Momentous Weddings, Events & Designs

ome party too. This was the best decision. Carissa handled a last minute rain plan and other obstacles with such incredible grace and attention to detail, helping us ease into our wedding weekend trusting that everything was taken care of - and it all came together even better than we could have originally planned. Carissa helped us assemble a dream team of vendors throughout the planning process, and led them with impeccable organization and precision on the actual wedding day. Carissa has a keen eye for design and cares about all the fun little details that help a wedding feel unique and personal. Most importantly, Carissa leads with kindness, enthusiasm and positivity, acting as a cheerleader and confidante throughout the special (yet sometimes stressful!) process that is planning a wedding.

uidance when needed and took the lead when it came time. She is extremely reliable and every part of the wedding went so smoothly with no problems. We do not live the area and it would have been extremely difficult for my daughter to plan her wedding without Carissa. I would highly recommend Carissa to plan your event, too. Carissa made it such a pleasant experience and as stress free as possible.

Our wedding turned out better than we could have imagined. We couldn't have done it without her!

t, and incredibly knowledgeable about how to put a wonderful wedding event together. The event turned into a magical experience for everyone involved. I had so many people tell me it was the best wedding and I’ve gotten a few thank you notes already. In addition, Carissa helped put the right people together like the photographer, florist, and all the other vendors and this made all the difference. Everyone was talented, creative, attentive to details, and worked hard having everything seamlessly come together for the best wedding day! We could not have done it without her and couldn’t be happier about the result! Carissa is an amazing person to work with! She guided us every step of the way, and so the wedding day was easy for all of us, and the bride and groom had the BEST day ever! We are forever grateful Carissa!

e process and we are forever thankful that Carissa planned our big day!!

ng with Carissa and her team. From day one I knew I had nothing to worry about because she understood our vision and knew exactly how to execute. The entire day was smooth and seamless thanks to all her hard work! I can't recommend her enough!

ding at the South Congress Hotel was everything we dreamed it would be. One of the things we appreciated most about Carissa was her attention to detail. She made sure every aspect of the planning process was taken care of, from coordinating with our vendors to handling the timeline on the day of the wedding. She was always quick to respond to our questions and concerns, and she even went so far as to sew a beautiful veil for me. She truly became our lifeline throughout the planning process. But what truly set Carissa apart was her personal touch. Not only did she work with us on all the details leading up to the big day, but she also attended our second Ethiopian wedding as a guest and we have since become very good friends. It's clear that Carissa truly cares about her clients and goes the extra mile to make sure their wedding is everything they hoped it would be. We can't recommend Carissa enough as a wedding planner. She made the entire process stress-free and enjoyable, and we are so grateful to have had her by our side on our special day. If you're in need of a wedding planner, look no further than Carissa. You won't be disappointed.

planner we could have asked for. She helped us execute our vision, we had a general idea and she helped us focus it and hone in on exactly what we were looking for. She was flexible and accommodating given we were planning from out of state. Carissa went above and beyond to ensure we had everything in place for our special day. We could have imagined going through this process with anyone else. Highly recommend.

r and efforts to include me as much as possible meant so much. Most importantly, my daughter was able to relax and entrust all of the coordination on wedding day to Carissa and her team, who made sure the day went so smoothly. Thanks Carissa, for all of your hard work, expertise and dedication to your brides! We love you!

it was true.  Carissa is a true joy to be around. From the first minute of our first call, she made me feel comfortable and heard and she felt like a true partner (and friend!) the entire time we worked together. From our very first conversation, she helped us take our jumbled thoughts and ideas and she transformed them into a beautiful design plan which was essential in allowing us to share our vision with the vendors we worked with and execute it on the day. In addition to being the most delightful person, Carissa is truly exceptional at her job. She helped us source all our major vendors - who were all wonderful in their own right - and communicate with them up to and on our wedding day. When giving us options and recommendations for vendors, each vendor was perfectly in line with our vision and personalities. It was SUCH a relief as an anxious, out-of-state bride to have someone so detail-oriented and on top of everything in my corner. I knew I was in good hands every step of the way and it took so much stress out of the planning process for me. We received endless compliments on every aspect of our wedding day and every one is truly a testament to Carissa's talent and hard work. We could not have planned the event without her. Not only did we receive compliments on our vendors and decor, but on Carissa herself as well. So many people she met on the day, from our family to members of the wedding party, let us know how much they loved working with her and how wonderful and talented she is! We couldn't agree more. I cannot emphasize enough how much you will be taken care of with Carissa as your wedding planner. My husband and I still remark often how it was the best wedding planning decision we made. Love you (and miss you!!) Carissa!!

