LOLA Event Productions

LOLA did an amazing job coordinating our wedding. Angela did a great job managing all of our vendors down to the smallest detail so we could enjoy the big day. Would 100% recommend.

We are so happy we worked with LOLA to plan our wedding, it was absolutely perfect. We were able to give our loved ones an experience that highlighted our best selves, while also authentically representing our relationship. The LOLA team had a huge wealth of knowledge about venues, vendors, and vibes, which was super helpful since our wedding was in Chicago and we live in New York. The vendors we connected with were all amazing, the venue was gorgeous, and the vibes were perfect. The LOLA team was also so clutch on the day of the wedding itself, they worked magic behind the scenes that enabled us to totally engage with our family and loved ones without worrying about logistics. LOLA’s creativity, expertise, and thoughtfulness uplifted every part of the planning process. Our families were amazed at how considerately they set up, planned and hosted us when we toured venues and sampled catering. They were also super respectful of our preferences (e.g. extra covid precautions), we felt thoroughly cared for throughout the past year and a half. Lori is an awesome person to work with. We loved partnering with her and the LOLA team over the past year and a half, they are so genuine, cool, and fun. We feel so lucky for their guidance!

To be honest I do not even know where to begin this review except to say that we could have not done the wedding process at all, and certainly not as well as it was done without Michelle! Shortly after our daughter became engaged, we realized we needed a wedding planner to assist us with the process. The engaged couple was too busy with work and life to be able to do this on their own. After interviewing a few wedding planners, they decided on Michelle from LOLA Event Productions. It only took one meeting with Michelle for my husband and I to realize this would be a worthwhile expense for the wedding. Michelle wowed us with her organization and planning skills. It was great for us as parents to understand the timeline, budget and possible options for creating a wedding that the couple would be thrilled with. Michelle really took the time to understand the couple and their personalities. Throughout the process she presented to couple the decisions that had to be made and options that could meet what they were looking for. She was careful not to persuade the couple one way or another, unless she really felt strongly about an option. On the day of the wedding and quite honestly the entire weekend, we were all relaxed and did not worry about any of the details because we had a timeline with details in hand from Michelle. We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with our family and friends which was so important to us. For the couple weeks following the wedding we basked in the “afterglow” of a beautiful ceremony and celebration for a beautiful couple. We could not have done this without Michelle!

Michelle was AMAZING!!! I cannot stress that enough. We had a tall order: Indian-Scottish fusion over the course of 3 days, with a somewhat opinionated Father of the bride who was VERY involved in planning and both the bride and groom working demanding full-time jobs. Not only did she execute everything flawlessly, but exceeded our expectations. So professional, organized, super prompt responses, amazing human. I would choose LOLA every single time, particularly Michelle. My husband and I were stressed we wouldn’t be able to find time to plan, but Michelle made our schedules work and made planning a breeze. All the vendors that came with Michelle were equally as amazing and such a joy to work with. Everyone talks about the wedding blues, I had the wedding planner blues. Michelle, thank you for the best day(s) of our life, we cannot thank you enough. For anyone kicking around the idea of getting a planner, get one! And get a LOLA planner, I promise you will not be disappointed. Best, Jen and Matt

We worked with Lori for a year and a half to plan our two-day interfaith Hindu/Christian wedding in Chicago. She is effective, creative, enthusiastic, experienced, knowledgeable, open-minded, supportive, assertive, and completely on your side. A wedding planner has to wear a lot of hats and do a lot of different jobs, and she did ALL of them extremely well. Her reputation among Chicago vendors is well-deserved. She is easy to communicate with and responsive across multiple channels (regular meetings, email, text, phone call). She is very organized, and with good attention to detail. If any difficult personalities came up during the wedding planning process she handled them with professionalism and grace. No questions or ideas were ever dumb - she simply explained how something look in action so we could make the decision. She understood our vision completely, and helped us connect with talented vendors that could execute the vision within our budget. Throughout the planning process, she could foresee potential problems and avert them ahead of time due to her experience, or solve them in the moment (things will ALWAYS come up in a wedding, after all) with excellent problem solving skills. As well, she was experienced with South Asian weddings and very culturally competent. All of that's just about what she's like as a wedding planner. Personalities matter, especially when you are working so closely, for so long, for such a logistically complex event. She consistently went above-and-beyond, and was so warm and easygoing that everyone working with her felt at ease with her, but also assertive and able to advocate as needed. You can tell she has passion for the job. 10/10, she made our dreams come true!

Working with Kristy Diana at Lola Event Pros was a dream! She was incredibly organized, creative, and knowledgable. We got married in November 2023, and our wedding was AMAZING. She is well-connected in the industry, and made sure we hired vendors who were the best fit for us. We love Kristy so much, and would not have had the wedding we did without her. She literally took the stress out of wedding planning, which was priceless.

Lori is nothing short of spectacular, and we are eternally grateful for her dedication and hard work! Lori's enthusiasm shone through in every interaction, and her unwavering support was a constant source of comfort and reassurance. I am in awe of her attention to detail and ability to transform our dreams into a breathtaking reality! Thank you thank you thank you, Lori!

So pleased that we booked a Power Planning Meeting with Lori at Lola Event Productions!! Lori had so many good suggestions, knew my daughter's wedding venue, and really addressed all of our concerns. A great listener. My daughter feels so good about her wedding planning now & we both feel Lori put us on a solid path to an absolutely wonderful day. We feel we are in such good hands.

We could not recommend Lola (and Michelle) enough! We contacted Lola to help plan our wedding (BTW, if you’re debating on getting a planner, DO IT!! You’ll be so happy you did), and scheduled an initial intro call with Lori. She walked us through the pricing packages and recommended we review the planners’ pages to see if we had a preference. We ended up going with Michelle, and she is truly the best. She was extremely organized, had spreadsheet trackers for all of our information and budgets, knows a ton of amazing vendors, and executes everything so well on the day of. Everyone kept asking us if wedding planning had us stressed, but honestly, we weren’t stressed one bit through the entire time and even day of. We knew everything was under control with Michelle, and she truly delivered. Michelle was also very fun to work with along the way. We wish we could do it all over again. 10/10 recommend working with Lola and Michelle!!

I can’t recommend Lola and Lori enough. She made our wedding an absolute dream. She was incredibly organized, and handled all the stressful parts of planning so we could enjoy the process. She was also just a ton of fun to work with, and I really looked forward to our meetings! Not to mention the amazing vendor recommendations. Everyone at our wedding asked how we found such a great band, florist, cake etc. all that magic came from Lori! She really truly made our dream come alive! Words cannot describe how grateful be we are to Lori for making our day so special and such an absolute success. Her attention to detail and positive attitude throughout this entire planning process was so special and so wonderful! We are still basking in all the joy that was our amazing wedding. I could not have imagined a more perfect day. We received so many compliments about how seamless, beautiful and fun everything was.

