My wife Dani and I got married on a Saturday last November at The Historic Post Office in Hampton, VA. I cannot stress to you how quickly you should stop your search for a wedding coordinator once you come across Everly After Events. We used Ma...ria strictly for day-of coordination (well, she works with vendors and confirms their plans in the preceding weeks) and I am truly unaware how we could have survived the day without her.
Months before the big day, Maria sent us a very detailed document of all the pertinent information she needed to fulfill her role. It was helpful in tracking things we may have even overlooked ourselves. She met with us 6-8 weeks before our big day and walked through any confusion she had about any of our responses. As we made last-minute edits to that sheet, she was a phone call or text away at all times to discuss those changes. Once she had all of our information on that sheet, she took off and handled everything for us. Food, DJ, flowers, and even communicated with all the important folks (Maid of Honor, Best Man, etc.) for us as far as what is expected of them.
Everyone is confident before their own wedding. "I won't be stressed. We have planned this for over a year. I'm going to be sooooo chill." And then you wake up that morning and that all goes out the window. I am pretty sure I texted Maria before the sun came up that morning about [insert irrational anxiety here] and I believe she called me in 0.2 seconds. It sounded like she had been at work for hours but she had a very calming tone to her. And she maintained that tone throughout the day. While we were a ball of nervous energy, Maria was that calming pat on the back. After the first few hours of the day, I realized I didn't need to bother Maria with any more messages... if there was an issue, she was going to handle it using her experience as a coordinator. If she did have a question, she approached us in a very calm manner. It was refreshing.
While we supplied decorations, candles, and so on, we let Maria have creative oversight as far as how everything was laid out. She conveys such a calm, professional presence that we trusted her to decorate our entire venue to include the reception area. And boy did she knock it out of the park. And after 8 hours of prep work, the wedding finally started at 4 p.m. That's when I learned just how amazing Maria is. It is worth noting that she had a teammate whose name is escaping me but I do remember her being outstanding as well.
Once the festivities kicked off, it was like Maria was trying to hit 50,000 steps in the net 4 hours. Like a cloud of dust, she was all around the venue like a pinball making sure everything went off without a hitch. Whether setting up the desert table, moving furniture, or cleaning up, she was doing it all. I think the thing that stuck out for me the most was when I was on the dancefloor and I took a step back to kind of look around the room for someone. She came up to me and said "is there anything you need? Can I get you a refill?" Who is going to say no to a fresh Jameson and ginger. And what kind of WEDDING COORDINATOR provides that kind of care to her bride and groom.
If you are looking to be as relaxed as possible on your big day and "employ" (feels weird saying that because she quickly felt like a friend) a professional, respectful, funny, and timely wedding coordinator, look no further than Maria DeGalleford and her team at Everly After Events. They left us speechless.