Kudos
These reviews warm our hearts. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Bride
Catherine, Chicago, IL, August 2024
We LOVED working with Olive Fine Weddings for our August 3rd wedding! We were fortunate enough to work with Kirsten for the nine-ish months leading up to it, and she was an absolute god-send.
Our initial meeting was very thorough as far as what the timeline would look like leading up to our wedding, and she broke the entire process down into manageable chunks. We had only booked our venue at that point and were already feeling overwhelmed, so having Kirsten there made the entire process much less stressful and much more enjoyable.
She was amazing at not only keeping track of and staying on top of all our vendor communications (she had excellent recommendations!) but also at ironing out difficulties as they arose and making sure that the immediate lead up to our wedding was as smooth as possible. If we weren’t positive already that we had made the right decision in working with Kirsten, we would have had zero doubts once we saw her day-of timeline! Everything had been planned down to the minute, and I was put even more at ease once I saw how much thought and care she had put into our wedding day.
On the day of, Kirsten and her team arrived ahead of schedule and immediately got to work. They coordinated arrival, delivery, and set up of florals, the band, our cake, and the photography and videography teams, as well as staying in constant communication with our venue to make sure that the ceremony set up, room flip, and dinner service went off seamlessly. The little hiccups that are present in every large event were handled professionally and effectively, and Kirsten accounted for the last-minute addition of a ring-bearer with ease.
Thank you so much to the whole team at Olive Fine Weddings, and to Kirsten in particular. We are so grateful for your expertise and care!
Bride & Groom
Tess + Alex, Chicago, IL, July 2024
Working with Olivia was the best decision we made in planning our wedding. Every part of the day was stunning and beyond our dreams. Olivia knew how the little personal details were big deals to us and made our day that much more personal and touching: from the Polaroids for the name cards to the montage that showed us as babies and kids before our we ever met, from then edible fruit centerpieces to how Olivia helped orchestrate an epic surprise song performed by my husband and his groomsmen. We were floating in a bubble of magic all day and so much of that is because of Olivia and her team. She made each moment seamless and worry free.
Throughout the entire planning process Olivia took even our more unique wishes seriously. She was so organized and creative at the same time. We felt so seen and heard during the whole process. Even when planning could be stressful she brought us joy and calm. It's just so important to know you are in excellent hands when planning one of the most important days of your life and that's exactly what it was like to have Olivia as our planner!
Bride & Groom
Emma + Austin, Chicago, IL, July 2024
We absolutely LOVED working with Olivia! We have never met a person so loving, kind, organized, and truly and overall wonderful human. She was so great to work with and went above and beyond to make our day feel so personal and love filled. Every detail did not go unnoticed and our wedding weekend flew by without any issues! Olivia made wedding planning so fun and such a breeze because every meeting felt like having coffee with a best friend. We love Olivia and we’re so sad our wedding is over because it means we don’t get to plan it anymore with her! If you are considering a wedding planner (which I highly suggest you do) I would not hesitate to hire Olivia and her team at Olive Fine Weddings!!!
Groom
Andrew, Chicago, IL, August 2024
Olive Fine Weddings offered the best planning service we could have imagined for our wedding. We recommend them highly!!
In the days since the wedding, we've had so many people tell us that it was the most beautiful wedding they have ever been to. Our family couldn't be happier with how it turned out and it was entirely due to the hard work of Olivia and her team!! Over a year of planning plus incredible support and calmness the day (and week) of the big day. We were in such good hands and the result was incredible. Couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else!
Bride
Taylor, Chicago, IL, June 2024
Choosing OFW for our wedding planning was hands down the best decision we made. We worked with Olivia for our June 2024 wedding and went with the partial planning package, and added the design consultation. Before choosing OFW, I had calls with several wedding planning companies and within a few minutes of my intro call with Olivia, I knew she was the one. I told her what I was looking for in a planner was someone to manage me throughout the process. We had a long engagement so I had already hired most of the key vendors, and was now in the “soo.. now what?” stage. My husband and I both work relatively demanding jobs and didn’t really want to have to think about what we need to do and when we need to do it to make sure the day comes together, and that’s where Olivia came in. We started meeting with her about a year out and at each meeting she’d clearly lay out what we need to accomplish within the next month or so, and always offered to help wherever she could - whether it was researching vendors or just answering random questions we had. From a design perspective, I had a few ideas or inspiration photos in mind but certainly wasn’t someone with a Pinterest board. Olivia took my limited photos, ideas, and words, and turned it into the most incredible mood board. She attended all of our meetings with the design/floral team at our venue, and helped us decide where to spend/save.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Olivia’s attention to detail blew us away. She completely took over communication with all of our vendors and put together the most detailed timeline for all of them, and another one for the wedding party. My husband and I kept joking that we were legitimately bored because we had nothing to do since she had taken over everything. I truly never felt stressed throughout the entire process because I knew we were in the greatest possible hands.
The day of, Olivia once again proved herself the best wedding planner, if not one of the best HUMANS, you will ever meet. We truly got to live out our wedding with abandon - never worrying about one single detail, whether the bridal party was in the right place at the right time, where our parents or vendors were, etc. Olivia and team (she brought four assistants!) had every single thing under control, and because of the command she showed throughout the planning process, we knew it. Everyone says something is bound to go wrong on your day, and for me, it was an emergency situation with a beauty vendor who wasn’t able to make it anymore. Not having a planner would’ve made this a disaster, but within minutes Olivia made phone calls and had someone on their way. Since the wedding, I’ve learned of many other small but incredibly significant things Olivia did, like Door Dashing a bottle of our favorite liquor to the venue because we told a friend we wish we had some, or moving up timing of speeches because I looked like I wanted to start dancing already (lol). What makes Olivia and team incredible is the fact that they truly care about the couples they work with. She was so authentically happy for us and because of that, wanted to make sure we had the most perfect day ever. That level of organization, thoughtfulness, and genuine care is unmatched. She really felt like our friend - we looked forward to every meeting and on the day of, her calming presence was exactly what we needed. I have no doubt the rest of the OFW team is the same, and will recommend this team to everyone I know.
Bride
Franki, Chicago, IL, May 2024
The best wedding planning team is an understatement! From day 1, working with Olive Fine Weddings was nothing short of amazing - they were quick to respond to our inquiry, flexible to work with in setting up time to meet, and beyond friendly/welcoming in our intro conversation. It made it easy to choose them as our wedding planner!
We worked specifically with Kirsten for about 10 months planning our wedding from the bottom up. She genuinely is a true gem and was easily the best part of planning a wedding. She was knowledgeable about the industry, made fantastic recommendations for vendors with detailed notes about each option, stayed organized to keep us on schedule, and ultimately helped us have the most seamless wedding day. Kirsten was prepared for literally every potential issue that could have arose on the day. Her top tier customer service and detail orientation allowed us to enjoy the wedding planning process with no stress whatsoever. In addition to this, she was SO easy to work with - both personable and relatable, which made connecting with her feel like you were catching up with old friends. I couldn’t recommend Kirsten enough! She represents everything you could want and need in a fantastic wedding planner. Highly highly recommend!
Bride
Sarah, Chicago, IL, April 2024
It was a pleasure to work with OFW to plan our dream wedding! Kirsten gave us great advice from the start of the wedding planning process. She was very knowledgeable and a true professional. We are so happy with how our wedding day went and we owe the success of the event to all of the behind the scenes work that Kirsten did. I highly recommend working with OFW for your event.
Mother of the Bride
Susan, Chicago, IL, May 2024
Absolutely the best wedding planner out there (and I interviewed a lot)! Olivia is truly the most organized person I have ever encountered. She excels at managing the thousands of details that go along with your wedding and will keep you on track with very detailed timelines and weekly status calls. She has wonderful relationships with a wide selection of vendors and every one of our vendors proved to be outstanding. Those relationships helped to save us a huge amount of money along the way. Most importantly, Olivia is also an incredibly calming presence (and trust me there will be stressful situations along the way). She is also just a very fun, upbeat person and I can't wait for my other daughter to get engaged so we can work with Olivia again!
Bride
Diane, Chicago, IL, April 2024
Working with Olivia at Olive Fine Weddings was the best decision! She is an absolute professional and was a joy to work with throughout the process. We used her to help us select the venue so she was with us throughout the entire planning journey. She gave us helpful advice and questions to consider when selecting all of our vendors and kept us on pace in terms of decision making, vendor contracts, and ceremony planning throughout the year.
Olivia also listened to our perspectives, always seeking to make sure her recommendations and the decisions we were making were what we wanted. She also shared perspective throughout the planning process on how different aspects of the day would fit together to ensure a great guest experience. There are so many tidbits we never would have thought of that she helped us coordinate.
Our wedding day was executed flawlessly! She and the team coordinated all of the vendors and everything came together absolutely perfectly. You'd never have known that it took 10+ teams to make the day happen with how perfectly everyone worked together and how seamless the communication was.
Olivia also brings such joy to the process, she is a great counselor and confidant throughout which helped us build trust and feel comfortable sharing details to ensure the day ran smoothly for our families and everyone's needs were accounted for.
I would recommend this team to anyone, they are the best!
Bride
Danielle, Chicago, IL, February 2024
The best decision I have ever made was hiring Noelle at Olive Fine weddings for my wedding. I knew from our very first meeting that she was the perfect yen to my yang. I had absolutely nothing done when we started working together in summer of 2023 with the goal of a Feb 2024 wedding. She helped we with every single thing, big and small. I knew exactly what I wanted in my head but I sometimes have a hard time articulating my vision in a way others understand, not Noelle , she got the vision immediately and made sure every vendor we worked with got it too. She helped me plan the most magical day I could have ever imagined. Can’t tell you how many guests told us it was the best wedding they have ever been to, and it really was! Since the wedding, everyone asks me “did anything go wrong day of” …. My answer is simple, I have no clue if it did because Noelle took care of it before I could even find out. She handled not only our wedding but also rehearsal dinner and day of event. Il recommend Noelle and the OFW team all day every day, they are the best.
Bride
Dana, Chicago, IL, October 2023
Working with Olivia as our full service planner was one of the best decisions we made in the wedding planning process! We're a particularly indecisive couple, we were planning a wedding in a city neither of us grew up in, far away from our families, and Olivia helped us every step of the way. She did vendor research for us including various prices within our budget, attended venue tours with us, took and organized notes on all vendor calls, and was thoughtful of our budget while also wanting us to have the wedding of our dreams. If we were having a hard time deciding on a vendor or decision, she asked thoughtful questions to help guide us to an answer.
The week & day of the wedding itself Olivia and her team were the MVPs! She came a few days early to collect all our decorations, her team gathered everything after the wedding and returned it to us afterwards, she ran to our apartment to pick up the groom's watch he'd forgotten, she talked me down from a minor breakdown right before the wedding ceremony, gave us tips to clean my dress when it got dirty on the trolley, and everything in between. I never even learned the schedule for the day because I didn't want to be stressed, and Olivia was there every step of the way to tell us where to go and when. She went above and beyond, even coming to our apartment to ship my bouquet for preservation while we were on our honeymoon the week after the wedding.
If none of that is enough to sell you, you should know that above all she and her team are just really nice and good people. She was always able to calm me down when I was stressing over planning, providing solutions and advice, and we just enjoyed talking to her and spending time with her. We couldn't be happier to recommend Olivia and her team!
Groom
Robert, Chicago, IL, May 2023
We can't say enough about our experience with Olivia and her team. From our first conversation with her, we knew we had the right person. Her approach, organizational skills, demeanor, and knowledge of the Chicago wedding landscape and its vendors had us in good hands throughout the entire process.
I'll never forget the interplay between Olivia and the point person at our venue during our initial tasting. It sounded like they were speaking their own language. She asked so many questions and filled in so many gaps we never would've considered, but were front of mind for her.
Olive Fine did an excellent job with all the organizational and logistical elements to the wedding, but with Olivia and her team, you also get thoughtful touches I'm willing to bet are missing with other planners. She took such great care of us on our wedding night, setting aside a collection of hors d'oeuvres in a quiet, private spot for us to soak in the moment after our ceremony. There was a box of desserts and late-night pizza waiting in our room when we got back to the hotel. And most notably, when my wife's dress broke while she was getting ready (which really happened!), Olivia did an amazing job keeping everything on track and keeping either of us from getting too panicky on a special day.
My wedding was everything I hoped it would be, and I'm confident in saying that Olivia's help and guidance was a big reason why. You should trust her and the team with your big day. You won't be disappointed.
Mother of the Bride
Eva, Chicago, IL, October 2023
I can't say enough about our experience with Kirsten at Olive Fine Weddings. If you're thinking about hiring a wedding planner - don't think - just do - and hire Kirsten immediately! I'm a busy working mother of the bride. My daughter lives out of state and the groom was in Japan for 6 months during pique planning time. AND we had a complicated wedding in that we were melding different cultures and had many events planned through the weekend (from a traditional Hindu Haldi ceremony to an open house the day after). And the wedding itself incorporated a lot of different cultural elements, requiring us to track down unique vendors - just a lot of moving parts! Kirsten told us up front she loves to organize (something most can't claim) and boy did she deliver and then some. We had spreadsheets and reminders and she tracked down and followed up to perfection. Just one example of going above and beyond was when she found us a unique vendor who could make Indian wedding garlands. And then she even picked them up in Naperville so we wouldn't have to drive from the city the day before the wedding, brought them to her house, kept them in her fridge overnight, packed them properly with wet towels, and brought them to the venue in perfect shape on wedding day. She was with us at our home bright and early (for a 5 pm wedding) and stayed with us on site through the night, ensuring everything went smoothly. Some people think a planner is an extravagance. But not only was her fee reasonable, I believe because of her expert planning, her fee was covered with the savings we ended up enjoying through her efforts. And even if that wasn't the case, it was well worth it to hire her because of the stress she took off our plates and because we ended up having the most joyful, loving, beautiful wedding celebration that most had ever seen! I rarely write reviews. But I had to write one for Kirsten b/c she is SPECTACULAR! She is exceptional at her job. And she has the loveliest and calmest demeanor which is what you absolutely need when planning a wedding. Could not have done this without her!
Bride
Michelle, Chicago, IL, August 2023
Our experience working with Kirsten at Olive Fine Weddings was amazing! We debated whether to hire a wedding planner and both agreed that hiring Kirsten as our full-service wedding planner was the BEST decision we made. The incredible wedding, reception, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, Sunday brunch, etc wouldn't have happened without her. Throughout the entire process, she consistently delivered high quality service and management of the process which resulted in an absolutely perfect wedding weekend. Because she is so organized and on-top of all of the details, we spent our wedding day stress-free and enjoying our time with friends and family. We received so many complements on the weekend, all of which are due to Kirsten. She is also responsive, has strong follow-through, and importantly, had great vendor recommendations which allowed us to make vendor decisions quickly and easily with the confidence that we'd made the right choice for us. Plus she is very friendly and easy to work with and always made us feel as though we were her only client. We can't recommend Kirsten at Olive Fine Weddings enough!
Groom
Wonho, Chicago, IL, September 2023
OFW is a great company. All their staff are professional, while also being quite friendly at the same time.
In particular, we worked with Kirsten over the course of a year as our partial wedding planner. Even though she was not hired/paid to do full services as a wedding planner, she was always willing to go the extra mile and go above and beyond.
Kirsten is detail-oriented, proactive, experienced, and knowledgeable when it comes to wedding planning. We always knew how we were doing in terms of the timeline and progress of the wedding planning. And the communication, response time, and attentiveness from OFW were consistently to our satisfaction.
Whether it's bouncing ideas off her, suggesting local vendors that she has experience working with, reaching out to vendors, or using her experience to make suggestions, Kirsten was invaluable to our wedding process and made us feel confident going in that we didn't miss anything and that things would go smoothly.
Also, Maddi, who is also on the OFW team, was also quite attentive and professional when she helped out on the day of the wedding.
Highly recommended!
Bride
Carrie, Chicago, IL, July 2023
My husband and I are OBSESSED with Olivia. Hiring her was hands down the best decision we made for our wedding...before the ceremony even started, one of my bridesmaids pulled me to the side and asked, "Wow you're REALLY going to miss working with this planner aren't you?" because she was so phenomenal and the friend could tell how personally she had gotten to know us.