Deciding to work with LOLA was one of the best decisions we made during our wedding planning process! We worked with Sanja Dimitrijevic from start to end - she is the absolute best! Sanja took the time to review potential vendor contracts, provide feedback and really discuss the pros & cons of various ideas we had along the way. She honestly could not have been more helpful, and on the wedding day itself, she had everything under control. We could not recommend working with Sanja enough!!

Michelle and her team at Lola Event Productions are literal miracle workers. If you're looking for wedding planners who are going to hear you, advocate for you, think of what you don't, and create the wedding of your dreams - I would trust nobody more than this crew. From day one, Michelle treated us like family which is more than we could ever ask for. Last-minute decisions, late-night calls, and frantic emails were what we threw at them and everything was handled with love and grace which we learned was 1) part of who they are and 2) a testament to their care and consistency. It took one meeting for us to know that we could trust Michelle with our vision and what she gifted us was the memories that will last a lifetime of the wedding we always imagined. If there was a higher rating than 5 stars, you earned it! Thank you so much!

Where to begin. Working with Lori & Kirsty for our wedding was one of the best decisions we made. We had to change our date at the last minute due to an injury, and Lori managed all the chaos with so much grace and patience. This wedding literally would not have happened without her! For our reception, Lori and Kirsty listened to our vision for a unique first dance and made it happen despite many doubts from other vendors :) It ended up being our favorite part of the night. You will not regret working with Lola. Thank you Lori and Kirsty for an unbelievable wedding process and wedding day!

Our dream was to have a wedding at the Field Museum. We had no ideas or plans of how to execute the wedding we only knew that was the venue we wanted. Cue Michelle, our knight and shining wedding planner! One of the main things I heard is that wedding planning is stressful but Michelle made it feel like a breeze! Michelle was very knowledgeable, organized, and creative when it came to planning our wedding. She got to know each of our personalities and help us to plan our perfect day. She is extremely kind, patient, and so very passionate about her work! We have had endless compliments about our wedding and how perfect it was. I loved every second of the planning process and the day. I wish I could do it all over again! Thank you Michelle for all of your amazing help! We highly recommend Michelle, as well as, Lola Event Productions for planning your wedding. You will not regret your decision!

Working with LOLA/Carly C. was the best decision we made when it came to planning our wedding! We first met with Carly after we picked out our wedding venue. After our first call with her we knew she was going to be the one who was going to bring our dream wedding to life. Carly is prompt, resourceful, professional, confident, and has a strong attention to detail and you can tell she’s just really amazing at her job. Once we signed the contract with Carly we were set up with a Google Drive that became very helpful throughout the entire planning process. We really appreciated how organized everything was and that was the case with every other aspect of planning our wedding with Carly. When you’re in the beginning stages of planning a wedding there are so many decisions to make ahead of you, but it seemed like in the blink of an eye we had just about all vendors booked because of Carly. She offers suggestions, introductions to vendors, answers any questions about the vendors, and makes it an easy process for all parties involved. She always kept us on track and made sure we stuck to our deadlines, which was a HUGE help! When it came to our theme, Carly took all of our inspiration, photos, Pinterest boards, etc. and provided us with a mood board that completely encapsulated what we were looking for. Every little detail was considered, from the flowers to the lighting, creating a wedding day that we’re getting compliments on to this day. The day of the wedding could not have gone any better. It really was the perfect day. Everything was seamless and Carly was always prepared to assist with anything we needed. The timeline Carly created for us went exactly as planned and there was not a single hiccup the entire day. If you’re currently searching for a wedding planner, you don’t need to look any further than Carly! We can say with complete confidence that Carly will make sure your wedding day is everything you could ever hope it would be. We can’t recommend her enough. She takes away all of the stress of piecing every part of the day together so you can just focus on the day and enjoy every moment. Everyone we have talked to after our wedding has told us they were really impressed with how amazing the day went and we’d like to thank Carly for being the one who brought it all together. Carly, you have no idea how much we appreciate you and everything you did for us! We will never forget how amazing our wedding day was!

Lori at LOLA is amazing!! We interviewed three wedding planners and decided on Lori immediately after the interview. She is extremely organized, experienced, thorough, patient and made the entire process easy and enjoyable. She always paid attention to the details and never got frustrated with any of our questions. Our wedding day was so enjoyable and ran smoothly, we didn’t have to worry about anything except the celebration with our family and friends. The wedding day was easily the best day of my life and was the exact vision for what we wanted. We are so thankful that we went with Lori and so happy with how everything turned out!!

Lori was amazing! We had a great experience working with her, from her insights into which venue to choose all the way to the day of, she was incredible to work with during the entire process. She has volumes of knowledge, making it easy to navigate wedding planning. Would highly recommend working with her!

Thank goodness for Lori!! It is entirely down to her that we were able to have the wedding of our dreams. Knowing that we lived out-of-state and had limited time to plan, Lori kept us organized, efficient, and on-task. From the moment we first met Lori, we knew we would be in safe hands with her. Lori got to really know us and our families, and she really took care of us throughout the entire process so that we could focus on what really mattered. Lori has become a wonderful friend to us, and we can't thank her enough.