thing. She helped us get back on track easily and lead us to find the rest of our vendors. I cannot stress enough how helpful, kind, organized, knowledgeable, and timely Carissa is. You definitely want her help in planning a wedding!! Also, she has the best energy on the day of. She'll keep things moving while celebrating with yall. Don't wait, seriously, book her now!!!!

re deciding on Momentous Wed, and from the moment that I spoke with her, I knew this would be different. The passion, care, creativity, and genuine love and support that Carissa provides to all of her clients is truly exceptional. Carissa loves love and she will do anything in her power to make sure that your day goes off without a hitch. She kept me on track with all the little details of planning and truly went above and beyond her duties. She kept me sane in moments of anxiety, handled other vendor mishaps, hyped my husband and me up for our engagement shoot, and helped me piece together an absolute dream team for our big day. Thanks to her I had multiple people express how it was the most well-run, beautiful wedding they had ever been to. I truly believe that I selected a planner and gained a friend for life. If you are in search of a kind-hearted but seasoned professional to help bring your very best day to life- truly look no further. Carissa is simply the best.

s delayed due to COVID and she was willing to be flexible and work with us with utmost understanding despite the challenges of the situation. We felt truly heard and taken care of. Carissa helped ease the stress and lift the burden of having to delay our wedding and change plans last minute. With many logistics, coordinating, and decisions to be made, Carissa handled them with ease while maintaining care for what we were going through. We ended up planning a last minute mini ceremony in the mountains with our immediate family and she went above and beyond to not only help it go smoothly but also ensure that our delayed wedding would still be equally special and significant. Despite every curve ball, our wedding day went smoothly and ended up being a joyful and peaceful day. At the end of the day we had nothing to worry about because we had so much trust in Carissa. We were so thrilled with how our wedding turned out and wish we could do it all over again. The wedding planning process was enjoyable in one of the most stressful wedding seasons possible. The many coffee dates and facetime calls planning out our special day made Carissa more than just someone we worked with; it made her a very dear friend for a lifetime. We are forever grateful for her skill, thoughtfulness, and kindness.

y vision and Carissa exceeded my expectations. My husband and I knew everything was handled when it came to day-of and we were able to relax and have an amazing time. Our guests loved her and her team too! They were helpful, super friendly, and really enjoyable to be around. We are so lucky we found Carissa & Momentous Wed!

cheerleader you need during what may be a stressful (but fun!) time. She is extremely solution-oriented, and does it all with the most positive, can-do attittude. Our wedding went off absolutely perfectly and I couldn't recommend Carissa more!!

fell through. We had rescheduled our wedding twice because we were concerned about safety and covid. We were exhausted and had a lot of trouble getting excited about our own wedding. We were looking for a planner who was highly organized, fun to work with, and importantly took covid19, and our concerns about it, very seriously. Carissa did all of that incredibly well. She seamlessly took over the wedding process and helped us to get excited about it again. Our caterer (who was also responsible for tables, linens, place settings, etc) said that Carissa "made it so incredibly easy" to do everything correctly and to stay organized. Our wedding went perfectly and we got excellent reviews from friends and family. We highly recommend Carissa!

ugh.

we were especially sorry we weren't nearer where we could be more help. Enter Carissa to save the day...and the event! Every time we talked to my son and his fiance they raved about her and everything she was doing to head off problems, reduce their stress, and ensure that the big day would be a huge success. And it was! It was truly amazing, thanks to Carissa's tireless devotion. Their wedding was an explosion of beauty, joy, and love in the midst of the craziness that was 2021. What a glorious way for my son and his wife to start their married life together! I would recommend Carissa to anyone!

on to life! Thank you for everything!