From start to finish, Olivia handled our wedding as if it was truly the only one she was working on (obviously this was not the case). There was no question too small or worry too silly to share with her for feedback. She happily talked through hypothetical scenarios with us many times and truly allowed us to relax and enjoy our day. I tend to lean towards being a hyper-organized and worrier personality, so having someone like Olivia on our team really calmed my worries and made a world of difference. When we had a difficult time with another vendor not showing up to planned meetings, Olivia both calmed our stress and managed a difficult situation with grace, professionalism and care. Throughout the entire process, she was not only an expert professional we could trust, but a friend we felt we could rely on. We wish we could get married all over again just to get to work with her again! We love you Olivia!!
Groom
Tim, Chicago, IL, August 2023
Our experience with Olive Fine Weddings was phenomenal! From the first meeting we had with Noelle & Olivia, we could tell they had our best intentions in mind. They made everything we wanted possible, but were honest with us on what was unfeasible.
As we got closer to the wedding, Noelle was in constant communication with us. She got in touch will all vendors, created a bulletproof timeline, and was made sure every box was checked. We met several times with Noelle, in person and virtual, to discuss all of this. In a highly stressful time, Noelle ensured we had nothing to worry about. And we didn't.
On the day of the wedding, Noelle was the first to arrive at the venue and immediately starting coordinating all vendors to set up the room exactly as planned. Noelle and her team even joined the party and set up our name cards and table numbers. At the end of the night, Noelle was quick to coordinate the removal of all items that brought. Everything was taken out and we received word from the venue that all was well.
Needless to say, we could not have had this special of a day without Noelle. She is a wonderful coordinator and an even better person. We can't wait to recommend her and Olive Fine Weddings to any family member or friend who is getting married.
Bride
Leslie, Ithaca, NY, September 2022
I highly highly recommend working with Olivia and Olive Fine Weddings & Events. She and her team are an absolute joy and really know how to put on a classy party even in the middle of a field in rural upstate NY. She was incredibly organized and really understood the kind of event we wanted to have and helped us get there. Every vendor she found was at just the right caliber of excellence and the perfect aesthetic for us so our choices were more about which style we preferred rather than what we’d be sacrificing. She provided us with helpful questions to ask each vendor we interviewed, reviewed the contracts, and helped coordinate the execution of the event even when she couldn't physically be there. Olivia found a day-of wedding planner that hit it out of the park and both of them made us feel so calm and well taken care of. She also manages difficult family members really well and keeps you to a timeline in the most gentle and loving way. My husband and I were very anxious about planning a wedding in NY from California in less than 9 months, but Olivia made it happen smoothly and with such a brilliant outcome.
Bride
Kim, Chicago, IL, November 2022
We interviewed multiple wedding planners searching for who was going to be the right fit for us and our destination wedding. We live in Pennsylvania and were married in Chicago. We knew that we needed someone who was on top of their game and was able to help us coordinate all of the vendors with us being multiple states away. We got Noelle as our wedding planner and let me tell you, it was beyond a blessing to receive her as our go-to person through all of this. Noelle, even while planning her own wedding, was thorough in her organization throughout the 9 months leading up to our wedding. We flew out multiple times and she made time in her busy schedule to meet with us in person to review and plan out everything. She lead our virtual meetings exceptionally well laying out the framework for all of us to be successful, herself included. We'll never be able to thank her enough for everything she did for us. Noelle is an incredibly gifted person with the ability to quell worries and fears before they even populate. Our wedding day, seemingly went off without a hitch. She put a timeline out and kept everyone on that timeline and it was so wonderful having someone like that in our corner so we could appreciate the moments and surroundings. If you have contemplated using a wedding planner or partial wedding planner (and can afford it), I can not express to you how valuable they are, especially if you gain someone in your corner like Noelle. An absolutely amazing person and we highly recommend her and Olive Fine Weddings for your special day!
Bride
Samantha, Long Island, NY, October 2022
Wedding planning can be incredibly stressful, but partnering with Olivia and her team made the process enjoyable! Olivia is creative, professional, and has an extraordinary attention to detail. She’s a trusted advisory, simply put. We are so thankful for her and her team and recommend her services ten times over. I couldn’t imagine planning a wedding without her!
Bride
Tricia, Chicago, IL, October 2022
Working with Olive Fine Weddings was such a joy! I am confident that without their help and expertise, we would not have been able to pull off our wedding. We worked with both Olivia and Kirsten, and they were both well organized, clear communicators, and focused on making sure we had the wedding of our dreams.
Ahead of the wedding, the vendors they sourced for every aspect of the event were wonderful, reliable, and stayed within our budget. We trusted OFW’s recommendations and were never led astray!
On the day itself, I can’t emphasize enough how Kirsten handled everything perfectly. I did not need to worry about a single thing on our wedding day. I thought the “ROI” of a wedding planner would be help leading up to the big day, but I cannot emphasize enough how much more my family and I were able to enjoy our wedding because we knew that Kirsten would handle everything. We had the best day ever and it would not have been possible without OFW!
Bride & Groom
Sarah + Ryan, Chicago, IL, October 2022
Sarah: I can't even begin to describe how incredible the folks at Olive Fine are, and especially Kirsten Westerlund. She worked with us during our 9-month engagement and their team pulled out all the stops. Even when Kirsten was planning her own wedding (!!) she was thorough, highly communicative, reliable, and so, so kind. Especially when we had a family member's hospitalization and another family death within 2 weeks of the wedding, she brought a sense of calm to the entire situation. I was never really worried about anything going wrong, because the very few hiccups that did happen on our big day (and there's no escaping hiccups!) were handled immediately and barely noticed. We adore Kirsten and miss our frequent email exchanges already!!
Ryan: Kirsten and the rest of the Olive Fine team are truly incredible. She is so great to work with, flexible, kind, and fun to be around! She relieved so much stress for us, and I really don't have enough kind things to say about her. A dream partner and exceeded our expectations in every way. Kirsten deserves a massive raise!!
Mother of the Bride
Crystal, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Selecting Olivia as the full-service planner for my daughter’s September 2022 wedding was the first – and best – decision we made. First, she is one of the loveliest and most gracious individuals I have ever met. Add to that her superb organizational skills, wedding design talent, and flexible, positive “can do” attitude, and you have the perfect wedding planning partner. Olivia listened closely to the couple’s wishes and vision for their wedding and worked closely with them to make it happen, creating timelines, identifying potential vendors and soliciting bids, reviewing and managing contracts, and keeping everything on track. Olivia always made us feel like we were her only clients, even though we knew we weren’t. It’s also noteworthy that Olivia’s ability to establish and foster good relationships extended beyond us as clients to all of the vendors. It was obvious that everyone enjoyed working with her. On the day of the wedding, Olivia and her team were there to oversee every detail from “load in” to “load out.” Knowing that they had it all under control allowed the couple (and their families and bridal party) to be present in the moment and enjoy the day. And what a day it was! Beautiful, fun and stress-free. Thank you to Olivia and the entire Olive Fine Weddings team for making the vision a reality!
Bride
Morgan, New York, NY, August 2022
Olivia at Olive Fine Weddings is amazing at what she does. During the planning process, I always felt supported and confident, because I knew Olivia was keeping us on track. She was patient, persistent, and served as a great "buffer" between us and vendors. She very helpfully reviewed vendor contracts and provided checklists. I have project management experience and I was impressed.
Most crucially and impressively, she managed the day of. I'm the type of person that is very affected by other's emotional states, and Olivia did a great job shielding me from stress and negativity. Her and her assistant, Amelia, were incredibly prepared, calm, and problem solved all day - through rain, ripped pants, extra flower management, and things I don't even know about. At the end of the night, all of our personal items were packed away and magically back in our hotel room - complete with an itemized list of the location of each personal item. 12/10 would recommend!!!!
Couple
Kiki + Dan, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Literally the most professional, organized planner with so much kindness and realness to guide us seamlessly throughout the whole process! She was so prompt at answering any and all questions both myself and our vendors had. I've heard horror stories of planners ghosting the couple & was shocked because that was the farthest from the truth we experienced!
I would definitely recommend her design process as well! She literally created a mood board of the wedding I didn't even realize was my dream!
We tell all our friends and family to 100% get a planner and to use Olivia and her awesome team :) We all get the wedding anxiety but she was able to ease my stress and graciously take on the heavy lifting at the end with getting all the ducks in line!
Bride
Samantha, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Olivia and her team are incredible! From the moment we had our first phone call, I knew that she was going to be the perfect person to help us with planning our wedding. She is reliable, open to communication, honest and insightful. She helped bring our vision to life and was an amazing partner throughout the entire planning process. We worked closely with both her and Noelle and cannot recommend them enough. It was an absolute dream having them with us every step of the way!
Bride
Alyssa C., Chicago, IL, June 2022
Olivia (& Olive Fine) is 100% the best decision I made in my entire wedding planning process (besides my husband, obviously!) We worked with Olivia for 4 years, through an already long engagement and 4 COVID postponements and we hit the Wedding Planner Jackpot. I had a specific vision in mind for our day, and details were important to me. Olivia took the time to listen to my vision (which changed a lot throughout 4 years!), and support its execution from all the large things (e.g. catering, timeline) to small (e.g. she listened to me debate which chairs to rent for probably 2 years, and switch the napkin colors 5 times up until the 11th hour without even batting an eye). She does all of these things with nothing but joy and passion for her job, and it just radiates so much that it pours unto others. Nothing is too unimportant (even the napkins) because she realizes that it's all part of the vision. She is empathetic, kind, professional, and personable, kept me on track when I was unmotivated, and walked alongside us when we navigated date change after date change to accommodate our international guests. She strikes a delicate balance between creative vision and practicality; She makes all of her couples feel special and like they're #1 on her priority list. She answered all my rogue questions, supported my unconventional ideas while still being realistic, and guided my decision-making without bias, but gave her opinion when I asked. I pine for her spreadsheet and timeline making skills, and hope to one day emulate them (a girl can dream). She is servant-hearted (check out her work with Wish Upon a Wedding)! And most of all, she just LOVES love. I've never met anyone so full of hope for extraordinary love as Olivia.
Throughout it all, our wedding day was so smooth and stress-free because we knew that everything was safe in Olivia's hands. Part of me is sad that our wedding planning is over because I won't wake up to an email in my inbox from Olivia every day ;) But I'm happy to share her with all the future Olive Fine couples, because they deserve it. By hiring Olivia/Olive Fine, you're guaranteed a #1 cheerleader, and an extended family member for life. We love Olivia!
Bride
Meghan L., Joliet, IL, May 2022
One of the first thoughts my husband and I had after we got engaged was “We have to book Olivia.” Hooo boy, are we so glad we did.
I’d met Olivia a couple years prior when we planned events at the same organization. We were both type A and very organized, but she had this absolute superpower of handling everything with such a calm, “it’ll be fine” attitude—which is crucial, considering that no event goes exactly according to plan.
I knew I’d be somewhat of an anxious bride, so we booked Olivia because we knew we could put our full trust in her and she’d keep us calm both before and during the wedding.
The pre-wedding work she helped us with—finding a venue, communicating with vendors, creating a to-do list for us, etc.—was priceless, as was her industry knowledge throughout. She also planned check-in calls to let us know exactly what we should do and when, so the whole process was pretty stress-free.
As I’d expected, she effortlessly calmed my nerves on the big day, making sure I’d eaten breakfast while I got ready, gently ushering us from one activity to the next to stay on schedule, asking several times how we felt and whether we needed anything, and even bringing me a cocktail during dinner. Our wedding party and our parents also fell in love with her (she’s one of the easiest people to get along with, and very professional).
In short, Olivia was a joy to work with and is insanely talented at what she does. I knew she’d do an amazing job from my experience planning events with her, but holy cow, did she hit it out of the park.
Father of the Bride
Tim K., Joliet, IL, May 2022
From a Father of the Bride...
I can not say enough about Olivia and her staff. EVERYTHING was flawless! We could NOT have done it without her. Her professionalism, attention to detail, and unbelievably positive attitude made the day perfect.
Mother of the Bride
Karen W., Chicago, IL, March 2022
As MOB, I don’t know where to begin with my praise for Olivia and her team. She is so organized and detail-oriented. She has budgeting and scheduling tools and extensive to-do lists that ensured everything was easily planned. She reviewed all contracts to get us the best terms and all the vendors loved working with Olivia. All of the above is important, but Olivia did everything possible to deliver a magical wedding for the bridal couple. I have never worked with a better service provider and caring individual. No task was too small or too big. We loved our meetings with her and loved having her and the team with us to calm our nerves and deliver the perfect wedding. She became a temporary member of the family and really missed her when all was over. Would strongly recommend to anyone thinking of engaging a planner. She and her team were invaluable.
Couple
Chris + Christine J., Chicago, IL, March 2022
You cannot dream of a better wedding planner than Olivia and her team. We wholeheartedly recommend you work with Olivia for your wedding.
Her level of organization, execution, expertise, and empathy throughout the entire wedding planning process is invaluable.
Olivia has great relationships with all other vendors who will be a part of your special day, managing them all with a high level of professionalism and ensuring they are able to execute the vision you've set forth.
Olivia's experience in the industry allows her to educate you on vendor selection, day-of logistics, and answer any other questions you have as you prepare for the wedding.
And, when all the planning is done, Olivia and her team truly enable you to enjoy your special day to the fullest - that's what it's all about! We cannot thank her enough!
Wedding Professional
Elana Darrus Makeup & Hair, Chicago, IL, March, 2022
We had the honor of working with Olive Fine Weddings lead planner Kirsten. She had invited us to do makeup & hair for a vow renewal ceremony. When we arrived to set up, everything was perfectly organized. Kirsten created such a comfortable & calm environment for all of us. She was so welcoming & extremely sweet with the bride Lizette! I will always remember walking into the suite from the bedroom, seeing Kirsten help Lizette with her gorgeous gown! What a very special moment to be a part of!! I highly recommend Olive Fine Weddings. Thank you so much for having us!!
Couple
Anne + Patrick, Chicago, IL, January 2022
Working with Olivia and the rest of the Olive Fine Weddings team was wonderful and made planning our wedding a breeze! Our Chicago wedding was the second incarnation of our wedding due to COVID, and was so much easier to plan than our first wedding (which we planned entirely ourselves in Pennsylvania), thanks to Olivia. We found all of our vendors through Olivia, which was fantastic to have in a market as big as Chicago. She really understood what we were looking for and made it easy to hire all the right people to put it together. Throughout the process she helped us stay on track with booking vendors and hitting other planning milestones.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding she was incredibly supportive in listening to our concerns and addressing any issues we had. It was a relief to have her doing the final timeline and coordination of all our vendors so that we didn't have to worry about logistics and instead focused on being with each other and our family and friends. On the day of the wedding she kept us on time without rushing anything and was prepared with things like lint rollers and bobby pins. Our wedding day went on without any hiccups and we were able to be present all day.
Olivia is incredibly professional and knowledgeable about the Chicago wedding market (and beyond!). We would highly recommend her to anyone planning a wedding!
Couple
Allison + Mike, Chicago, IL, September, 2021
We had two challenges when planning our wedding: first, we were planning on a relatively quick timeline in 2021, when there were double the number of weddings and all vendors were stretched thin. And, I am admittedly obsessive about details!
Hiring Olivia was the best thing we could have done. From our first meeting, she very clearly set our expectations, let us know what needed to be done and by when, and generally made us feel at ease about what was an often overwhelming process. I literally breathed a sigh of relief after every meeting with her.
Olivia advocated for us when we had challenges with vendors, and she used her skills and relationships to get things back on track without creating extra stress for us. And her wedding expertise was invaluable (How much alcohol should we order? What's a reasonable amount of time to wait for a response from a vendor? What's the best way to communicate with our guests about COVID protocol? The list goes on ...).
The best part about working with Olivia was how she perfectly managed our wedding day. We could be present for each other and our loved ones without worrying about linen deliveries or whether the DJ showed up on time. Honestly, I don’t even know if there were any issues; because if they were, they never made it to me! That peace of mind was priceless.
One final note is that Olivia loves what she does, and it shows. You can tell she gives the same energy, enthusiasm, and care to each of her couples, which is a very rare thing!
Couple
Kevin + Walker, Lake Geneva, WI, July 2021
Olivia was fantastic. We connected with her through a college friend who had also asked her to help with their wedding, and asked her to help plan our full wedding and rehearsal dinner.