I cannot recommend working with LOLA enough. I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner Lori a little over a year before my wedding. I had already booked the venue & was unsure if hiring a wedding planner was worth it or not, & after my phone call with Lori, I absolutely saw the value & knowledge that hiring a planner would bring. She recommended I work with Carly & it was easily the best decision I made in my entire wedding process. From our first phone call, Carly has been beyond incredible. I cannot describe the peace of mind she gave me throughout this entire process. I get overwhelmed super quickly & am the biggest procrastinator, Carly laid everything out in a way that I was able to process & actually be excited for. She asked questions I never would have even known to ask, was able to take my messy brain and aesthetic & put together the most AMAZING vision board of everything I was trying to describe. She created an amazing Google Drive to house all our info. This made it so much easier to see what needed to be done and when, where we were with certain vendors, when payments were due, etc. Even with all the info being easily accessible & readily available, Carly was CONSTANTLY there to answer my endless questions. I was always able to reach her with whatever question I had, both big & small. I was always met with her patience and knowledge no matter what I needed. She set up meetings with all the vendors & handled all communication. She would do the hard work so I could show up to an amazing & perfect meeting and actually enjoy my wedding process. The entire process was a DREAM & I can solely attribute that to Carly. I have no words for how amazing she was in the final month, week, & even days before. Your wedding week as a bride is quite possibly the biggest week of your life. I had so many things for the ceremony/reception to bring to Carly, & she could not have been more accommodating. She worked within my crazy schedule to make sure everything got to her and to the venue. Waking up the day of my wedding, all I felt was excitement. There was not a single nerve because I knew that Carly would make sure everything was perfect. From the second she showed up, I was put at ease. The day flowed beyond smoothly, not a thing went wrong, and even if I did, Carly had a plan B-Z to make sure everything would work. My parents were able to enjoy the wedding & visit with everyone, because they knew that Carly had the day taken care of. My wedding day was easily the best day of my life, my exact vision for what I wanted, & even better than I expected. And I can say without a single doubt, that ALL of it was due to Carly. I could go on endlessly & my attention span is terrible so I truly hope if you took the time to read this entire review, you take away that you should 100 % hire LOLA as a whole, & you should absolutely request to work with Carly. She was an amazing planner, a perfect resource, and just the best person I have met. I have so many friends & family members that have gotten married and said while it was great, the process was just terrible and they couldn’t wait to just have the day be over with. Carly made me enjoy the process, and to be able to look back on this with nothing but a smile and such happiness because Carly made sure that it was perfect. You truly just cannot put a price on what she did for us. Carly, I will never be able to thank you enough for everything. But from the absolute bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Hiring Carly C. from Lola Planners and getting the LOLA Signature Planning Services Package was the BEST and SMARTEST decision we have ever made. We can’t say enough great things about Carly, and although words can’t even begin to express how amazing she is, we’ll give it a shot. From the very beginning, Carly made us feel comfortable and prepared for the journey we were about to embark on. Carly’s organization, attention to detail, and style was a perfect match for us. She immediately understood our vision and helped bring that vision to life by answering questions, pointing us in the right direction, and recommending details we never would have thought of ourselves. Carly stayed on top of us for approvals and final decisions and handled the execution completely by herself. Her expertise and experience made the vendor selection process a cakewalk and made the wedding planning process as stress-free as possible. Carly handled all communication with vendors, updated budget and payment spreadsheets, prepared a mood board for the wedding, offered up amazing ideas to make the wedding both beautiful and special, and sent out detailed timelines. Carly had every minute of our wedding day planned to a tee, which set us up for success. Carly’s coordination with vendors on the day of the wedding was flawless, as everything was perfectly set up and ready to go by the time we got there, and things went according to plan throughout the entire wedding. On the wedding day, Carly made our dream wedding a reality. She made sure we were both doing okay while getting ready, prepared the wedding party and officiant for the ceremony, organized private moments for us to take everything in, was an expert at dress fluffing and bustling, helped us sneak away for our reception outfit change, packed up the bridal suite and returned our things to our hotel room, and constantly roamed around making sure things were perfect. Carly managed requests from family members during the wedding, ensured we were never without a drink in our hand (while also ensuring that we were eating enough and drinking lots of water), helped move us along if a guest was monopolizing a little too much of our time, and checked in with us throughout the night. Above all, Carly made it a priority to make sure that we were the happiest we’ve ever been and boy did she excel at that. Although it was our day, Carly ran the wedding so well that we felt more like guests because we were able to sit back (well, dance) and enjoy! On that note, our guests kept coming up to us saying they had never been to a wedding that was so well-organized and ran so smoothly. Guests were also raving about Carly, saying that our planner did a fantastic job setting everything up and making sure things went off without a hitch. We can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that we would not have had such a beautiful wedding (or a wedding at all….) without Carly by our side throughout the whole wedding planning process. Carly started off as a planner, but she has truly become one of our good friends and we are forever grateful to have her in our lives. We are the biggest fans of Carly (and LOLA) and will be recommending her and her team to every single person we know who is getting married. Carly, LOLA, and the signature package are worth every cent (and more)! If you want your dream wedding to turn into a reality that is executed perfectly, then you NEED to hire Carly as your planner!

Throughout the wedding planning process, we can’t count the number of times we said thank goodness we have Carly! Carly was our wedding planner at Lola Event Productions and we can’t say enough good things about Carly’s diligence, attention to detail, responsiveness, and organization. We found Carly after we had picked our venue and were in the mix of looking for vendors. Carly recommended a list of vendors for every need, and they were all the BEST in the industry. They were highly reputable, and vendors Carly had worked with in the past. Sure enough they were all amazing come wedding day! Carly provided every detail to them, handled questions, and communicated what time and where they should be on the wedding day. I couldn’t even imagine trying to coordinate all of the times with the vendors by ourselves! Throughout the entire wedding planning process, Carly had great detail and kept us on our appropriate timeline and when we should be completing different tasks. She was on top of everything and was extremely responsive. Whenever I had a question, she was quick to respond and always had an answer. It was very helpful to be able to work with an expert in the industry because there is SO much we didn’t know about planning a wedding and so many details we otherwise would have missed. Our wedding would have looked a lot different without the help of Carly. She also helped make the process a lot less stressful. When we started planning our wedding, we wanted to enjoy the planning process, as we had many friends that were stressed planning their wedding. We enjoyed every minute. Even wedding week, I imagined it would be a chaotic week, instead everything was in line and it was more relaxing leading up to the big day! Just when we thought Carly’s amazing planning couldn’t get any better, come wedding day we were truly amazed. Everything was flawless and worked like clockwork! We had 11 girls at my house the morning of the wedding getting hair and makeup done and getting ready. Somehow, we managed to be ahead of schedule and got to the church early! Carly made sure we stayed on schedule—between eating lunch, getting dressed, doing first look pictures with the bridesmaids—she helped us stay within our timeline. The day of, we also had an assistant wedding coordinator who was fantastic. Once the ceremony started, Carly went to the reception location to ensure everything was going smoothly, while the assistant stayed at the church to help things run smoothly there. Having Carly at the reception hall relieved a TON of stress knowing she was there to ensure all of the vendors showed up and the room was looking how it was supposed to. Overall, the wedding day EXCEEDED expectations. It was the fairy tale wedding we had dreamed of, and we owe that to Carly. She helped make our vision become reality and her coordination and planning is truly unparalleled. I also can’t count the number of times throughout the wedding day she just checked in to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. That truly meant a lot and we felt cared for! We heard from many people that it was the BEST wedding they have ever been to. We were blown away by the number of times we were told that. Working with Carly was the best decision we made in our wedding planning process and highly recommend working with Carly and Lola Event Productions as you plan your wedding. You will not be disappointed!

If you are considering hiring Michelle V and Angela- do it. Worth every penny and more !! We hired Michelle and her assistant Angela for our December 2022 wedding and we could not be more pleased with the entire wedding process. From our first meeting to literally walking out the door as newlyweds at our venue, Michelle and Angela did an above and beyond job. Michelle was extremely attentive to our budget and always provided realistic solutions/expectations. Throughout the entire process I truly never felt stressed and that goes hand in hand with the professional assistance I had from my Lola team. Whenever I had questions or needed an opinion- Michelle was there at anytime of the day !! Michelle created deadlines from day one which kept my husband and self on task. I also trusted Michelle with her extraordinary talent of style- she added the most beautiful flare to create a classic, yet unique wedding for our December wedding. I wanted to avoid a Christmas wedding, and what she proposed was a moody, winter theme and it blew my breath away-something I would have never been able to pull off had Michelle not provided me with these suggestions ! Angela did a wonderful job being our day of coordinator and ensured the entire day ran smoothly. Had it not been for her (and Michelle’s guidance), my mom and MOHs would be handling all of our vendors and anything that may go wrong! At the end of the day, not me, my husband or family/friends had to worry about a single thing- except having the best of our lives. We were able to be fully present and soak in the best day of our lives and we owe that to the incredible Michelle and Angela.

