Emerald City Designs, The Special Event Group

erall floral and decor for our wedding. Nicole and her team put my Pinterest Inspiration photos to shame - they executed every detail more perfectly than we could have imagined! Every guest went on and on about how beautiful the floral was, how incredible the details were, and how the entire event from start to finish was cohesive and intentional. I cannot thank the ECD team enough! They were able to understand our vision, offer incredible suggestions, stay within our budget, and create the wedding of our dreams. I would recommend ECD to anyone and everyone! They took all of the stress out of planning and executing our wedding day!

! The first time I walked into ECD, I was blown away. Wedding planning can be very stressful and intimidating for a bride, but ECD made me feel so inspired and excited! The studio itself is beyond gorgeous. When you walk in, you are instantly transported into a series of weddings. They have multiple tables set up as previews for brides to see their own visions come to life! I worked with Nicole during my initial design meeting where I showed her different photos, ideas, themes, etc. She took those ideas and ran with them, capturing my vision and then some! She made this one-on-one experience so incredible. In fact, after leaving that day, I told my now husband, "it's like she was already reading my mind!" Nicole knew exactly what I wanted and made it happen! Nicole then handed the reins over to Rebecca, or as I like to call her, my life saver! Rebecca, I hope you know how amazing you are. As someone who also plans events for a living, is very type A, and likes things a certain way, Rebecca, you handled me with ease! I would have been completely lost without you on my wedding day! Rebecca was our Day of Coordinator. We also had her attend our rehearsal which was a blessing because without her, we would have been lost. She helped execute everything flawlessly. She even created timelines for the bridal party (family included) so everyone knew exactly how the day of the wedding would run, and where they needed to be. She arrived the day of the wedding early, delivered all the flowers, helped me get into my dress, packed my purse with all my essential items, helped facilitate my first look with my father, got me in and out of vehicles, organized the bridal party to make sure they were all on-time, followed along for group photos, queued the band on when to play, bustled my dress, set up my memory table, distributed tips, assisted with must-have photos, I could go on and on. Hiring her was the BEST decision I made for my wedding day! Rebecca, seriously, I don't know what I would have done without you. Everything went perfectly, and if something did go wrong, I still don't know about it! Rebecca I already miss you! ECD is so lucky to have you! ECD, you make dreams come true! Honestly! If you are looking for a one-stop shop for all your floral, décor, linen, stationary, you name it, ECD can do it! If I had to redo my wedding a million times over, there is no one else I'd work with! Thank you for everything and for making my wedding day the best, most magical day of my life!

e best to work with throughout all the chaos. They took note of every detail that went into our wedding vision, and literally made it come to life. Please do yourself a favor and if you're thinking of working with them - do it! Extra special thank you to Ann and Nicole - they will forever have a special place in my heart for helping to create the best day of my life.

sm. The team led by Nicole Beaudoin at Emerald city hit the ground running with referring to my Pinterest board and absolutely NAILED my dream decor. Everyone was stunned by the quality of the flowers, kocha (Middle Eastern backdrop), and tables. We got our bouquets from them as well and all deliveries were timely, with Nicole thoroughly emailing and following up with exact flowers, items, estimates, etc., all throughout the process. Thankfully our wedding was at the end of May when COVID-restrictions had loosened up, and everyone was floored by the quality, aesthetic, and royal vibe the decor provided. Some of my friends already told me they would use them for their vow renewals. If I had to do it over again (as many people are considering with the pandemic ), I would hands down go to Emerald City and Nicole!