We are located in New York, but had our wedding in Lake Geneva, WI, so Olivia drew on her knowledge of the local and regional market to get us vendor options and to help us make informed decisions throughout the process. What’s more, each of our vendors let us know how much they appreciated Olivia’s organization (no doubt a holdover from her days as a corporate consultant) and her collaborative work style.
Generally, we had a sense of the format for our wedding weekend. In addition to the wedding and rehearsal dinner themselves, it included two lake cruises (one for rehearsal dinner, one for cocktail hour), transportation between the Grand Geneva Hotel and the Lake, welcome drinks, and a light farewell brunch. Not only did Olivia handle all of that, she also took our vague aesthetic ideas and created a whole design/theme that helped the weekend feel coherent and well thought out. Truly, we would have been lost without both her eye for style and detail.
Keep in mind, she was doing this through a pandemic. We had numerous conversations about possibly postponing, how we would manage guest communications, and what the impact on vendor contracts would be (including our liabilities). Olivia was flexible, transparent, and patient with us throughout the process. And because we had had the benefit of her thoughtful planning, we were able to mitigate against possible risks—including those related to the safety of our family, guests, and vendors—in such a way that made us feel confident in our decisions. So, when wedding weekend came, everyone felt comfortable and at ease, ready to celebrate.
Additionally, being in a same-sex couple, I was apprehensive about being confronted with homophobic vendors, and I communicated that to Olivia early in our planning. I’m not sure whether Olivia filtered out vendors who wouldn’t work with same-sex couples for us, or whether she simply did not encounter that problem. All I can say is that I did not experience any hostility, I experienced a lot of enthusiasm from all our vendors throughout the process (probably because they were interfacing with Olivia), and she was ever sensitive to my concerns.
Most importantly, my husband and I loved our wedding; we had an amazing day. And our guests have since let us know that they too thought it was one of their favorite weddings this season. It would not have been the same without Olivia.
You should hire her.
Couple
The Brodys, Chicago, IL, September 2021
Olivia was truly incredible. From the moment we hired her, she was attentive to the vision that we had for our wedding, which was a little non-traditional, and did a great job walking the line between accommodating our requests and pointing us in the direction of doing those in a realistic way that we'd really be able to pull off.
Then, COVID happened. Olivia was amazing - she helped us adapt to the changing times, and kept up the optimism that our wedding would happen even when we weren't so sure.
Ultimately, she helped us re-shape our day into something amazing, with family, friends, great food, beautiful flowers, and an awesome celebration. We can't imagine working with anyone else, and were so happy to have her by our side through this process.
Couple
Ali H. and Keelin B., Ithaca, NY, July 2021
Olivia & Olive Fine Wedding & Events helped us have the best weekend of our lives. Without Olivia, we would have been totally lost.
But she was able to help:
-Give us guidance on venue selection
-Find, vet and manage vendors
-Keep all of our vendors on track, on time, and connected on details
-She helped us manage COVID, move our wedding, manage our vendors through the changes
-She helped us negotiate certain key items we wanted into our agreements
-She helped navigate our own families, consituencies, wedding parties and the priorities of all of our loved ones to make sure everyone felt like there was something special for them
-She dealt with our stress as if it was nothing
-We were able to do weekly or bi-weekly calls or receive timely responses from her along the way
-We received an updated to-do list, budget list, check-in list and very detailed timeline ahead of the event that made us feel organized ahead of the big day
All in all, working with Olivia was a no brainer, I couldn't be more excited to write a positive review on her behalf.
Bride
Anisha P., Westchester, NY, July 2021
Olivia & Olive Fine is the best wedding planner and coordinator you could ask for. Not only is she thoroughly organized, detail oriented, and incredibly cool, calm, and collected, but she balances letting you find your vision with telling you the unvarnished truth – all in service of making your day (or weekend) everything you ever wanted.
She helped us source every single vendor, kept us on track (and reassured) by sharing a full timeline of what needs to happen from your first call through wedding day itself and gently reminding us to make sure we did our work too! She was the best representative with our vendors – kind, thoughtful, firm, and deliberate – and helped get everyone on board with a very unique and particular vision. We also planned a massive blended Indian wedding, and she leaned in, learned everything, and executed everything so well you would think we were her 700th wedding of this type instead of the first.
We could not have gotten through these past two years (yes, it's a COVID-delayed wedding) without her, and any couple lucky enough to work with her will be so grateful to have her there. This is not just because she'll make sure the wedding happens seamlessly, but that she'll make sure you and your partner have time for the small moments in between – the moments to connect, to step back, and to savor the wedding for what it truly is – people coming together and becoming family.
I could not imagine this wedding without her gracious presence, sense of humor, and incredible expertise – thank you for everything, Olivia!!!
Bride
Courtney G., Chicago, IL, May 2021
You received a new review on The Knot!posted 06/12/2021Do yourself a million favors and hire the best planner in the game: Olivia Nicoletti and the team at Olive Fine Weddings!
Leading up to our wedding, my fiancé and I knew that we would need some help scoping out vendors and making a medium-sized (~150 person), Chicago wedding work for our budget and timeline. We hired Olivia after a lovely coffee chat (where she detailed her famous Excel spreadsheets), reading her glowing reviews, and following her planning style via Instagram. Let the planning begin! Date of hire: February 18, 2020.
You probably know what happens next: there’s a global pandemic and everything we thought we were going to do has a big, bold question mark. Olivia was on it. We forged ahead with mood boards (the most fun part of the planning in my opinion), floral, and sketching out our backup plans as needed during our monthly calls. The Excel sheets brought me so much peace because I could see all her research and documentation at any time. If you’re a data-driven bride, this woman is for you!
As we rang in the new year, we decided to downsize the wedding to only about 40 people because the cases in Chicago were up with no real idea how things would change. I threw out the idea of “what if we just pivot this whole big thing to be on a boat?” and as if I had snapped my fingers, Olivia had connected us with Chicago’s First Lady Cruises for our original wedding date with a few dozen people out on the river. The rest is history. She rearranged contracts, had conversations about safety, billing, and cancellation policies with vendors, and most of all made Thomas and I feel so calm and supported through the re-planning process, while also getting us excited about the new vision.
The execution of the wedding was flawless. Olivia and her assistants coordinated the timeline so well that I cannot think of a single thing we would have done differently. This smaller version of our original plan turned out to be the event we had always wanted.
One big benefit to working with Olivia is that she only recommended the BEST vendors. From the legendary stationery from Stone Fruit Studios, to the unbelievable photos from Sally O'Donnell, we were just overwhelmed with how beautiful and "us" our day was. She really took the time to get to know us, listen to every silly idea we came up with, and deliver us the best wedding that has ever happened, if I do say so myself (I mean, a sunset cruise on the river with Mon Ami Gabi catering, c'mon!)
The photos just came back and I am flooded with gratitude over how Olivia’s calm, organized, thoughtful, and professional planning brought me the best day of my life. She’s truly just the best and now I'm sad we only get to do this process once!
Bride
Libby K., Chicago, IL, May 2021
Olivia is INCREDIBLE. She helped us immensely for over a year planning our wedding and rehearsal dinner through the pandemic, and 4 different wedding plans. She suggested amazing vendors who were not only completely in line with our taste and vision, but were all wonderful to work with and made our wedding exactly what we wanted. When the pandemic restrictions changed again within 4 weeks of our wedding, she managed all of our vendors and coordinated exactly the changes we felt comfortable making while ensuring everything was OK with the current COVID phase we were in. She's a pleasure to work with and really left us feeling on our wedding day like we could relax and enjoy it. We couldn't recommend anyone more than Olive Fine Weddings.
Bride
Jenn C., Chicago, IL, May 2021
About to begin your wedding planning journey and asking yourself if it’s worth hiring a planner? My answer is a resounding YES, 100% especially if that person is Olivia Nicoletti! I pride myself in being an organized, Type A personality but I knew I didn’t have the experience with something as important as my own wedding day. I opted for Olive Fine Weddings & Events full-service offering to help me navigate through the venue selection, vendor contracts, and every other detail to follow because you truly do not realize just how many decisions there are to make.
Admittedly we had spoken to a few other event planners in the vetting process, and it was strictly business and budget. When we arranged a phone call with Olivia, she asked questions to get to know my (now!) husband and I before diving into anything else. We were chatting with a new friend who made us smile and laugh, which is how every meeting went from then on. Her tracking methods kept me in the zone, she was super responsive, and has great vendor relationships should you need or be open to recommendations. On the day of our wedding, I didn’t have to worry about a single thing – including super glue for my earring that broke before walking down the aisle! Treat yourself with the stress relieving gift of Lead Planner, Olivia, you will be so grateful you did.
Bride
Stephanie L., Chicago, IL, October 2020
Olivia and her team are the absolute best! It seemed like we planned at least 3 versions of our October 2020 wedding but after pivots, major guest list cuts, and a venue change to our backyard, Olivia helped us pull off the perfect COVID-friendly microwedding. It wasn't our original plan but our vision came to life and the smaller, intimate setting made the day even more perfect than we imagined. We highly recommend Olive Fine Weddings for your big day!
Couple
Kelli + Ryan S., Chicago, IL, October 2020
Hiring Olive Fine Weddings & Events was one of the best wedding planning decisions that we made! From our original plans, to a ten month postponement, to a last minute final date change, Olivia was with us every step of the way. She was always professional, organized, and available for whatever questions we had. We absolutely loved working with her as not only is she a great wedding planner but a thoughtful, compassionate person who we loved getting to know during this process. We felt super comfortable going into our wedding weekend because of all of the hard work she put in to making our day a reality. Her day of team did a great job making sure everything went smoothly as well. We cannot recommend Olive Fine Weddings & Events enough!
Bride
Alyssa R., Chicago, IL, September 2020
THE BEST WEDDING PLANNER EVER! I don't know where I would be without Olivia. From the moment I had my first phone call with her, I knew she was a kind hearted, organized, and truly cared about your vision. My husband and I had a long engagement of 2 years, and she worked with us every step of the way. Her communication was clear, and her ability to understand your needs without really saying them was exactly what we needed. She was as involved as we needed her to be, and as we got closer to our date and needed a little more help, she took the reins. She provided the best vendors, and kept everything so organized for us.
On the actual wedding day she killed it! She made sure every detail was executed flawlessly and made sure everyone had what they needed. Not only that but she was truly such a positive light to have around during the whole process. She always had a solution for everything. She went out of her way to do things, and I am so thankful the Knot led me to her. I could honestly go on and on about Olivia, but I truly mean it when I say she is the best of the best and I am so lucky to have had her!
Venue Manager
Company 251, Aurora, IL, September 2020
Our team had the pleasure of working alongside Olive Fine Weddings on September 19, 2020. When we met in November the year prior, Olivia was so kind, personable + professional from the get-go.
Throughout the entire planning process, Olivia made our job as a venue + exclusive caterer, SO seamless. She was incredibly responsive + communicated every detail that the couple wanted us to note for their big day (from their menu items to when the champagne pour should happen), with such clarity. Looking back on the couple's mood board for their planning process, Olivia truly made it happen down to every single detail. It was one of the most extravagant weddings we've hosted in our space! She so evidently connects with her clientele and cares for them as human beings + seriously puts her all into the wedding day-of! We will be referring Olive Fine Weddings left + right to our 2021 brides!
Couple
Caileigh + Tyler V., Chicago, IL, October 2019
Olivia was our full-service wedding planner for our wedding in Chicago in October, 2019, and we could not have been happier with our decision to go with Olive Fine Events! First of all, if you’re on the fence about having a wedding planner, it was the single most impactful decision we made after we got engaged, and we can’t imagine planning or having the wedding without her! Right from the start, Olivia brought knowledge and experience to the table that would have left us with far more work (and stress!) trying to figure it out on our own. This continued every step of the way throughout the planning process; Olivia helped us understand what was reasonable for pricing and other vendor requests, held meetings with vendors to work out details we were too busy to worry about, and generally made us feel far more comfortable about the decisions we were making. Even during lull periods (where we felt like we needed to be doing something), she reassured us that we were indeed on top of it.
Fast forward to wedding day, and everything went off perfectly! Olivia spent the morning directing traffic at the venue to make sure all the details were in place, and if there were any issues, we were blissfully ignorant while Olivia made sure they were handled. This allowed us to enjoy time with the bridal party, relax, take pictures, etc. with no stress that we would arrive at the venue with even a small detail missed. This, of course, was made possible by Olivia’s detailed timeline for the day, including where and when vendors, bridal party, or family members and guests needed to at each moment.
Throughout the entire process, Olivia was extremely accessible and responsive to everything from legitimate questions and concerns to irrational freak-outs that come with the territory of planning a wedding. She made us both feel incredibly comfortable from the start, and we grew to truly enjoy our various planning meetings or vendor visits (which usually took place or were followed by a visit to the Whole Foods bar to finish off the details of the day). Olivia is professional, organized, and most of all a fun and friendly person to be around. We cannot recommend her more highly.
Bride
Emily S., Chicago, IL, November 2019
I know a lot of people who are hesitant about hiring a wedding planner, as was I. “Is it worth the money?” “I’m organized, I can probably deal with the vendors and the timeline, etc.” And while I understand the impulse to try and save money, Olivia was the absolute BEST and most important decision I made in planning our wedding (besides saying yes when my husband proposed, of course). I enjoyed every aspect of my wedding as well as my wedding planning process because of her.
Olivia was with us from beginning to end. She addressed every detail, from recommending and helping to book an amazing florist, to little details like getting my husband’s stuff from his room to our wedding suite while we were taking photos. She is incredibly organized, efficient, responsive, hardworking, and just an absolutely wonderful, kind, caring, and loving person. She loves love, and she is dedicated to making every wedding day as full of love as possible as well as special and specific to each couple. A
s my wedding approached, people kept asking me if I was stressed or nervous. I honestly wasn’t, I was just excited! I knew that Olivia had everything under control in terms of the timeline and organizing all of the vendors. On the wedding day, my experience as a bride couldn’t have been better! Besides normal pre-wedding jitters and excitement, I was completely stress-free. Even my mom (who usually likes to control and handle things…) said she loved that she felt useless and could just enjoy the day! We completely trusted Olivia to handle it all, and she did with SUCH CLASS and EASE. I have no idea if there were any issues on the actual day or leading up to it, but if there were Olivia handled them all and didn’t let anything show. She was always professional, calm, and enthusiastic. Basically, she has the perfect personality for this job: she keeps the couple and family excited, informed, but not nervous!
The best advice I can give anyone planning a wedding….DON’T TRY TO BE YOUR OWN WEDDING PLANNER. HIRE OLIVIA.
Couple
Kelcy H., + Matt W., Chicago, IL, September 2019
Olivia is the best! From the first conversation we had with her, we felt like she "got" us and that she would be the one to guide us through a year of wedding planning. We are SO happy we made the decision to work with her! We are confident Olivia saved us time, money and probably a few fights along the way. She is a great listener, a super organized planner and a great cheerleader throughout the process. In addition, Olivia recommended two of our other best decisions during the process -- my wedding dress designer and our event designer/florist -- neither of which we would have landed on our own. We would confidently recommend Olivia to any to-be-wed couple! You will not be disappointed.
Bride
Diana, Petaluma, CA, September 2019
I never pictured myself as someone who would hire a wedding planner, as I’m detail-oriented and organized and was excited to plan my wedding. Nonetheless, I am SO glad we decided to work with Olivia during the entire wedding planning process. Once we got planning, I quickly realized just how many details there are and how many vendors are needed and that while we could do it on our own, it would not all be fun and easy. It was unbelievably helpful and reassuring to have guidance from someone who had done this many times before and who had experience within the industry.
From the beginning, Olivia provided planning timelines and checklists and helped us prioritize what tasks were most urgent. She researched venues and vendors for us, scheduled visits and meetings, and developed a budget for us. The venue we ended up booking was found through her network! Ultimately she did so much of the time-consuming detailed back-and-forth work that we weren’t excited about doing, researching and contacting vendors and collecting quotes. She made sure we knew what questions to ask vendors and felt fully comfortable with them before we booked. She reviewed contracts with us before we signed them. We hired a different day-of coordinator because Olivia was a guest at our wedding and Olivia handed off everything seamlessly to her; we didn’t have to do anything additional on our part. We knew we could trust her to keep track of all the details.
Olivia was extremely responsive to emails and was always willing and able to set up quick check in meetings. She checked in regularly, asking how we were feeling, and if we were stressed or worried about anything, she was quick to talk us through things and find solutions. Olivia’s abundant experience in the industry gave us a sounding board and a guide for dreaming up the whole event. We threw hundreds of questions at her over the course of our planning and she always patiently answered each one. When getting off a phone call with Olivia, we always felt better and reassured that everything was going to work out great. That was priceless!
