Naturally Yours Events

ess. After a while we decided it would be better to do things on our own vs with the old planner. About a month went by and we realized we had no idea what to do. I looked around and stumbled on naturally yours events based on the reviews. I called in and got a call back maybe 10 minutes later. The wedding was only 60 days away and Kristen was already booked up with two other weddings that month. Knowing she couldn't do it she stilled stayed on the phone for an hour to help us out as she felt so bad for our situation. She called back a day later and said she wasn't going to let us go through something so bad again. I mean what a sign of relief. Someone with an actually functioning heart. Hard to come across these days. She was amazing from beginning to the end. She reminded us of tasks made recommendations and always called back same day of not minutes later. Kristen thank you so much. We are actually sad that we won't be able to work with you as our wedding is over. Haha. This whole process felt like a friend ship vs a contract. You are an amazing person and the company behind you is also a class act. Emmy & Mat

g to my husband and I and really understanding what was important to us for our wedding. She was professional, very organized, and was great about reminding us of details that we would have certainly otherwise overlooked. When we had to postpone our wedding due to Covid-19, Lauren and Carlene were very understanding and helped us through the process of contacting all our vendors to reschedule. In the months that followed, Lauren was great about keeping in touch, even when we were very unsure of whether our wedding would even happen. Leading up to our wedding day, Lauren became an amateur public health expert and stayed on top of all the latest rules and restrictions. She kept us optimistic and focussed on planning a safe celebration that still incorporated the elements that were most important to us. Our wedding day was more wonderful than we ever hoped for (even pre-Covid!) and everything went off without a hitch, in no small part due to Lauren's planning, hard work, and wrangling behind the scenes! We cannot recommend Lauren West and Naturally Yours Events highly enough!

lity is they were helpful in the month leading up to the wedding and saved us from much stress. Our wedding day was seamless with no hiccups or regrets. Thank you Lauren, Carlene, Kristen, and the rest of the NYE team - we would happily work with you again!

above and beyond to coordinate with our venue while we were living out of state. She made our wedding day an absolute joy. Cannot recommend highly enough!

the time to get to know us and what we wanted. We contemplated going without a wedding planner since our wedding was smaller but I am so glad we hired her. It took so much stress off our plate during a chaotic time. She is safety conscious which is helpful due to covid. We’d highly recommend her.

ur venue. Cannot recommend her and NYE enough!!

t and foremost, her priority is to make sure the wedding is carried out with our vision. In spite of everything going on the world, her ability to pivot in this current environment and continue to provide excellent services made it all worth it. Her knowledge of how to plan an event that incorporates sustainability and eco-friendly products was exactly the expertise we were looking for to make our wedding happen. She trusts her vendors and they all delivered flawlessly. Carlene is incredibly collaborative and her realist outlook made it easy for us to stay within our budget and carry out a wedding that exceeded our expectations.

ing on September 26th, 2020. She was incredible. Her help and support made our wedding go off without a hitch. She was extremely supportive throughout he whole process. I cannot say enough about their work!

odating to evolving budgets/circumstances, and overall the best wedding planner out there in my opinion. My husband and I planned our Chicago wedding long distance from Seattle, and Carlene consistently went above and beyond, making sure we could condense our vendor meetings to a few weekends and even meeting with vendors on our behalf while we were out of town. She was also so helpful with all of the personal touches that made our decorations so special, even lending us re-usable items such as table card holders/easels. She even designed and printed a custom seating chart and welcome board for us that fit with our theme and very well received by our guests. On our wedding day itself, Carlene was the best. She ensured that everything ran smoothly, so that my husband and I could enjoy our day—I can honestly say that all was flawless from my point of view and there were definitely some logistical challenges to the wedding day with our ceremony and reception venue being 25 minutes away. She even fixed my dress with her emergency dress repair kit after it ripped en route to the reception! Lastly, Carlene is one of the most genuinely kind, patient, authentic, and overall wonderful humans out there. Our parents and bridal party loved her, and she had fantastic working relationships with all of our vendors. We are so thankful that she agreed to take on our long distance wedding planning and would hire her for any other event in a heartbeat.

te part was right after the ceremony- she made sure we had a private moment to ourselves with snacks and drinks waiting for us! Planning a wedding for the first (and hopefully only!) time is incredibly stressful and it's hard to know what you don't know. Evelyn was a joy to work with and spend our day with :)

tting together a wedding and proved to be a creative problem solver. Carlene scheduled all meetings with vendors and kept us on track the entire time to do, see, and try more options for our wedding than we expected or even knew about. The wedding tracker created by Carlene was a wonderful planning tool and kept us super organized from the first planning session until the day after the wedding. We knew exactly what was going on and when things needed to happen throughout the entire planning process. Carlene is a very thoughtful and compassionate planner. She showed great care for our feelings and thoughts throughout the planning process. From the beginning, we felt like we were working with a close friend and it helped us feel comfortable being open about our needs and being receptive to her suggestions. Wedding planning is inherently overwhelming. Though there were some stressful moments, with seemingly split-second decisions and bad news, Carlene helped us navigate these areas with her wisdom. She clearly advocated for us when vendors were not holding up their end of the bargain and we really appreciated her representing us. She helped make the most of situations so it would not ruin our big day. On the day of, it was amazing to see Carlene moving so deftly behind the scenes, not only making sure the wedding was running smoothly, but that we were enjoying one of the best days of our lives. Our wedding wouldn't have been nearly as good without Carlene by our side. We can't thank her enough for all of her hard work.

