Top 10 Wedding Planners in Chicago – Wedding planning is a roller coaster of an affair notoriously known for being exciting, while at the same time being stressful, chaotic, and confusing. Many Hollywood movies testify to this fact by accurately showing how even the most systematic planning processes go out of control. In fact, it is rightly said that between the time a couple gets engaged and their wedding day, is the actual test of their unity and love.
With a myriad of things to put together, starting from the venue and the decorations to the food to the wedding cake, and the outfits, there are bound to be differences of opinion, especially with the overwhelming number of options available to choose from in a city like Chicago. This is why many couples choose to hire efficient wedding planners to save themselves from the hassles of stress. After all, getting ready for the most special day of their lives should be a happy and blissful process, not nerve-racking.
Chicago is home to thousands of wedding planners, each one more efficient and creative than the next. To help you narrow down your options and find your best fit, here we have rounded up 10 of the best wedding planners in the city.
Before we jump into the list, here is an overview of the wedding planning industry in Chicago.
Wedding planning – a fast-evolving realm in Chicago
Over the years the demand for a wedding planner has notably gone up, not just in the US, but also on a global level. Today, more than 50% of all couples hire professional wedding planners to organize their big day.
While many still enjoy seeking ideas and inspiration from family and friends, the number of couples who prefer leaving the creative aspects of their wedding entirely to their planner is significantly high. For an industry role that was largely seen as unnecessary or extravagant a few years ago, this recent uptick in their demand says a lot about modern couples’ needs and preferences.
The latest statistics suggest that the world’s wedding planning industry is expected to hit a value of $78 billion by 2026. Considering how rapidly the industry is growing, this comes as no surprise.
Couples are known to typically set aside at least 29 to 30% of their wedding budget for hiring a wedding planner. And per use case statistics, a wedding planner has helped them save at least 110 to 150 hours worth of time, that they were able to utilize for more important things.
Evidently, wedding planners are an important part of the wedding industry today, and more couples are enjoying the thoughtful services they offer.
With that in mind, here are the top 10 wedding planners in Chicago – a guide for you to choose from.
ForUrEvents
ForUrEvents is a comprehensive and diversely experienced wedding planner, servicing multiple locations in Chicago and beyond. The prime highlight of partnering with ForUrEvents is that it is not just a planning service provider – the team offers an exceptionally wide range of services related to all aspects of a wedding starting from bridal makeup artistry to catering, to wedding decorations, music, photography, and more. With dedicated teams and subject matter experts to take care of each aspect including creative planning professionals to systematically organize the wedding from scratch, ForUrEvents is remarkably popular in the city as a hands-on and fully equipped company; one that is highly reliable for couples. What’s more, with more than a decade of experience to their credit, they have a diverse range of expertise in wedding planning, including organizing a variety of styles such as Western, South Asian, and Indian. They also possess the skills and expertise to plan any type of wedding to perfection – whether it is an extravagant Indian wedding or an elegant Italian-inspired minimal wedding, the ForUrEvents team will bring your vision to life. Their fully customizable packages will further ensure that you receive the best value out of their offerings.
USP: Diverse range of experience in multiple styles of weddings, comprehensive services covering all aspects of weddings, not limited to wedding planning, customizable packages
Strings & Champagne Events
Strings & Champagne Events, led by Sandy, is a holistic wedding planning company, servicing several parts of America. With over 15 years of experience, the brand is a preferred choice for couples in the Greater Sacramento and Lake Tahoe areas for the simple fact that Sandy keeps it straightforward and easy for couples to work with. She helps newly engaged couples with everything starting from planning bachelor and bachelorette parties to drawing a professional roadmap to success. To cater to a wide range of needs she also offers smaller packages servicing fewer levels of the planning process. Additionally, she also offers interesting planning boot camps for newly engaged brides to connect with each other and form a friendly community.
USP: Multiple levels of servicing to suit different needs, networking services for brides, direct partnership with the owner
Laurie Arons
Laurie Arons Special Events is a premium wedding and event planning company that has been in operation since 1994. The lead planner Laurie is a creative and professional executive with over 600 exclusive events to her credit. She has designed all types of events ranging from grand soirees to extravagant as well as intimate weddings, and she is known for her keen eye for detail. Her clientele boasts elite and notable names including Gary Friedman and Christy Turlington. What sets her apart from others is her passion to achieve perfection with every event she plans and executes. Her entire team shares her enthusiasm and zeal to deliver exceptional experiences through each project they undertake. In every way, she and her team ensure to provide an unforgettable experience with her planning prowess.
USP: High-quality work, passion for perfection, trusted by elite businessmen and celebrities
Jesse Tombs
Jesse Tombs, operated by Jesse Tombs herself, is an exceptionally qualified wedding planner who is known to curate dreamy wedding events that couples enjoy. She has a unique style and a unique eye for aesthetics combining new and vintage elements, along with thoughtful colors, and contemporary gestures. This makes her taste playfully modern, yet classically elegant. She often draws inspiration from unconventional sources and creates one-of-a-kind event designs that stand out in the crowd. For the same reason she is relied on for weddings that are special in some way, as her creative skills can potentially take the wedding to a whole other level, unmatched by most other wedding planners.
