So fun to be a part of the Martha Stewart Spring Wedding To Do's article today! Read all the tips here on Martha Stewart Weddings!
I had so much fun writing about my business for The Estate Blog and being asked to contribute as one of their preferred creative partners. I got to answer some fun questions for them about me, my business and my love of the City of Chicago! Here are some excerpts below of that article. You can read the full article on The Estate Blog.
Get out the heart sweater and chill the champagne, it is Valentine's Weekend!! A chilly weekend is predicted in Chicago and here are my top picks for having a wonderful Valentine's weekend with your loved one!
In September, I was honored to be asked to speak by Sarah and Andrea from Cherry Berry Events at Camp Wedding at the Camp Wandewega, located in Wisconsin. This was their inaugural wedding retreat and I was looking forward to meeting some new friends in the wedding industry. I attend a couple of event conferences a year and I was intrigued by the concept of Camp Wedding, with wedding professionals being in a camp environment.
Want to learn about the event industry from one of the best wedding planners in Chicago? Ali Phillips of Engaging Events is looking for a great intern for the winter season. Intern should be available one business day a week and available on some weekends. Please send resume, 2 references and cover letter to info@engagingeventsbyali.com.
confident Chicago wedding planners
A question I get asked a lot as a wedding consultant is what should the order of the processional be? It is a great idea to think about this in advance of your wedding rehearsal. While rehearsals are for that, rehearsing, it is important to have a plan in place before you arrive to your rehearsal. I go thru a worksheet with my clients so I know who is paired up with who so I know the order the bride and groom want when we are practicing.
Being from out of state, I did not know where to begin to plan a wedding in Chicago. I knew I needed help and when I met Ali I knew she would make our wedding exceptional. I was impressed from the beginning with her professionalism, organizational skills, honesty and enthusiasm. As the months of planning went by I realized that I simply don’t know what I would have done without her. Ali has an amazing ability to match locations and vendors to her clients’ individual tastes and personalities while staying within a budget. The planning process was so easy for me because Ali took care of everything.
The joy and laughter captured in the pictures is a true testament of our wonderful wedding day! We could not have accomplished this without your professionalism, wisdom, guidance and bottomless well of patience. You smoothed away our frowns and concerns each step of the way and allowed us to enjoy and cherish our special day. It has been a month since our wedding took place, but all our friends and family from different parts of the world are still raving about the event. THANKS ALI ! Love, Lian and Paul
I had my dream wedding because of Ali Phillips; she was organized, professional and confident. She brought with her an amazing mix of vendors that made our wedding an amazing success. They all worked tremendously well together and there's no way we and they could've done it without her! My parents were skeptical when I mentioned I wanted a wedding planner, but now, looking back on it, they mentioned how happy they were that I made the decision and that she was absolutely fabulous and extremely competent.
Ali, We can't say thank you enough for all of your help! You truly made our big day perfect and stress free. Unlike so many of my friends, I was truly able to enjoy every minute of my wedding day, since I knew you had everything taken care of. From start to finish we loved working with you every step of the way.... from your great ideas and vendor reccomendations to seeing the final day through exactly as I had envisioned it. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Sarah and Tom
As soon as my fiancé and I met with Ali, we knew she was the one to coordinate our wedding day! She was so incredibly sweet and listened intently as I told her about the problems that I was facing with planning my dream wedding. She gave us a ton of helpful advice and assured us that she was only a phone call away if I needed ANYTHING. True to her word, I was able to get her help every time I needed it and it was so comforting to know that she was keeping all of my vendors up to speed.
I cannot say enough about how awesome Ali is! I knew that Ali was the one as soon as I met her! The moment I walked out of the meeting with Ali, I cancelled the rest of my appointments with potential coordinators. Even though Steve wasn’t there when I met with Ali, I didn’t even hesitate because I knew he would love her the moment he met her and I was right! I can’t believe she put up with all of my emails, demands and questions everyday for 8 months.
We knew as soon as we met Ali that she was exactly what we were looking for, and in the months that followed our appreciation for her grew only stronger. Every time we met with her we would turn to each other afterwards and say, "What would we ever have done without her?!" The answer, of course, is that both the planning and the wedding itself would have been a lot more stressful and a lot less fun. Ali made everything run smoothly from start to finish and truly exceeded even our highest expectations.
Ali gave us the best wedding present: peace of mind. We were so confident she would take care of the details. Jeff and I were able to focus on the most important thing – getting married.
We sailed through the entire weekend, happy and carefree, knowing we had someone who cared about the success of our wedding as much as we did. And our carefree attitude was infectious; our guests caught the bug and partied well into the night. The wedding was flawless – like a wonderful dream we all shared together – I hope we can hold on to that feeling always. Words cannot express properly the fondness we feel towards Ali. She was a friend through the entire process, shared with us the most important day of our lives and forever carved out a place for herself in our family. Thanks again Ali for everything! Michele and Jeff