ir mission statement, core values and planner bios. Our initial phone call was with Kristen, and her enthusiasm and talent for her job were immediately evident. Her organization, attention to detail, energy and professionalism were top notch. If we ever had a question or needed an opinion on a decision, Kristen provided honest, helpful information gleaned from her extensive experience. We completely trusted her. She was a great mix of personal and professional. Also to note, our wedding happened at the onset of COVID-19 in early-mid March 2020. Kristen worked double time in the last 3-4 days communicating between us and our various vendors as the last minute cancellations came rolling in. She put us, our families and friends at ease. She handled everything, never missing a beat, and always with a great attitude. We would hire her again in an instant and recommend her to anyone needing help planning any event. Thank you Kristen and NYE!

lped take the stress out of wedding planning and allowed it to be an enjoyable experience! Her wedding planning tool kept us on time and organized. Her knowledge of the venues and vendors allowed us to help make our dream wedding become a reality. We always felt like her only priority. You will not regret having Naturally Yours Events help plan your wedding!

usband and I had an incredibly thorough introductory meeting with Kristen months before our wedding date, and another two weeks before in which she walked us through every single detail of how we wanted our wedding to go. I had been feeling very overwhelmed by the entire wedding planning process at that point, but Kristen made all the little details fall into place gracefully. Not only did she make every decision easy, it was clear every step of the way that she wanted what was best for US. She knew exactly when to make recommendations (on things we weren't sure about like timing, tables, etc.) and when to execute exactly what we knew we wanted (like helping me surprise my groom with a cake based on our favorite TV show and catching his reaction on camera). Kristen helped us with ever-changing hair + makeup timelines, bridal party email templates, complicated contracts, and just about every single detail you can imagine goes into planning a wedding. On the actual day, I felt her presence more than I saw her, because she was off ensuring everything ran perfectly--which it did. We had the wedding of our dreams thanks to Kristen and her team (all of whom are super sweet and professional). CANNOT RECOMMEND NYE ENOUGH!!!

impressive. And she did it all with a great attitude that made us feel calm and like everything was under control. If you’re thinking about hiring a wedding coordinator, Lauren is top notch!

s persistent in her communication with other vendors to make sure everything went smoothly. We can’t say enough wonderful things about Liz and we would absolutely recommend her to anyone who is looking for a wedding planner who will go above and beyond what is asked. She is thorough, detailed oriented, fun, and thoughtful. Now that it’s all over we couldn’t imagine going back and not having her there!

went above and beyond. I highly recommend her!!!

us and made sure we took care of everything, even the things you do not normally think of when planning a wedding. The end result was a perfect wedding in budget with no stress the day of. We would highly recommend!

is in, and Carlene did a fantastic job easing these fears. She is detail orientated, has created expert planning tools, and has great connections and references - especially to environmentally conscious vendors, and as a queer/trans couple, to vendors who were open to our needs/wishes and supportive of making sure not just us but our guests felt seen and comfortable. She was also great the day-of and handled so many fires we didn't even learn about until weeks later in our de-breif. We also had a large wedding party who were more like a heard of rebel cats who don't like to take orders from any body, but Carlene packed them up and got them together - truly a talent. Our day was truly perfection, and I couldn't have fully enjoyed it without her. I highly recommend Carlene or anyone from NYE.

get go. She is extremely organized, professional, yet beyond friendly, and she made us feel truly special during the entire experience. They were extremely cost effective, as everything adds up ridiculously quickly for Chicago weddings - they didn't reflect the ugly grind we saw from other potential vendors as we were searching for the vendor team for our venue. We also LOVE, LOVE they are members of the Green Wedding Alliance, as we were doing our very best to be mindful of the environment, eliminate waste, etc., as we planned our big day. Last, we strongly recommend attending Wedtoberfest, even if you don't use NYE for planning, this wedding event was charming, informational, not pushy at all, and had the Chicago class and character we were searching for in our wedding planning journey. There were SO many things Kristen brought up we never would have thought of - thankfully she was on our wedding team. Even leading up to the big day, I texted her in a panic as the popcorn favor order was WAY bigger than we thought, and she responded right away, and I dropped it off at NYE so it was one less (of MANY) thing we had to worry about. I knew we were in good hands the entire time, and their location was beyond convenient. I would highly recommend NYE, and do your best to nab Kristen - she is a gem.

s. She was always ready to help. She was supportive and still in control. She was enthusiastic, friendly, and just an overall awesome person to have in your corner. There was never a moment throughout the entire engagement where our trust wavered in Kristen. A higher rating could not exist. Kristen truly is The Best Ever!

ossing paths with Kristen! So I can attest to the talent and professionalism of both of these women, not only from the perspective of a client but also as a vendor. Carlene is astoundingly impressive. She manages to juggle so many details at once and makes it look easy. I initially decided to contact a planner because I hit a wall in my google searching and wanted some suggestions for vendors and venues from someone who might have insider knowledge, and Carlene did not disappoint. She presented us with a list of lots of great options in each category based on what we were going for, and had even more ideas if we didn't find something in the first round. We were drawn to NYE because of their commitment to sustainable practices, and all of the vendors Carlene recommended shared the same mindset which was so awesome to see. Another reason we went not only for a planner but a full planner was that we were pretty busy and wanted some help keeping everything organized. Over her years of experience Carlene has developed an extremely thorough system for keeping track of details, from dates to contact information to style ideas. She made it easy to remember payment due dates, and was a font of information about things like when we should be sending Save the Dates and even helped us come up with a creative Guestbook idea. She has thought of every last little thing and always has a plan for anything that could go wrong! Because let's face it, with so many moving parts, there are lots of opportunities for things to go awry during the course of a wedding, but Carlene is your best bet to keep things moving no matter what. Plus, she's an awesome person and became a good friend :) Coincidentally, shortly after we first met with Carlene I started working in wedding florals. This job gave me a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into coordinating a wedding and what planners and vendors do behind the scenes. I was so excited to work on a couple weddings with Kristen! She was always prompt and thorough with communication, and also was just super sweet. She has such a fun, positive energy but also really knows how to get stuff done! And I could really tell that beyond her obvious professional skills she also really cares about her clients and their happiness. I really looked forward to working with her every time! I cannot recommend the ladies of NYE highly enough. They are the best!!!

