Kate and the Fairy Godmother are best friends. As many covid couples, we went through it but what kept us going and positive was Kate. There were a few times, she had to deliver some not so great news but she always followed up with "no worries, we still got this." The entire time, Kate was always realistic with our needs and budget and was able to help improvise as she saw fit. She is very well known in the Chicago community so she easily connected us to other incredible vendors who were happy to work with her again. After all the hard work she put in for us, a week before the wedding date, we had to move the wedding to Florida....and as you may expect , "We still got this!" Kate did her research and helped make our wedding day come together. She is so on top of things that I am very confident she did many things for us that we have no idea about. Her creativity, kindness, and professionalism is glorious. Due yourself a favor and choose Kate!!

Our daughter was recently married amidst the COVID restrictions and Kate was a life saver! Her professional and calm, measured approach to any challenge we encountered with the Church or the dinner venue kept us all focused on the happy couple and their special celebration. She made sure that everyone involved felt safe while, at the same time, helping us create a fun and memorable experience for our small group of family and friends. Kate’s coordination of the contractors in advance and onsite, and her amazing attention to detail, allowed us to step back and enjoy every aspect of the wedding celebration. It was a beautiful day for our family! Having gone through the wedding planning process now for the first time, and with the added burden of a global pandemic, we can’t imagine what we would have done without Kate. Thank you! Thank you! Our recommendation to anyone considering a wedding planner – Chicago Vintage Weddings is #1!

My husband and I were married on October 17th and we could not have had a better experience working with Kate!! When we first hired her almost a year ago our plans for our wedding were very different. With COVID changing the game-we went through, like many, a lot of heart break. Kate remained super positive and was always coming up with an alternative plan. The wedding we ended up having was absolutely gorgeous and intimate. She really hit the ball out of the park with our expectations. We will also be working with Kate in May to celebrate our marriage with everyone we couldn't include!! We are so excited to start planning for the reception! Kate is honestly the best!!!!!

My husband and I were recently married this October! Hiring Chicago Vintage Weddings to aid in month-of planning and day-of coordination as the best decision ever. Kate was kind, communicative and completely professional throughout the entire process. I reached out to Kate almost exactly one month before the wedding. I was feeling pretty great about the planning I had already done but, I needed help making sure everything came together seamlessly on the day-of. Kate. Was. AWESOME. She made me feel like she’d been next to me in the planning process from the beginning. I honestly don’t know how she remains so calm and collected! Weddings can be stressful enough without the added complications of a global pandemic and Kate did an incredible job ensuring every detail was perfect while keeping guests and vendors safe on our day. She gracefully handled my control freak nature, day-of jitters, late arrival to the venue and more! I cannot say thank you enough. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Kate and would highly recommend Chicago Vintage Weddings! THANK YOU Chicago Vintage Weddings for being the BEST!

Omg! Let me start with a big, Thank you! To Kate + Chantel. I've had the pleasure of working with these ladies on many of their hotel wedding room blocks and always appreciated how organized they were, available to always answer questions and most importantly, just all-around easy to work with. (Insider) I loved their brides too they were always so full of energy and life! So, when I needed a venue for a client’s 30th birthday dinner party - 30 days out - during the pandemic, Kate and the beautiful space Chicago vintage weddings operate were a rainbow in the sky I promise. From the moment I reached out Kate went above and beyond to make sure the event was safe and fun given the current atmosphere around COVID-19 and limits placed on the wedding and events industry. It was really comforting to know that she shared the same care the health and welfare of everyone; both vendors and guests. The day of the event the we had access to their showroom for cocktail hour. The space is was timeless and eclectically mixed with their rentals! The showroom was a perfect space for photos, conversation, and drinks! And, Kate was very flexible with how we would work inside the space. On top of the venue, we rented their brushed glass flatware, vintage dinner plates, and the loveliest glassware. The mixed pink depression glass was a hit everyone kept asking where did I find these lol and made the champagne look extra pretty as if champagne needs a filter. There was a large kitchen area to set up catering as we opted to not do a buffet, instead did plated service. The FIVE STARS for me was finding ice in the freezer. #GOAT! I cannot say enough how much I appreciate your attention to making sure my event was seamless. Everything was chic from rooms the rentals and I cannot wait to host in your space again!! It was beyond a blessing to finally met you Kate + Chantel, and look forward to hosting another event in your space again soon! - AriLynn Event Rentals + Styling Co.

