James Abel Events

James did an incredible job at our wedding. He was on top of things starting well before the wedding, kept things moving and everyone calm at the wedding, and helped make it an amazing day for us. You can't go wrong with him.

James gave us the wedding of our dreams! He truly is an expert in his field and is fun to work with. He was also very patient answering all of our questions regarding the wedding planning process. Would highly recommend James to plan your wedding. You won't be disappointed!

We recently got married in NYC and started working with James at the beginning of wedding planning. James immediately stood out to me based on previous reviews, his website showcasing his florals, and that he was based in NYC. Working with James made the entire wedding planning process a breeze. I had shared early on what my vision was for the decor, flowers, band, and food, and he executed on this perfectly. He had connected me with each vendor so we could interview them to find the best fit. Throughout the 12+ months of working together, James was excellent with communication, sharing a timeline for planning and day-of schedule, and was genuine with his opinions and thoughts. His floral designs were stunning and I heard so many compliments from our guests after the wedding how positive the whole evening was. If you’re considering working with a wedding planner that also has expertise with florals, I’d highly recommend James to any bride.

We had an excellent experience with James and give him our highest recommendation. James was always reachable and responsive, generally just excelling at communication. He has a wonderful eye for design and was able to coordinate all of our flower arrangements without us having to bring in a separate vendor. He even managed to make our bulk candy dessert bar look beautiful and match the décor! He was mindful of our budget, but also knowledgeable in that he could tell exactly where it was worth it to splurge and where it was better to save. He worked seamlessly with our venue and band. He demonstrated his professionalism and good taste early on, and we therefore trusted him enough to take his recommendations for a photographer and hair/makeup artist without hesitation. They were both awesome as well! I truly believe that you couldn’t go wrong with James. On top of everything else, he is just genuinely a fun, nice person that is a pleasure to chat with.

James did an incredible job making our wedding the perfect day! Every moment was amazing and the flower arrangements were stunning. Our guests had an incredible time and we’re so thankful.

James is just the whole package: insanely knowledgeable, fun to work with, a great listener, has longstanding relationships with excellent vendors, honors your budget and your values. A mother-of-the-bride experience could be very stressful, but mine was a delight, start to finish.

James is amazing! His entire team kept the wedding on track. He was able to meet our every request and even went above and beyond by adding special details to the event. He and his team are wonderful and I can’t recommend him enough.

James was easy to work with, responsive, resourceful, and creative. His attention to detail was impeccable. He actively guided us through planning of a rehearsal dinner with 50-people and welcome party that fit seamlessly into a beautiful wedding weekend. The outcome was a celebration that felt incredibly welcoming and intimate.

What a spectacular, memorable wedding weekend! James made it easy to enjoy the process, stay on track, and not worry. He is the perfect mix of consummate professional and delightful confidante. He has a special gift for getting to know your vibe and then coming up with fun details that fit it perfectly but that you would never have thought of yourself. His suggested vendors were top quality, and respectful of our budget and tone. We all want him to plan the rest of our lives!

Our wedding was truly spectacular because of James. He paid attention to every detail and made sure that the whole night went seamlessly. James listened to my vision and executed it perfectly. He gave me guidance and made great recommendations. He is also extremely communicative and responsive, which is essential for a bride!! I knew I could expect a response to my call or text within minutes. James is great in all areas but especially shines with flowers—I was blown away when I saw my flower arch for my ceremony and the tables at my reception. All in all, my HUSBAND and I highly recommend James and hope to have another event soon for him to plan!

James Abel is truly a one-of-a-kind event planner. We are forever grateful for having James in our corner. He organized every detail of our incredible wedding and was infinitely a pleasure to work with. I cannot recommend his services enough!!

I don't even know where to start! I haven't been to many weddings and never imagined my own, yet James managed to execute the winter wedding of my dreams. He calmly and expertly led me and my mom through the planning process, recommended and interfaced with incredible vendors (photography, hair & makeup, live band, even the officiant was amazing) on our behalf, and bridged cultural differences between our two families--all within budget. I appreciated his honesty, humor, and confidence. Our wedding went off without a hitch and perfectly reflected my and my husband's unique tastes and style. If you're looking for a painless, no-stress planning experience, someone who can bring your Pinterest board to life and present you with options you didn't even know you wanted, James is it.