id landscape, or for other unforeseen circumstances, Carissa helped us navigate and fix them all. Carissa was also so friendly and caring with us. She made sure that not only were things taken care of, but also that we were emotionally good and happy with everything. It made anything that popped up so much easier to deal with. Finally, on our wedding day, we never had a single worry. Her and her team made sure that everything went smoothly. It made the day of the wedding so easy and fun for both us and our guests. I would recommend Carissa and Momentous Weddings in a heartbeat!

ely cared about my husband and I, and worked passionately and tirelessly to make our dreams a reality. She made wedding planning much more fun than stressful, and exceeded our wedding day expectations. She worked with us on every small detail and helped us through any questions/issues that we had. Carissa made postponing our wedding as painless as possible, and helped us get a new caterer after the one we had hired went out of business unexpectedly due to COVID. Carissa was there to save the day each time and assured us that she would make it work. And y’all, she totally did. She advocated for us every step of the way, and had an amazing team of vendors to help us through. On the day of our wedding, she and her team made the day go by very smoothly and made sure my husband and I got to actually enjoy the day with each other and our families. From the tiny cats on our cake to the intricate photo wall, she helped us plan and execute every small detail. It was a magical, beautiful, and emotional day and we are so grateful to Carissa for making it happen! We absolutely recommend her without hesitation!! I promise she’ll be the best person to have on your team when planning your wedding. My family and I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about our experience with her. We love you Carissa!!

uple other friends/family members' weddings around the same time. Not only was it crucial to see just how important a coordinator really is, but I learned just how unique Carissa and her team is. You will want them by your side through out the process and especially on that day! She took the time to get to know us as a couple, and really understood what was important to us. It truly felt like I had a friend as my coordinator, someone I could go to for anything. On the wedding day, she fought hard to make sure the venue followed my vision as much as possible. She was there for us, and my family could tell. Carissa and her team juggled so much that day coordinating all the vendors, but they also kept my family and all the guests informed, and minimized any issues that came up. The wedding day turned out better than expected, but it would not have been as great if it weren't for her! We can't thank them enough!

ake that choice easy for you and tell you to just stop and hire Carissa right now. Do it. She will make your dream come true, but best of all, she will be your dear friend at the end. First, why a wedding planner? If you want to spend your day and the days leading up to the day without stress and worries, and with only dancing and celebrating in mind, you should get a planner. And you might be the most OCD, excel-loving, checklist-obsessed person, you will need someone to tell you the things you need to do that only someone in the wedding industry will know of. If you need to make sure your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, you are going to need someone to remind you of all the things you forgot (which you will forget things). And, If you love design, and making sure what you’ve dreamed about are brought to life in the most beautiful way, get a planner. And that perfect planner is Carissa. Carissa is the type of wedding planner who will do absolutely everything in her power to make sure you have a beautiful day. With a solid background in design and fashion, she will create magic out of your vision. She is responsible, selfless, detail-oriented, responsive, kind, brilliant, artsy, funny, an optimist, easy to talk to and everything you could want and dream in a planner and friend. Carissa is intentional; she makes sure she knows both of you, and what you seek out of your special day. Carissa loves LOVE, and she finds joy in getting to celebrate and showcase your love for each other. She knows the best vendors in the business, and can recommend you to the best vendors for your vision. She will negotiate with vendors for you, fight for you, and communicate with them continuously. Carissa also goes above and beyond in everything she does for you: she helped me with my dress when I had issues with my seamstress, she brought Whataburger fries for our ring bearer pup because she heard that was his favorite, and she made sure we were attended to in every way during our day. If you think about how awesome this already is, Carissa did her job for us in a year that was marred by the pandemic and its woes, snowpocalypse in Texas, and everything crazy in between. And she did her job outstandingly. We are forever thankful for Carissa for what she did for us, and what she does for every couple she gets to work with. She gets to foster love and showcase it in the most beautiful way. She is driven by the joy she gets from seeing YOUR joy, and that makes Carissa absolutely special. She is a talented dream maker and magician, and we hope she gets to show you how she can make your dream day come true.