coordination with NYE to anyone getting married.

venue had a coordinator but I just had this feeling in my gut that a Day of Planner was a must. A deep and sincere thank you to not only my gut instinct but to Kristen and Liz and the whole NYE team for being absolutely crucial to the most perfect wedding day that this girl could have asked for. Pre-planning – I thought I was organized but holy smokes - Kristen is impeccable. From our first call to our last planning meeting Kristen was so thoughtful and patient and kind and ORGANIZED. There were so many things that I - 1. Never thought about. 2. Had thought about but had zero solutions for the problem or 3. Ideas I needed to work through with someone once my now husband had hit the “well whatever you want!” wall. I really looked forward to every meeting with Kristen and Liz because it felt like I was wedding planning with my friends. Friends who are amazing at planning weddings, have great taste and endless ideas. Kristen put together an entire spreadsheet which covered every aspect of my day which helped me focus and organize what I really needed to be done. No question was too small and I really felt that she was emotionally invested in my wedding. Day of – We had ZERO hiccups. And if we did, they were handled and so I’ll maintain there were zero hiccups because I knew nothing! From my dancing shoes appearing right when I needed them, to 3 Italian children going from running around in circles to being entertained so seamlessly and quietly during speeches by the incredible Liz to my husband telling Kristen she needed to escort us with our photographer so that we could be back on the dance floor in under 15min! These women were amazing. My dad LOVES telling the story that he was chatting with some friends and out of nowhere Liz appeared with a much needed bottle of water. This coming from the man that was scoffing at this expenditure. I caught him hanging out in the vendor room at the end of the night telling Kristen and Liz how amazing they were and he is not easily impressed. I truly cannot say enough great things about Kristen and Liz and NYE. They were so helpful, thoughtful and genuinely excited about my day – I am so happy I decided to work with them!

sure how much each potential vendor may cost, and you want to be mindful of budget. I am the type of person to endlessly research vendors and reach zero decisions (hello, recovering perfectionist!) and Carlene helped allay my fears and feel empowered to make decisions. Not only did she help us assemble a killer team of vendors (all of whom I would recommend or book again in a heartbeat), but she also helped us stay in budget and save on many wedding-related expenses. Carlene is so detail-oriented! During all our vendor meetings, she kept everything on track and asked questions we never would have thought of. She was persistent in making sure we got everything we wanted before contracts were signed, and also proactive in making sure there was no confusion between any of the parties involved. She's smart about scheduling vendor meetings/interviews: we were able to make all our venue visits in one day, and interview all our potential photographers in one block. It made it much easier to make decisions when comparing everyone in the same block of time. Another thing I really like about NYE is they have this awesome planning tool. If you like spreadsheets, you will LOVE this. Your budget, your vendor comparisons, your actual costs, your guest list, etc. are housed in one location. This also enables Carlene and NYE to take complete charge in the weeks leading up to the wedding so you don't have to worry about these details. I started a new job mere days before my wedding, and knowing that Carlene was handling all the internal communication for all our vendors was a huge weight off my chest. Also, our wedding turned out so beautiful! She executed our vision perfectly, and the day of our wedding, my husband and I were able to focus on each other and our families and guests. When you're spending more than a year planning an event, you want to be able to actually enjoy it! Hire Carlene/the NYE team. Truly, even though this may feel like yet another expense at the outset of the planning process, they will help you save your budget according to your priorities, and also help you save your sanity.

The day of, if there were any issues, I never knew about it. She kept things running on time and without a hitch. It made the already-stressful day a lot easier. I can't thank her and her team enough for all of the work they did. Hire them!!

thought to ask. The day of the wedding, having Kristen there made it so much more enjoyable and less stressful knowing she was on top of things. We also had a number of family members and friends tell us how personable and awesome she is at her job! Booking NYE and Kristen was one of the best decisions we made during wedding planning, and we can't recommend her enough!

know about planning a wedding. I literally cannot recommend Naturally Yours enough!

he wedding to make sure she was available for the little questions she had. On top of this, she was extremely detailed and asked the right questions to make sure our wedding was everything we dreamed it could be (which is what you want in a DOC)! On the day of the wedding, there was un-forecasted rain, and Lauren helped us navigate moving the wedding inside & also came prepared with umbrellas that made our wedding photos beautiful, even with the rain. During cocktail hour, Liz ran out and got more vodka for us when we were unsuspectingly running low - which we really appreciated! In addition, we had a ton of leftover flip flops from our wedding and Lauren/Liz were able to donate them to Share Your Soles. How cool is that!? The best thing about all of this is that Lauren & Liz were extremely wonderful to our friends and family. Would highly recommend them and NYE Events! THANK YOU GUYS!