One thing that made Olivia stand out from other wedding vendors was her recognition and enthusiasm for the significance of our specific wedding. With many of our vendors, it was obvious that they work on dozens of weddings a year and, while they did an excellent job for us, our wedding was just another in their season. But Olivia always celebrated that this was an important day for us and made us feel special. At times she seemed even more excited than us! Her excitement was contagious and would lift us up when we were feeling overwhelmed or stressed, reminding us of how magical the wedding was going to be. Overall, I highly recommend working with Olivia. She’ll make sure your wedding day and the entire wedding planning process is as streamlined and easy as possible so that you can fully enjoy the magic of your special day.
Couple
Andy + Sachi, Chicago, IL, August 2019
We are so glad that we decided to work with Olivia at Olive Fine Weddings & Events to plan our wedding. She made it so stress-free, easy, and fun. This is no small feat because we live in California and we were planning our wedding in Chicago. It was critical that we had a trusted partner on the ground in Chicago to give us local recommendations, check out venues for us, and help us navigate all the other vendor meetings. For all this and much more, Olivia was great.
She was super helpful throughout the planning process, then she kicked it into another gear during the week of the wedding. When we met with her one week before the day, she assured us that she was taking over as the primary contact for all of our vendors and all last-minute decisions. She told us that our job at this point was to focus on spending time with our friends and family. One week before our wedding and feeling pretty stressed, this was exactly what we need to hear. On our wedding day and throughout the whole crazy weekend, people kept telling us that we seemed so chill and laid back. We were able to be that way because of Olivia and her awesome teammate Ashley.
Vendor
Sally O’Donnell Photography, Chicago, IL, August 2019
Olivia and her team worked a wedding with me last weekend (I'm a photographer!) and they were a delight to work with! Olive Fine Weddings was professional, kind, fun, and easy to work with. The energy Olivia and Ashley brought to the wedding we worked together was low-stress and fun. I hope to work with them again!
Bride
Lexi B., Chicago, IL, July 2019
From the moment I had my first call with Olivia I knew I wanted her to be our planner. She is so kind and makes you instantly feel comfortable like she is there to be your friend and support system through this whole, often times stressful or overwhelming, journey. Having Olivia provided me with an indescribable level of comfort.
In the first few months she talked through my vision, supplied me with checklists, budgeting tools, vendor recommendations and facilitated conversations where I didn’t even know how or where to begin. She reviewed all of my contracts, provided feedback and suggestions and attended all meetings where she was the voice of questions and answers that I would have never known I needed to know. There’s so much that goes into planning a wedding that I was so unaware of, or couldn’t figure out the best way to navigate it, and Olivia was that dependable person I needed by my side to walk and talk me through it all.
That final month in a half out, when I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders, is when Olivia’s presence really shined. Going into this there are so many different vendors and personalities that somehow need work perfectly in sync on this very special day and you can’t help but wonder “how the heck is this going to actually go smoothly.” Then you see Olivia step in and there is an unexplainable sense of ease that runs over you. And as she told me – her job is to play interception and make sure if anything goes wrong, I don’t know about. And that’s exactly what she did – flawlessly. Our wedding day went on without a hitch! There was even a point where I needed Olivia to have a conversation with a vendor I didn't want to have and the situation was instantly rectified and the night continued on perfectly. Do yourself a favor and choose Olivia to be your planner. I miss her already!!
Bride
Samantha A., Central PA, June 2019
Olivia is absolutely amazing. She thinks of every single detail, making sure your t's are crossed and i's are dotted so you can enjoy your perfect day. She was always happy to answer any questions I had a long the way, never making me feel like a bother (I had roughly 6,000 questions). I emailed her every time I hit a road block, and she gave the best advice on how to handle the situation, without ever stepping on my toes (control freak over here).
Leading up the the wedding, she coordinated with our vendors, relatives, and hosted several Skype meetings with us to update us on progress and collect more information. When it came to our big weekend, I truly do not know how we could have done it without her. I can honestly say I did not realize how badly I would need a coordinator until I NEEDED HER. As I was getting ready in the morning, I realized my veil was a crumpled mess of wrinkles because it had been shoved in a bag since I bought it. I texted Olivia, obviously panicked, and she handled it right away! She literally went to the store, bought a steamer, then came in the bridal suite and steamed my veil while I was getting my makeup done. I mean seriously?? This girl was a super hero. My grandparents were late to our ceremony, Olivia kept me calm and we started the ceremony late so they could be there. Our ceremony was outdoors, and it would have been a major hassle to get a DJ set up out there. Instead, we downloaded the songs we wanted onto a playlist, and Olivia operated our music, in addition to making sure the processional got down the aisle smoothly. Even the following morning, she was still on her A game for our farewell brunch. The caterer forgot to provide coffee, which could have been quite disastrous after a night of drinking. However, before I even had a chance to stress about it, Olivia was already on her way to Panera to pick up boxes of coffee.
I cannot say enough good - we are so eternally grateful. Your wedding truly goes by in a blink of an eye - you deserve to enjoy every moment. Hiring a planner really takes a huge weight off of your shoulders, and Olivia is literally the best.
Bride
Susan D., Chicago, IL, May 2019
Olivia was indispensable to our wedding planning. She was with us every step of the way and helped us make sure we were able to have the wedding we always dreamed of. She was always a text, phone call, or email away and was quick to respond to any questions or concerns we had. On the day of, she was a wizard behind the scenes, always there to make sure we had any supplies we needed in a pinch. She has an incredible eye for detail and helped us get all the little things right. We couldn't recommend her enough to anyone looking to plan a fantastic wedding!
Bride
Lindsey G., Ithaca, NY, August 2018
Olivia is literally the best. She was beyond wonderful throughout the entire planning process as well as day of. She is professional, artistic, calm (very important!), thoughtful, organized, and efficient. She is also just a fun person to plan such a special day with and to be with on the wedding day. We can't recommend using Olivia enough. I don't think that we could have pulled off having a 275 person wedding that required us to bring in EVERYTHING from the outside (water, electric, bathrooms, tents, tables, flatware, glassware, catering, etc). She really took the challenge and made it seem easy. We really looked forward to planning calls with Olivia and she turned something that could otherwise be stressful into a fun process. THANK YOU!
Mother of the Groom
Liz G., New York, NY, August 2018
This review is slightly different. I am not a bride or a groom. I am the mother-in-law.
Mother-in-laws have a unique reputation and I wanted the wedding planning process to go extremely smoothly and start a new mother/daughter-in-law relationship in a fun and stress free manner.
That is where Olivia begins her role in the wedding plans. Olivia created an environment that was not only stress-free but was also fun. Olivia always had a smile on her face and displayed such warmth during all the decision making. Olivia was also sensitive to the different personalities and helped navigate all conversations. Olivia was so organized that we just had to check our lists and keep up with the timetable.
Olivia made our bride feel so special. Olivia helped create a magical wedding weekend for the bride and groom and our families and friends with elegance and grace. Thank you so much.
Vendor
Maureen H., Founder, Stone Fruit Studio
It's important to have a planner who you as a couple connect with personally and who the other vendors you choose enjoy working with. I can say with confidence as a fellow wedding professional that you will find Olivia to be both of these things. You will get the best from your florist, stationer, rental company, caterer, and all the other creatives you hire when you work with Olivia. She will help you prioritize what you care about most and will clearly and passionately communicate with all your vendors so that your day is seamless, cohesive, and beautiful.
As an event designer and stationer for events planned by Olivia, I found my creativity could bloom more freely knowing that she was the support system who would facilitate my designs. When your vendors feel less stress about communicating with their clients and other vendors because they have an impeccably detail-oriented planner to coordinate, they can focus on what they do best, whether it be to prepare a beautiful meal, decorate your tables, or design luscious floral arrangements!
Olivia thrives as a Wedding Planner because both pieces of that title are equally important to her. She LOVES love. She will cry when you walk down the aisle, but she'll wipe away her tears quick enough to cue the quartet. She'll make your day one you can truly enjoy and I bet you'll have a whole lot of fun planning it with her. Plus, I suspect you might even leave the whole process with Olivia as dear friend.
Bride
Cindi S., Chicago, IL, May 2018
I'm convinced that if I hadn't chosen Olivia Nicoletti as my wedding planner, I don't think I would have made it through my wedding day!! Olivia is organized, efficient and phenomenal as a planner! I live in Oregon, and getting married in Chicago, IL, needed a planner to help me with the final 4 months before my May 19, 2018 wedding. And honestly, I wish I would've retained her earlier!! Olivia created a timeline and ensured that I'd not left anything out, and we didn't meet in person until 2 months before the wedding! Every vendor was contacted, the church and reception sites were visited personally by her. Her knowledge of the local vendors helped me find a limousine for the wedding day transportation, as well as making suggestions along the way to help me clarify my vision for the most important day in my life. She worked closely with my photographer, reception catering manager, and my Mom to make sure that everything ran smoothly for the reception, impressing them all with her organization and most of all, her personality. Olivia is a blast to work with, she is fun, but gets everyone to do whatever is needed in a kind, self-assured way. When I was felled by a stomach virus early in the reception, Olivia kept things going, getting my sister, who is a nurse to help me, and the reception going at the same time, and kept my husband calm too. Our guests barely noticed that I was gone, they were having a great time, and when I got back up on my feet , the fun continued. And that's important, Olivia is ready for anything and everything when things don't go as planned, her assistant Ashley was there on the wedding day to make sure that even when Olivia wasn't, everything was running smoothly. Even after the reception ended, Olivia was there for us, arranging with the catering manager to deliver our cake topper and cake to us and sending our book of vows to us from the church. Brides-to-Be, if you need a planner, look no further than Olive Fine Weddings & Events, you will not be disappointed!
Vendor
Leslie Carrère, Principle, Treman Center, Ithaca, NY, September 2017
Olivia Moore Nicoletti's wedding at the Treman Center summer of 2017 was over a year of in depth planning with excellent communication. We agreed to take on a large wedding not typical for our place, because of her expert coordinating skills as a professional event planner in Chicago.
Throughout the year we engaged with calls, emails and meetings from a formal tasting with the caterer at the center to detailed spreadsheets covering everyone, everything and intricate staging details including an enormous tent that filled the field.
From contact information of all involved to hourly time sheets of set up, rehearsal, day of, brunch following and elaborate decor, the result was a seamless perfect day wedding event of 300 people including the caterer and wait staff of 30.
If you are looking for an event planner for whatever your celebration or gathering may be, I highly recommend Olivia for her creative and charming nature and her professional skill set in making it the best.
Bride & Groom
Julie & Erik Linton, Virginia, Summer 2015
To say that I was overwhelmed at the thought of planning a wedding would be an understatement. I was completely terrified and had no idea where to start. Luckily, my sister knew of a girl, Olivia, who was interested in becoming a wedding planner. After our first conversation, I knew I had made the right decision.
Olivia is such a sweet person, always upbeat, and ridiculously organized. We would have weekly conversations to chat about our timeline and what needed to be completed next. I am a bit of a procrastinator (ok, a big procrastinator), so she would keep me on track. She was in touch with my vision of our perfect day and found the best people to get the job done. I love how Olivia is so dedicated without ever being pushy.
Our wedding was absolutely perfect, and we couldn’t have done it without Olivia!
Vendor
Catherine Pearce, Conference Services Manager, Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen, VA, Summer 2015
I have had the pleasure these past few months to work with Olivia Moore as the wedding coordinator for the Larkin/Linton Wedding event, culminating yesterday and a hugely successful affair.
Olivia was efficient from the booking of the vent, through the planning and selection stages and effective in handling the rehearsal (in the pouring rain!) and the day-of coordinating with a professional manner and a smile that was genuine.
Her communication was clear and I felt she had the couple's ideas and ideals in hand so with her help, the resort was able to shine and we were able to provide the perfect event for them.
I would highly recommend Olivia and her expertise to any couple seeking guidance through the maze of wedding planning. She can take any event and turn it into the vision perceived.
Bride
Dana, Chicago, IL, September 2024
We recently had the pleasure of working with Kirsten for our September 2024, Chicago, IL wedding! From start to finish, the experience was seamless and professional.
OFW's knowledge of the wedding industry was evident in every aspect. They provided invaluable advice that truly reflected our vision. Their attention to detail ensured that no aspect was overlooked, making the planning process stress-free.
Would HIGHLY recommend!!
Bride
Laura, Chicago, IL, October 2024
Noelle and her team were absolutely crucial for the success and enjoyment of our day. I cannot rave enough praises for her and her crew. Every single detail was anticipated ahead of time, all the ducks were neatly in a row leading up and throughout the entire event. I had multiple guests ask me for my planners business card/contact info before the night was even over!! I am so blessed and thankful to have had such meticulous attention to detail by Noelle. She was so thoughtful, calm, and attentive the entire event. So much love for her and the entire team. 5 stars would absolutely recommend!
Mother of the Bride
Teri, Chicago, IL, October 2024
Noelle was amazing she let my daughter & I have a worry-free wedding. From the time we started working with Noelle I knew we would have the most magical wedding for Samantha & Scott. Noelle made it all perfect -I do not know how anyone could not have Noelle for their wedding. She kept us on track along with the vendors with the timeline. Most of all she explained why we would or would not do something that is how the timeline makes the day perfect.
A wedding day is one day that we have as the bride, groom and the families but weddings are what Noelle plans daily and she gets them right for that one day your daughter & son have. Thank you Noelle for being so professional but most of all for keeping us calm, happy & relaxed for the wedding. XOXO
Bride
Erica, Chicago, IL, September 2024
Working with Noelle at Olive Fine Weddings was a dream! Noelle is detail-oriented, responsive to my thousands of questions (always within minutes!), proactive, kind, and caring. Truly everything you could ask for in a planner. From our very first meeting, it felt like she just “got” my husband and I. Our wedding day felt PERFECT and stress-free thanks to Noelle and her team going above and beyond - carrying out a quick room flip, keeping everything on time and on schedule, and even bringing up cake to our suite at the end of the night. So many of our guests let us know how amazing the whole event was (one guest noting “That was a 10/10 executed wedding.”) Could not recommend OFW and Noelle enough!
Bride
Jenna, Chicago, IL, August 2024
We worked with Olive Fine Weddings for day-of coordination, and they are incredible. Kirsten was our coordinator and she went above and beyond to not only help us during the planning process but to also make sure our wedding went smoothly. It was a perfect day and she played a huge role in that. My husband and I live out of state and Kirsten doubled as our receiving coordinator; allowing us to ship miscellaneous wedding things to her house and picking up things we needed to have printed. This was hugely helpful and we are so appreciative of her! Kirsten was always happy to provide a recommendation, answer a question, offer a gut check or give her opinion when we couldn't make a decision :). We can't say enough positive things about our experience working with Kirsten and Olive Fine Weddings. If you are considering working with them - do it!
Bride
Sam, Chicago, IL, July 2024
Kirsten Westerlund with Olive Fine Weddings & Events was wonderful to work with as a day-of coordinator! She was responsive, proactive, kind, and knowledgeable. She created our day-of timeline and packing list and shared a gratuity guide that was so helpful. She checked in to our hotel for us, picked up our wedding cake, and packed up our personal items after the wedding so that we could focus on celebrating with family. Our wedding was perfect and went so smoothly thanks to Kirsten!
Bride
Maddie, Chicago, IL, May 2024
From start to finish, the OFW team approached our wedding with exceptional care, meticulous attention to detail, and an overwhelming willingness to help with whatever we needed. Leading up to our day, Kirsten went above and beyond to stay connected, frequently checking in with calls and always willing to address even the smallest questions. She communicated clearly and handled our vendors with a friendly demeanor, conveying our needs with kind assertiveness.
As first-time planners of a large event, we were guided by Kirsten through all the necessary details and how to manage various situations. OFW provided us with detailed checklists, templates, and timelines, ensuring everything ran smoothly. After the wedding, we learned about some difficulties with vendors that we and our guests were unaware of because Kirsten handled them effortlessly.
On the day of our wedding, we felt calm and relaxed, knowing Kirsten and her team had meticulously planned everything, resulting in flawless execution. We have such fond memories of our special day, and we owe it all to Olive Fine Weddings for making it truly unforgettable.