of mind, especially during COVID, and maintaining our sanity throughout the whole process, up to and through the day of. Planning a wedding is stressful enough. Planning a wedding during COVID is even harder. Carissa was there every step of the way, not only giving us smart, reasoned guidance, but also keeping our spirits high during some impossibly difficult decisions. While Carissa is very supportive, what you’re paying her for is to manage all the things you don’t have time for/don’t want to hassle with. This is where she shines. Our wedding went off perfectly, and I mean perfectly. There’s not a thing we would have done differently, nor a thing that didn’t quite work out. That’s thanks to Carissa. She has your day-of timeline down to the minute and she keeps that schedule tight. Even if you’re not the kind of couple to be too bothered by details, you’d be surprised how much pops up the day of and in the weeks leading up to the big day. It’s nice to ask someone “can you handle this?” and the answer is yes. Or, just as often, she’s already taken care of something for you. By itself, the reassurance and help is worth the price of a month-of coordinator, but Carissa is also good at helping you save money. There were at least two or three times when she helped work down vendor prices while getting stuff thrown in for free. Whatever cost you pay to hire Carissa, you’ll probably at least come close to making back with having her on your side. Carissa and her assistant do a phenomenal job of handling everything. If there’s a question or a concern, my No. 1 option was always “What does Carissa think?” or “Ask Carissa.” She had the answers every time. There are a lot of wedding coordinators in Austin. A lot of reviews will tell you how great they are. I’m here to tell you Carissa went so above and beyond to make things run smoothly while also being a joy to work with and she didn’t break the bank. That’s a hard combo to find. She has our wholehearted recommendation for any event you have.

er attention to detail is second to none. She's organized, she is a problem solver and the best thing about her is she cares. She loves what she does and it shows!

ts when I was unable to be in town. I am wildly Type A and came with my own spreadsheets, Pinterest boards, and half-baked ideas, and Carissa picked up right where I left off without missing a beat. She is the kind of person you want in your corner as you negotiate contracts and finalize the million details you didn't know would come up. She knows just when and how to push back on vendors to make sure your priorities are realized. She's no-nonsense when it comes to taking care of her brides and I would hire her again in a heartbeat. She was worth every penny and more.

I was so very wrong. The minute I met Carissa, I fell in love with her enthusiasm and warm personality. At the heart of everything she did was making sure that Melissa’s vision was at the heart of her recommendations. Carissa also carefully considered our budget when making recommendations and floating out ideas. Her insightfulness and relationships in planning a wedding were priceless. I can honestly say, Carissa was worth her weight in gold. Not only does Carissa work diligently on the planning aspects of the wedding, but she works with all of the vendors and helps keep track of timelines for final decisions, deposits and final payments. And she usually has some connections to help get the best price points. Aside from all of the planning ahead of the big day, Carissa was instrumental on “no drama” the day of the wedding. She elegantly moved us through the wedding day and I, along with Melissa and Jay, did not have to worry about a thing. I mean, not a worry at all. We were able to enjoy the wedding and our guests knowing that Carissa would handle anything that cropped up. And nothing did. Carissa is the consummate professional: calm, cool and collected. At the end of the night, all I could think to do is give her a huge hug to thank her for making Melissa and Jay’s wedding a “momentous” occasion.” — lisa

ect. She goes above and beyond for her clients, and doesn’t stop until everything is absolutely perfect, she is servant hearted and total reliable for all details of events! 10/10 recommend!

e single greatest choice I made in the wedding planning process. Carissa picked up on my and my husband’s tastes and vision immediately, and she was quick to point us to the vendors who would make that happen for us within our budget. She created vision boards, quickly adjusted to changes of plans and ideas, and generally moved the process along seamlessly, keeping us updated every step of the way. She handled vendor contacts and communication efficiently and assertively while still maintaining the utmost grace and patience. Every few weeks she’d check in with timeline updates and tasks that needed to be checked on. I was never once worried that Carissa had missed anything, and I was completely at ease with her at the helm. We faced a particular challenge in the wedding planning process that was outside of both my and Carissa’s control. Avoiding details, it felt like the world was conspiring to ruin our wedding and bring our beautiful day crashing down. But even in the face of such a tremendous challenge, Carissa maintained composure, coordinated with all of our vendors, and kept the entire process moving forward without hesitation. The final product was so perfectly executed that it was as if the whole hurdle had never happened. Our wedding day went absolutely perfectly. There was no hiccup, no struggle, no missed steps, no conflict, no confusion—just perfection. Carissa made sure that my husband and I were completely joy-filled the entire day. She gave us time to ourselves to be together and process the momentous event that was our marriage. She brought me extra servings of food and found folks to bring me drinks. She helped bustle my dress and carry my train. She looked after us and our family and friends. She was everything you could ever want from a wedding planner and so much more—she was a friend. And she remains one of our dear friends to this day. Carissa’s heart and passion for love and weddings and events and life is contagious and so beautiful. She fills everyone around her with joy and light, and I cannot recommend her enough as a wedding planner. She is truly the best there is.