You will wind up taking legal actions as I am.

planning, responsive employees and beautiful flowers, chairs, and table cloths. If Emerald city can’t provide it, you don’t need it. Thanks for making our day perfect.

photo books prepared so that we could show her exactly what we wanted. We never felt that she pushed us to pick more expensive options or anything; in fact we started out by saying we had a certain budget and she was great in helping us meet that budget and suggesting places where we could make substitutions or save money. We got to preview our table setup prior to the wedding. On the day of our wedding, our decorations looked absolutely beautiful. I will say our ceremony arch draping and our cake flowers did not look 100% as we had discussed but were still just gorgeous and we got so many compliments on the decor, that it didn't really matter. Overall we had a great experience with Emerald City!

an we expected. This team is very easy to work with, we did not feel pressured to do anything we did not want to, and they found the best way to incorporate out ideas on our budget. The reception decor, flowers and our day-of-coordinator Ann Owens was amazing. Having Ann by our side was the best choice we could've made, most of our worries went out of the door because of her. She made sure everything was where it needed to be and made the day less stressful. This team is amazing, and you should definitely make the best decision of your wedding planning by hiring them! You will not regret it. Thank you so much for making our dreams a reality on our big day!

interest photos. Emerald City Designs provides a table preview appointment, so you can see what your table decorations and flowers will actually look like and make changes if it doesn't all come together the way you thought it would. This was so reassuring for us to know that everything would be beautiful and perfect. We will recommend Emerald City Designs to everyone we know!

of-coordinator service. We worked closely with Nicole, Heather, and Cheryl. Working with Nicole was so easy- she listened to everything we wanted, worked with our budget, and designed the most beautiful florals! Heather designed all of our paper products, and most importantly our invitations. Heather is amazing- she is talented and so very patient (especially since I made about 50 changes and scheduled emergency meetings on the fly!) Heather was so easy to communicate with, and she designed the most stunning invitations and paper products for our big day! The day-of-coordinator we were lucky enough to work with was Cheryl. If you are considering a day-of-coordinator, DO IT- I cannot stress this enough. Cheryl is a true angel. She thinks of every single tiny detail and is unbelievably organized. She is professional, kind, thoughtful, and warm- EXACTLY the kind of person you want to be around on your wedding day! I felt so calm knowing that Cheryl was there to handle the details and make sure everything went smoothly. Cheryl is truly wonderful and we cannot thank her enough for being such an important part of our wedding day. Thank you Emerald City!!!

could, and we were really pleased with her. That being said, with a total "value" of I believe $6000, I was unfortunately feeling like this was the vendor I wish I had gone another way on. The reception was beautiful, everything was perfect, no complaints there. But our bouquets were tiny! My bridal bouquet was about the size of my SIL's toss bouquet (she went small, local shop). Her bridesmaid bouquets were also larger than my bridal bouquet. I ended up liking the girl's bouquet more than mine. Overall, the bouquets were a huge let down, but in the grand scheme of things, if that's the worst thing about our day, we had it pretty good. Not trashing them, but if I had the chance to redo the day, I would have chosen someone else.

concerns there was several math errors on my Bill of Service all in their favor... they were more then willing to correct them when I pointed them out. Scheduling the "6 Month" and "3 Month" meetings was difficult, they only took appointments during the day when most people have work and they booked up so quickly I tried to schedule the "6 Month" a month in advance and they couldn't get me in till nearly 4 months out... so that was stressful. However, all of this being said, I hired them to decorate and coordinate and they did their job on the day of. I loved my centerpieces and all the details. They did a fantastic job for what I hired them to do.

p to Mackinac Island for our event! Emerald City was a personal recommendation from not one, not two but three different friends! Once you've seen what they can do, you know you want them to be a part of your event. From the very first phone call over a year before the wedding, they made me feel special and excited. They took time to listen closely to each and every detail and vision and provide additional context, tips and ideas to take it to the next level. Once we signed the contract, it was very exciting watching them take all those details and making them come to life! We had the opportunity to visit their showroom twice to see it all in action - SO impressive!! Everything they did was next level and extremely unique and impressive. All of the little details were there. They helped with our ceremony programs, menu cards, table numbers, place settings, elevated centerpieces and all the floral and so much more! I loved everything!!! All of our guests were blown away and keep telling us how nice and professional everything looked. It was so nice not having to worry about any set up/take down or traveling to the island with everything. They made it seamless - almost like magic! Choose Emerald City and be confident that you've chosen really, really well! The best of the best!!!!