We used James for our 140ish person Brooklyn wedding after a strong recommendation we got from my sister in law, and he was amazing! There is a reason why you literally cannot find a negative review for James anywhere on the internet. Believe me: as a natural skeptic, I tried to find the negative reviews, but I realized very quickly that there is a reason why no one has anything bad to say about him. He has a very effective strategy of wedding planning where at every decision the couple needs to make, he presents 2-3 options, all of which are high quality and are a reasonable price to your budget. You can't go wrong with anything he presents you with. If you like having a ton of options or being stressed with the paralysis of having too many choices, James is not for you. If you want to have a stress free experience knowing all is taken care of, James is for you. He is a consummate professional with years of experience who has seen it all. During the reception, the bride (my now wife!) was overwhelmed and had to take some time to herself in the bridal suite. This coincided with when the speeches were scheduled to start, but James recognized her need to be alone and quickly rearranged the schedule for the rest of evening to be most accommodating to her as well as our guests. The best of all is that no one even noticed! James will set you up with success from the day you meet him, and on the day of the event, he will reassure you with his professionalism. We cannot recommend him enough!

James Abel Events, owner James Abel was wonderful to work with. My daughter and I connected with him immediately upon interviewing three event. He listened to her and her fiancé and made their vision come true. The whole experience was easy and effortless for us including a venue change 8 weeks prior to our date. James Abel created a magical, iconic NYC wedding beyond what we could dream of for our daughter. It was perfect! Flowers, place setting, recommendations for music, photographer, make up artist, etc. all perfection. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

It doesn't get any better than James Abel. He made such an effort to truly understand us as a couple and what we wanted for our wedding to help us create a day that was uniquely ours. He's extremely knowledgable, has an amazing network of diverse vendors, is always available to talk something through and overall made our wedding process infinitely better. We would recommend him to ANYONE (no matter what they're looking for on their wedding day) in a heartbeat. James and his team will make it happen.

I cannot speak highly enough of James. He was a delight to work with, which is so important when you are working with someone for a long time on such a big moment in your life. He was always available and very responsive. One of the things I appreciated the most was that he was able to take the vision of what we wanted and create unique ideas on how to execute it. His vendor connections are unmatchable, each one was a perfect fit for us, and it saved us an enormous amount of time rather than vetting vendors ourselves. It was a tricky time for planning a wedding cost-wise due to dramatic changes in some things as a result of inflation and labor shortages. James did a great job helping creatively think though how to prioritize and work as close to our budget as possible while still meeting our vision. In the end, everything was perfect and we received so many compliments on how our wedding was one of the most fun and most beautiful events they have ever attended. That all could not have happened without James.