fantastic experience but my DOC was not available. We did not have the same experience with Kristen, unfortunately. She spoke to both my sister and my father in a completely disrespectful way several times. There were also a number of issues through the day that never should have happened. First, the venue had one bridal room so with two brides it was determined that my sister would wait in a secluded hallway so as to be away from guests before the ceremony. However, Kristen and her team failed to meet us upon arrival despite being aware of the plan leaving us in a very public area with an anxious bride for at least 15 minutes. Additionally, Kristen and her team had not scouted out an appropriate spot for us to wait nor had they checked the route to confirm doors were unlocked which resulted in my sister being very visible to wedding guests and having to engage in small talk rather than having a much wanted quiet moment to prepare before the ceremony. This was not what she wanted and not what had been discussed. Then, Kristen and her team failed to check seating appropriately and move the seating chart to the appropriate area which resulted in a great deal of confusion for guests and my parents not having an appropriate table. Had a table of friends not moved my parents would have been sitting at the back of the hall. Furthermore, rather than dealing with the issue quietly and resolving it in a satisfactory way as one would expect of a skilled DOC Kristen involved the brides, more or less telling them the issue was their fault, and then snapped at my father in a completely inappropriate way dampening everyone’s spirits before the grand march. Kristen at one point, to her credit, did apologize to my father for the way she spoke but it doesn’t change the fact that it shouldn’t have happened to begin with and it resulted in raised tensions rather than the calm one hopes a DOC will bring. Finally, the brides didn’t have a videographer and decided to set up several go pros to capture some of the important moments. They had requested Kristen and her team move the cameras from the rooftop ceremony location to the reception room to capture speeches, dancing, etc. Kristen failed to do so and the girls now have absolutely no footage of the reception. In short a bride should never be scolded on her wedding day, her parents should not be yelled at, and her experience should be of utmost importance. The job of a DOC is to make sure everything runs smoothly, the bride doesn’t have to worry about anything, and any problems never reach the bride. Kristen failed utterly increasing rather than calming tensions, damaging the bride’s experience, and failing to not only put out fires but to even perform assigned tasks. I would absolutely never hire her again.

was friendly yet professional, and I knew pretty quickly she was the right fit for us. NYE used Google Drive to house all our vendor contracts. Lauren also gave us a very detailed, shared Google Sheet that we used during the duration of our planning. The spreadsheet helped us stay organized with all wedding related tasks - vendors, guest list, seating chart, wedding day timeline, etc. Lauren did a great job keeping us accountable with the spreadsheet; which not only helped us stay organized, but helped her do her job too. No matter how many months, weeks or days out the wedding was, she was always available through to answer any questions we had. About a week before the wedding, Lauren sent out emails to all our vendors telling them where to be and when. On the actual day of the wedding, Lauren made sure the entire day went smoothly. She came to the hotel to make sure we stayed on schedule while getting ready. Then, once we left to take wedding party photos, her and her assistant Emily headed to the venue to set up. By the time we arrived, the entire venue was basically ready to go! If there were any issues whatsoever, we didn't hear about them. Lauren did an amazing job running the entire day and night, and my husband and I have talked about how thankful we are her for many times since. She was worth every penny and more, and it really felt like we worked together to put on the wedding of our dreams. We highly recommend Naturally Yours Events and Lauren West!

day go off smoothly and she puts the time in to get to know you as a couple so that your day is just that. It's a piece of you both. Not just a couple at a random space getting married. From start to finish, was continually impressed by Lauren.

e. She was someone who I instantly knew had her "sh*t" together, but also someone that I wanted to be friends with after the wedding. From the first to the last meeting, email, phone call, etc. Kristen NEVER failed to impress me... I couldn't have done it better myself. She incredibly communicative, HONEST in the BEST way, and super friendly when helping to drive any decisions. She knew best and made the big day something I'll never forget as I didn't have to worry about a thing. You know they say that something always goes wrong - but NOTHING WENT WRONG. Not a thing - and I give all of the kudos to Kristen. She's magic!

loading and unloading into the venue, helped manage the flow and timing of events and, at the end of the night, quickly and efficiently packed up all of our belongings. She handled all of the small details from organizing introductions to putting out party favors and made sure my family did not need to worry about anything. I would definitely recommend Kristin and NYE!

d a great job communicating with our different vendors. We really appreciated her professionalism throughout the process and during the wedding day; she made sure that our activities followed the timeline and took care of any trouble or issue that came up. We would highly recommend Emily and the NYE team!

phone with her, we knew it was going to be a great fit and that she knew what she was doing. We hired Lauren for the 2-month lead up and for day-of coordination. This was money well spent. We had busy schedules with work, and she kept on track with all the details. We had two in-person meetings with her that were very thorough. She pointed out so many things that we would not have considered on our own. She was also a great help in providing opinions for various vendors as we were trying to make final decisions. At our final walk through meeting at the venue, she was in full control, asking questions that we would not have thought of. Her attention to detail was amazing and much appreciated. As for the day-of, all went perfectly! If there were any hiccups, we were not aware of them. Everything was coordinated down to about every 5 minutes. Between the 3 meetings we had with Lauren, we had a detailed timeline for our day, which was extremely helpful both for ourselves and for sending to our families and wedding parties. Would recommend them to anyone getting married!