are amazing and so SO talented. They put my vision into a reality. Working with them was easy and stress free. The week coming up to my wedding I didn't need to worry about anything because they had it all covered. I walked into my venue and EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT. Thank you ECD for making my dream wedding come true stress free! :)

put together for my wedding were all stunning and I got so many compliments on how beautiful everything looked. Even my dad commented on how much he liked the flowers! You cannot go wrong with ECD.

would definitely recommend them!!

e I wanted to have around my wedding. Both my husband and I were absolutely blown away at the table preview by what the team had designed and created. On our wedding day the entire ECD staff was perfect! They received HUGE compliments from both my ceremony location and reception venue for how quick they were to set up and disassemble. I would highly recommend this company if you are looking for a little less stress through out your planning process.

in transforming my ideas into reality. I came to her with nothing more than an eclectic pinterest board and vague descriptions of how I envisioned my wedding, and the final result was beyond even my imagination. ECD created beautiful birch and floral ceremony decor, decorated our reception with string lights and organza strung from the ceiling, 3 different coordinating table displays with varying centerpieces and tablecloths, added tons of small touches such as cocktail napkins with a monogram they created and song lyrics from our first dance song, wedding hashtag signs, they provided all of our chairs and risers for the table, a vintage furniture lounge area next to the dance floor, all perfectly coordinated with my theme... I can't even put into words how above and beyond they went. Coupled with the fact that they completed all set up and take down- we had almost nothing to do at the end of the night. We were able to simply arrive to our wedding and spend the day being blown away at everything, and then at the end of the night we got to ride away with our wedding party and know that ECD was taking care of everything. It was expensive, but I don't think you can put a price on the ease of mind you get from knowing that they are experts and are going to make sure everything turns out beautifully. If I got to do it all over again, I would use ECD every single time. Amazing, simply amazing.

e team, you are wonderful.

pany they pair you with for flowers and decor and tablecloths. The package included in the WVL bundle doesn't include any wedding party flowers at all. This shocked us and ended up costing us more than we planned on. Would've been nice to not be in the dark here. Also, our bridesmaid bouquets were to be grabbed by WVL staff during cocktail hour and put on tables for centerpieces and that didn't occur. Yet, it was still a first class, top notch wedding.

ntact with me later THAT DAY. Almost a week went by and I heard from no one. When I called back to inquire, they had no record of me and informed me that my date was no longer available for their services (whether that is true or not is another story). Granted, I never actually worked with this company, but the initial impression was very weak. I'd go with someone else who actually values you and your time.

UTIFUL job on everything. The centerpieces fit the tables perfectly and the arrangement was gorgeous. I fell in love with my bouquet and can't wait to incorporate its beauty in a keepsake frame. They listened to my thoughts/visions and truly made them come to life.

wedding. We contemplated doing DIY centerpieces and decorations but knew the cost could add up and had no idea what we would do with the decorations afterwards. We also did not want the stress of obligating friends and family to help with the set up and tear down. From our first meeting all the way up to our last day each part of the process we were taken care of and no detail was left out. All of their designers gave us ideas, showed us what was available and how they could tailor it to make it unique to our special day. Hard to believe but I had no idea other than some colors what I wanted for my bouquet. Stacey made suggestions and was an expert with the floral aspect of everything. ALL of the flowers were amazing! Prior to the big day we even go to do a "table preview" where we got to see what our guest tables would look like. This put my mind at ease knowing they had our wedding well in hand. I cannot imagine using anyone else. It was beautiful and the teamwork with the set up and tear down was awesome and also stress relieving knowing my friends and family would be able to enjoy the day together instead of setting up centerpieces. Thank you emerald city and Stacey for making our wedding unforgettable and beautiful.

ct! They were also willing to work with vases we had already purchased and gave us options for ECD to fill the vases with a couple options or have us do it ourselves. It was great seeing options and prices to help us decide. Stacey also was very knowledgeable about our venue and layout and gave great advice about where to put things. Highly recommend!