anning process. Her attention to detail, empathy, positive attitude and flawless execution made our wedding day and the months leading up to it so easy. She knows the importance of relationships. You can tell from the extensive list of vendors she calls friends that they value her partnership immensely. Everyone was so excited to take a meeting with Carissa, and that in turn made the meetings that my parents, fiancé and myself attended lovely. I also appreciated her thoughtfulness in the styling aspect of our wedding. Sometimes I thought she was reading my mind when we would discuss the mood board, visual inspiration and final presentation. I truly don’t know where we would have been without her planning our wedding. Her services are worth every penny and more!” — melissa & jay

d handle planning the wedding all on my own and just use my venue's "day-of" coordinator...but before I knew it we were only a few months out and I had such anxiety about all the million little loose ends that needed to be taken care of, not to mention uncertainty about my design choices. So I decided to look into hiring a planner. I knew instantly from our very first meeting that I could trust Carissa with absolutely every detail-no matter how big or how small! She is so sweet, kind, and professional, and her work ethic is truly impressive. She is uniquely qualified to handle every aspect of your wedding because she has experience with every aspect from design and construction of wedding dresses to all the nitty gritty business and logistics stuff! She took all the pressure off of me while still keeping me in control of the entire process. I received many comments from my other vendors saying how organized Carissa was and how easy she was to work with, which made their jobs so much easier! The day of went off without a hitch! In fact, it was even more beautiful than my husband and I even imagined, thanks in large part to Carissa's discerning eye for design! The MWED team was there the entire day making sure things ran smoothly. Carissa again was a guiding light throughout the whole thing, and I honestly cannot imagine how things would have gone without her! My family and the wedding party were all in awe of her too! Somehow she manages to be everywhere at once, and keep track of everyone, which seems like it would be like herding cats!! I cannot recommend her highly enough, truly the best decision I made throughout the entire process!

actually, I can, because we tried to plan the thing by ourselves, and let me tell you, that is a lot of stress the bride does not need! Having someone at hand who knows the industry and is there to take care of things both during planning and the day of is truly a blessing! Carissa , MWED's owner, is so lovely and friendly, and professional on top of that! She really took care of us all, and I'm so grateful to have worked with her!

instantly felt like I had known her forever! Her demeanor is so professional but she is just so sweet and caring and takes the time to listen to everything. You can tell how much she cares about her clients and wants them to feel heard! She has so much experience in the industry and just made me feel so calm throughout the entire process because I had so much confidence in what she was doing! Carissa went above and beyond for us and we can not thank her enough! We were planning our wedding in Austin, but most of our family and friends were all traveling from the east coast to be with us on our special day. My mom especially wanted to be involved in the planning process from afar and Carissa did absolutely everything to make her feel included the entire time which meant so much to us. Whenever my mom was in Austin, Carissa blocked off her day to make sure she could spend time with us. We always took way too much of her time, but she was so gracious and just made us feel so at ease with everything! She responded to any question I had so quickly and is just so organized and on top of everything. I truly felt like I had nothing to worry about because Carissa took care of it all! We brought in so much for our wedding on our own and Carissa made sure everything was all set and I could not have imagined it coming together the way that it did. She made every detail work so perfectly and I could tell just how much she cared to make sure everything was right! She was doing a million and one things on the day of our wedding but all in the background and was just quietly running everything so so smoothly! I honestly can’t think of one thing I would have changed! Being able to have a friend through the process and someone you trust completely with your special day made planning our wedding just so fun and exciting. Carissa truly took the stress out of it! I know that anyone who takes the time to meet or talk with her will instantly feel the exact same way. We can’t thank you enough, Carissa!!!

r couples) as stress-free as possible. I've seen her and her team in action - and quite simply - she's the best! Put her in charge of your next wedding, and you'll get an event that's truly momentous. 🙂