The BEST decision that you could make in planning a wedding in Western North Carolina is to hire Mary Bell Events. My daughter was married at Deerpark at the Biltmore Estate in May... 2024. Mary and her team are professionals – their planning and execution of my daughter’s wedding was flawless. Mary Bell covered all the details (vendors, photography, timeline, music, décor) so that we did not have to stress over anything. I enjoyed “being a guest” at our event because Mary Bell and her #1 team member Katie Garnett had planned out every detail and made certain it was delivered. And, I mean every single detail. Mary Bell Events was “on it” from the big picture to the smallest items. From the time that we began working with Mary and in the months before my daughter’s wedding, I realized that Mary Bell “knows everyone” (vendors and catering staff at Biltmore) important to a wedding event and that “everyone” enjoys working with her company. ALL the vendors that Mary recommended to us (band, transportation, floral, hike and catering companies for guest activity, hair and makeup artist) were excellent. The catering team at Biltmore knew Mary and Katie and they worked together seamlessly. I cannot stress enough that Mary has a network of superior vendors that are essential to hosting a beautiful wedding and reception and each of the vendors from Mary’s network of contracts that we hired “brought their A game” for my daughter’s wedding. Also, Mary Bell did not push us to hire the most expensive vendors – she was respectful of our budget and recommended a list of vendors with a range of pricing and we made the selections. Mary advised us what it was important to spend money on and what wasn’t. For anyone planning a wedding, this type of advice is invaluable. Also, if you are considering not hiring a wedding planner to save money, I suggest you re-think this idea. Mary Bell’s services and access to her network of vendors were well worth her reasonable contract charges. There are so many details involved in wedding planning – having a professional in charge is key to hosting an event that is beautiful, unique, fun, memorable and stress-free. Both Mary and Katie are very creative and they had wonderful ideas and worked with us on the décor (florals, lighting, linens, table placement) that made the evening beautiful. (For context, the ceremony was in the Lodge Room at Deerpark, the cocktail hour and reception were outside in the Deerpark courtyard under a clear, lighted tent and dinner was inside Deerpark). In addition, Mary and Katie were both fun to work with – they did their job but they also made the planning easy and enjoyable. They were enthusiastic and confident throughout the planning process which allowed us to enjoy the experience. In planning my daughter’s wedding, Mary was super organized and she covered all the details in the months before the wedding – nothing was overlooked or forgotten. The timeline planning document that Mary and her team created was unbelievable, and even more unbelievable is the fact that it was executed perfectly. On the night of the event, Katie was in charge and she did a great job. From the start with the line-up for the walk down the aisle to the last guest leaving the reception, Katie managed all aspects of the evening as planned in an unobtrusive way. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was really fun. Many guests (who traveled from Los Angeles and NYC to attend) have contacted me and the groom’s parents to say how much they enjoyed the wedding and reception. I also would like to add that it was easy to communicate with Mary – she answered emails and calls promptly, and our several meetings at the venue were organized and productive. I did not feel at any time that Mary was “too busy” with other clients to respond to me or my daughter. As soon as we were in contract with Mary Bell Events, Mary started working for us and she continued a high level of commitment until the conclusion of our event. In sum, Mary Bell Events has the experience, creativity, contacts and commitment to assist you in hosting an exceptional wedding event in Western North Carolina. In my opinion, Mary Bell is THE wedding planner to hire. If it were possible to give Mary Bell Events “10 Stars” – I would do it.