willing to work with us to find the perfect design for our wedding. I can't even count how many compliments we received on our flowers. She also was willing to help me set and re-set tables until we found the perfect table covering and layout. Lastly, we were able to incorporate our own plants into the boutonnieres, which gave it a special touch. They dropped off all our bouquets and bouts to the hotel, and everything was well put together, the bouquets each came in their own vase to keep them fresh all day. It was a pleasure working with them throughout the planning process.

ery accommodating and gave me what was promised, even if it wasn't exactly what they had INTENDED to promise. The bridesmaid and bridal bouquets turned out SO SO beautiful, I really loved them and love seeing them in pictures. There was some miscommunication about the flowers in the glass cylinders (my centerpieces) being submerged... I had given them pictures of submerged flowers, and discussed submerging the flowers and they even warned about how high the water could and couldn't be due to the rocking boat (because my venue was a yacht), so I know they heard me say I wanted the flowers submerged, yet somehow they didn't ultimately end up putting any water in the cylinders at all, except for an inch at the bottom where the glass beads were. The centerpieces were still pretty, but would have been even prettier with the additional element of water in the cylinders. Also, when I emailed them about it after the wedding, they never responded with any kind of explanation, apology, or anything.

avorite part of the planning! Their showroom is magical; their staff is top-notch, best in the business professional and their work is flawless!! They transformed our wedding into a magical, elegant, candlelit winter wonderland. On my wedding day, I just kept saying to my hubby, "This is exactly how I pictured things--but even better!" I couldn't have been more pleased with their services. They are a little pricier than some other services out there--but like a lot of things, you get what you pay for...and if you want a guaranteed home run with no worries, then the extra cost is worth it. You can't go wrong with Emerald City!!!

I was paying a lot of money for the product, but once I shopped around I realized that I couldn't really compare other options to what I was getting at Emerald City. After our table preview I was completely sold and confident in our decision to go with Emerald City. It was so nice to know that all of our flowers and decor were taken care of in a one-stop shop. Plus, it was amazing to know that they were setting up and taking down, rather than having to recruit family and friends for help. Also, the feedback we received from family and friends who attended the wedding, and even others who see wedding photos, rave about how beautiful everything was. The feedback I received alone is deserving of a 5 star rating. As for the day-of-coordinating services, I am so happy we decided to book Cheryl. I had been to plenty of weddings where the MOH or sisters or MOB runs around paying vendors, keeping people on schedule or putting our mini-fires all day, and honestly that stinks. I wanted to make sure that everyone got to enjoy my wedding, which was the main reason I sought this service. Plus, the opportunity to sit down and schedule the whole wedding weekend, hour by hour, and review of all of my wedding contracts, was worth its weight in gold. My wedding ran SO smoothly and I owe a huge part of that to Emerald City! I highly recommend Emerald City to any bride in the area.

n we had reviewed 2 months earlier came alive and there were so many candles that made our venue glow. All spectacular!

tremely energetic, and added so much excitement to the entire process of selecting flowers and decor. She was really able to take all the ideas in the head and turned them into an even better reality. Our floral and decor was an absolute show stopper!!! We also worked with Ann Owens who we hired on as our month before and day of coordinator. I would not have made it without her! Not only was she extremely organized and made sure I had zero to worry about for the month leading up to my wedding, but she was glued to my side the entire day of the wedding making sure we were on schedule (in the most non obtrusive professional way!), getting me water and fanning me from the heat, even getting on her hands and knees to change my shoes. Ann was three steps ahead at every given moment, and willing to help with anything and everything that I possibly needed. She is a rock star! If you want your wedding to look and feel top notch, I highly suggest you call the professionals at Emerald City Design. They are the best in the business!!!

on that I worked with was very helpful and knowledgable. She made the selection process easy for us. We also selected linens and sashes for the tables and chairs. The showroom has everything so that you can envision what your selection will look like. Since the flowers were bundled with my wedding, I was concerned about what they'd look like but they really were gorgeous. I would definitely recommend their services to a friend.