Groom
Eugene, Chicago, IL, May 2024
It would be hard to use anything but superlatives to describe our experience with Noelle. She was fantastic, from MC'ing the reception to finding last minute flowers where the florist didn't, she was truly remarkable. We felt totally at ease with our big day knowing she had everything under control. Her wealth of experience also helped us in our decision making in terms of timing out the cadence of events throughout the day. Her assistants were also terrific and we couldn't have had a better time with them helping out! 10/10
Bride
Rachel, Chicago, IL, June 2024
My husband and I got married in June 2024 and the day could not have been possible with Olive Fine Weddings. Kirsten was our wedding planner for the 2 months before our wedding and day off planner. Kirsten is absolutely incredible and we could not have been happier to have her as our wedding planner. She was extremely detail oriented, organized, thorough, and extremely knowledgeable about the wedding industry. Throughout the planning process, she was very responsive and engaged from day one. It was clear how important to her to make us feel confident about all things planning going into the big day. She asks questions you wouldn’t even think of about the little details of the day and communicated with all vendors to build and execute a wedding timeline (a HUGE body of work).
If you are contemplating if you need a planner, you do!!! Picking Olive Fine Weddings was one of the best decisions and investments we made. From the simplest things (such as sending us a Christmas card with a Starbucks gift card when our wedding was in June) to flawlessly exciting a 225 person wedding, every thought and detail that went into the day was beyond our expectations. Go book Olive Fine now, it is worth every penny!!!
Bride
Kaitlyn, Chicago, IL, June 2024
One of the best decisions we made was going with Olive Fine Weddings for our wedding and absolutely LOVED working with Noelle. She was exactly the person we needed to have our back on our day and orchestrate all of the moving pieces!
Throughout couple months leading up to our wedding, Noelle was so organized and made Mike and I feel very comfortable. She coordinated our vendor team and developed the perfect timeline to ensure we didn't have to worry about any logistics leading up to and on our day.
We can't imagine our day without her! Her team helped save Mike's suit, and when we needed to move to our rain plan, she was extremely communicative and everything ended up perfectly! As the bride and groom, we didn't hear any of the hiccups that might have occurred on the day and we attribute that to Noelle being an icon. Could not recommend working with her enough!!
Bride
Allison, Chicago, IL, April 2024
We worked with Kirsten from Olive Fine and would highly recommend! She was so great to work with and made the wedding planning process a breeze. We used her for Day Of services mostly, but started working with her a couple months before our big day. Kirsten handled communicating with our other vendors leading up to our wedding day and ensured the day ran seamlessly. She put together our timeline, made sure we stayed on schedule throughout the day, and was very easy to communicate with. We would definitely recommend hiring Olive Fine!
Bride
Hillary, Chicago, IL, May 2024
Noelle was an ideal coordinator from our very first conversation -- which talked through some logistics but even more gossip about reality TV -- and I knew she 'got' us as people and understood our vision for our wedding day. A few months before our wedding, our venue cancelled unexpectedly, and Noelle sprang to action to help find a replacement that wouldn't force us to cut our guest list or change our date. She didn't have to do that, but she helped calm us down and find the perfect replacement venue with no major changes. As we got closer to the day, she helped us keep track of the insane amount of personal details we wanted to work into our wedding day, With Noelle's help, everything went exactly as we wanted it to. She's the very best!
Couple
Taylor + Connor, St. Charles, IL, February 2024
OFW blew us away!! We worked with Noelle for 2 months out wedding coordination and execution. In reality, it felt like SO MUCH more than that, because it was. Noelle went above and beyond our expectations to make our wedding magical. Her professionalism and attention to detail during the entire experience was extraordinary. We can't thank her enough, without her - our wedding wouldn't have turned out as perfect as it was! Every little detail that we hoped for was accounted for and then some. The wedding planning and execution process is so overwhelming and stressful but with OFW, we were able to have a relaxing wedding day and weeks leading up to the big day. Weddings can create a lot of stress and work for the bride and family members but Noelle took all of that stress away from us. Items that you don't think of like rehearsal execution, personal decor coordination, and after wedding clean-up were all thoughtfully planned by OFW. We are so happy with our experience and any member of this team will put you in good hands! So worth it if you are questioning whether or not you need the support. The answer is YES!
Bride
Meryl, Chicago, IL, September 2023
We worked with Kirsten and her team from OFW for our Sept 2023 wedding. Hiring OFW was one of the best decisions we made! Kirsten and her team are absolute experts and made our day go so seamlessly! Our meetings leading up to the big day helped ease our nerves regarding timing and logistics. Kirsten and her team were so organized and professional. OFW truly goes above and beyond, I would highly recommend them!!
Bride
Shannon, Chicago, IL, September 2023
We were so happy we chose Olive Fine Weddings to help plan our wedding. Kirsten was accessible throughout every step of our wedding planning process. She started by providing recommendations for vendors and sharing a very detailed planning timeline and budget/payment templates to help guide our planning. She walked us through every step, particularly in the month or two leading up to the wedding. She facilitated so much planning and conversation between the venue and vendors that we did not have to worry about doing ourselves. She was present for our final walk through and made sure we thought of every detail we needed for our wedding day. I can't imagine having done it without her help!
Bride
Juliet, Chicago, IL, September 2023
We hired Noelle from OFW as our wedding planner. She came recommended from a friend who had used her and had a great experience. We knew we were in good hands based on our referral, but Noelle ended up going well above and beyond what we felt we hired her for!
From our very first meeting, her organization, experience, and assertive personality comforted us and gave us confidence that our wedding would go off without a hitch! We felt this then and it never waivered as we got closer to and had our big day.
Despite being one of many clients, we loved building a relationship with Noelle and feeling like her most important client. Everything that was important to us was important to Noelle and we couldn't recommend her and OFW enough. We hope we'll be able to recommend her one day as she was for us!
Bride
Claire, Chicago, IL, October 2023
Working with Noelle at Olive Fine was a dream! From day 1 she was organized, communicative, helpful in the biggest and smallest of tasks and considerations, and above all else, she was a true delight! It was so wonderful knowing that I could relax on my wedding day because she had everything covered. Working with Noelle allowed me to truly enjoy my wedding because I could just focus on being present and making lifelong memories. I can't recommend Olive Fine, and specifically Noelle, enough!
Mother Of the bride
Keri, Chicago, IL, October 2023
Noelle was the most amazing day of wedding coordinator that anyone could ask for. The was on top of everything and yet completely in the background. Her style and demeanor is so soothing and yet so in charge. I appreciated how she had everyone where they needed to be when they needed to be there. My daughter's and now son-in-law's wedding was everything they wanted it to be and more and credit Noelle for the role she played in making it all happen so smoothly.
Groom
Jason, Chicago, IL, September 2023
Of all of the decisions we made for our wedding, working with Olive Fine Weddings and Noelle as our coordinator was by far one of our best. I lost count of how many times my family used our catch phrase for the weekend “thank god for Noelle.” I could not have asked for a better person making this wedding a success. Everything went exactly the way we wanted with zero regrets and that would not have been possible without Noelle.
Bride
Cherrie, Chicago, IL, September 2023
Loved working with Olive Fine Weddings and with Katie! If you are thinking about hiring a wedding consultant and are on the fence, please do it. It is so worth it! We had 5 months to plan a wedding and we hired Katie the last 2-3 months before our wedding. She was AMAZING! She was completely organized, thorough, and so efficient! She planned all our meetings, looked over our contracts and contacted our other vendors throughout the remaining process so we didn’t have to. This left me with time to worry about other things like my dress etc. She took so much of our worries away leading up to the wedding. And the day of, she was there from start to finish and my husband and I felt like we could enjoy the day because she took care of every detail. All this while remaining very calm, which of course made us calm. We cannot praise her service enough. Not only was Katie professional but she was so very sweet and pleasant to boot! Hire this vendor and I hope you’re lucky enough to have Katie as your planner/consultant!
Bride
Laine, Chicago, IL, July 2023
From the moment we hired Kirsten, we knew we were in capable hands. Kirsten demonstrated impeccable organization and her attention to detail, creativity, and problem-solving skills were truly exceptional. Every aspect of the planning process was handled with the utmost professionalism and care. She took the time to listen to our ideas, incorporating them seamlessly into the event design. Her suggestions and guidance were invaluable, helping us make informed decisions that contributed to the overall success of the day.
On the wedding day itself, Kirsten and her team worked tirelessly to ensure that every aspect of the event ran smoothly. Their calm demeanor and ability to adapt to last-minute changes put our minds at ease, allowing us to fully enjoy our special day without any stress.
Our guests are still raving about the flawless execution of the event, and we owe it all to Kirsten's expertise and dedication. We truly cannot thank her enough for making our wedding day an unforgettable experience.
Thank you Kirsten for running the show on our wedding day, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the joy of the moment alongside our friends and family. We are forever grateful!
Bride
Michelle, Chicago IL, July 2023
We worked with Noelle for our July 2023 wedding and we cannot recommend Noelle and Olive Fine Events highly enough! We were able enjoy each minute, knowing Noelle and team were taking care of everything with such expertise. She seamlessly executed every last detail of our dream wedding vision, and did so with a warm and confident touch. We were so grateful for her flexibility, accessibility and attention to detail at every stage in the process. In addition to providing excellent guidance and helpful suggestions throughout, she did so with a warm and calming style. This was especially evident on the morning of the wedding when weather had us modifying a few things, and she remained so thoughtful of our wedding wishes. She remained so attentive to us and our parents throughout the day and evening.
From meeting with my mom and I early, to making every timeline accommodation/change and answering every question in a timely fashion (even while on her vacation), Noelle made us feel comfortable and assuaged all concerns leading up to the wedding weekend. During the weekend itself, she commanded control of the timeline, rehearsal, vendors and our wedding party/family! Her ability to check-in with me and remember the things that were important to me was amazing - somehow she were right there exactly when I needed her. Several times throughout the day I noticed how ahead of schedule we were and how smooth everything was going - all thanks to Noelle!
Groom
Michael, Oak Brook, IL, May 2023
Stacey Espinosa and the rest of the team at Olive Fine Wedding was a pleasure to work with helping organize our wedding. I was at first puzzled as to why a wedding coordinator would be helpful/necessary but after our first meeting with Stacey it was clear how many details I had overlooked and we needed her guidance. Stacey is extremely professional, caring, and genuinely a nice person who did so much to help plan our wedding so that on our actual wedding date we didn’t have to worry about a thing. I recommend Stacey and her work highly.
Bride
Catherine, San Francisco, CA, May 2023
Our wedding was the perfect day thanks to the creativity, organization, and overall competency of Olivia from Olive Fine Weddings!!
I had a very distinct vision for our wedding that I had been meticulously planning over the course of ~18 months. Enter our fabulous coordinator, Olivia. Olivia seamlessly understood my vision and got to work cinching everything together in the last mile. Her expertise in the wedding industry shone through at every turn - there was nothing she couldn't fix and no silly question she couldn't answer. Trust me when I say you're going to want OFW in your corner when the little things go wrong on your wedding day - they will take care of the problem before you ever know it happened! Can't recommend them enough. Do yourself a favor and hire Olive Fine Weddings for all your wedding planning/coordinating needs!!
Bride
Sarah, Chicago, IL, May 2023
Our experience with Olive Fine Weddings & Events was absolutely better than I could have ever imagined ! Olivia was fantastic in helping me focus my vision during our management meeting and essential in recommending vendors to get us started!
Noelle was our day of coordinator and SHE IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM OF A HUMAN! Noelle picked up where I had left off starting three weeks out from the wedding and I LITERALLY couldn’t have survived without her. She kept me organized and provided constant reminders to keep us on schedule. Day of, Noelle came in and ran the show (in the best way)! I didn’t worry about a single thing and Noelle was consistently updating my MOHs and mom regarding any needs and changes which was fantastic. Noelle’s preparedness and knowledge regarding our vendors and vision really shined through in the execution of the day! I could go on forever, but hands down hire Olivia, Noelle + Team for your wedding/event and you will be so so happy and thankful you did!
Bride
Madelyn, Chicago, IL, April 2023
I’m convinced I stumbled upon Chicago's best wedding/event coordinators! Run, don’t walk to book the lovely planners at Olive Fine Weddings!
Words cannot even express how grateful I am to have had Noelle by our side as we came down to the final months prior to our wedding. She brought so much valuable insight to our planning meetings, and you could truly tell how much she cared about our event! The amount of detail and thought she put into everything she did was incredible, and we are forever thankful. The day ran so smoothly because of Noelle, Katy, and Kevin! And they were able to keep our rowdy bunch of 22 bridal party members in line and ready to go, which is incredibly impressive. Our wedding would not have been the success that it was without Noelle and the rest of the Olive and Fine team! The fact that something could have gone awry and I will never know because of Noelle’s outstanding skills is just the icing on the wedding cake!! In all seriousness, don’t look any further; you have found your planners in Olive Fine Wedding and Events!
Bride
Maeve, Chicago, IL, May 2023
I would give Noelle 10 stars if I could. she made the whole two months before our wedding as stress free as can be. she was so kind, patient and organized. Her team the day of was absolutely incredible and i did not have to worry about anything!!!! they made our best day ever!!!
Bride
Claire, Chicago, IL, February 2023
All we can say is absolutely amazing!!! We reached out to Olive Fine Weddings at the suggestion of our caterer, Hearty Boys, and as soon as I had my first conversation with Noelle, I knew she was the day-of coordinator for us. Leading up to our wedding day, every conversation I had with Noelle made me feel so much better. She was keeping us on task and reminding us of things we didn't even know existed, all while being the kindest and most positive presence. On the wedding day, she and her team were truly amazing. Prior to the wedding, we had secured a permit to take our wedding pictures at Union Station. When we arrived on the day of, there was a sign on the door that said it was closed for a private event and all of the doors were locked. Noelle's assistant, Kevin, disappeared for five minutes. I don't know where he went or who he talked to, but all I know is that we got into Union Station and were able to take the MOST beautiful pictures. All that to say, this team will go above and beyond for you. Noelle acted as a supporter, a coordinator, a dress-fluffer, a mediator, and a friend. We could not recommend Olive Fine Weddings enough!
Groom
Jay, Chicago, IL, March 2023
Kirsten and co did an amazing job! Their expertise and connections made wedding planning much more simple - I doubt we could have even come close to what we wanted without them!
Bride
Erin, Chicago, IL, December 2022
My husband and I worked with Olive Fine Weddings & Events for our December wedding and could not be happier that we did! Noelle started working with us around 8 weeks before the wedding, and her organization and diligence made the weeks leading up to the wedding so much less stressful! Noelle created an extensive timeline for the wedding day and had great recommendations for us around the timing of our reception, the best spot for guests to enter the cocktail hour, and even possible locations for photos in the event of bad weather. She really thought of everything, and we never once felt like anything was unaccounted for. On the day of the wedding, Noelle and her assistants did a great job of keeping everyone on schedule, setting everything up for the cocktail hour and reception, and keeping myself and my husband calm and confident that everything was under control. We are so glad that we worked with Olive Fine Events and feel so grateful for all the hard work Noelle and her team put into the day. You cannot go wrong with this team!
Bride
Allie, Chicago, IL, November 2022
Getting a day of coordinator and using Olive Fine Weddings & Events was one of the best decisions that we made. Our whole wedding went flawlessly. We worked with Noelle and we couldn’t have been happier! She jumped in around 6-8 weeks and immediately hit the ground running. She was so organized and was extremely easy to work with. We truly felt like we did not have to worry about a single thing on our wedding day and we had an absolutely amazing time because of that. Noelle went above and beyond for us and we were so happy that we were able to work with her. Our parents and guests also all commented on how seamlessly our wedding day went. We definitely plan on working with Noelle and Olive Fine Weddings & Events again.
Groom
Kevin, Chicago, IL, October 2022
We hired Olivia at Olive Fine Weddings for Month of Coordination for our October 2022 wedding. In our first meeting, we knew she’d be the perfect fit for us when she was not only professional and organized, but also was able to talk musical theater with us.
I’m terms of the process, after hiring Olivia a year and a half before our wedding, she let us know she was able to answer questions if we had any. I took her up on the offer and she was able to give vendor recommendations and helped us pick a couple of our favorite vendors.