We hired Chicago Vintage Weddings back in September of 2019 for our wedding to be held on a private family farm in August of 2020. We had gone with the “Brigitte | Month-of Coordination package”. We host many partys and events and knew we had the skills to get the wedding up to a certain point but wanted to get the best people on our team to finish it thru. That’s why we went to Kate. We had a sit down and met with Kate and went over our ambitious plan to transform our farm into a 1970’s themed paradise. We had full faith in her abilities. Our meeting went very well, Kate was professional and attentive. And then Covid-19 happened… I had been in communication with Kate since early March in regards to our wedding plan for August. Kate seemed to be on board as long as state guidelines allowed us. As we got closer to our service start date (6 weeks out) my fiancé and I had adapted our plan to keep our guest count as well as keep the entire wedding outside while practicing social distancing. At that time, Illinois North-Central region (where our farm is located) was at the highest stage of Covid. This would have allowed for outdoor gatherings up to 250. Our wedding was at 180, the rest of our vendors were all signed on, it was on private property and we were adhering to social distancing guidelines. We thought we were all set! However, Kate then changed what would allow her to participate in the wedding. Rather than following the CDC / State guidelines as she had stated originally, she now had said that “Of course we will need to take this with a grain of salt because this is a “destination” event with many people coming from other places.” Kate made this statement without knowing my guestlist, my guestlist’s addresses or any other factual information about our wedding, as our service had not started. In our contract I agreed to a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the total fee, approx. $1500. In the contract it states that Kate can essentially do what she wants, whether it be pulling out of the event, or if an act of God occurs, she still keeps that nonrefundable deposit. As a small business owner, I can understand that, however, due to the current world crisis I had hoped for more empathy from Kate. I had been in contact with Kate from the beginning of it all. We had adapted our plan and we got lucky that the northern-central region was able to host large outdoor events. However, Kate continued to change what would justify her participation in our wedding. Now knowing that Kate was going to keep our deposit regardless, I had asked if we could still use half of her agreed upon services, considering I was paying for half of her agreed upon services for nothing already. We wanted her help in pre wedding coordination for the 6 weeks prior to the wedding and then no service day of. Kate said that as soon as any work would begin the full amount would be due. Like I said, Kate was professional and I’m sure would have done a wonderful job. I do understand that keeping my deposit is what I agreed to in our original contract 6 months prior to Covid. However, I expected more consistent customer service and understanding from Kate. We ended up having our wedding. We had zero positive cases after and it went off without a hitch after using a different planner.

I chose Chicago Vintage Weddings as a vendor back in November. It was an easy decision; I was immediately enchanted by their big, rustic farm tables and delicate vintage stemware. Chantel was so warm and responsive and, honestly, just fun — which goes a long way when you're planning a wedding. One lovely in-person meeting, a slew of emails back and forth, and a handful of well-received changes (met with smart suggestions) later, we were all set for an intimate backyard wedding, complete with farm tables, stemware, and a flourish of other beautiful touches. And then an international pandemic. A quarantine. General upheaval of 'normal' life and the dissipation of wedding season 2020. It seemed a trivial thing in some ways, but we, along with the rest of the betrothed, had some soul searching to do: to wed or not to wed? While we were excited and grateful to be one of the few couples who did indeed get to celebrate this summer, we had to make some changes to prioritize safety. Chantel and the owner Kate made those changes easy. I simply could not have pulled off a quarantine wedding without them. They were helpful, flexible, savvy, thoughtful and just real people about the whole thing, a breath of fresh air in a sometimes stuffy industry. To end, I'll just say that if Kate and Chantel can cheerfully manifest my dream wedding amid a worldwide pandemic, they can probably do anything.