s we had and offer suggestions when needed. Her responses were always prompt, extremely clear and organized, and tailored specifically to our needs. She kept us on track throughout the process. Meeting with Kristen as our wedding date neared was always fun, relaxed, and relieving. Early on, she provided an amazing, comprehensive planning tool that we would review, fill in together, and update as changes were made. She worked with all of our vendors, so we didn’t have to worry about a thing during the chaotic weeks leading up to the big day. With Kristen, we were always on the same page and truly felt like she was our partner, and friend, in planning the wedding of our dreams. She completely understood our vision and helped put the pieces together to bring it to fruition. On our rehearsal and actual wedding day, we were blown away with how smoothly EVERYTHING went! Kristen made sure no detail was missed and was proactive in keeping to our timeline. To be honest, we didn’t even notice she was there the majority of the time because she did everything so seamlessly behind the scenes. My husband and I were able to truly enjoy every aspect of our wedding thanks to Kristen’s coordination. We cannot recommend her enough, and if you are lucky enough to work with her, you will completely understand why!

thusiasm and energy. She was quick to solve any issues that came up. We lost one of the bridesmaids’ bouquets and Kristen was ably to locate it. I was able to relax and enjoy on my wedding day because she took care of everything. Highly recommend hiring a planner because it makes life so much easier!

er job. The same can be said of everyone else at NYE. We would have been lost without them!! Although we were trying to keep to a strict budget, we decided to bite the bullet and hire a day-of coordinator to eliminate the added stress of managing last minute logistics like vendor timeline, communication, etc. I started out with phone calls with a few different planners, and my meeting with Kristen stood out far above the rest - I was drawn to her down-to-earth approach and personality, and got the sense that she would truly listen to and embrace what we were looking for with our wedding. Plus, the package seemed very fair and reasonable. Little did I know at the time just how much we would benefit from working with NYE - it was truly the best decision we made! Early in the wedding planning process, Kristen was always accessible when I had small questions pop-up. Our day-of package timeline kicked-in about ~2 months prior to the wedding, and my then fiance & I left every single meeting or email saying over & over to each other "WOW, Kristen is amazing." From the incredibly detailed and organized online planning tool, to spending literally 3+ hours with us at each meeting (and never feeling rushed), to leaning-on Kristen for guidance and advice from little to big decisions (she always offered helpful input but encouraged us to stay true to what WE wanted), and interfacing with our vendors to ensure we were happy even when it meant asking some tough questions on our behalf, the NYE team was a true partner and critical to the success of our wedding - and to our sanity! This doesn't even begin to cover the creation of an incredibly detailed day-of timeline, attending our venue walk-through and leading our rehearsal, and the incredible communication and leadership across our entire team of vendors. I had no idea just how much went into planning a wedding until Kristen stepped-in - and when she did, we were so relieved to have her there for us. On the wedding day-of, Kristen & team continued to exceed our expectations. We were able to truly enjoy the day and evening without worrying about any logistics... I was not involved in a single logistical decision (which is how it should be!) because I know Kristen & team were there solving problems and making sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes. And, the second we needed anything they were right there and ready to help out - from bustling my dress, to making timeline adjustments on the fly - everything was absolutely flawless. They stayed until the very end. There are probably a million things that Kristen & team did that we didn't even realize happened - which is a good thing! We could go on & on about amazing they are... absolutely wonderful people who are truly passionate about their job, which shows in their outstanding work. You cannot go wrong hiring NYE. It is worth every penny and more!!

own. She was also indispensable on the day of the wedding. The best! So organized, funny, and really listened to what we needed and wanted. I knew she was amazing when I realized I'd miss our meetings after the wedding!

roughout the process. Having her help with communications and confirmations leading up to the day was a total life saver! It was great to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the day without having to worry about anything that may be happening behind the scenes. Totally recommend Kristen & the NYE team to any future brides!

on-intimidating. I felt like they instantly understood and related to our vision of a relaxed, joyful wedding Kristen's energy, professionalism, and humor made us feel so comfortable. She was an incredible listener and also gave fantastic suggestions and honest feedback that helped shape our wedding for the better. As our "Day-Of Coordinator" she was SO much more than day-of help. She kept us on track for planning every single detail for our wedding and helped us develop a detailed timeline of the day well in advance so that, by the time our wedding day had arrived, we just relaxed and enjoyed the day. I had 100% confidence that she was on top of every detail that mattered. She was patient and kind and is also just a beautiful, thoughtful person we were grateful to include in our wedding celebration. I was unsure about the value of hiring a day-of coordinator and I can say, hands-down, this was the BEST MONEY WE SPENT for the value of being fully present at my own spectacular wedding.

etails we never would have thought to consider, and gave us a timeline that allowed us to successfully plan without losing our minds. She met with us in May for an initial meeting, provided guidance throughout the next few months, and then really kicked it into high gear 6 weeks out. Stephanie, Carlene, and the NYE team made our wedding day go off without a hitch. Any time we had an issue, be it running low on ice, or dealing with difficult vendors, Stephanie swooped in to make sure we had nothing to worry about besides enjoying ourselves. I can't imagine how we would have enjoyed ourselves as much as we did without her!!

eading up to the wedding. The planning tools were great, covering every aspect of planning and coordination. She handled coordinating all of the vendors and made everything run smoothly from makeup and first look through transportation, ceremony, crowd management, first dance, and all the way through to midnight vendor strikedown. We cringe to think of what we would have done without her. As it was, the wedding was perfect and magical, everyone - bride, groom, parents, were all thrilled!