A few months before the wedding, Olivia reached out to schedule a full knowledge transfer meeting. She showed up to the meeting with a ton of questions about who we’d booked so far, what our vision was, and what we thought about how we wanted the day to run. She used all that information to put together a draft timeline that was edited, maintained and manicured all the way through the big day. She also gave us concrete next steps highlighting exactly what we needed to work on following each meeting. From that day on, in addition to leading our final walk through, she was completely available to us for calls, texts, emails, etc.
Prior to the meeting, Olivia reached out and told us that she was expecting and would likely be on maternity leave during our wedding. She looped in one of her planners Katie, and the two of them tag-teamed the rest of the process. Obviously, we were bummed that we wouldn’t be working directly with Olivia, but Katie was amazing!
Probably our favorite thing Olivia did was handle difficult vendors. She knew the exact balance of empathy and firm to strike and helped us navigate some last minute stressful situations in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
Starting at the rehearsal dinner, Katie ran the show and killed it. She rehearsed us quickly and even pulled aside folks to do parts of our Filipino ceremony. On the day of our wedding, Katie, along with OFW Assistants Courtney & Stacey!, made sure everything was running smoothly. They picked up catering orders, ran between getting ready spots and the venue, set up all our detail items and handled a quick but intricate room flip. Katie was one of the last vendors there that night making sure everyone had cleaned up, all our detail items went home with our parents safely, and we had all our extra desserts packed and ready to go to the hotel with us.
Full transparency, after hiring Olivia in 2021, I actually joined her team as an assistant in 2022 in my quest to “learn more about what happens behind the scenes” prior to our wedding.
Seeing Olivia and the rest of the team in action, I knew I was in amazing hands pre-wedding day. Everything behind the scenes is handled professionally and vendors love working with Olivia and co. In meetings with our vendors, so many complimented the detailed timeline she’d created and constantly told us we were way ahead of other couples in terms of organization.
Me and my husband agree, Olive Fine Weddings was far and away the best vendor and best money we spent on our wedding.
Bride
Liz, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Olive Fine Weddings were a crucial part of our wedding - we could not imagine our wedding planning or wedding day without them! The work load that Noelle took off of our plates to coordinate all timelines amongst all of our vendors was insurmountable! We were able to hand off all of our vendor communication over to Noelle the month leading up to the wedding. Olivia and Noelle were incredibly helpful and always available leading up to our wedding day. Although we only booked for 6 weeks out and day of planning, they never failed to answer questions after booking them almost a year out from our wedding date. The day of our wedding, Noelle had 3 assistants helping her at no extra cost. Although there were various hiccups that occurred throughout the day, Noelle and her team did everything to keep my husband and I calm and find solutions. We would without a doubt recommend Olive Fine Weddings to our friends getting married!
Bride & Groom
Alexa + Danny, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Alexa: Kirsten, Courtney, and Kevin at Olive Fine Weddings was the absolute BEST. We cannot say enough great things about how detail oriented, organized, and easy going Kirsten was. She answered all my questions all the time quickly and if she didn’t know the answer, she followed up quickly.
Some vendors even complimented to me how well Kirsten got everyone organized and ready for the day.
The day went off without a hitch and the team she brought along was so good too. Highly highly recommend Kirsten and Olive Fine Weddings.
Danny: Working with Kirsten leading up to the event made our wedding day absolutely amazing. It allowed us to completely be in the moment without worrying about any logistics. Would highly recommend this group to anyone.
Bride
Lindsey, Chicago, IL, September 2022
Where do I even begin, Noelle was truly an angel! From beginning to end she was an absolute joy and such a boss at her job. She worked behind the scenes and made everything so easy for us and truly took the hardest/stressful part of wedding planning off our plate and we were able to just enjoy it. She truly made our day perfect and we loved having her by our side from the beginning to end. You can tell she loves her job and genuinely wants everyone to have a perfect day and for everything to run smoothly. She helped keep me calm throughout the entire day and night and went above and beyond to make everything the way we wanted it. I truly feel that I have gained a friend in Noelle and we could not have been more pleased to have her help us every step of the way.
Bride
Rachel, Chicago, IL, August 2022
We worked with Kirsten at Olive Fine and she was great! Very receptive to any concerns in the planning process and level-headed to either provide a solution or put your mind at ease. Kirsten was incredibly kind and brought such positive energy during planning and during the wedding day. She dealt with absolutely everything on the day of, and any hiccups were quickly solved without my knowledge. I would definitely recommend the OFW team!
Bride
Laura, Chicago, IL, August 2022
I reached out to several wedding coordinators/planners in the Chicagoland area feeling totally helpless. I am so glad we ended up working with Olive Fine Weddings! Their tiered services made it so easy to pick something that worked for us and the assistance that we needed. They are so knowledgable which lended itself to great advice and alternatives for making our big ideas realistic.
I cannot stress enough how much of a relief it was to have our planner Kirsten pulling all the strings together at the finish line. By the end of all the planning on my end, I was eager to have a professional take the wheel. She was on top of the entire event schedule, coordinated with ALL the vendors ... and if I ever needed an extra hand, she was more than happy to pitch in.
Weddings can really be so stressful, and I knew when the big day finally came that I wanted to be able to relax and actually enjoy it. I didn't want to miss a single minute of the magic. Let me tell you, the whole day flies by in a minute. It was such a great comfort to know OFW was there the whole day to sending off the last guest. I honestly don't think I would have survived (let alone enjoyed) our wedding if I didn't have a lil coordinating champion to depend on.
Groom
Jake, Chicago, IL, July 2022
It was such a wonderful and unbelievably perfect day, I wouldn't change a single detail about it at all! It was such a relief to be able to trust Noelle and her team to handle our wedding coordination, and all of my family said that she helped them really feel cared for. I knew planning a wedding would be really involved but I can't imagine doing it without help from someone as organized and as caring as Noelle. Thank you for helping make this the best day of our lives!
Bride
Brittany, Chicago, IL, June 2022
If I had to describe the personality / work ethic of Olive Fine Events (Kirsten, specifically!) it is that she is very grab the bull by the horns -- which is something I think brides can appreciate since there is so many nerves/anxiety that comes with planning a wedding. Right off the bat, I felt I was in good, honest, and trustworthy hands. I had never planned such an event before (and it had been a long time since my mom had!) but we felt so supported every step of the way. She is detail-oriented and seemed to have a back up plan for everything, to leave nothing up to chance. We could tell how experienced she was. Not to mention -- she was planning her OWN wedding at the same time, shortly before ours! I can't even imagine. But, like I said, she had a plan for everything -- enter: Olivia! She covered for Kirsten while she was getting married/honeymooning; I heard about Olivia from a trusted friend, and that is quickly what her and Kirsten felt like to us. These women seem to work together seamlessly. Kirsten is an absolute gem, and I felt blessed to have her during this experience.
Bride
Molly, Chicago, IL, June 2022
I cannot say enough great things about Kirsten from Olive Fine Weddings. Kirsten helped make our day go perfectly! I felt 100% confident that our vision would be executed as planned. The day of my wedding I felt extremely calm and relaxed, thanks to Kirsten. Kirsten dealt with all the details day of so that I could truly enjoy my wedding day without worrying. The timeline Kirsten curated flowed seamlessly. Additionally, Kirsten was so kind, funny, professional, and made everyone in the bridal party feel comfortable. Thank you Kirsten!!!!
Bride
Danielle, Chicago, IL, June 2022
Olive Fine Weddings was the best decision I made in wedding planning! They were professional, extremely detail oriented, always responsive, and just generally so helpful and organized in every aspect of my wedding planning. I booked a coordinator (Noelle) who literally made my wedding day amazing, made sure myself and my family were taken care of, and went above and beyond to help me turn my vision to reality. I had an outdoor, at-home, tented wedding that of course had thunderstorms and rain the day-of that wasn't in the forecast. This amazing woman kept me calm and kept the wedding set up moving, reacting to the weather minute by minute. The wedding would have been a disaster without her!
The thing I really appreciated about this company was they were never trying to sell us on something more than what we wanted and never pushed their own thoughts or opinions on our wedding plans, they truly listened to what we wanted and needed and made it happen. They did share helpful context and gave us advice that only experts in the wedding field would know while we were planning and really made us feel more informed about the decisions we were making before we made them. Overall, they just made sure we were supported on every front and it allowed us to really enjoy our day and our guests rather than worrying about the logistics - especially with it being an at-home wedding. They are good people, genuinely nice and thoughtful individuals who care about their clients. I have and will continue to recommend them (especially Noelle) to every bride-to-be I meet!
Wedding Professional
Marriott Chicago Southwest at Burr Ridge, Chicago, IL, May 2022
I had the pleasure of working with Noelle on a wedding here at my venue the Marriott Chicago Southwest at Burr Ridge on May 20th, 2022. I have to say that I work with a lot of planners and she is at the top of my list for so many reasons. She was so organized and had everything set and ready to go ahead of schedule, for a venue that is so refreshing to see. She communicated with me and my staff so well and showed so much respect and thoughtfulness towards everyone that it made things even go smoother than it already was going. I will be recommending Olive Fine Weddings & Events to all my clients looking for a professional, kind, and very organized planners. So great to work with you Noelle!
Bride
Ellen, Chicago, IL, April 2022
Hiring Noelle Humbert from Olive Fine Weddings was the single best decision we made for our April 30th, 2022 wedding. She went above & beyond well in advance of the wedding and following it. Day of, she was on top of every detail. I got so many compliments across vendors, our bridal party & guests about how on top of things she was. Chris & I were able to truly relax & live in the moment on our wedding day. Could not recommend more!
Bride
Kat J., Chicago, IL, March 2022
I know this sounds like hyperbole, but Kirsten from Olive may have saved our marriage - she certainly saved our wedding! Her poise, calm, and cheer throughout the last few months of wedding planning actually allowed me to enjoy the process rather than feel overwhelmed and panicky. There were so many moving parts to our celebrations, and she handled them all with grace. She is incredibly reliable and goes above and beyond to make sure your special day will be the best it can be. I literally, LITERALLY do not know how we could have done it without her. My fellow type A brides and overthinkers, hire this woman. She will make your life 1000% better.
Wedding Professional
Alli K., Chicago, IL, April 2022
I've worked as a wedding DJ in Chicago for nearly a decade, so I have seen it all when it comes to planners, from a vendor perspective. Kirsten E. from Olive Fine is an absolute gem. She is thoughtful and present, and on top of her game without being bossy. Her execution of the event we worked together was fantastic, from email correspondence prior to the event, to communication throughout the night. She even waited for me at the end of the night to make sure I still had access to the building to load out my DJ gear safely. She is truly a team player, that lets each vendor shine individually. A+ would work with her again and again!
Bride
Katie N., Chicago, IL, March 2022
I tell my friends all the time that the best money we spent was on Noelle. I had my wedding all planned just needed someone to come on to handle day of logistics. Noelle and I started working with each other a month before the wedding. She handled everything with my vendors for day of coordination so there wasn’t anything that I had to do leading up to the wedding. On the wedding day she kept everyone on point and told us all what to do and when, so we could really just enjoy the day. It was so great to not have to think of what to do next! As my husband puts it, Noelle killed it. We are so glad we hired Noelle and Olive Fine Weddings & Events.
Wedding Professional
Leah Moyers Photography, Chicago, IL, March 2022
Kirsten and the team at Olive Fine Weddings & Events were so wonderful to work with and I would highly recommend them to couples in need of a planner or coordinator. I worked beside them photographing a wedding in Chicago over the weekend and they were warm, kind, professional, thoughtful, lots of fun and extremely calm under pressure. They made the couple, guests and vendors feel at ease and in good hands. The day was planned and executed beautifully and I loved their personalities, creativity, inclusivity and positivity. Lots of love for this team!
Bride
Patty + Mark, Chicago, IL, December 2021
Olive Fine Weddings and Olivia in particular was one of the best decisions we could have made during our wedding planning. From my first phone conversation with Olivia I was sold. She was so warm, personable, and professional. Getting off the phone that day I was more excited about my wedding than before! Ultimate hype woman without putting any attention on herself. We used Olivia for the 2 months before our wedding and she was incredible. The most organized person, while still making us feel so at ease like we had known her forever. She handled all the little details, including things I never would have even thought of. Days leading up to the wedding there were things I let slip that I ran out of time finishing and Olivia went above and beyond and finished the jobs for me! Day of Olivia was so organized while still keeping the energy up. She was cool and confident in every situation. I had the most amazing vendor team and Olivia was the fearless leader. During the reception I was able to completely just be in the moment because I had 100 percent trust that Olivia had everything under control! Multiple people from our wedding party came up to me post wedding to tell me how awesome Olivia and her team was. Book her now before your date gets taken. You won’t regret it! We love you, Olive Fine Weddings!!!
Bride
Andrea, Chicago, IL, December 2021
Kirsten was so helpful and organized throughout our wedding process. She really made an impact on how smoothly our day ran and we couldn’t have done it without her! If you are on the fence about hiring a coordinator you definitely should! I recommend Olive & fine to all of my friends who are getting married. Thank you for all of your hard work and for helping us create the perfect day!
Couple
Laura + Jeff, Chicago, IL, October 2021
Just to start off - Olivia from Olive Fine Weddings & Events is amazing! We hired Olive Fine Weddings for coordination services for our October wedding, and could not have been happier with our decision.
From the moment we met with Olivia, she was an incredible resource and made herself available for one-off questions or help even before the eight week contract started. About two months out from the wedding, she started meeting with us more regularly and really taking on the bulk of coordination with vendors, timeline planning, tying up any loose ends, etc. She is incredibly organized and detailed, and you can tell that she is truly invested in making sure your wedding day goes exactly as you want it to.
Olivia and her team made the wedding day an absolute breeze for us. I knew that she had thought about every detail for the day, and I was able to just enjoy myself and not worry about the timeline or logistics because she had it covered. She was with us every step of the way, and honestly just felt like another friend at our wedding at the end of the day. If you're thinking about working with Olive Fine Weddings & Events, don't hesitate - they're incredible!
Bride
Jamie, Chicago, IL, November 2021
We did the Coordination package (assistance for about 6 weeks before the wedding, including with creating a timeline, being the contact point for vendors leading up to the wedding, and lots of day-of help) for our November 2021 wedding with Ashley Best as our coordinator. We didn't initially plan to use a coordinator, but out venue required at least day-of coordination, and we are so glad they did because Ashley and the Olive Fine team were 100% worth it!! We planned our wedding in about 4.5 months, so it was extremely helpful having Ashley keep us organized and help us figure out everything we needed to do leading up to the big day. Ashley was friendly, communicative, organized and overall just wonderful to work with. On the day of the wedding, Caitlin was also really amazing -- she went with us for pictures between our church ceremony and the reception, and she went truly above and beyond (even helping divert traffic to get a great bridge shot!). Both Ashley and Caitlin, and the whole Olive Fine team, really helped make the day go off without a hitch. We are so grateful and would highly recommend to any couple!
Bride
Alyssa O., Chicago, IL, August 2021
I could go on and on with how amazing it was to work with Olivia and her team for our wedding day! She was easily the best decision we made when it came to planning. We used Olivia as our day-of coordinator and she went above and beyond to make our day so seamless and perfect. My husband and I had the best day and felt like we didn’t have to worry about anything. Olivia created a detailed and thorough timeline to make our day run very smoothly.. Whether it was contacting our vendors and making sure all emails were answered in a timely manner, transferring things to and from the venue, or just providing reassurance to us, she was amazing during the whole process! I would definitely recommend her services!!
Couple
Kate + Tyler, Chicago, IL, August 2021
We hired Olivia and team for coordination services for our wedding in Chicago at Ovation in August 2021, and I couldn't recommend her more. Once Olivia stepped in around the 2-3 month mark ahead of our wedding, our lives became infinitely easier. We had a very custom wedding — hiring all the vendors ourselves except the DJ — and it was starting to feel very overwhelming. We know there were questions we should be asking, details we should be checking, things to follow up on, etc., but we didn't even know where to begin. Olivia stepped in, got a lay of the land for how we were doing in the planning process and then divvied up action items from there, taking as much off our plates as she could and clearly explaining what we had to do on our end to keep things moving. What was worth it's weight in gold was when Olivia officially took over email and phone comms with our vendors and I trusted her to handle everything exactly as I wanted.
She ran our wedding rehearsal the day before like a pro and answered everyone's questions, setting clear timelines and expectations for the next day. On the day of, I had zero worries whatsoever — if anything didn't go according to plan, I still don't know about it happening. She was also so easy to work with and a fun/seamless addition to both of our families and wedding parties. By the end of the weekend, our parents were just as in love with Olivia as we were.