How many weddings have you attended where multiple toasts include praise for the party planner? Well, that is what happened at our our daughter’s unforgettable winter wonderland wedding held in May. It was a stunning experience! Our daughter, a passionate skier and a lover of all things snow and winter, wanted a wedding celebration that expressed this part of her personality, and so a wedding was planned for February, 2022, as a sequel to a small intimate COVID-constrained wedding that occurred in November, 2020 (and one baby later). Unfortunately, COVID was not yet tamed, and Omnicron reared its transmissible head. We were compelled to make the decision to postpone the wedding six weeks before its scheduled date because at this point there was too much risk attendant to an indoor wedding. We deliberated and went back and forth and in good conscience would not proceed. We called James with the bad news. Without blinking an eye, in an afternoon, he salvaged the event, and all of its elements, and rebooked the entire thing for May. We experienced nary a ripple; we can only imagine what he had to go through during those few short hours. Winter wonderland in May you ask? Yes it was. Our wedding was complete with real evergreens dusted with powder snow, white birch logs and lanterns illuminating the center aisle for the wedding, and snowballs. Lots of styrofoam snowballs James recreated a ski lodge down to plaid table runners, snowflake napkin holders and snowflakes projected on the wall and dance floor. The waitstaff wore identical ski patterned sweater vests. Guests retrieved their table assignments from a simulated campfire made of tulips and sticks with cutouts to resemble marshmallows that revealed individual table assignments. The bride and groom were pelted with snowballs as they retreated down the aisle after the wedding ceremony. The flowers were gorgeous; all white contained in silver and white birch containers.In short, the decorations were creative, whimsical, elegant and truly memorable. Our guests still talk about the quality of the food and the array of choices; many dishes and bites so different and original. The food was delicious; way above the traditional wedding fare (done with good intentions but falling short of expectations). Planning a wedding should be a positive and fun experience which culminates with an event that is fun and meaningful, uniquely expressing the values and tastes of the hosts and couple. That is exactly what James Abel delivered. He was easy to work with, responsive, reassuring, devoid of surprises and worry-free, and all delivered with a sense of humor and respect for the budget. James satisfied us in every way. James listened carefully, offered creative options and executed on the vision in a manner that exceeded our expectations. The process was meticulously managed and resulted in an event that was, by all measures, a great success. It was the event our daughter envisioned and dreamed of. As we view the photographs the attention to detail shown by James and his staff was impeccable. If I only had another event to do James will be the first to call. Perhaps our daughter and son-in-law will engage him for their son’s Bar Mitzvah? They have our vote! --

Our wedding was the best day of our lives, and it was all because of James Abel! He is not only incredibly experienced, but also a pleasure to work with. From our very first meeting, we immediately knew how much he genuinely cares about his clients, listens to their needs and does everything to ensure they have the wedding of their dreams. He made everything seamless and we never had to worry about a single detail falling through the cracks -- from picking out the venue together, to coordinating all of the vendors, to arranging the most stunning flowers for the reception, to all the day-of logistics (and everything in between), he was there every step of the way. We could not have done it without him and cannot wait to work with him again on many parties to come in this next chapter of our lives. James has our absolute highest recommendation!

James was a delight to work with! We couldn't have pulled off our wedding celebration without him. We relied on him to help source the venue, photographer, band, cake and bridal makeup/hair which took a considerable amount of time off our plates. Each vendor worked out perfectly - even when the original makeup artist got covid 3 days before the wedding, James was able to find a great replacement within 24 hours. We got many, many compliments from our guests on the flowers which James does himself. We worked with James for over two years to plan and execute this event - we were twice postponed due to covid - and at every turn he was helpful, understanding, calm and easy to work with. His experience in hosting an NYC wedding was invaluable to us and we were thrilled that our guests had the experience we were hoping for.

James was awesome! He led us through every step of the wedding preparation process so that we didn't have to worry about it. He was extremely thorough, professional and responsive throughout the process and found great vendors for us. Him and his team were incredible on the day of and they did a breathtaking job with the flower setup. We would highly recommend James for your wedding!

We love James! If you are looking for a flawlessly executed and incredibly creative wedding, you should choose James. We just had our wedding in Manhattan, NY with ~175 people in May 2022, and James made our dreams come true. When we were originally interviewing wedding planners, we wanted someone who would be creative and dream with us; James started doing that on our very first zoom interview, almost a year before the event. He understood what we were looking for, who we were, and ran with creativity, bringing in small details to the event that made it special and us. He totally "got us"-- and understood the difference between vibe and kitschy theme.  James also knows and works with the best in class vendors. Having connections with and knowledge of the best of the best, he listened to us and made a potentially overwhelming process, totally manageable, and completely fun. We trusted his taste and judgement, and appreciated the options. The caterer he recommended gave us a special tasting, and, what many friends have said has been, some of the best food they've had-- and, not just for a wedding. Our venue was unique and EXACTLY what we were looking for. We loved the first two venues he showed us, which was just an example of how well he listened and understood. James does the decor and flowers and they were what we wanted- elegant, creative, and whimsical. Having ideas of what we wanted our wedding to be was not always easy to translate after meeting many planners. James just understood, something we knew about him immediately.  James executed the wedding weekend with such attention to detail and confidence. James and his staff work all day to make sure everything is perfect, but more than that he made sure that my wife and I enjoyed the day, too. He made sure we had something to eat and that she and I had time alone to enjoy amidst the craziness of the wedding. I should also mention that James' deep connections and knowledge of vendors helped get us out of a sticky COVID- related situation-- we chose to postpone our wedding 6 weeks before the date. Everything was already booked and we were worried, given the backlog of weddings from COVID, we might have to wait at least 6 months before we could find dates at our venue. We called up James and he immediately said, "I'm on it, I'll call you back in a few hours." About 3 hours later, he spoke with ALL of the vendors and offered to move the wedding just 2.5 months after our original date. We jumped on it and it was incredible, but without James' knowledge and great relationship with all the people involved, I'm sure this would not have been as seamless. His professionalism and creativity are completely matched with his fun-loving nature and tremendous kindness. He's a blast to plan a wedding with-- we were warned it would be stressful, and largely thanks to James, it wasn't. Go with James, you won't be sorry.