ving a lovely and memorable wedding celebration. This also was the most reasonable quote we received for wedding planning and is an excellent value. We initially met and liked Carlene, and we ended up with Kristen, who is a great combination of very friendly and very organized/detail oriented . . .so skilled at her work. She went above and beyond in helping us, kindly letting us know what needed to be done, keeping us on track with the many tasks in the planning tool, suggesting approaches we would never have thought of, communicating with and coordinating vendors, and capably overseeing the many moving pieces on the day of. I keep meaning to ask her if anything went wrong, because if so, she capably fixed it - from our perspective everything flowed smoothly and beautifully! Kristen, thanks so much for supporting us in having a wonderful wedding, and we're glad we got to know you.

ision we made for our wedding!! Kristen was our day-of coordinator and she put our minds at ease from the very beginning. There were so many details that we would not have noticed (at least until it was too late) that she walked us through. Her organization was spectacular and we were able to enjoy the big day with little worry knowing she was managing all the vendors and itinerary for the day. On top of all the great things NYE did throughout Kristen was also very fun to work with - just a great person. We felt like she's someone we would have invited to our wedding to have fun with if she wasn't already working. All in all we can't say enough nice things about our coordinator and NYE as a whole. Thanks!

ator, there were at least three meetings in person leading up to our wedding. She developed a timeline for the entire day, often asking questions that we hadn't even considered (who thinks about cake cutting tools?), but we were so happy she got everything figured out in advance. Lauren coordinated all of our vendors leading up to the wedding, making sure they were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. If there were any near disaster or issues on our wedding day, we didn't know about it - which is 100% why I'm happy we paid them our money! I realize we spend a ton of cash on our wedding days, but NYE was really a life-save and made our wedding day run smoothly and we didn't have to worry about a thing.

ur vendors so that she could begin to reach out to them, went through and documented all of the plans and decisions we had made up to that point in time, and set forth a plan and timeline for us to follow over the course of the last few months of the planning process. From that point on, Kristen maintained continuous contact with us and our vendors, making sure that we all remained on schedule so that our plans could go off without a hitch. It was amazing to have someone helping us who was so organized and detail-oriented—it took all the pressure off of us so that we could just focus on enjoying our big day. On the day-of, Kristen and her assistant were superheroes. We never once had to worry about whether and how things were happening, and were able to enjoy being newlyweds and having fun with all of our guests knowing that the event was in extremely capable hands.

ng sure I was choosing vendors that were necessary and were price-appropriate were huge. At first, I really didn't think I needed a wedding planner, but I was so wrong. I can't imagine my wedding without Kristen, and I know my amazing day would not have been possible without her assistance and care. Kristen was like a friend throughout the entire process, and assisted me in every possible way, from offering a detailed and customizable wedding planning tool, to email and telephone assistance, and helpful checklists that ensured I didn't forget anything for the day of. My guests had the most amazing time because of Kristen and the NYE team. I could not be grateful.

My husband insisted (like I don't care how much this costs, we are doing it because I know you, and you will be an absolute head case if you have to worry about this stuff on our actual wedding day) so I began my research. I contacted about 6 companies and there were only 2 (including NYE) that I would even consider given their price. After speaking with them both, NYE was the clear choice. It was so apparent they actually cared about YOU individually and would help your wedding day be as perfect as it could be for you, whatever that meant. We were matched up with Kristen, and I have said this so many times in the past few weeks. I truly do not know what we would have done without her. We got married at Kitchen Chicago. It's a very "bare bones" space. Which, in addition to being one of the reasons we loved it, was one of the reasons it was so hard to plan a wedding around. Absolutely everything had to be brought in by us. Catering, alcohol, decor, lighting, tables...it was all up to us to find these vendors and coordinate everything with them. Which would have been an absolute nightmare without Kristen. "Day of" coordination is really more like 2 months of coordination. Kristen was so upbeat and personable, and amazing at responding to the (several dozen) questions I had leading up to our wedding. Literally every time I was like "well how are we going to do x, y, z" Kristen would already have a solution/have talked to that vendor/had it entirely taken care of. My anxiety the week of our wedding was actually lower than it had been throughout the rest of the planning process because I knew Kristen was handling all the details and last minute coordination with vendors. She sent out detailed emails to every single vendor the week before to finalize everything and keep everyone on the same page. I know it's a wedding coordinators job to be organized and answer questions, but Kristen honestly did so much more than that. You can tell she is so invested in all of her clients and truly cares about their day going as well as if it was her own wedding. This isn't just a job for her, it's like she was born to do this. I never once got the feeling that she was just telling me something because it was easier for her, or NYE had a "relationship" with certain vendors. She really tried to see your vision and dove in with both feet to make sure it was realized. Kristen and NYE was BY FAR the best investment we made for our wedding. If you are on the fence about whether or not you need a coordinator, the answer is yes you absolutely do, and it should be NYE.