The day was so smooth, on time and everyone had a great time. Work with Olivia, you won't regret it!
Bride
Shalini, Chicago, IL, September 2021
Hiring Ashley with Olive Fine Weddings was the absolute best decision and money we spent on our wedding. From initial inquiry to post-wedding, they were seamless, organized, timely, and friendly. We hired them for month-of-coordination services for our 50-guest wedding, which they start 60 days out, instead of the standard 30. We had a very specific overall vision with all of our vendors in place, and Ashley helped us execute better than we could've imagined. She made suggestions we never thought of that had a huge impact on the overall flow and vibe. We were really focused on having a fun dance party, and Ashley ensured every little detail facilitated that.
Both of our families can be... a lot... and Ashley was so polite and accommodating to them. Our parents raved about how organized she was, how smoothly the day went, and how FUN she is. My husband and I keep talking about how amazing it is that there wasn't a single snafu - no music mishaps, no one was late, not even so much as a bobby pin was forgotten. This is a very specific perspective, but my family has very ethnic names, and Ashley ensured every vendor knew how to pronounce every person's name. That really meant a lot to me. It's the little things like that that make a world of difference.
Olive Fine weddings brings their A-game, and they will give so much care and consideration to every detail of your wedding. We will absolutely recommend them to anyone and everyone planning a wedding, big or small.
Couple
Kate + John M., Chicago, IL, October 2021
Olivia and the team at Olive Fine Weddings blew us away and truly resulted in the most beautiful day. Olivia was our day of coordinator plus we used her design services. The mood board created an easy to follow project plan document that resulted in a truly beautiful wedding ceremony and reception. Her coordination started 2 months prior to the wedding at which point she took over all the communication and helped us truly round out the final details in the planning process. She was even available for quick gut check questions through our planning process prior to our 2 month point and recommended some amazing vendors.
We have recommended Olive Fine Weddings to dozens of friends & family members since our day!
Venue Manager
Alicia, Chicago, IL, October 2021
I had an excellent time working with Olive Fine Weddings last weekend. I manage an event venue where they were the hired planner for the day - not only were they easy going, detail oriented and communicative - Kirsten and team were ready and willing to jump in on a last minute floor plan change. Our team enjoyed having them on site and we would highly recommend them for your planning needs!
Couple
Jennie + Alex, Ithaca, NY, September 2021
Olivia and I happen to be friends from college and the moment I got engaged to my fiancé and wanted to plan our wedding in the town we went to school in, I knew I had to call her to be our day of coordinator. Boy, am I so glad I did. Her planning skills are beyond incredible and as a fellow planner, she is the only person I would trust to handle my wedding day - that's how high my praise is of her. Despite only being our day of coordinator and not full time wedding planner, Olivia was always on hand to answer questions from day 1, providing helpful insight and recommendations whenever needed. When we had to postpone our wedding due to COVID, Olivia was extremely flexible and supportive in our decision. Then, when the day finally came, Olivia just blew our expectations out of the water completely. She created an unbelievable timeline for the big day, coordinating communication with all of our vendors and made sure everyone was ready to go, and was present to help with all of the little details as soon as her plane landed in Ithaca - whether that be going to the dollar store to pick up serving trays for our welcome party or driving my own mother to and from her hotel to pick up assorted wedding decorations - you name it, Olivia was ready to assist. On the day of the wedding, Olivia made sure that all fires were put out seamlessly so that I could enjoy myself thoroughly. We had a big issue with our caterer being majorly delayed with servings courses on the night of the wedding, and Olivia made sure to step in and shift the timeline around so that the guests could be entertained by speeches and dances and that no one would have to notice. It was the best day of our lives and we owe it all to Olivia!
Bride
Colleen, Chicago, IL, September 2021
By far the absolute best thing my husband and I did was hire Olive Fine Weddings to help with planning. We did the day of coordinator services and I absolutely recommend that to every bride. I started a new job 3 weeks before my wedding, however I had absolutely nothing to worry or stress about because I had been working with Kirsten since July going over all our vendors and day of details.
When we got down to those final weeks before the wedding, Kirsten thought of every detail that I had forgotten and any questions that we would need to answer prior to the day. On the day of the wedding I literally did not have a thing to worry about. Kirsten and Noelle had everything handled and the day was absolutely perfect - I still don't know if there were even any issues.
My husband and I felt like guests at our own party! I cannot stress this enough to brides or anyone planning an event use Olive Fine Weddings and Events! My sister has already booked Kirsten for her wedding next summer!
Bride
Brooke, Chicago, IL, August 2021
Olive Fine Weddings was an amazing company to work with. Every step of the process they made simple. I decided to go with a day of planner that starts 3 months prior to the wedding and it was the absolute BEST decision I made for my wedding. Kirsten was my lead planner and she was AMAZING!! She took away all my stress and was so organized and efficient. I can not say enough good things about her. She was the main contact for all my vendors, set up a beautiful reception and really went above and beyond. I can not recommend Kirsten or Olive Fine Weddings enough!!
Groom
Jack B., Chicago, IL, August 2021
Absolutely mandatory for wedding planning/day. Ultra flexible and willing to go great lengths (even for smallest of details) to make sure everything is sorted and handled so you can enjoy every bit of the big day.
Bride
Michelle, Chicago, IL, July 2021
We hired Olive Fine Weddings for our wedding because the owner, Olivia, graduated from the same college as me and we had some mutual friends. What I didn't realize at the time, was that this was going to be one of the best decisions we made in our entire wedding planning process.
We booked the coordination package and could not have been happier with this decision. We had to postpone our wedding due to covid and by the time we realized we would be able to have our full event, we were only about 10 weeks out. We had most of our vendors booked, but none of the details were nailed down, so I was freaking out. When Ashley stepped in to get started (8 weeks out), it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I am pretty sure Ashley saved my life. She was so encouraging that things were in a good spot and immediately made me feel better.
Ashley took over communications with all vendors and was so organized to make sure we had all the details in place. Due to her amazing planning and coordination, our event went off without a hitch. Literally not one. We had the most perfect night and nothing went wrong. And we have Ashley to thank for that!!
Definitely hire Olive Fine Weddings for your event and ask for Ashley!
Couple
Madeline + Joe, Chicago, IL, July 2021
Ashley was ALWAYS available to chat and go the extra mile. She was extremely knowledgeable in all areas of event planning, early to arrive at all appointments, and had wonderful suggestions which made my day go much smoother. After my wedding she even drove us to drop things off at my in-laws which was above and beyond after a long day and late night. I can honestly say my wedding would have not have been half the success without Ashley. If she wasn’t an event planning genius, my husband and I both said we would hire her as our assistant for our business. That’s how organized and extremely professional she was. If there is any doubt of hiring a planner for your big day, hire Olive Fine Wedding and Events, you won’t regret it.
Bride
Shannon, Chicago, IL, July 2021
Olive Fine Weddings & Events is AMAZING and the best money we spent on our wedding! We worked with Kirsten, who pretty much felt like family by the end of the night. She took care of every little detail - we didn't have to worry about ANYTHING. She even went back to pick up items we forgot at the venue the next day! We HIGHLY recommend Olive Fine Weddings if you're looking for a coordinator. I truly don't think I would have survived the day without them!
Bride
Kristin, Chicago, IL, July 2021
Kirsten’s team was so on top of it and made the process so easy for us!! This team is a must for your wedding!!
Bride
Alex F., Chicago, IL, June 2021
Hiring Ashley Best from Olive Fine Weddings was one of the best decisions I made when it came to my wedding! She helped me from start to finish with planning. I appreciated the great vendor recommendations she provided and negotiations she did on my behalf. She was extremely organized and responsive, which I greatly appreciated. During the day of the wedding, I felt very calm and comfortable because I knew Ashley was at the helm. I would highly recommend her!
Bride
Colleen, Chicago, IL, May 2021
I worked with Olive Fine Wedding & Events as my 'month of coordinator', specifically Kirsten, for my wedding this past May 2021. Doing so was the BEST decision I ever made! Planning a wedding during COVID was NOT fun, but having Kirsten through the ups and downs, to bounce ideas off of, and validate / reassure me throughout was so critical. She stood by my side as I made change after change due to restrictions and changes, etc. also saying "no matter what it's going to be amazing" and making me feel like she was 'on my side.' Once the 2 ish months before the wedding started, it was time to high kick it into gear with coordinating and getting Kirsten and team more up to speed on my plans. She jumped in right away, listened to my vision, and immediately started asking questions to make sure everything was though of and covered. She created a very detailed day of timeline, coordinated all of our vendors, spoke to confirm dates and times and questions that we had with such vendors, and even coordinated with my parents and future in laws on multiple different components for the day of. We met frequently leading up to the day of, doing our walk through at the venue, running through the day of timeline multiple times to make sure nothing was missed, and meeting to review all of my décor / set up needs.
The day of finally arrived and all I have to say is 1) I didn't have to worry about anything that day, because I knew that Kirsten had it handled and 2) Kirsten and her team (Noelle and Courtney) brought my décor ideas to life and fully executed my plans.
To say Kirsten was cool, calm, and collected during some timeline delays the day of (the electricity went out in the hotel so we were like over an hour delayed getting hair done, which pushed everything back, compound that with a longer than expected ceremony and speeches that were much longer than expected, by the end of the night we were very behind schedule, but all things out of our control unfortunately!). Kirsten made sure that no one else felt like we were behind schedule (even though I knew) and seamless coordinated with our vendors to delay starts, or stay longer than originally asked, all while making me feel comfortable and like she had EVERYTHING under control, which she did :)
Noelle was instrumental in that execution of my décor ideas and set up of the venue, which turned out better than I could have expected!! She also helped pack everything up and bring some things back to our wedding hotel suite that we didn't want to drag around after initially needing it. And Courtney helped Kirsten coordinate the day of, working with our vendors, my bridesmaids, etc. to get everyone where they needed to be. In addition, Courtney 'Zoomed' the whole wedding ceremony for us so the family and friends who we were not able to be with us in person given COVID restrictions were able to watch!
Without this team, my wedding wouldn't have gone nearly as smooth and I wouldn’t have been able to focus on enjoying the day with my friends and family! I'm so happy to have Kirsten as my wedding coordinator, I owe her so much! She's amazing!
Bride
Bryndl B., Chicago, IL, December 2020
Olivia and her team are absolutely fantastic - I couldn't recommend them highly enough. We hired Olivia for our wedding in December. When we started planning we anticipated ~150 people and slowly as the pandemic continued Olivia helped us plan, replan and scale all the way down to just immediate family. She went above and beyond to help us ensure we could still have an incredibly special (and safe!) wedding day.
Olivia is incredibly organized, detail oriented and fantastic at creative problem solving. She listened, truly understood our priorities and then was our greatest advocate in keeping that vision front and center to help us make it a reality. Even as we had to pivot and replan she went above and beyond with her time and support to help us stay positive and on track. I knew I could completely trust her to be the voice of what we wanted and especially in the final weeks of planning, she made it much less stressful knowing that I wasn't alone and that she wouldn't let anything fall through the cracks.
We truly felt like we could just focus on enjoying the day with our family and she had the rest covered. I don't think I thought about a single logistical detail once on our wedding day. She and her team truly exceeded all expectation helping us turn our home into a wedding reception venue, picking up flowers, setting tables and coordinating all deliveries and pickups.
I would recommend her to anyone thinking of planning a wedding or party of any size.
Mother of the Bride
Susie L., Chicago, IL, September 2020
Don't worry... Olive Fine Weddings to the rescue! If you think you have it covered, you don't... but Olivia does. Coming from one of the most organized people you'll meet. I could not have done this without her and her team. Phew, and grateful for her. Highly highly recommend, and then sit back and relax!
Bride
Sara S., Chicago, IL, January 2020
I don't even know where to start because Olivia was simply the best, most organized, most communicative and most calming professional I have ever worked with. I hired Olivia for Day-Of-Coordination knowing that my very type A personality needed help making sure the wedding day went smoothly but really didn’t know what to expect. Olivia significantly exceeded my expectations by not only providing that day of support but providing support for the 2-3 months before the wedding. Olivia was organized, always on top of to-dos, always in constant communication (which is huge for me), and made the most impressive timeline to ease not only my mind, but my family's as well. The day of the wedding went just as smoothly as planned. Olivia was calm, cool, and collected the entire time. I had several people including all of my bridesmaids, mother, mother in law and even my Dad comment on how amazing Olivia was and thankful they were she was part of the day. I cannot thank Olivia enough for her support in making our big day perfect. I would HIGHLY recommend Olivia to every bride in Chicago.
Bride
Christine K., Ithaca, NY, October 2019
Reflecting back on our wedding, my husband, our parents and I all agree that hiring Olivia as our Day-Of-Coordinator was one of the best decisions we made throughout the wedding planning process. Though her "official" capacities began two months before the wedding, Olivia proved her indispensability from the moment we hired her almost a year before our wedding date. Olivia is proactive, professional and through it all, incredibly positive.
My husband and I got married in Ithaca, NY, a town she knows inside and out (though we’d recommend to hire her even if you were getting married on the moon) this past October. We live in Los Angeles, so her knowledge of the region and frequent visits were very helpful from the beginning. Even though we were doing most of the planning over the first few months, she quickly answered our questions and gave advice on vendors, and volunteered to visit one of our venues when she was in town for other meetings, taking meticulous notes and sending back photos.
We finally met Olivia in person for a walk-through four months before the wedding and all the “Are we doing this right? Is this wedding actually going to happen?” worries that we’d had as first-time wedding planners quickly melted away as soon as she walked in the room. She always came prepared with checklists, questions, and most importantly, reassurances that it would indeed all work out in the end. After that first meeting, we could not stop gushing about how fantastic she was.
That feeling that we’d hit the wedding coordinator jackpot continued through the lead up to and every moment through the wedding. Throughout it all, she supported us, answered our questions, mediated family dynamics, followed up with difficult vendors, organized like nothing we'd ever seen, and did it all with professionalism, grace and positivity. Our other vendors told us that they’d never seen a planner who was so organized and on-top of details and conveyed what a pleasure it was working with her.
By the actual day of our wedding, our confidence that Olivia had everything taken care of was more than solidified, and we were able to relax, enjoy and never spent a moment worrying about logistics. As expected, the day went off without a hitch and we could not have been happier. The venue she helped design looked absolutely stunning and our guests had an absolute blast.
As an added bonus to her professionalism, eye for design, planning and organizational skills, Olivia also brings a warm and joyous energy to every room that she walks into. It is evident that she loves what she does and takes pleasure in bringing joy to others! She is genuine, kind and a true pleasure to work with. We could not be happier with Olive Fine Weddings and would recommend with the utmost confidence.
Mother of the Bride
Nancy D., Ithaca, NY, October 2019
Olivia was our personal ROCK STAR! Every question we had for her was answered quickly and professionally. After each conversation we had, I felt a sense of calm. During the wedding weekend, all issues were taken care of. I was able to enjoy our wedding completely. With no worries!! I am the mother of the bride and I couldn't recommend Olivia any stronger. You will be delighted and comforted if Olivia is your wedding planner. ND
Mother of the Groom
Tana K., Ithaca, NY, October 2019
As the mother-of-the-groom I knew I did not have to plan the whole wedding, but the Friday welcome party for 140 people would have been IMPOSSIBLE without Olivia!
She made the event happen in Ithaca, NY while I was at home in NYC. Everything was taken care of! She is amazing - I can't say enough good things.
And as far as the main event (wedding day and party) my son and daughter-in-law agreed that they could not have done it without her.
Bride
Chelsea S., Ithaca, NY, September 2019
As my husband said when we returned to our room after the perfect wedding day: hiring Olivia was the best vendor decision we made. Although the suite had been used that day for the bridal party’s hair, makeup, breakfast, and lunch—and was therefore in a state of total disarray when I left it—we found it completely clean and organized that evening. All of the miscellaneous items I figured had been lost in the chaos of the day (e.g. my heels, veil, clutch, etc.) were arranged perfectly in the corner. On the table by the window was a slice of our wedding cake, which we had failed to eat in the excitement of the reception. This anecdote is Olivia in a nutshell: she will work tirelessly to ensure that you have the absolute perfect wedding day, down to the smallest of details.