day would not have run as smoothly. She even pushed us around while greeting guests at our reception to make sure we got to everyone (sounds pushy but there is no other way to word it and it really was the best thing for her to do). She was such a sweet and calming person. My event designer Nicole was also amazing! She was very insightful about things to do to maximize our dollars for our venue and didn't refrain from telling us when we weren't making the right decision which is what I paid her to do after all! They gave me my dream wedding and am so thankful for all of the hard work they put into making our day so special.

er quickly to emails and didn't seem bothered by my super detail oriented questions. We were trying to stay within a reasonable budget, and she never seemed condescending about that at all. I'm not really a creative type, so I had trouble putting into words what I was envisioning - but Nicole was able to understand what I wanted and bring it to life. I really liked that you could do a "table preview" where you got to see the table all set up how it would be at the reception, and make any changes you wanted at that point. It helps to see it in person. Also, they setup and breakdown EVERYTHING, so you don't have to bother a family member or your bridal party with that. Since everything is rented rather than purchased, you don't have to worry about trying to sell stuff at 1/10th of the price you paid for it. We used Emerald City because they were included with our venue package - they are more expensive than some of their competitors, so I'm not sure if I would have selected them on my own. But the cohesiveness of the look and seamlessness of the planning made the extra cost worth it!

ose" and Nicole immediately pulled out cards of the perfect flowers to fit my vision. I knew in that moment we were in great hands. The original quote encompassed anything and everything I could have wanted and it came in pretty high for that reason. So we met with Nicole again and she really helped us to pick and choose what would work and bring the cost back down to earth. She had amazing suggestions on how to bring cost down while keeping the look we wanted. Our next meeting was the table preview and it was perfect. All we had to do was add one piece of greenery. I never expected the flower preview to go as perfectly as it did. On the day of I was blown away. My bouquet was so beautiful. The bridesmaids bouquets were a perfect compliment. And the special bouquet made for my flower girl made her feel so special. And I don't know how accurately describe the room because it was breathtaking. Everything was executed exactly as I was told it would be which was good because I was not a bride who was okay with surprises. All in all, I was thrilled!

everything and if I needed anything she was on top of it! I am truly truly sad though that they completely dropped the ball on my head table. I spent time designing a head table with them to stand out above the other reception tables with gold brush candles, bustled table cloth etc. It was totally missed and set up exactly the same as the reception guest tables. It wasn't even bustled at all. That table was the most important to us and when I see it in pictures it really, really bums me out. I look at that as a huge blunder for the expense and time I paid and put in. The room looked amazing the way they set everything up but I still cant get past the head table :( Total fail. I would still recommend them because I appreciated the great work otherwise, but I just cant give the 5 star review I really wanted to.

htful process. We always looked forward to our trips in to meet with our design and planning team – who were all so incredibly professional, fun to work with, and provided superior service from start to finish. Ann McQueen was the most talented, caring, and passionate wedding coordinator you could hope to work with. She was remarkably attentive to and thoughtful about every single detail leading up to, during, and following our wedding. Every recommendation she made was perfection – in a way that made us feel like she had known us for years - and with her by our side, we had not a single worry about how our special day would unfold. David McKnight & Nicole Beaudoin’s adaptation of the vision we had for our wedding was absolutely stunning and surpassed what we imagined and hoped for. They worked within our budget to design décor that was our dream come true and beyond. I cannot say enough how impressed and amazed not only we were with how our entire wedding turned out, but our guests as well. Our family and friends are still talking about how beautiful, intimate, and memorable our wedding day was - that it was one of the most elegant and enjoyable events they had ever attended, which was exactly what we had wanted. David’s brilliance, warmth, and generous spirit can be felt from the first moment you speak with him, and certainly translates to the exceptional special event group he has created. For every event we ever have to plan in the future, no matter the location, ECD is who we will work with, and we cannot thank them enough for planning and creating the most perfect day of our lives!

