Elegant Impressions

I cannot say enough amazing things about McKinely. Literally not one thing went wrong on the day. She was so organized, professional, and really a joy to have around all day. She was so prepared leading up to the ceremony, coordinated my rehearsal, and just flawlessly executed the entire day. She also steamed and fixed my veil without even being asked to throughout the day which I so appreciated :) If you want your wedding to be amazing and take off 99% of the stress HIGHLY recommend hiring her. Thank you again!!

We would give her 10 stars if we could. She came highly recommended by another wedding planner; therefore, we felt confident that we would be working with someone wonderful. McKinley is an absolute pleasure to work with and she REALLY knows her stuff. She is organized, creative, hard working, and was patient with our many questions. She is AMAZING!!! She went above and beyond to make us feel at ease throughout our planning process. She made us feel like we were her only clients...that is how much attention she gives each of her clients. Our wedding was beautiful because of McKinley's vision and dedication to making our day absolutely perfect! We ABSOLUTELY - 100% recommend her to anyone planning a wedding.

Hiring McKinley was the greatest decision we made out of the 1,000 decisions required to plan a wedding. I can not tell you enough how above and beyond she went for everything. She even threw my vail in the air and ran as quickly as possible out of photos to help our photographer! Most of all I was able to enjoy every second of our wedding day because I knew McKinley was taking care of everything. She went so far out of her way to do things that would never fall into most day-of coordinators job description. Being a project manager for a living, I never thought I would need or want a wedding planner. I decided to hire McKinley as a Day-of Coordinator so I wouldn’t have to worry about vendors and details on the big day. Had I realized what a godsend she would be and what a pain planning a wedding (multiple times during a pandemic), I would have enthusiastically given her every penny in my pocket to plan our entire wedding. I can not recommend her enough!

There is no doubt in my mind that having McKinley as our planner made our wedding day the day that it was. She dealt with everything with complete ease. As the bride, I was never stressed or concerned because I knew McKinley was an exceptional wedding planner. You would be doing yourself a disservice by not having her as part of your day!

Working with McKinley at Elegant Impressions was the best decision we made for our wedding. My husband and don’t know how we would have done without her. Our wedding was a pandemic wedding in August of 2020. Her packages were within our budget and she went above and beyond to say the least. Our wedding guest list was changed by the city/venue 6 times in less than 2 months. McKinley didn’t sweat it, she helped us narrow down and talk though our guest count. Our venue enforced strict social distancing and mask wearing. McKinley took it in stride and made sure everyone was safe and comfortable in social distancing. We had no idea how crazy the big day would be but we were well prepared thanks to McKinley. Weddings are made up of so many little things that are easily forgotten. McKinley didn’t let anything thing go forgotten. She collected checks to pay the vendors, she collected our party favors to display, she made sure we each got our letter to wrote to each other. She ran and got water bottles for family members during family pictures. She even learned about each bridesmaid and family member and was there to diffuse any situation should it have risen. She was so professional in everything she did it was incredible. She spoke so direct and precise and was able to control an entire room of rowdy wedding party members for the rehearsal. She was also caring enough to stay and load everything in to my mom’s car at the end of the night. She was selfless and vowed to set up the cocktail tables for us since the caterer told us they wouldn’t have the staff to do it themselves. I remember so clearly my feet killing me at the reception, I looked up and McKinley was there with my sandals for me. She took my heels and packed them in my bag. At the end of the night everything was loaded in the getaway car, my bag, my shoes, my veil, by bouquet, how many brides can say that they made it through the day didn’t lose at least one of those!? McKinley worked seamlessly with our vendors. I can’t express how grateful we are for her help with this. She worked with our venue on the COVID-19 precautions. She worked with our caterer on shifting everything outside at the last minute. She worked with our florist to get the centerpieces just right. She worked with our officiant to smooth out the ceremony. She worked with our photographer to makes sure out photos would be taken in the places we wanted them. McKinley met with us twice and each time we brought a new set of pandemic issues. Each time we left out meeting feeling so relieved that McKinley had a solution for it. She had poise and tact in everything we talked about and in everything she did. She knew the wedding industry in and out. She knew the traditional weddings and she knew the non-traditional weddings. She never judged in anything we chose to do. She was so meticulous and organized she had a list and plan for each meeting and obviously for the big day. She went over it with a fine-tooth comb. She gave us editing privileges so we never felt anything was not our choosing. She just fine tuned it. I promise you will not regret going with McKinley at Elegant Impressions. Coming from a snarky bride who thought wedding coordinators were over-rated, go with McKinley. Coming from someone who got married during a global pandemic, go with McKinley. On the big day, you will be so grateful you had her. Your day will truly be your day with McKinley there to handle everything else.

McKinley has the kindest heart and is a true pleasure to work with! So grateful that she has been a part of our wedding team. Her professionalism is unmatched and she is very organized, attentive, responsive, and aware of the industry.

McKinley made sure no details were missed and I could enjoy my daughter's wedding day! She is incredibly organized and very thoughtful regarding what is important to you. She made sure the transition from the wedding venue to the reception venue was smooth. All the vendors were communicated with and reconfirmed prior to the wedding. She knew what questions to ask and thought of things I would have never considered! I highly recommend using her services.

I have personally attended two weddings that McKinley was intimately involved in planning. I have seen her project management skills, attention to detail, and ability to coordinate and build strong, trusted business relationships with her brides and vendors in action and was quite impressed. At one of the weddings she encountered some issues with the draping at both the wedding and reception sites and she quickly stepped into action in collaboration with the vendor to resolve! She prides herself in understanding her bride's vision and guiding them through how best to make it a reality while aligning with budget and other expectations. She does not miss any detail, no matter how small.....she was a guest at my son's wedding and rehearsal dinner and noticed a few things that she quickly helped me to adjust at the last minute (place cards, movement of floral arrangements, etc). She just can't help herself! I would highly recommend you consider Elegant Impressions to help you plan one of the most important events of your life!

Literally the perfect day! Everything was planned for and thought of, even when it rained on our wedding day. So easy to work with and wouldn't have changed a thing. I have already recommended them to multiple people!

McKinley made my wedding day 100% stress free. My mom and I were able to enjoy the day and our moments together without being worried about things being set up, vendors being paid, etc. I was able to focus on getting ready and taking in all of the emotions. With me getting married in Southern Illinois, I still felt like McKinley was with me through the whole process. She asked questions I hadn’t thought of and arranged everything seamlessly with last minute changes due to weather. She doesn’t settle for less than perfect and that’s what makes her such a great planner.