We used Lola for our wedding this past weekend at the Botanic Gardens. Michelle was our lucky pair and we couldnt be more grateful for the 100/10 weekend she helped us throw. She curated a list of the most incredible vendors that we chose from, all of which were kind, thoughtful, respectful and lovely to work with. Wish we could do all of it over again, and we wouldnt change a thing! Thank you Michelle :) Love, The Fishbeins

Hiring LOLA Productions was the best decision we made in our entire wedding planning process. From booking our first vendor through the last song of the wedding, we had full trust in Carly (our coordinator) and the LOLA team. Carly was our partner in the truest sense of the term—she is an expert with an uncanny ability to translate amorphous vibes, feelings, thoughts, and wishes into concrete visions, plans, timelines, and moments. She struck the perfect balance of setting clear expectations around timelines and budget while also holding space for creativity and inspiration in the planning process. And when the big day arrived, she orchestrated everything with skill, care, and decisiveness. We loved our wedding—and the planning process—and we absolutely could not have done it without Carly and LOLA.

Michelle V. was the easiest person to work with and a planner without peer! From the initial email to the final ones after the wedding, she was always enthusiastic, organized, and well-prepared - she'll make sure you are too! Michelle helped plan a dreamy wedding at the Field Museum the weekend of Nascar in Chicago and never missed a detail. The planning process, timeline and budget were clear from the start, and Michelle kept the process running smoothly up through the wedding day. Michelle has contacts for the full gamut of items and services and plenty of great ideas to share too. The highest recommendation I can give is that the wedding was everything the bride and groom dreamed of and more, and Michelle made the whole process fun.

Where can I even begin with this review. Hiring Lola Planners was the BEST decision we made. We did the Signature LOLA package and it was perfect for what we needed. We were paired with Carly C. since our wedding was in Lake Geneva and she is familiar with the area. Our wedding exceeded every expectation and was the most magical day and we owe it all to Carly C. I was never someone who had a vision of what her wedding day would be and I honestly had no idea about the process. Carly took all of our (my) eclectic inspiration photos and pulled together the most beautiful (and cohesive) mood board. She then curated the PERFECT vendor team to execute the vision and it honestly turned out 1,000,000x better than we could have imagined. We had zero stress throughout the entire planning process because we trusted Carly and the vendors. Carly answered all of our questions and gave sound advice whenever we were on the fence about a decision. She always waited to see our reaction to options or if we had questions before commenting and she (tactfully) guided us when something was worth spending more on versus something that we didn't necessarily need or it didn't make a difference. Every single one of our guests commented that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to and how amazing our coordinator was. No detail was overlooked. There was no way we could have pulled off such an incredible wedding without her. This review doesn't even capture everything that she provided -- there is so much more that she did behind the scenes that I'm sure I will never know about. We cannot thank her enough for being our calm, cool, collected pillar of strength and sanity.

If you are on the fence about hiring a planner, this is your sign to do it! Do not over think it. Just do it and you can thank me later. Multiple times throughout the process me and my fiancé thought, we need to pay LOLA/Michelle more. Multiple people commented throughout the planning process that I was so calm. I am not that calm of a person. But I was calm because I had experts in my corner. We interviewed 6 wedding planners and in the end went with LOLA and Michelle because of their portfolio, attention to detail, and process. Michelle was absolutely incredible. Our mantra in planning was “In Michelle we a trust” because she anticipated every need, executed the vision to perfection, and She offered opinions when we were wavering and was supportive when we didn’t want to do things traditionally or spend extra money on options. She encouraged us when we needed support and told us when it wasn’t worth the time/money. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL. Multiple people came up to me and said it was the best wedding they have ever been to. More than what other people said, WE thought it was beyond our wildest expectations. We never thought we could pull off a wedding like that and the only reason we did was because we had LOLA/Michelle. Words cannot express how much Michelle has meant to us in one of the most important times of our lives. She played such an integral part in making it what we had wanted and memorable…and for that we will be forever grateful and indebted to LOLA. 10/10 would recommend to anyone and everyone. If we ever have children, we’ll be looking for LOLA and Michelle to plan their wedding.

Booking the Lavish LOLA Package with Lori was the absolute best investment we made in the entire wedding! Worth absolutely every penny & more, Lori is amazing!!!!! She is a true pro with the best contacts, best advice and experience to make your wedding dreams a reality. From the first meeting, Lori helped us define our priorities, set our expectations and find ways to elevate the wedding experience for us and our guests with seasoned advice. We planned the entire thing from New Jersey and yet never felt like this was an issue thanks to Lori's planning expertise. We are an international couple and had family come in from all over the world. Lori managed this with ease, helping us arrange hotel blocks, suggesting bilingual everything and making sure all of the logistics were on point and our Brazilian culture was represented throughout the wedding festivities! We also had some unique ideas for a wedding, including a surprise lightsaber battle for guests and Star Wars easter eggs on tables. Lori went all in with our vision! She helped us implement our love for Star Wars incredibly tastefully! Best wedding planning tip: Lori is ALWAYS right and she knows EVERYTHING. There is no need to freak out if she is on your team. Her vendor recommendations are AMAZING. Every person that we worked with through her was amazing, talented and did a fantastic job. We would have never got such an awesome vendor team without Lori, clearly her stellar reputation precedes her! She is professional, responsive and candid, which are all crucial in the wedding planning world. Lori made sure every detail of the wedding process was accounted for and ensured that everything had our personal touch! Many of the favorite things about our day (our Millenium Falcon Save the Dates, the monogrammed dance floor, the party lights) were her suggestions as she truly captured our spirit and elevated our ideas! Although we chose to be involved in every single thing, Lori took absolute leadership and managed the vendors, timeline, logistics and us with mastery! If there were any kinks on the wedding day, we have no idea - everything was perfect thanks to Lori and her team! We could go on forever, but we will wrap it up by saying, not only is Lori an amazing professional, she is an absolutely beautiful person. We are so so so so so incredibly grateful to have met her and miss being in contact with her every week! This is the exact person you want on your side, like I said, best investment in the whole thing! Thank you for helping us, Lori-Wan Kenobi! May the Force be With You!

I don't think I'll ever have the right words to describe just how wonderful Sanja Dimitrijevic is. She went above and beyond to make our wedding magical, and as perfect as it could be. She saved the day on multiple occasions, took on the therapist/best friend role at times, and not only double-checked everything, but fixed things I overlooked, which she caught. While the planning process was quite stressful, I told my now-husband on numerous occasions that every time I got off a call with Sanja, all my planning stress went away. She understood our culture and Hindu weddings with such respect and knowledge, which made me so comfortable in telling her what obstacles I had through the planning process, those of which she seamlessly helped navigate me through. Come wedding day, Indian standard time hit us like bricks. However, SHE WAS SO PREPARED! Every time I got worried with how untimely everything was happening, she assured me it was okay with all the buffers she incorporated in the schedule. With everything that happened, she handled everything like A QUEEN. Speaking of...I was so bummed that I missed the desserts at our wedding , but guess what our PERFECT coordinator had waiting in our hotel room for us. I do hope Sanja continues making magical wedding moments for all her future couples. We couldn't have found a more perfect planner, and now friend.

