Elegant Events | planners+design

Rachael K. _{on Yelp}

Aug 4th, 2013

My husband and I did the long distance thing through most of our relationship, including the months leading up to our wedding, so he didn't contribute a whole lot to the planning process just because he was so far away. The one thing that he did contribute however, was the idea of a wedding coordinator, and then finding Elegant Events and convincing me to have a preliminary meeting with Nicole. I didn't think we needed a coordinator, especially at the extra cost, but looking back, our wedding day would have been a complete disaster without Elegant Events. She helped me every single step of the way, having never been really into weddings, I was unsure of the way things were "supposed" to go or what was traditional, professional, etc. She never once made me feel stupid for asking what I'm sure were some really dumb questions. Our decorations in our reception tent were beautiful and I'm not sure I can take any of the credit for it. Nicole has a great eye, and helped me pull everything together for the look I wanted on our big day.She kept everything on track for the rehearsal and was in touch with all of the vendors the week of the wedding; everyone knew where they were supposed to be and when. It took a huge load off of my shoulders.On the wedding day, Nicole and her team spent the majority of the day setting up the reception tent in the 90 degree heat. When the bartenders didn't come with the mixers, she fixed it. When the pizza ovens weren't working and we were behind schedule, she took care of it, while I was pretty much oblivious. She even arranged transportation for my wedding party and anyone else who needed it back to the hotel when the cab service I had contacted didn't work out.Elegant Events is no less than amazing, easy to work with and will make any event a hit :)

Valerie A. _{on Yelp}

Jul 7th, 2013

My daughter had the wedding of her dreams last Saturday thanks to Nicole and her team. It was in an orchard and the reception under a pavilion - not the easiest of venues. Ten minutes before the ceremony it began to rain. It stopped after 20 minutes and some jockeying, chairs were moved inside to dry off for the reception and we had a glorious stand up ceremony and a perfect reception. Nicole is wonderful to work with. She is flexible, suggests ideas, and allows for all options to be considered. We couldn't be happier with our collaboration!

K W. _{on Yelp}

Aug 21st, 2013

Where do I begin? Nicole and her team absolutely nailed my dream wedding. In the early stages of planning Nicole patiently talked through my ideas and taste, happy to look at pictures I'd found on pinterest, etc, always willing to answer a list of anxious questions (regardless of the frequency with which this occurred as a result of myself or my mother). I will say that Nicole is busy, which speaks to how good she is...she's in demand! This meant there were times early on in the planning (we are talking a year or so out) where it might be a few days or week before I heard back on a call or email because she was busy with events happening that weekend but I always always heard back. As we got closer to my event Nicole's attention was all on my event and there was no wait at all for a call back or email back (think of it like the wedding version of hospital triage).Nicole took the time needed to understand what I really wanted and together we built a picture of what would turn into my dream wedding. The day of, Nicole and her team built an insanely beautiful elegant rustic orchard wedding. From the wooden harvest tables, to mismatched china, and mason jar lanterns, this team had my vision down. I could hardly believe my eyes when I got to the venue for my "first-look" with my now husband.I should emphasize this was my dream wedding on my budget. In addition to her creative vision and artistic ability, Nicole was also more than willing to sit down and look at the numbers, making very helpful suggestions about where to focus spending and potentially cut costs.I was also incredibly impressed by the vendors Nicole works closely with the quality was excellent (in fact the only vendor that I was unimpressed with was one I found myself!)! Nicole knows her vendors and she coordinated with each and every one of them to execute my big day.Finally, I cannot imagine what my wedding day might have looked like without Nicole's cool head and organization. Due to absolutely no fault of Nicole's there was a potential problem in having my table and chairs delivered the day of my wedding (fantastic wooden tables and antique chairs I might add). That's right...there was a small portion of time when my wedding was thought to be table and chairless. Nicole calmly and speedily worked together a back-up plan, informed my mother of what was going on, and I didn't even know about it until crisis was averted (and my amazing chairs and tables were safely delivered). Instead I got to have a carefree morning of primping with the ladies in my bridal party. A wedding day can be stressful enough...you want Nicole's cool head, fast thinking, and sensible nature by your side!! (Note: If you want to be informed of such things Nicole will absolutely tell you...I personally completely appreciated not being informed until we knew for a fact the chairs/tables were or were not coming...nothing I could do to be helpful while getting my hair done!). Not to mention she was the first person to bring me a drink, made sure I ate, and saved me pie!!!!!!!!!!!I would absolutely recommend Elegant Events (and already have to two girlfriends planning weddings in the area).