Kate. Is. Incredible. I don’t know how she does it, but she is a superwoman and we literally could not have made our wedding happen without her. She hooked us up with some awesome vendors that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise and give us realistic expectations about our budget. She held our hand throughout the entire process (we booked her for full wedding planning) and counseled us through our anxieties and even family disagreements. (You never know how strong ideas you and your parents have about napkins until you get married!) If you’re debating about full planning or partial planning, my advice would be to just go for the full planning if you can swing it. The money we spent on planning we definitely saved in getting good deals and finding out about high quality, well-priced vendors. Also, the peace of mind that Kate at CVW provided was PRICELESS.

I had the most stress-free experience working with Chicago Vintage Weddings! As someone who is not detail oriented, I can honestly say they made furniture rental a snap! I sent Chantel my florist’s vision board and she took it from there. She immediately sent me photos of pieces she knew would fit the vibe of the space and color scheme-it was spot on!! Thats another great thing about this company- they are SO timely and professional. I always felt like i was their top priority, which is a HUGE stress reliever when you’re planning a wedding! It snowed on my wedding day and much of my venue was closed, but I was confident knowing I’d have a beautiful, sophisticated space to take photos with their furniture. They did an outstanding job and helped my day be seamless. I would recommend to anyone who wants to make their day extra memorable!

You will not regret working with Chicago Vintage Weddings. Having a planner (and these planners specifically) was an integral part of our wedding day. The entire day was expertly executed. And the entire planning process was clear and organized. Kate thought of things I would have NEVER thought of. She added a thoughtful touch to every aspect of our day and while there were a million things going on, Kate felt like a dear friend there to support us every step of the way. It was honestly kind of hard to say goodbye at the end of the night! A huge thank you to Kate and her team for making our magical Garfield Park Conservatory wedding dreams come true. ❤️

Had a great experience renting with Chicago Vintage Weddings for my backyard wedding! I was going for a vintage chic look for my table centerpieces that was affordable. Chantel was amazing to work with and great communicating. I was easily able to schedule appts to view their studio/warehouse, pick up rentals, and drop them off. I rented a ton of gold candlesticks and vintage bottles and set them up all along the middle of the tables and then added ostrich feathers inside the bottles and vintage love poems ripped from old books laid out underneath as a runner and it was perfect! Exactly what I had imagined and had a bunch of comments on how unique it was. I would highly recommend Chicago Vintage Wedding services.

For the record, we originally started our wedding planning thinking that getting a coordinator was 1. going to be out of our price range and 2. completely unnecessary. Here's where we were wrong... the level of service, detail, and care that Kate gives far surpasses anything you may pay (even though all services and rentals are so reasonable) but 2. YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR WEDDING. Period. Enjoy yourself. It can literally be the best day ever and Kate and her team will make sure that happens. I barely was asked questions, never once bothered with issues unless Kate felt I would want to be involved. Otherwise - we partied our butts off, got our dogs in our ceremony (shes a pup lover!) and took every picture we ever wanted because she made it happen without struggle. Kate's eye for vintage is also incredible and her rentals were so good and available in a pinch. She was incredibly helpful in coordinating various things after the wedding too, which just speaks to the care she provides. We just cannot say enough. Enjoy your wedding, call Kate!