USP: Unique aesthetic sense, unique event designing skills embracing the unconventional
Everlasting Love Wedding and Event Planning
Everlasting Love Wedding and Event Planning is a hands-on women-owned wedding planning company led by Melissa Benjelloun, who is a certified wedding planner. She believes in the importance of family ties and love at a wedding, and for the same reason, works to craft an ideal ambiance where the couple and their family can spend quality time together, stress-free. The company offers a range of flexible services in wedding planning starting from full planning to partial planning and day-of coordination. Additionally, they also offer customization options to tailor the services to fit individual needs. Their holistic services also cover pre and post-wedding events such as rehearsal dinners and brunch the day after.
USP: A prime focus on crafting a warm ambiance for love and union. Customizable and flexible services
Alison Events
Alison Events is a bespoke new-age highly creative wedding planning company with a team of enthusiastic international collaborators. They are well-known for their out-of-the-world creative zest, with which they have crafted unforgettable experiences through backyard weddings as well as grand and extravagant destination weddings. One of their unique highlights is that the team is game to take up any level of challenge. This implies that they will go the extra mile to fulfill a vision that is unconventional or stretched. They not only possess the resources but also the knowledge and technical qualifications to bring any wedding dream to life. Partnering with Alison Events hence pretty much guarantees an almost too-good-to-be-true wedding.
USP: Creative and qualified international collaborators, zest to take up any challenging wedding vision, impactful resources
Bash Please
Bash Please is a full-service event planning and production company that is known to craft event experiences that remarkably resonate with their client’s personal styles and sensibilities. The team comprising qualified, certified, and seasoned event planners is driven by their passion and love for design, connecting with people, and traveling. Owing to their ultra-stylish wedding event designs and creative skills, they are often named “the epicenter of matrimonial chic” by industry insiders. Their services cover everything from meticulous logistics coordination to creative direction, vendor curation, and hands-on concierge services as well. Furthermore, they constantly stay on top of industry trends, fresh ideas, technological advancements, and more, to serve events better.
USP: Chic and elegant wedding event designs, wide range of services, abreast of fresh trends
A Good Affair
A Good Affair is an all-encompassing wedding planning company that is popularly known to de-stress newly engaged couples in an impactful way. Their range of services covers many aspects entailing not just wedding events, but also pre- and post-wedding celebrations. Many couples love planning exclusive events in conjunction with their wedding day, such as a post-wedding brunch or a couple spa day, and leaving it to the company to enjoy hassle-free quality time before getting married. A Good Affair hence, not only helps couples manage their wedding better, but also enriches it with special and sweet add-ons, making it unforgettable and cherish-worthy for years to come.
USP: Efficient and enriching planning services covering pre and post-wedding events, impactful assistance for couples to take the stress out of wedding planning.
Grit & Grace
Grit & Grace is an enthusiastic team of wedding planners possessing diverse and extensive experiences spanning a decade and more. Their technical skills cover event planning across an array of backgrounds including hotels, catering, interior design, fashion, and more. For the same reason, their eye for wedding planning is inspired and impactful, leading to stunning, one-of-a-kind outcomes. As a team, one of their core values is effective communication. They believe in partnering with their couples collaboratively to achieve desired results. Their working style thus infuses ample creativity while also being strictly aligned with the couple’s personal wedding vision. For the same reason, the company is a perfect partner for clients who have solid vision elements in mind but don’t have the time to draw out the details.
USP: Highly detail-oriented, fusion of ideas in alignment with individual wedding visions, a diverse range of skills.
Pearl Weddings
Pearl Weddings is a passionate team of creative wedding planners and designers that focuses on crafting weddings that mirror the uniqueness of the couple they are working with. The lead planner Chelsea, is a ray of sunshine, exuding energy and confidence radiating positive encouragement for couples. Her organizational skills further add to the efficiency and creative potential of the company, enabling the team to curate weddings that are true reflections of a couple’s dreams. As a new-age team, they collectively reject the idea of one-size-fits-all and firmly believe that every wedding is an entirely fresh canvas that deserves to be painted with the ultimate “YOU” ambiance. For this, the team goes above and beyond curating elements and resources, and finely tailoring the wedding event with precision.
USP: Focus on crafting highly personalized and unique wedding experiences, an energetic and enthusiastic team of skilled professionals.
Wrapping up
As the wedding planning industry in the USA evolves and progresses, the demand for new, creative, and enthusiastic planners is improving by the day. It is now almost inevitable to seek the services of a professional when planning a wedding, especially large and extravagant affairs like Indian weddings.
Make use of this list when scouting for suitable wedding design partners and find your best fit.
For comprehensive services related to all types of weddings including Indian weddings, contact ForUrEvents.