We were married in Ithaca, New York (in the Finger Lakes), requiring us to plan the wedding from afar. Although booking the venue, band, florist, etc. was easy enough, the difficulty arose in the last couple of months before the wedding. At this point, there were so many moving pieces and numerous details that I never considered; it felt overwhelming. This is where Olivia shone. She took over communications with our dozen or so vendors, scheduling calls to discuss the day-of plan so that everyone knew their job and when to do it. Our venue ranged from unresponsive to antagonistic, but Olivia was the consummate professional. It was during this period that I also peppered Olivia with questions large (e.g. timeline) and small (e.g. color of the linen on our sweetheart table). I’m sure there were days when messages from me comprised 50% of her inbox (at least); she answered all of them so helpfully.
Olivia takes the time to genuinely understand your vision. She then executes that vision flawlessly. I had a lot of details in mind for my wedding day. Olivia went through each and every one with me, compiling them all in a final guidance document that made clear who had responsibility for what among her team and the vendors. Having Olivia as our fearless leader the weekend of our wedding provided such a sense of security. I was so worried that it was going to rain, but Olivia reserved a side tent as an alternative ceremony site and talked us through all the ways we could “flex” our timeline to accommodate showers. She led the rehearsal, instructing everyone on where they needed to be and when. Our families were incredibly impressed by her competence, professionalism, and kindness.
Finally, the day of our wedding, Olivia handled EVERYTHING, so that we could just soak in the happiness and enjoy our day. I can only imagine the number of phone calls, text messages, and vendor conversations I or my husband would have had to field had Olivia not been there. Instead, we could just disconnect, trusting that everything would be taken care of. It was, and perfectly: as she did during the planning process, Olivia handled it all—big (perfecting the décor in the ceremony and reception areas) and small (removing a stain from my wedding dress with a shout pen). Olivia is professional, diligent, detail-oriented, kind, and, as other reviewers have mentioned, a total romantic at heart. All of these qualities combine to make Olivia phenomenal at her job. I can say without a doubt that our wedding would not have been the absolutely perfect day that it was without Olivia. Book her!
Bride
Mindy W., Chicago, IL, June 2019
Working with Olivia as our day of coordinator was one of the best wedding decisions that we could have made! She will be an advocate for you throughout the planning process and will make sure that everything runs smoothly the day of. She was immensely helpful in the last 3 months before our wedding, especially since we were living out of state, planning to move to another state 3 weeks before the wedding, and had many other obligations during this time. Having Olivia during this time was such a relief and minimized our stress. During the wedding weekend, she gracefully managed our 20 person bridal party and families. If there was any question or concern I had, Olivia was already one step ahead and had already addressed it or was on top of it. I would highly recommend her services to any couple, you will not regret it!
Bride
Caroline M., Chicago, IL, August 2019
Words can honestly not describe how amazing Olivia was as our wedding planner. From the moment we first spoke, Olivia went above and beyond. We hired her for the month/day of, but she was still so responsive to any questions I had throughout the way. As we neared our wedding, Olivia’s organization, dedication and professionalism were unbelievable. She seamlessly coordinated with all my vendors, fielded emails for me and made me beyond confident that our wedding would go perfectly. I never once questioned her ability to perform above and beyond. She was so encouraging and comforting when I was nervous about something, and calmed me when I was stressed, in the days and even minutes leading up to the ceremony. Our ceremony, photos and reception went perfectly, so much because of Olivia. I’ve never met someone so organized and good at their job. She was constantly checking in on me, making sure I was doing okay throughout the whole day and night of our wedding. This was so comforting as a bride and I was so thankful for her! The two girls that helped Olivia on our wedding day were also fabulous and I felt that I could trust them with anything. This review does not do Olivia justice, and she exceeded all my expectations. I would hire her again in a heartbeat and have already told my friends (engaged and not) that they must use Olivia for their wedding. Thank you for all that you did for us Olivia. You are truly a godsend.
Bride
Chelsea R., Chicago, IL, August 2019
We could not have been happier with Olivia. Not only was she insanely organized, professional and good at her job, but she was also a friend during the whole process.
I never had to worry about things not getting done and I always knew if I could not put into words at that moment what I wanted, she would do it for me and it was exactly what I meant.
Your day can be very stressful and goes by so fast. Both my husband and I were able to take it all in and also actually enjoy every minute of it. All thanks to Olivia. She is so talented and gifted. Don't miss the opportunity to work with such an amazing wedding planner.
Bride
Leigh H., Chicago, IL, July 2019
Hiring Olivia was definitely one of the best decisions of my wedding planning process. I was hesitant to hire a day of coordinator as I didn't want to spend the money but it was definitely worth every penny. She started working with us 8 weeks out and we started with a meeting to go over every detail down to the minute of what we were hoping for our wedding day. She had a lot of great ideas and gave honest feedback to some of our not so great ideas : ). She was prompt and concise when reaching out to all of our vendors and made sure that once she was on board that we took a step back so we could breathe a bit. Her timeline was detailed and worked close to how we wanted it to, my only complaint was some extended downtime during dinner but it could have been my fault running around talking to people so we couldn't start speeches!
The day of she was great in keeping things moving and most importantly helping me calm down! I was incredibly anxious most of the day but her calm demeanor and positive attitude really helped me get through the day.
Unfortunately we got married on the hottest day of the summer, with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees. Our plan for the cocktail hour was to have 2 bars out on the veranda and one inside but because of the heat no one went outside. This inevitably caused a massive crowd near the inside bar and a lot more heat and commotion then there should have been. Before I even found out about this issue Olivia let me know she was working on getting the reception doors open ASAP so people were able to move in there. She was great in working with the venues team to make sure everyone was happy and cool!
She worked very well with our bridal party and was a great mixture of positive but stern if they weren't listening to what needed to happen. To end the night she brought all of our extra decorations to our hotel and left with the baggage check so we wouldn't have to worry about it.
Her assistant Rebecca was also fantastic. She was with the boys most of the day so I don't have much exact feedback but my husband said she was great and easy to work with! During dinner my husband and I really wanted a cocktail instead of wine so went to get one and she stopped us in our tracks to see what we needed and went to get our drinks for us so we could mingle with our guests.
There was also one issue where the Champagne we brought in ourselves was not chilled and the bartender was snippy with my mother but Olivia and Rebecca sorted it out quickly and everything then on was fine!
All in all Olivia was a great partner, resource and planner and really helped make our day absolutely perfect. We would definitely work with her again and would happily recommend her to anyone in need! Thanks so much Olivia and Rebecca!!!!
Groom
Scott R., Chicago, IL, June 2019
My husband and I worked with Olivia at Olive Fine Weddings & Events, and hiring her was hands-down the best decision we made for our wedding. She helped put together our schedule and worked with our vendors to ensure the night went off without a hitch (or if one happened, she handled it smoothly without letting it affect us!). She never made decisions for us, but was a perfect coach for all our planning needs, and coordinated the day-of so seamlessly that we did not need to glance at our phones once. Olivia was always professional, extremely responsive, and really made sure the wedding was everything we wanted it to be. We could not have had the amazing wedding we did without her. We can’t recommend her highly enough.
Bride
Lauren H., Chicago, IL, June 2019
Remember J-Lo in the wedding planner? She had all the answers, could fix ANYthing, had a plan B, C, D, E, F, G? She was a bad ass. Well, meet Olivia… She is AHmazing! and she’s married so she won’t steal your groom ;)
A little background on me… I was planning my Chicago wedding while living in Hawaii and I really tried to everything on my own. While planning my dream wedding I was also preparing to move to another country with my soon to be hubby. Wedding planning, moving to literally the other side of the world, and oh yeah I should probably start looking for a new job. I needed help but I’m a cheap A$$.So I turned to family for help. I am 1 of 5 girls and its always CHAOS!its usually super fun & entertaining but sometimes turns into the “Company is Coming!” video. If you haven’t seen it, click this link and you will know exactly what I am talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBwELzvnrQg
I heard of Olivia through a family friend and I can’t begin to explain how thankful I am for her. First of all, follow her Instagram and you can see how creative and unbelievably talented she is.My only regret is not hiring her sooner.
Olivia was reaching out to me on a regular basis making sure I was keeping up with things, asking if i needed help, etc. The week before and days leading up to the big day she was so wonderful in calming my nerves, assuring me things would run smoothly, keeping me on track, anything I needed! As I mentioned before, my family is chaos. We have even earned the nickname “The Grizwolds” because things tend to go wrong when it really seems to matter.example.. my sister broke her leg in Peru on day 4 of 17 and we needed to go back to the US so she could have emergent surgery…. really? I had nightmares for 2 months of what could go wrong at our wedding.
Olivia has this magical power to keep you calm and less stressed. I knew I could trust her even though I barely knew her. I could tell she knows what she is doing and she is damn GOOD at it!
Throughout the day you have a million people asking you questions or your opinion or how you want something done.. I’m pretty sure my most used phrase was “Ask Olivia what she thinks”.
Olivia and I over the months talked about my vision constantly. But when people ask you where you want things or how you want them put together, I don’t have the creative eye like she does. She knows what looks good or better yet what looks BAD. she knows what flows well, the best way for things to run smoothly which is ultimately what most people want. Having her there gave me the freedom to relax and enjoy the entire day and eliminate all the chaos and frustration when things didn’t go exactly as planned.
And if I haven’t convinced you enough.. After the wedding we set up an after party across the street at a bar. Olivia and her assistant gathered ALL of the decorations/pictures/etc (and let me tell you, I had ALOT) so I could go enjoy the after party with my guests. She packed everything up, Including my cards so I wouldn’t have to carry them out with me and risk losing them, brought everything to my hotel room. She great, right? No. It gets better…. When we left my hotel suite it was a disaster from all the girls getting ready. She had our room serviced so it was clean when we arrived ANNNND she had a plate of chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. I TOLD YOU SHE AH-MAZING!
Olivia, you are wonderful & can’t tell you how grateful I am for you. YOU are the reason my wedding was PERFECTION.
Bride
Meghan J., Chicago, IL, November 2018
Working with Olivia was hands down the best decision we made as part of our wedding planning process. If you don’t already know it - you need a wedding coordinator! Olivia was exceptional at keeping us organized and stress free leading up to the day of the event. Her day-of coordination services began a few months prior to the wedding and allowed us time to get to know her and feel more comfortable working with her. She offered excellent suggestions and insights for any vendors we had not yet booked or questions we had.
She was our main point of contact with all our vendors and I got overwhelming feedback that she was excellent to work with. Our photographer said in her 9 years of shooting weddings, this was the best coordinator they had ever worked with! Olivia helped pulled together a detailed timeline that kept our families on task and allowed us to build a schedule that made the day run so smoothly!
The day of the event Olivia was there by my side to help with any request I had - grabbing me a glass of water, helping adjust my hair, literally tying my shoes! At the end of the night, Olivia made sure all our items were gathered and delivered to our hotel. She kept us organized and truly allowed us to enjoy our special day. Our wedding was perfect and went off without a hitch thanks to Olivia’s help and coordination. I would highly recommend her services to any bride!
Bride
Meghan B., Ithaca, NY, September 2018
Short story: hiring Olive Fine Weddings was the best decision we made about our wedding.
Longer story: I didn't think I was the type of bride who would need a wedding planner. I'm pretty organized, and I was confident I could take care of everything myself. And the thing is - I probably could have, but it would have been way more stressful and way less fun, and our event certainly wouldn't have been as perfect as it was with Olivia on the job.
We initially hired Olivia for day-of coordination. Our ceremony and reception were at different places, which is always tough; Olivia helped us manage the two spaces and transportation between them. She handled communication with the many parties involved at both locations - from musicians to caterers to building managers. She even transported our flowers from the church to the reception venue.
I can't possibly emphasize how amazing it is to have Olivia managing your wedding day: day-of, we never had to check the time, make a phone call, or worry that something or someone wasn't going to show up at the right time/place. Olivia handled our guests - guiding them out of the church for a bubble exit, helping them find their seats when it was time to switch from cocktail hour to dinner, and letting them know when the cake was being cut late in the night - AND our wedding parties, keeping track of the time based on the timeline we came up with together. With Olivia, our day never felt like it was scheduled: even though we'd built a timeline, she guided us through it so naturally that there was never a moment where the evening felt planned or forced.
What really made Olivia invaluable to us, though, were her wedding planning services. As I mentioned, we didn't think we needed that initially, but as the wedding drew closer we were having a lot of issues with communication with our reception venue (our wedding was in Ithaca, NY but we live in Boston) and it was becoming really stressful. When we asked Olivia for help, she jumped right in. Eventually, Olivia took over communication with our venue entirely, working vendor-to-vendor to save me anxiety and filling me in after each call. The week of your wedding, Olivia will get in touch with all of your vendors about final times and details - so you're not spending your rehearsal dinner worrying about when the flowers will arrive. We also had a LOT of vendors - two venues, a six-member band, florist, cake, church musicians, etc - and she managed all of them so smoothly. She even managed our payments, so we didn't need to worry about money, tips, etc at our reception.
Finally, Olivia is all business in action, but all empathy in interaction. She literally called me from her honeymoon when I had a crisis with seating arrangements. She's an old friend of mine in real life - but even if you don't know her before hiring her, she'll feel like a friend right away. She balances what your priorities are with what makes sense for your budget, venue, and specific event. She also argues for your vision: if you want something a specific way, she'll guide your vendors to make it happen, even if it means drawing up floor plans herself. And she does it all in a way that leaves you with little to no anxiety - just excitement. (Plus, she is a huge romantic and gets totally excited for you as you decide on every detail!)
We had great vendors, but Olivia's touch was what took our wedding to the next level. We can't recommend her enough!
Parents of the Bride
Tim & Katy B., Ithaca, NY, September 2018
Olivia from Olive Fine Weddings & Events was a superstar as a wedding day coordinator! Far before the actual day, Olivia communicated with all of us, planned, organized, met with vendors, negotiated, and essentially scripted the needs of the day so everything went flawlessly. She took care of the biggest and smallest details with skill, relieving us of many of the things we easily could have missed. She communicated expertly with all parties the day of the wedding, making sure everyone knew where and when they needed to be places, tending to last minute logistics, and overall ensuring that the families could concentrate on enjoying this special day. Having Olivia coordinating the wedding weekend made a tremendous impact on how smoothly the weekend went. She handled the business aspects, the nitty gritty, and even the emotional needs of everyone involved with grace and care. We can truly say the participation of Olivia and Olive Fine Weddings & Events was a difference maker for our joyous occasion!
Bridesmaid
Jen D., Ithaca, NY, September 2018
I was a bridesmaid in my friend Meghan's wedding last month [September 2018] in Ithaca, NY and Olivia was the wedding planner. I cannot speak highly enough of Olivia's work. Everything about the day was perfectly organized. Meghan was able to live in the moment because Olivia had everything under control - from small details to how the bridal party's belongings would get from the bridal suite to the hotel downtown, to larger logistical projects like organizing the ceremony rehearsal and the post-ceremony photos with the family/bridal party, Olivia was on top of everything and communicated all the information calmly and clearly. She is also a warm, optimistic and upbeat personality that helped keep everyone in a great mood on what can be a long and stressful day. You could not find a better person for the job!
Bride
Ashley J., Washington, DC, Summer 2016
AMAZING! Olivia came on board as our wedding coordinator a few months before our wedding and it was truly the best decision we made. In fact, if I could do it over again I would have hired her when I first started planning the wedding. Olivia was so organized and on top of everything. She was always available to chat if I had any questions or concerns. The day of, Olivia and Ella made sure everything ran smoothly and that everyone was where they needed to be on time. They helped set up the reception, which looked amazing, coordinated with vendors, even ran out during the reception to grab eye lash glue, and had everything cleaned up and in my suite at the end of the night. I did not have to worry about anything! I had multiple people come up and tell me how much they loved our planners. They really were the best!
via Chic Weddings & Events
Vendor
Katy Daneshvar, Owner, Le Chateau de Crystale, Washington, DC, Summer 2016
I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Olivia Moore twice, now. She is incredibly great at what she does as an event coordinator. She stays calm under pressure, anticipates your needs and is an excellent communicator. As a business owner, myself, I recognize the qualities to look for in another vendor. Weddings are a big deal--as big as they get-- and I get asked all the time who I would recommend for certain services. If I can't think of someone in the first three seconds, they haven't earned my referral! Olivia certainly has earned that privilege and I am at ease knowing my clients are in good hands. Looking forward to our next endeavor, together!
via Chic Weddings & Events