2023 bride here! I found LOLA events through The Knot. When I saw that they were in Vogue magazine, I could not help myself and reached out to Lori and request a day-of coordinator. She promptly set me up with Sanja who was absolutely incredible. Her warm personality and organization skills were a perfect match for me. She was attentive during our meetings and accommodated all my requests/meeting reschedules. During wedding week, she went above and beyond by picking up items from my home and made sure they were at the venue on the day of. She made sure the day ran smoothly (at least for the bride!) and sent a follow up email a week after the wedding with anything that she encountered that day. I would recommend LOLA to all future couples!

From day 1, we knew Lauren Prado @ Lola was the right person to help us plan our dream wedding. We were so impressed with her communication style and calming nature. We also loved that she had already planned multiple events at Revel Motor Row, our dream venue. Using her contacts, she secured a last-minute tour which enabled us to immediately book the wedding date that we wanted. She was a dream to work with throughout the process, as she is highly organized and an excellent multi-tasker! We appreciated her quick responses to our endless questions, and her patient demeanor made the entire planning process stress-free and enjoyable. We loved all of her recommendations as well! She helped us find an incredible photographer, a fantastic caterer, and a stellar hair and makeup team. She also helped with lighting and decor, custom invitations, and finding us the perfect DJ. Lauren was always responsive, always helpful, and always calm. Having her shepherd us throughout the process was a wonderful experience, and we could not recommend her more!

I cannot express how grateful we are to have worked with Lori!!! She was so knowledgeable, trustworthy, honest and FUN from day one, and truly made all our wedding dreams come true. Planning a big wedding can be a stressful process, but Lori’s organization skills and attention to detail made us feel confident and relaxed over the entire year of planning. Any idea I came to her with, she was able to help turn into a reality and lead us to the most amazing vendors. The actual wedding day was FLAWLESS and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing!! Lori ensured the day ran so smoothly from start to finish, and was such a calming presence throughout. We cannot recommend Lori enough!!!! Forever grateful we found her!

Lori @ Lola was the best. Her preparation and expertise showed as every key detail really came to light throughout our entire wedding planning process and especially on our wedding day. She had answers if anything went wrong, and came prepared with backup shoes for me (the groom) after my feet started hurting after hours of dancing (one of many special touches she added to our night). Beyond her professionalism and experience, she's an incredible person to work with - we realized that a best-in-class wedding planner is priority #1 to ensure a smooth, successful wedding. I highly recommend Lori & Lola as a wedding planner!

Our daughter, KT, announced her engagement to us by asking, 'Mom, don't you want to plan a fancy 'destination' wedding for me in a few months?' I was thrilled she and Tom were getting married but I panicked at the thought of planning a wedding or even being a part of the process. I said yes but added that we needed to find a wedding planner. KT's fiancé also wanted to be involved in the wedding plans. KT had done some research and had already decided on Lola Event Productions. She received recommendations for Michelle Kurinec @ Lola from a relative. We met with her and immediately liked her. We hired Michelle and got to work right away. KT had preselected a venue located in New Buffalo, MI, 90 minutes from Chicago for her 'destination' wedding. I was concerned about the feasibility and costs of having vendors travel from Chicago to New Buffalo and equally concerned with what vendors were available in southwestern Michigan post pandemic. We had our first meeting with Michelle and my concerns became less important to me because Michelle was in charge! She was: * very patient and addressed all of our concerns. * organized and able to anticipate upcoming needs based on our personal decisions * very efficient & punctual with meetings & follow-up communications * cost conscious! We really appreciated this because she could have been focused on spend, spend spend! * extremely pleasant to work with * a supreme multitasker! Very detailed oriented * great with communications--wonderful about including me on some but not all of the details (at my daughter's request!)--which I really appreciated. I wasn't overwhelmed with the decisions. My daughter knew I would likely say 'no not necessary' to some of her ideas, like the bubbles??!! ; ) * kept my daughter on task with reminders, to do lists and even provided a packing list for the wedding! There were many options available to us in Michigan and/or Chicago. Michelle professionally navigated through these options and contracts very easily. Michelle's active involvement in all areas wedding were really a blessing! You know how mom's and daughters can have little tifs at any age? (Over things like the bubbles!!) The wedding planning was pretty much tif free!! I surrendered my concerns and opinions--our daughter was in good hand's with Michelle. The day of the event was masterfully handled by Michelle. While we were waiting to walk down the aisle I noticed a couple arriving from out of state who had not RSVP'd. Based on the note they had attached to their gift we thought they were not coming! KT & I told Michelle about the arrival of our unexpected guests and seamlessly took care of getting them a seating card, places to sit, place settings and meals. Michelle also provided suggestions as to what we could say to make them feel warmly welcomed and not mention their missing RSVP! It worked and was an excellent & thoughtful strategy. We found Michelle to be pleasant to work and very professional. We would highly recommend Michelle Kurinec.

Carly C. with LOLA made my perfect wedding day happen! She was there through all the planning. Helped keep me on track so everything was flawless the day of. Having her there allowed me and my groom to enjoy the evening while she took care of anything question that came up. My family and I are so grateful for her hard work, attention to detail and kindness. I recommend LOLA Event Productions !

Recommend, recommend, recommend!! We opted for the "last minute LOLA" package and Sanja went absolutely above and beyond. She exceeded our expectations in every way and I would trust her with the biggest and most important events of my life without hesitation. Sanja is organized, kind, so caring, incredibly responsive, clear, and just incredibly helpful. I'm a self-admitted "Type A" spreadsheet guru with high expectations. I have planned large international group trips and tend to ruin my own fun by trying to prep for every possible scenario. Planning a wedding was a huge deal and Sanja handled me and our entire process with so much care and grace. She was a calm force in the midst of the storm that is me. She (and Lori) didn't bat an eye when we needed to pivot (yep, another COVID rescheduling couple) and provided invaluable advice throughout. I feel so lucky to have met and worked with Sanja and LOLA and can't wait to do it again!

Sanja Dimitrijevic was the absolute MVP of our wedding day. Even though we technically only hired her as a day-of coordinator, her commitment to us started well before the day of our wedding. Sanja was detail-oriented and responsive – starting from our very first meeting. She was an excellent listener and was always willing to provide feedback when needed. If there was a question that she didn't immediately have an answer to, she would seek out a response and get back to us quickly. She was incredibly helpful in reviewing our contracts, communicating with our vendors and establishing a detailed timeline. But the real magic of Sanja came out the day of the wedding! She was in her element. She had a calm yet confident demeanor that made us feel so at ease so that we could enjoy our day. From morning until night, anytime we needed her, somehow Sanja appeared in our sights. She thought of every last detail, from providing treats to the ring-bearer bearer and flower girls (and the anxious bride) to making sure that we had hors d'oeuvres and our signature cocktail in our bridal suite. And she wasn’t just great with us. Several of our family members came up to us independently that night to tell us big and small ways she had helped them. We couldn’t recommend Sanja highly enough.