r our MI destination wedding was done via email. I can't express enough how amazing the staff is to work with!! Everything from the invitations, to the escort cards, to the reception table decor, the hanging florals, the stunning bouquets & the Thank You cards was ALL done perfectly with tons of thought, love & care. Emerald City Designs is by far the BEST event planning company & will be sure to deliver any and all visions & details for any special event. Thank you again to the phenomenal staff- true professionals with true passion!!

vision possible. They went above and beyond with the wedding not only with their decor and flowers but with their delicate treatment and care for us. Flowers and place settings are such a large part of a wedding and can be very stressful, but with their wisdom and creativity, Emerald City made it so easy and no stress was involved at all. I have received numerous compliments from guests on how beautiful the flowers and table settings were, even from people i would have never expected to say anything. My mother describes our wedding as ethereal. It truly was full of perfection, elegance, and beauty because of Emerald City Designs.

lmost every detail. I can't imagine how our wedding would have turned out without them. David and his amazing design team were spot-on with the vision I had for color scheme, floral arrangements, table linens, and making it all come together with the right amount of "bling"! Ann McQueen did our day-of coordination and was priceless. Everything went so smoothly from the bouquets getting in the right hands, keeping events like pictures running on time, to making sure I had my comfy shoes at the end of the night. She was the glue of our big day! Communication with ECD was fabulous as well. I never had to worry about whether or not things were going to come through. They were also great sports about taking on any task I threw at them at the last minute :) From walking down the aisle, to walking into our reception ballroom, Emerald City Designs was SPECTACULAR!! I'm looking for excuses to use them in the future!

they provided assistance and advice. The end result was spectacular on every level and, no I am not kidding, within the budget that we discussed at our first meeting. I cannot say enough about the wonderful staff and the brilliant creative team. We have three daughters--we will absolutely use ECD again!!!!

we had and had a vision for us that I didn’t even fully understand myself until I saw it on my wedding day. I wanted the ceremony to feel intimate and personal, and what ECD created is beyond anything we could ever imagine. The day was truly priceless. Our friends and family are still raving about how much fun they had and how absolutely stunning everything was. We feel beyond blessed with our experience with ECD because they created our perfect day. It was unforgettable and full of priceless moments and memories that my husband and I hold dearly in our hearts and we really can’t thank Emerald City Designs enough for a once in a lifetime experience!

t so—inviting and dazzling with floral, floral, floral. The room, of course, is the canvas that a bride (and if she’s lucky, an amazing team of designers) can decorate and build upon to create a space that is truly whatever she wants. For me, this space was the Fox Theatre in Detroit, and what I envisioned was brought to life by David McKnight and Emerald City Designs better than I ever could have dreamed. My mother and I first went to ECD studios about ten months before our wedding, where we were, on the spot, captivated by their attention to detail, pre-planning, and, as we like to say, ability to just “get it.” My mother and I are both uber-planners, and though we love each other dearly, we both had very different visions for the wedding. We were certain that we couldn’t tackle the scope of our wedding alone, but we truly had no idea that what we had walked into was the answer to our prayers, and the creation of our fantasy. Over the next ten months, my mother and I spent countless hours with our spirited, sharp, and steadfast wedding planner, Ann McQueen, who was determined to not only make our day as perfect as it could be, but to make us feel like this wedding was truly the only thing she cared about. My mother and I had the pleasure of visiting ECD studios several times, and each time we were greeted with a prepared planner, a team of experts ready to answer all of our questions, and, literally every time, an exciting surprise. Although it’s hard to recall each and every detail of the wedding planning process, it’s easy to recount a few things that stand out most for me. The first, is that throughout everything, I don’t believe that I ever felt the stress that brides typically talk about when planning a wedding. I never felt overwhelmed, frustrated, like my vision was not going to be recognized (and trust me, I had a pretty specific vision). Through it all I felt calm, confident, and that I could focus on myself and my marriage to my wonderful husband, and that is all because of Emerald City Designs. The second is that, after each interaction we had with ECD, be it a walkthrough at the Fox, our Table Preview with David, or just a coffee meeting to go over a few details with Ann, my mom and I hugged and said “We absolutely made the right choice with Emerald City Designs."