My wedding was beyond beautiful, and more gorgeous than I could have imagined. From choosing the perfect venue, to recommending the best, professional vendors, James and his team brought the vision to life. Specifically, his flower arrangements are stunning.

James and his team made our dream wedding a reality and then some. From the thematic designs of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding (ceremony, cocktails and dinner reception) to every detail with the decor, florals, lighting, cuisine selections and even invitation design and printing - there was nothing short of perfection. James brought the most amazing photographers and videographers to document our weekend. It was beyond easy and effortless to put our trust in James from the beginning and even with an initial COVID delay and out of town location, it never wavered. We can’t recommend more!

We would recommend James to anyone. He has significant experience and relationships with vendors, and does his own floral work. Even though he ultimately would defer to us on decisions about venues, decor, logistics, etc., his input in helping us make decisions was invaluable. He's also incredibly responsive. During our rehearsal dinner and on wedding day he seemingly was everywhere, and knew everything that was going on, while somehow also remaining in the background. (I'm pretty sure that's what a good wedding planner is supposed to do). And if you work with him you will find that he's very fun to work with and becomes personally invested in you having the best wedding day. A+

James is a dream wedding planner! His professionalism, creativity, enthusiasm, and "make it work" mentality truly make him an invaluable asset to any event or wedding. He delivered two of the most beautiful, personal, and unforgettable ceremonies and parties imaginable. We couldn't be more thrilled with our choice to use him to plan our wedding and reception.

During our first few months of wedding planning, we were completely overwhelmed with options and long to-do lists. I was reluctant, but decided to enlist a wedding planner to help us. Choosing James was the best decision we made throughout the entire wedding planning process. Instantly, the pressure of planning our wedding was alleviated. James kept tabs on all aspects of the wedding, big and small. He would do all of the hard work of narrowing everything (venues, photographers, bands, etc) to a few great options and would then bring us in to make the final decisions. Wedding planning became FUN! We were able to relax and enjoy our time as fiancés while he kept everything organized and on schedule - no details went unnoticed. He was so responsive to every question or idea we had. One of our favorite memories from that year was our food and wine tasting with James. We were blown away by every aspect of our wedding planning process. Months later our guests are still raving about it; it was the best night of our lives. We had a stress free wedding weekend, as James and his team handled everything from start to finish. We and our families/friends were able to enjoy each event and truly live in the moment instead of dealing with logistics or issues. James is somehow able to be everywhere at once and always steps up wherever he is needed (at one point even bartending at our day-after brunch). James and his team made our wedding weekend beyond perfect. Looking back, I can’t believe I ever thought I could do this without a wedding planner. If you’re on the fence, DO IT and make sure you pick James!!!