, managing contact with various vendors, and generally taking the stress of managing a lot of email correspondence when it was a busy time for both of us on top of the wedding. She was also very receptive to our non-traditional ceremony ideas, and helped us make sure they were executed just as we had imagined, including offering some helpful practical suggestions that made a big difference for certain small aspects. The rest of the event also unfolded flawlessly, leaving us completely free to enjoy the event and spend as much time as possible with our guests. We couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out, and we recommend Kristen and NYE enthusiastically!!

her too. I'm definitely a planner, and she did a great job keeping me sane :). She managed all the vendors and if something went wrong at the wedding I didn't know about it! Kristen had all the details - large and small - covered and I would definitely recommend NYE!

tions that ended up being incredibly useful. The day of the wedding, She and her assistant Lauren were incredible. As an added kicker, she was a rockstar at handling our difficult blended family situation. I could not recommend this service higher. The people are real, and they do an absolutely amazing job!!

ind; and I'm not sure anyone other than Carlene would have done that. My (now) wife and I debated the idea endlessly. Should we get a wedding planner? Couldn't we do it on our own? Were we really the type of people who got a wedding planner? When both of my parents fell seriously ill, we realized we just weren't going to be able to do it on our own - and so we took the leap of working with Carlene. Immediately, I was glad we made the decision. Carlene had it together. She made it so that WE had it together. That was actually one of my questions when we were thinking of hiring her: I know you will do a lot, but there are some things obviously that only we can do. Will you hold our feet to the fire and make sure we get them done? Carlene said yes, and she meant it. My wife and I were both incredibly busy with work and dealing with my parents' health - and so we were not on top of what we needed to be doing. Carlene, however, was on top of absolutely everything - including keeping us on top of our tasks. I should also make clear that her help always came in a compassionate and caring way. Carlene walked us through every step of the process, from finding the venue, to selecting the catering, to the day of. In the end, I'm sure we would've had a wedding even if we didn't hire Carlene, but honestly, it wouldn't have been OUR wedding. Carlene helped us realize what our vision was and then helped us realize making our vision happen. From the big theoretical points to the exact logistics, Carlene saw us through the process. But the main thing I want to get across about Carlene's services is that we both just simply enjoyed working with her. Someone can be good at what they do, but perhaps not the most pleasant person to work with. That was never the case with Carlene and the rest of the staff at Naturally Yours Events - they are wonderful, kind, extraordinarily competent, caring people. They were such a joy to work with. Every single person who attended the wedding commented on how smooth the whole thing went. Our families loved it. And in fact, my wedding ended up being the happiest days of my life, and all of this is many, many thanks to Carlene. My wife and I agree: we wouldn't have had half of the amazing wedding, and experience organizing it, if it weren't for Carlene. Literally, the first thing my wife said when we got into the van to head back to the hotel as the wedding ended? "Thank god for Carlene!" Seriously, if you want a wedding planner, I can't recommend Naturally Yours Events enough. You won't regret it.

s starting about two weeks out, which allowed us to enjoy our last two weeks of engaged life with much less stress about the last minute details. Kristen wrangled both families and all the attendants for an efficient rehearsal, and it was INCREDIBLE to be able to let all the little details fall on her shoulders. If there were any issues that arose on the wedding day, we gratefully had no idea! Kristen also kept the pace moving for the night, making sure that the shuttle arrived at the right times, the kitchen kept things moving, the photographer didn't miss any big moments, we and the DJ knew when to start the cake cutting / first dance / etc ... Kristen was absolutely invaluable! If you're trying to cut costs, DON'T pass on a day-of coordinator. DO hire Naturally Yours to help you enjoy your wedding day worry-free!!

d the last song played. Carlene was absolutely incredible at keeping us organized and helping us stick to our schedule. She immediately got to know us as a couple and was able to provide spot on recommendations and advice for all of the thousands of decisions that go into planning a modern wedding. I can say that although every aspect of Carlene's planning services was professional, she's also super cool and brought a lot of fun to planning even in situations that would have otherwise been stressful. A torrential downpour on our wedding day led to a game-time decision to move things indoors. Carlene's calm, cool, and collected style made the adjustment not only smooth, but welcomed as our indoor setting was even more intimate and romantic. I really can't recommend Naturally Yours enough. If you need a wedding planner, don't even bother looking further!

e is very informative and knowledgeable. You could just tell that she loved her job! I can't say thank you enough for everything you did! She rocks. We love her!!❤️

venue owners, and admittedly a bride and groom who were... less involved and less on top of things than we should have been (as evidenced by this review.. which is approximately 3 months late). But she pulled off everything perfectly because she is an absolute logistics machine... and she did it with total respect for our tastes and personalities, and with a smile. She was the best money we spent for our wedding, and we couldn't have been happier. Hire Kristen! You won't be sorry.

recommendation for full planning. Carlene's great at communicating, offering advice, making sure to take your thoughts and opinions into account, and just handling things. My day of ran so smoothly, all my bridesmaids told me they had never been to a wedding that was so smooth, on-time, and stress free. Just knowing Carlene was in charge of everything really made the day enjoyable for us. My husband and I agree that hiring Carlene was probably the best investment we made for the wedding.

well! One of the bridesmaids ripped the zipper on the back of her dress and Jessie was able to make it work. She drove out and bought additional materials the day of to fix the dress! She also set up all of our decorations and made everything look absolutely wonderful! If anything went wrong, Jessie aka Superwoman, was there to fix it! She was incredibly attentive and caring to us and made us feel at ease. We cannot thank her enough. Everyone told me not to hire a planner and that it is a waste of money but they were so wrong! Even my husband was hesitant at first but we are both so greatful for Jessie.

ons & suggestions as needed & keeping us uber organized with an amazing planning tool!! As our big day got closer she was there every step of the way. She attended our final walk through & thought of every small detail we may have otherwise not thought of, had great taste and vision to put the wedding of our dreams into reality! The excellent communication she kept among all of our vendors made sure the day went off without a hitch. Jessie & Emily were absolute life savers on our wedding day! Everything ran on time, they set up the entire venue, made sure we (and all of our guests) had everything they needed at any time. Jessie even drove my husband & I back to our hotel after breaking everything down & packing it into our car for us!! She's nothing short of amazing & we are ever so grateful to her for making the best day of our lives better than we ever could have imagined!!