I think it's pretty safe to say that we would not have had the wedding we wanted without Kate to help us out. With both of us in grad school and working, it was extremely difficult to find the time to get things done. Kate was a great help and a lifesaver throughout the entire process. She met with us regularly and was always available over email whenever we had a question. She also really worked with our vision and worked hard to get us the best vendors to match what we wanted visually and price-wise. Once we got to the actual week itself, Kate was indispensable. She handled all of our guests' issues and questions, handled etiquette and appointments for the groom and bridal parties, and coordinated every vendor, appointment and everything in between. She also made sure we weren't bothered by anyone on the day of and even set aside a room for us right after the ceremony so we could get a little break! We worked with Kate for 2 years and we could not have been happier with how our wedding turned out. If you have the opportunity, definitely work with her and Chicago Vintage Weddings!

There are so many things that go into a wedding no matter the size and Kate at Chicago Vintage Weddings was there for all of it! She anticipated things I never would have thought of, responded so quickly to all questions, and supplied little things like the card box, easel stand, and the holders for our menus at the tables. She handled scheduling with all of our vendors, coordinated things at the hotel, recommended our amazing alcohol supplier (Prestige Liquors) and made sure everything was running on time. Hiring Kate was the best choice we made- our family was able to relax and enjoy the day knowing the scheduling and last minute details were taken care of!

My husband Giusseppi and I got married September 28th of 2019 and we most definitely could not have had a smoother day if we tried. It was all thanks to Chicago Vintage Weddings. I knew who I wanted to hire as soon as I got engaged and I'm so glad we made it happen. Kate, was so kind and made us feel so special the entire time. We went with the 6 week coordination package which was just perfect for us! The last four weeks are always the most stressful and hectic and due to the help of Ellen, Giusseppi and I were able to focus on just what we needed and the rest she handled. We felt so loved and looked after and Ellen was the best fit for us! I truly believe if we did not hire them we would have been panicked and stressed weeks before the wedding. I can't say enough great things about this team! They really made us feel like family and I would get married all over again just to remain in constant contact with them. We love you guys! GG

We absolutely LOVED working with Kate from Chicago Vintage Weddings as our "month of wedding planner"! When we were getting started in the wedding planning process, I wasn't sure if we wanted to go with planning services, but now I couldn't imagine pulling off such a perfect day without them. They were able to help us with decoration rentals, organizing an airtight timeline, and kept all of the vendors in communication throughout. Kate was incredibly responsive to our questions and made sure that our wedding wishes were a priority for the day! I highly recommend working with this dynamite team!

Book her if you want a perfect event! I have worked closely with Kate and her team several times as a wedding florist and from my perspective, Kate is one of the best in the business. Highly organized, good communicator, and beautiful event design. Every wedding I've done with her has been absolute perfection. Every detail is always so tasteful and nothing is forgotten. Her events are on a whole other level. The best part-- the couples are always so relaxed and happy because Kate has taken care of everything.

Our wedding day was everything we had dreamed of, thanks to CVW's day-of coordination (which was really more like month-of!). We were planning our wedding remotely from a different state, which made it really important for us to have a great coordinator, and I am so glad we invested in their services. We were matched up with Ashley, who was wonderful. In the weeks leading up to the big day, she took over all communication with our vendors, ensuring that everyone was on the same page for things to go as planned, and facilitated a final run-through at our venue that everyone involved really appreciated. She also perfectly tracked and ensured our progress with finalizing the nuts and bolts of our ceremony (like the script, music, etc.). On the actual wedding day, we really appreciated Ashley's calm and organized presence - she was always magically right there before we even had to look for her. My impression as the bride was that if anything went wrong behind the scenes, I was not aware of it whatsoever because everything seemed to go perfectly! I cannot believe I ever thought having a coordinator was optional - I truly don't think I would have been able to juggle all these details myself, and Ashley's ability to do so was very impressive. She thought of things I never would have remembered and made sure that we had clear plans in place for all those details, all the way from the timing of our ceremony music cues down to the glassware quantities we were renting. She really went above and beyond, and even took some great candid photos while I was getting ready with my bridesmaids, which are so great to have as we wait for our official photos to come back from our photographer. To us, our coordination package felt like a very good value for the way it took day-of tasks off our hands and gave us peace of mind. We would absolutely recommend CVW's services!