Michelle is an absolute magician. Truly, if you have the opportunity to work with her do not hesitate, DO IT. From our first meeting she was incredibly organized. She understood our vision and based on that was able to direct us to the vendors that were able to bring that vision to life. People always say planning a wedding is stressful but if you work with Michelle it is a totally seamless and enjoyable process! She kept us on track and had all the tools we needed to stay completely organized for all parts of the planning process. When it came time for the wedding she was honestly incredible. She was at our house at 6am the day of tent set up, she was present for every single part of the day, all of the vendors, ensuring that everything was running according to schedule AND was completely calm and collected throughout the entire process. As the bride, of course you're a little nervous on your big day but Michelle was such great energy to be around- she made me feel SO relaxed that everything was perfect and totally under control and that I had nothing to worry about other than having the best day of my life. For both my husband and I it was the best day of our lives and we truly cannot thank her enough for bringing our vision to life and running the entire show in a way that truly let us enjoy every second of the day. We really feel like we made a friend throughout the planning process and we could not be more grateful. Lola Events in amazing and if you have the opportunity to work with Michelle (or I'm sure anyone on their talented) team do it!

Having Sanja from LOLA as our day-of wedding coordinator made our wedding day feel smooth, seamless and stress-free! After months of planning the wedding, I wanted to be sure to minimize stress so I could truly enjoy myself during the week leading up to the wedding and on the wedding day itself. I knew I was in great hands with Sanja — she handled communication about day-of logistics with all of our vendors, set up the cutest guest book signing area with her own polaroid camera, ran through our rehearsal with our entire wedding party, helped avoid a minor crisis with our flowers and even helped me steam my dress again right before walking down the aisle to make sure it was perfect. From big details to tiny ones, I knew I could trust Sanja to handle everything and let me really enjoy my day. I’d highly recommend working with LOLA!!

Lola Event Productions is the best in the buiz! I hired them to plan an awards gala and was thrilled with everything. The event was perfect. I specifically worked with Carly C. who is AMAZING. She was so easy to work with, extremely detailed, professional, and communicative. I 100% recommend and will use them the next time I plan an event in the Chicago area. It’s worth every penny (and more)!

My partner and I didn’t know the first thing about planning a wedding and we went into the process a bit apprehensive with all of the decisions we knew that we would have to make. We had a quick introduction call with Lori, the owner of Lola, and knew immediately from the start we were in good hands. Her knowledge of weddings, connections with the BEST vendors in town, and her organization resources were all so invaluable and helped us create, from scratch, our ideal wedding. From start to finish, Lori kept us on track and took an insane amount of stress off our plates because we knew every last detail was accounted for the entire time. It’s been a few weeks since our wedding, and we still have several friends telling us it was the most fun wedding they have ever been to. We have no doubt our wedding could not have happened as seamlessly as it did without Lori’s help and we are extremely grateful for her. We feel so lucky to have met Lori and happy we created a great friendship with her along the way that will continue now that our wedding is over!

If you’re looking for the best wedding planner or day of coordinator in the business, you’ve found them! We had the privilege of working with Carly C. for all three of our wedding dates from 2020-2022, meaning that we not only worked together for 3 years, but we also worked together through the toughest years imaginable for the wedding industry. However, you would have never known that working with Carly, which is a testament to her professionalism, character, and laser focus on her couples. She went above and beyond her contract in so many ways: rebooking vendors, giving sound advice when we tried to predict the unpredictable in 2020/21, and truly being a friend and advocate every step of the way. Any bride getting married in those years would tell you how tough it was, including me, but I had the perfect partner in planning, strategizing, and finding the right solution for us. We ended up with our dream day at the Chicago Athletic Association — our original venue with all of our original vendors — and Carly was beyond instrumental in making it happen. In addition to being an absolute pleasure to work with, Carly brings incredible experience to the table. She really has seen — and masterfully handled — everything. Ask her about vendors — she has solid recommendations in every field (and they love working with her). Ask her about how to handle a concern about your venue — she’ll tell you about what her past couples have done in that exact space (or leverage the LOLA brain trust!). You’ll quickly see you can ask her anything, and you will get a thoughtful, helpful, and productive response from Carly. She really is as good with the big picture as she is with the small details, and she cares about what matters to you. For instance, Carly knew I cared about the day staying “on time” as I’ve seen so many weddings get off track as a guest. I am not kidding when I say our dance floor opened at 9:00 PM on the dot. She knew I cared about predictability and structure, and she made it happen without me even being aware of it or conscious of it during the day. That example brings me to another key point about Carly and the service she offers. The timeline of my day is a small example, but more broadly speaking, Carly seamlessly allowed me, my husband, and our family, to enjoy our wedding day unencumbered with details and decision making. We all floated through the day — focused on the joy of it all — while Carly had our backs. She does the right pre-work before the wedding (coordinating vendors, in/out times, planning details with venue, etc.), and then masterfully executes on the day. Having a coordinator and/or planner as wonderful as Carly allows for a shift in mindset — your work is done! It’s just time to enjoy the best day of your life. My last words… if you are thinking you may not need a coordinator, you have parents, siblings, or bridal parties that will help cover tasks… I have to say that having a coordinator is a MUST. I would rank it as the #1 use of your budget. Nothing is as important as your ability to enjoy your day. I have been in 6 weddings in the last few years, 3 of which we’re planned and coordinated by Carly, and attended at least 25 with a mix of support. Simply put, when Carly is at your side, the difference is night and day. If you are still on the fence, have a intro call with Carly and you’ll quickly see what I see in her. We love you, Carly! Thank you for everything.

If you are searching for a wedding planner in Chicago, look no further. Kirsty Basch & LOLA Event Productions are the absolute best!! My husband & I first met Kirsty when she planned our friend’s gorgeous wedding in 2019. We were SO impressed with her work and were super lucky to get her to plan our wedding too! Our original date was set for 2021, but of course with COVID there ended up being lots of unexpected considerations, including making the decision to postpone until August 2022. Throughout the entire planning process and pandemic chaos, Kirsty was so warm, professional, communicative, reliable, considerate, intuitive, proactive, creative, fun, flexible, and frankly our steady rock. Kirsty makes it a priority to first really understand the fundamental needs, personalities, and goals of each of her couples. She then uses this formulation to inform her work and guide couples in picking the best personalized options *for them* and their budget. Kirsty & LOLA clearly have tight relationships with the best vendors in Chicago, and she made selecting them a breeze. She stayed in constant contact with them, advocated on our behalf before we even needed to say anything, and somehow knew what we wanted more than we knew ourselves! Kirsty & and our vendor crew basically felt like the Avengers – they were such a strong, cohesive team with immense experience working in the industry and with each other, and we had 100% faith in their expertise. Kirsty was also an expert at navigating the complicated aspects of a large multicultural (Indian-Italian) wedding. As a psychiatrist myself, we often joked that Kirsty must be secretly trained in family therapy! She was extremely interpersonally skilled at navigating our families’ different goals and expectations, while also ultimately prioritizing us as the couple. I was particularly impressed with her knowledge and experience with planning South Asian weddings and found that she actually knew way more details about them than I did! She clearly excels at inclusivity and cultural humility and I would trust her to plan any event amazingly. Our wedding day itself ended up being truly stunning and magical, better than anything we could have possibly imagined. We had so much faith in Kirsty that we didn’t have to worry about a single detail that day – we just got to fully enjoy it. Hiring Kirsty Basch and LOLA were by far the BEST decision we made for our wedding, and if we could hire Kirsty to plan our entire life we would!!!