James is incredible and we want to thank him so much for everything he has done for us over the last year and a half to get us married!! Even with the state of the world we are in, and all the unpredictable stressors along the way (hello hurricane henri), this weekend was beyond a doubt the best weekend of our lives and we owe so much of it to James. We are eternally grateful for his diligence, attention to detail, creativity, expertise, and ability to stay calm and collected through it all. Walking into the venue on our wedding day, we were BLOWN away! From the beautiful setup in the entry way, to the unbelievable floral work on the aisle and the chuppah and the bouquets, to every single detail in the ballroom (the menus, the centerpieces, the table set up, etc etc etc), everything was perfection. We’ve talked about it a lot leading up to the day, but seeing it in person completely exceeded all of our expectations. Every little detail was thought through and executed incredibly. That extends to both the rehearsal dinner and brunch, in addition to the wedding !!! We are so happy that we had James to make our wedding vision into more than what we could’ve ever dreamed of. Even though I know there were hiccups along the way, there was absolutely nothing that we had to worry about the whole weekend. We were in such good hands and anyone would be so lucky to work with him !!!!

If you're looking for a flawless wedding or event, book James. We highly recommend James for all event planning, especially the ones that might bring out the bridezilla in you! James is all around amazing. After initially speaking with a few wedding planners, my husband and I chose James because unlike the others, he immediately asked us to describe our vision for our wedding and he really listened to us. Understandably, planning a wedding during uncertain times was going to be tough. However, unlike other wedding planners who focused on the roadblocks, James immediately suggested ideas to bring our vision to life and went to great lengths to accomplish them. Throughout the planning process, it became clear that my husband and I had made the right choice in choosing James. In addition to helping us choose an amazing venue, he was an invaluable medium with the wedding vendors and always our fierce advocate. He respected the level of involvement we wanted with each vendor and allowed us to take the reigns when we felt it was warranted and to step back, relying on his expertise in other instances. James also has a lighthearted personality and is able to build great connections and inspire people to work their hardest to make your dreams a reality. More importantly, he kept us on budget, executed every detail flawlessly, managed our wedding with precision and handled every unforeseen mishap gracefully and discreetly. We blown away by the flowers and decor walking into our wedding venue on the day of our wedding. They were stunning and everything we had envisioned for our dream wedding. We will always be thankful to James for making it all happen. Thank you, James!!

We had the good fortune of an introduction to James Abel early in our wedding planning process. From his creative ideas to his practical recommendations, James had all bases covered. As our wedding day approached, an impending major storm threatened to derail our plans for a wedding at our favorite vineyard. With a few 11th hour logistical adjustments, James was key to ensuring it was a weekend we and our guests will never forget. We couldn’t have been happier!! With his expertise and experience, James Abel is the only event planner anyone needs to call.

There are countless wedding planners available but only one James Abel! No detail was too small or inconsequential for James to put 110% into it! As an admitted “control freak”, it didn’t come easy for me to put my trust in someone as I did James, and I’m SO glad I did. He did not disappoint!! Fortunately, my fiancé and I engaged James early in the planning process, and, frankly, I don’t know how others try to do it themselves (or with some of the other planners we considered). A consummate professional, James’ interaction with us as we navigated through the maze of planning a wedding made it not only easy, but a pleasure! Nothing will compare to the actual wedding day, but with James’ guidance the planning process is also a very fond memory for me, my fiancé and our families. So many words come to mind when trying to describe the actual wedding; wonderful, exciting, beautiful, and magical to name a few. James’ design plans were surpassed only by the execution and final product. During the wedding, James and his team continued to provide the stellar level of professionalism and attention to EVERY detail we had come to expect! I will gladly and whole-heartedly refer James Abel Events to anyone with a special day in their future. If you’re reading this and have not yet chosen a planner, call James Abel Events now!! You’ll be so glad you did!

James was so incredible helping me plan my dream wedding. He pays so much attention to detail, makes sure everyone is happy and that everyone in the family gets exactly what they want! He also makes beautiful flower arrangements either himself, or makes sure the flowers are absolutely gorgeous when they arrive. I have already recommended him to all of my friends getting married and highly recommend!

I could go on and on about how wonderful our experience was with James. If you're debating hiring him, don't, just do it. You will never regret it. Due to COVID, my husband and I decided to cancel our big October wedding, but still have our wedding with families only. Like many others we were really bummed to make this decision and knew we would be sacrificing a lot, but this decision brought us to James. I called James 2 months before our wedding date, in need of someone to help make our day beautiful and special, as we were starting from scratch and getting married in a new city. Within 5 minutes of talking on the phone, he had the entire day planned out, and knew how to make it so meaningful with only 17 people. He was professional, funny and so pleasant to work with. He is AMAZING at his job. I trusted him completely, and was in awe at how beautiful he made our backyard wedding. Afterwards, I showed photos to my friends, who said it looked like a fairytale, and they couldn't get over how beautiful he was able to make everything. He also made the process so stress-free. He made our wedding feel like this was the wedding we were meant to have all along. I can't express how thankful we are for him. He's the best!!!