sarah w. _{on Yelp}

May 28th, 2013

I was never sure if I was someone who wanted to have a real wedding.  I was so worried about what needed to be done.  I've focused on my career and had no idea about how to plan a wedding and my family does not live in the area to help out.  I knew that I would need a wedding planner if we were to have a real wedding.  And I couldn't have made a better choice than Elegant Events of West Michigan. Nicole is amazing. There are very few people in this world who are equally organized and creative and she is one of them.  I had the platinum package of full planning and I am SO glad I did.  My husband and I continue to say it was one of the best decisions we have made.  She walked us through every detail and really got to know us as a couple.  The vendors she recommended were perfect for us.  She was there for every panicked phone call from me. When I had an entire flower meeting and then I got home and completely changed my mind...she set up another meeting without making me feel like a crazy person.  She really cares about what you want.  AND she kept us on budget.  This was important as we paid for the wedding ourselves.  I would have never known what to expect to pay for what things, she helped us prioritize our budget so we could afford the things that were most important to us.  She also planned our rehearsal dinner which was at an art gallery and was amazing.  She even took pictures of me and my family during the rehearsal dinner.  She was there to handle every little thing that came up on the day of the wedding including sewing my belt for my dress back together after I tried to alter it.  I felt like I was in a movie when she said, "Oh, I can fix that" and started sewing!  The wedding was beautiful, more beautiful than I could have expected.  The food and dessert table was amazing which was very important to us.  I was worried that no one would dance and the dance floor was full all night thanks to the DJ she recommended.  Everything was very professional and personal.  Her assistant, Caitlyn who helped on the day was also very professional. She even handled a during event switch from Pepsi to Coke by my dad's request without me even knowing about it. We have been to many weddings over the years and of course we think that ours was great, but it has been over a month and we still have people calling us to tell us that it was the most amazing night. If you think about planning a wedding on your own, consider all the vendors and the coordination. You can't figure everything out from Pinterest! Do you want to spend time with your family for your wedding, or do you want to be setting up and breaking everything down?  Do you want to spend months researching vendors or do you want to celebrate with your family, friends and fiance? I would highly encourage anyone to use Elegant Events of West Michigan to plan your wedding or event.   I wouldn't have believed how great everything looked, but it turns out, she got me a great photographer...so I have the pictures to prove it!

Rebecca Olson _{on Google}

Nov 7th, 2011

I cannot say enough about Nicole and the Elegant Events team. Working together was the best decision we made surrounding our wedding! Elegant Events is organized, professional, trustworthy and amazingly creative and resourceful.
We recently held our outdoor wedding at a private residence in South Haven and enlisted Elegant Events to help with day-of coordination. However, I felt like that term does not do all the work that they did justice. From the get-go, they were flexible and accomodating to our unique needs. Elegant Events brought our wedding vision to life - better than I even imagined my wedding day would be.
I thought I was organized, but became so much more confident and calm during the planning process after working through our wedding day plan with Elegant Events. Nicole asked questions I hadn't even thought about and had great solutions. She came up with a flow for our ceremony to cocktail area and reception tent so that I could easily guide our rental vendor when they came with our delivery. Heading into the big day, I couldn't have felt more at ease being away at the salon knowing Elegant Events was back at the helm. I felt like I could focus on me and the emotion of the day, not the stress of making sure every detail was set. When I arrived at the venue, ready to dress, I saw that not only was every detail set the way I imagined, but it was perfect and better! Elegant Events created a wedding that several people said was the most beautiful they ever attended. (Literally, our parents received calls for several days after and we heard it there ourselves.) They dressed tables, set out the decor I purchased in creative ways, arranged flowers, guided vendors and most importantly, figured out resourceful ways to maximize our space (by using things from the ceremony later in the reception area, or other cool decor from the yard or home that could double for "beautifying" the tent, etc.).
I recommend Elegant Events with my highest regards for yours. Their experience and creativity is unmatched.