Hiring Kirsty Basch (& Lola Event Productions more generally) was hands down the best and easiest decision we made throughout all of our wedding planning. Kirsty & Lola are in a tier of wedding and event planning all their own. From our initial call we knew Kirsty was the perfect fit for us—her energy, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail were immediately apparent. Kirsty told us on the first call that part of her job is to make sure that planning and the wedding run smoothly—but also that even if something goes wrong, as it can with large events, we (the couple) will never know because it will already be handled. Kirsty and Lola executed on that promise perfectly. Our entire wedding weekend went off without a hitch (or the hitch was so well handled that we’ll never know about it, as promised!). Kirsty handled all the logistical parts of planning so that my (now wife) and I could enjoy the creative and personal aspects of planning. A few of the things we loved most: the details. My wife and I both have very hectic work and travel schedules, so the idea of managing the details of a wedding felt quite daunting at the beginning of the process. This is one of the major places Kirsty really showed her skills. Kirsty managed communications with vendors, kept all of our budgeting and contract details organized, tracked important dates and flagged anything for us that needed our immediate attention. It was an enormous weight off our shoulders to not feel like we had to be on top of all of the details--Kirsty had it handled. Every single one of our vendors was incredible, and they all came highly recommended and vetted by Kirsty and Lola. There's a huge market of vendors, so having a tailored understanding of who would be the best fit for us was so helpful. Kirsty's level of experience means that she can tell you, with personal examples, the differences among the vendors, etc. She was instrumental in putting together our full vendor team, and part of why the weekend was so magical is because everyone involved trusted each other and worked together well. Throughout the entire planning process Kirsty was present and easy to reach any time we needed her. She checks in and is a clear and patient communicator. She is super easy and fun to talk to, which made every conversation a joy. And critically, Kirsty is also good at having tougher conversations with people if they need to happen. I can be a people pleaser, but Kirsty knew my goals, vision, and budget, and was able to gently step in for me if I was struggling to articulate what I needed in various meetings.  Inclusivity. As a queer and interracial couple, it was important to us that we work with a company and vendor team that values diversity and inclusion. Kirsty made us feel welcomed and valued from the start, and we never had to think about or worry about explaining bride-bride language to vendors, etc. We also asked Kirsty to help us find and prioritize diversity within our vendor teams, and she made that happen! Day-of. So much of the planning process is, of course, the months leading up to the event--and those were all flawless. But perhaps most importantly, the wedding day itself ran like a well-oiled machine. Everyone knew where they needed to be and who the point people were--both I and my wife were completely relaxed because we knew the details were taken care of and that Kirsty would tell us anything we needed to know. THANK YOU, to Kirsty and to Lola Event Productions.

It's been 10 days since our daughter's wedding and every guest we talk to still starts with..." that was the best wedding I've ever been to". Lori helped us accomplished exactly what we had hoped, a memorable day for everyone without feeling like we had overdone it. She helped us focus on the right things. She saved us time as she recommended fabulous vendors based on our tastes and priorities and eliminated much of the research we would have done. She saved us money as she helped us think about what was the most impactful for our guests. She saved us aggravation as she took control of items that became challenging. she kept us organized and made decisions when needed and she let us enjoy the day by having it so well planned and taking full control on the day of the event. She and her team were professional throughout the process. Hiring Lola Event Productions was money and time very well spent!!

Michelle Kurinec from Lola Event Productions was absolutely unbelievable. She handled every detail perfectly. She immediately understood our visions and managed to steer us in the right direction to achieve them. Every vendor she recommended was fabulous. She was ALWAYS available and ALWAYS read to jump in to help. It was so interesting that she was physically present for everything..... even 7:00 am to make sure tent set up was going to be perfect. And, on the wedding day, from 7:00 am to 2:00 am working with a smile on her face and wonderful to all of the guests. She is terrific.

Kirsty Basch at Lola Event Productions planned our wedding and it was the best day of our lives! The entire wedding-planning process was smooth, easy, and fun, and we couldn't have done it without Kirsty. When COVID restrictions prevented us from having our wedding in 2021, Kirsty quickly worked with each of our vendors to have a seamless transition to our new date in 2022. From the early planning to the day-of execution, Kirsty went above and beyond to give us the wedding of our dreams. We were so happy to be stress-free on our wedding day, knowing Kirsty was taking care of everything for us. If you're looking for a wedding planner that is organized and professional, gives amazing advice and recommendations, and will become your best friend, Kirsty and the Lola team are the right choice for you!

5 out of 5 stars isn’t enough! We worked with Kirsty Basch at Lola Event Productions for our wedding in June 2022 – and we absolutely could not have done it without her! When we started working with Kirsty we were living in Manhattan while trying to plan a wedding in Chicago. We were unfamiliar with Chicagoland venues and vendors and Kirsty helped us navigate everything with ease (or at least she makes it look like she does it with ease!). She narrowed down the vendors for us and offered recommendations and candid commentary where we were having trouble choosing between all the amazing options. We absolutely loved all our vendors – they were all fantastic people and experts at what they do- and they all had the most amazing things to say about Kirsty. I’m convinced they took us on as clients just for the opportunity to work with Kirsty again! Unlike some brides I didn’t have a picture perfect vision of what I wanted and I was able to trust Kirsty and all our vendors to read my mind and know what I wanted before I knew! We ended up moving to Chicago before the wedding and were able to spend some time with Kirsty at our final walkthroughs and meetings. Not only is she a fantastic wedding planner, shes also a phenomenal person. The morning of the wedding I realized my veil was lost and proceeded to freak out. Kirsty swooped in and found a backup veil in no time- I can’t even tell the difference when I look at the photos. Crisis Averted! Throughout the day everything ran so smoothly, Kirsty was there to walk me and my husband through anything and everything. We got so many compliments from guests on the wedding and how organized it all was. I couldn’t have pictured a more perfect wedding day- it was really everything we could have hoped for and more. We will treasure it forever. We would highly highly recommend Kirsty and LOLA to anyone!