I am providing my review of James Abel, not as the bride, but as the mother of the bride who also worked closely with James over the course of the wedding planning process. In short, I could not have been more pleased with the absolutely gorgeous wedding that James and his team coordinated for my daughter Caroline and her husband Matt. It exceeded anything I could have imagined. From the practical standpoint, James worked closely with me on the budgeting aspect of the wedding, and he was creative and industrious in making the very most of our budget and negotiating discounts to help bring everything into line. At the same time, he provided great options to further enhance the overall event, and I happily took his advice. It was amazing how effortlessly James captured Caroline and Matt's vision for the wedding and executed it beyond what we could have dreamed. He easily acted on our many, many suggestions and further elevated the entire event with unique ideas of his own. The venue was breathtaking and the entire day unfolded flawlessly. I am still receiving notes from guests who were blown away by the day and so thankful they could be a part of it. I'm so thankful that we found James to plan Caroline and Matt's wedding, and I feel I have gained a new friend in the process. Hopefully we'll be able to work with James again to celebrate another happy event!

We are so happy that we worked with James Abel to plan our wedding day! From the beginning, James understood exactly what we wanted our "dream" wedding to be and worked through every detail to make it come to life. He was involved every step of the way - helping us lock down the perfect venue, plan our engagement shots, custom design beautiful wedding invitations and stationery, and coordinate with multiple vendors to execute a perfect wedding. He worked within our budget to make sure that all of our priorities were met beyond our expectations. He even saved the day and replaced all of our florals just two days before the wedding when a hurricane wiped out our vendor – he didn't tell us until the problem was solved so we wouldn’t worry! The flowers and decor at the wedding were incredible and suited both our taste and the venue perfectly. We have been to dozens of weddings over the last few years, and many of our guests are still reaching out to say it was the best, most beautiful and well executed wedding they have ever been to. We wish that we could do it all again! Thank you, James, for truly making this the best night of our lives!

James Able was the most amazing wedding planner for my daughter's recent wedding. He made the entire experience as stress free as possible, while also providing everything my daughter and I needed. He was available, always, to answer questions. Nothing was too small or too large to ask him. He worked closely with the coordinator of the event space, helped the bride and groom find the perfect band for the reception, as well as the photographer, arranged for the rehearsal dinner and every detail of the wedding day. His flowers for the rehearsal dinner, evening welcoming reception, wedding and wedding reception were beautiful. He was so calming throughout the planning and event. It truly helped my daughter enjoy her wedding. James Able is most highly recommended as a wedding planner

Full disclosure: I was not a very hands-on bride. I put together a quick floral Pinterest board and that was about the extent of it. James was amazing to work with as our wedding floral designer because he really took the little I gave and brought a full vision to life. He was extremely personable, professional, responsive, and talented. He worked with our budget and blew us away with the final results. Our chuppah and centerpieces were exactly what we had wanted, but somehow even better than what we had imagined and described to him. I cannot recommend working with James enough!

If you're not sure whether you need a planner - you do. If you're not sure whether it should be James and team - it should. There are so many things to say about the whole experience of working with James; he is professional, responsive, intuitive, creative. But I think two things really sum up the experience. The first was my brother in law telling me how relaxed I looked on the wedding day. He couldn't believe it. But I was. I had SUCH a good time at the wedding. The second was someone later asking me if James was a family member, because he seemed so attentive and invested in everything running smoothly. He's the best. Just do it. Also, if you do do it, just trust him to make the final decisions. It will be even better than you imagined.

He was full service and did all of wedding decor including linens lighting all flowers plus managed my invitation production managed schedule coordinated vendors attended major appointments & fittings with me.