t only did they have the most reasonable price, but we were impressed by how thoughtful Carlene (the owner) and Jessie were as they took the time to learn more about us and our wedding plans. My husband and I wanted our wedding to be an intimate and fun celebration with friends and family, but we had a hard time putting all the different ideas together. Jessie was the perfect coordinator. She was open yet decisive as we bounced our many ideas off of her. She had the knowledge and creativity to translate many of our personal touches into reality. And most of all, she was a calming presence in the weeks leading up to the wedding, which really allowed us to be present and mindful on the big day. Looking back, we are truly grateful to Jessie for helping us stay on track (and sane) during the planning process. We cannot think of anyone better than NYE as our coordinator!

s so organized and had us think about questions we never would have thought to ask but that were so important on the day of the wedding. My favorite part, is throughout the whole night, if anyone needed anything, we would just say Jessie's got it and she always did! Both my parents and my husband's parents were totally impressed with her and Kristen. They even talked my nephews into walking down the aisle respectfully, which is hard because they are 3 and 5. I definitely could not have gotten through the day without her and I'm so lucky to have found her. I cannot thank her enough!

mes leading up to the event and had every last detail planned out. She came up with many items we hadn't even considered. I am also an extremely organized person, so I required the same from my planner, and Jessie hit all of the marks; I was amazed. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, she was in constant contact with the vendors to make sure they were all in line. We got married at the Art Institute of Chicago, so all the rules and logistics were a nightmare. Luckily I never had to deal with any of this mess! On the day of, Jessie and her assistant Stephanie were at the hotel with me to reassure me on all the details. They made sure everything was seamless. She was definitely running around all night making the wedding perfect. I am so grateful for that! I highly recommend Jessie and Naturally Yours Events!

terials, vignettes, and other items I brought with me to our venue. She has an amazing eye for detail, great taste, a wonderful personality, and a kind and caring heart. She spent hours with me helping me organize and plan for the event, and she went above and beyond in every way for us, even dropping off our welcome baskets at our hotel days before the wedding. I could have never brought our vision into reality without her and the team from Naturally Yours Events. From start to finish, they were professional, answered emails and all communication in a timely fashion, were a delight to work with, and even handled day-of issues and challenges perfectly. They were even able to pack up my venue with the multitude of furniture and items in one hour and be out on time to avoid incurring a late-fee. I am forever indebted to Jessie and Stephanie from Naturally Yours Events. Thank you so much for making all our dreams come true!

ew weeks ago, Carlene and her staff were extremely organized, punctual, and thorough. She provides each couple with a "Planning Tool" which is broken down into tabs for budget, monthly to do lists, etc. It was invaluable! And she is there to guide you along each and every step, month-to-month or even day-to-day. She organized meetings with vendors, met with us in-person on a regular basis to check-in, provided tips and suggestions throughout the process but at the same time always respected our vision for the big day. She is very quick to respond to e-mails, and she helped save a lot on various items through her connections in the industry and her numerous budget-savvy tips. On top of all that, she made the wedding planning process as stress-free as possibly could be. There is a LOT that goes into it! Haha. Our wedding last month went very smooth and without a hitch and we owe a lot of that to the work of this company. It was so nice not to have to think about anything the day of. Thank you NYE! We appreciate all your help.

ttended and were very impressed with her down to earth approach to weddings. We are not your typical 'wedding people' and really were not looking forward at all to plan a wedding. We had been engaged for 5 years and it took a lot for us to take that step and finally make the event happen. Needless to say, Carlene played a huge part in allowing us to actually 'enjoy the journey' of wedding planning. We met with her early on and she shared a wedding planning tool with us that made our lives so much easier. I was able to run any question by her, even asking about things related to our gift registry and etiquette of who to invite to the wedding. I was not going to have any flowers because our event was being held in a vintage store, but at one of our last meetings Carlene suggested we think about a few strategically placed floral pieces to give a feminine feel to a masculine room. We talked about a budget of only $150.00 for the flowers and I told her if she could find someone good to deliver on that budget, we would go for it. She definitely found us an awesome florist (Becca Blue) and the flowers were perfect! We also found out early on after we had already put a deposit on our venue that the people who owned our venue (Brimfield) could be very difficult to work with. Carlene had previous experience with them and she discussed with us what could go wrong. It definitely made me nervous about having a terrible wedding day experience but Carlene calmed me down and we came up with a good plan on how to deal with the venue vendors. In the end, there were venue vendor road bumps on the day of our wedding, but Carlene handled things and we did not have to endure the stress on our special day. I really cannot thank her enough for everything, but that alone was more than worth having her as our DOC. Carlene is not only an amazing professional at what she does, but she's a lovely, fun person. I enjoyed the time that we spent with her and never dreaded a meeting. She definitely made planning our wedding fun. If you have any questions at all about her, feel free to reach out. I will give you even more details about why you should work with her. Don't waste your time with anyone else, sign on Naturally Yours Events.

d some issues with out cater and Naturally Yours helped so much that we didn't even know it was happening. We had to the perfect day. The wedding exceeded my husband and my's expectation and matched our personalities. The vendors she recommends are fantastic and her advice is always honest and with the client's tastes in mind, not just her own. Booking Naturally Yours Events will guarantee you a worry free, creative, chic and fresh wedding experience. We loved our wild rumpus.