We made the best decision to work with LOLA Event Productions for our wedding this past April!! We worked with Lauren Prado specifically and she was so amazing, so friendly, easy to work with, and we could not have pulled our dream of a wedding together without her! Lauren kept us calm, on track, and focused throughout our planning process from start to finish, which truly was the biggest blessing. I can't recommend Lauren and the LOLA team enough!

I wish there was a 10,000 star rating on here. If there was, Kirsty Basch would get that a million times over. To say she is the best would not be doing her justice. We started working with Kirsty on our wedding planning back in March 2020. We originally had our wedding planned for July 2021 but pushed it to July 2022 because of Covid. Kirsty was a magical worker during that process. When we told her we were thinking of postponing, she got new dates and availability to us within a few hours. She basically picked up everything we had booked and moved it to the same weekend, a year later. She was seriously a miracle worker. The vendor team she put together for us was incredible. Everyone was so amazing and so fun to work with. She seriously put together our dream wedding. She answered all of our (my) crazy questions and was always able to read my mind and vision. As for our wedding day, there were crazy storms in the morning and we were planning for an outdoor wedding. She made our Plan A happen, even though there were crazy storms still going around our venue the whole night. I swear she and the other vendor teams put out some storm net and physically pushed the storm away. Her and the vendor team worked at turbo speed the whole day and didn't show me or the groom any signs of stress or panic. They made us feel so calm, cool and collected the entire day. If you are looking at other planners, this is your sign to stop. Hire Kirsty and she will plan you your dream wedding! When I was dreaming about my wedding as a kid, July 23rd, 2022 was exactly what I dreamed of. It makes me so sad that I have to write this review because that means the planning process is over. But, I know that I will still keep in touch with Kirsty and forever be grateful to her! Thank you for everything Kirsty! xoxox

Our easiest and best decision was working with Carly C during our wedding planning process. We truly had no idea how many components went into planning a wedding! Carly led us through the entire process with ease and confidence. I’m not sure how many times I heard “it’ll be fiiiine” from her and it always was! I have to give full credit to her for my relaxed demeanor throughout the past year (especially on my wedding day); I know Carly had everything under control from start to finish. She’s attentive, available when you need her, organized, and incredibly professional. She’s great at anticipating needs and kept us on track with our deadlines which was necessary with our busy work schedules. I have and will continue to recommend Lola and Carly to all of my friends embarking on their wedding planning process. She’s simply the best! There wouldn’t have been a wedding without her!

Lori and her team are the best in the business. Our wedding was everything we had hoped for and Lori was there every step of the way. Could not have asked for a better event and overall experience!

This review is going to be long (seriously I had to shorten it to meet the character limit!), so if you want the short version, RUN don’t walk to Michelle Kurinec with LOLA Event Productions. When my fiancé and I got engaged, I saw hiring a wedding planner as a splurge for myself. What I quickly learned was that getting a planner (the right one) was not a luxury or a splurge, but a necessity. My fiancé and I got engaged in May of 2020, so COVID was in full swing and we decided to have our wedding at a distant date to hopefully allow some return to “normal”. So, Michelle worked with us for over 2 years to deliver the perfect wedding. In those 2 years we navigated various travel restrictions, changing guidelines, etc. We also live in California so we were planning at a distance. Michelle took the less than ideal circumstances of planning during a pandemic and brought a high level of flexibility and professionalism, from personalized virtual tours of venues of interest to several extremely helpful video calls with not only my fiancé and myself but also my parents. Remember, none of us have done a pandemic before, but you’d never have known that when working with Michelle. Regardless of where you live and whether you are grappling with “unprecedented times”, Michelle brings a huge wealth of knowledge, experience, and respect in the field that is priceless for planning a wedding. Before jumping into planning, I had an idea of venues I was interested in. When making the final decision of which planner to go with, I contacted the venues directly, and they emphatically recommended LOLA and Michelle. This trend continued throughout the process. I ended up with the absolute perfect vendor team for me thanks to Michelle’s guidance. And they were fully on board and excited to work with us because they knew we were working with Michelle. Over the 2 years of working with Michelle, she patiently and receptively listened to any idea or inspiration I had. She took the time to learn who I was and who my fiancé was, and worked to merge our two styles together. She will make sure you are always informed in all decisions, bringing up potential barriers or considerations that we would have never known about had it not been for her. She is direct while also being kind and genuine. She is not only the perfect planner, but an all-around fantastic human being that we feel privileged that we had the opportunity to get to know. With that 2 years of lead up, I was very nervous about the day not living up to my expectations. I’m a dreamer and am notorious for building things up in my head. So many times, I’ve heard people say that they just had to “get through the wedding’ or “it went by so fast we didn’t even get to enjoy it”. None of these fears were realized for us. The wedding was virtually stress free, the ceremony, reception, and cocktail hour truly exceeded my expectations (which again, were HIGH), and I was able to enjoy every minute. Do I wish that day could’ve been played on repeat, yes. But never did I feel I wasn’t able to fully live in the moment and enjoy it. The saddest part of the day coming to an end was saying goodbye to Michelle. She is a professional, resident expert, and wonderful person at every level. Okay, so if you’ve made it this far, stop reading reviews and just get Michelle as your planner as soon as you can. You won’t regret it, and trust me, you’ll want as much time with her as you can get!

After getting engaged in the December of 2019, Brian and I decided to wait a few months to plan a wedding. Shortly after, the pandemic hit and planning a wedding seemed like something we should just hold off on. Finally, in January of 2021, with the pandemic still in full force I decided to investigate wedding planners who could help us navigate the ever-changing situation of the pandemic. When I spoke to Lori from Lola Event Productions, I was immediately drawn to her fun personality and her calm demeaner. I felt like she was someone we could work with. We waited a few months and ultimately decided to hire Lori to execute our entire wedding in August of 2021. What Lori brought to the table was as follows: a plethora of knowledge on anything related to a Chicago wedding including a vetted list of vendors from venue options, to caterers, to photographers and videographers, to DJs, florists, and invitation and printing gurus. Yet while her rolodex of vendors saved us hours of research because we signed with people she had worked with and trusted, Lori’s greatest asset was her ability to connect with us both as a couple and as individuals. She understood who we were as people and what we wanted in a wedding. She executed our wedding vision that was less traditional and combined a more relaxed/casual atmosphere with the sophistication of high-end food and drinks. She designed the reception and décor to cater to my desire for vibrant colors of oranges, reds, yellows, and blues. She provided Brian with the organizational structures of timelines, lists and details so that everything for the day was mapped out and we could have a great time. Since our wedding this past weekend on July 16th, 2022, people have been commenting on how cool and fun the day was. Family and friends have said they enjoyed the “non-assigned” table seating and the ability to eat, drink, mingle and dance with so many different people. However, what resonates with me the most is guests said, “this wedding felt so much like a representation of you and Brian.” I credit Lori and Lola Event Productions for that.

If you're looking for a planner to relieve you of all those wedding anxieties look no further. She may not wear a cape but don't be fooled, Michelle Kurinec with Lola Event Productions is indeed a hero. Every step of the way she had our backs and made remote wedding planning stress free. My husband and I were clu