LOLA Event Productions

Reviews 3

AL

Alexandra Bansal

Wow! Lori Stephenson at LOLA Event Productions is amazing! Hire Lori @LOLA—she will do everything in her (considerable) power to make your event magical and seamless, and the planning process as manageable as possible. Lori turned the overwhelming thought of “wedding planning” into manageable monthly to-dos and guided us through the execution. She took our convoluted concept of a bright and colorful, Indian-fusion, galaxy/constellation themed wedding and translated it into a cohesive, GORGEOUS event full of personalized details and surprises that, one month later, still has our guests raving! Lori also expertly managed all the intricate day-of details and schedule allowing my family and I to focus on having fun--she also somehow got this chronically late bride down the aisle on time. Longer Review: I hired Lori as my wedding planner about a year before my wedding after interviewing several other event planning companies. Lori’s experience, creativity and competence were evident in that first conversation and as I toured venues on my own I heard about her outstanding reputation within the Chicago wedding industry. Working with such a well-known professional made me feel much more confident in the vendor selection process as I knew that vendors would be afraid of damaging their relationship with Lori—I’m only one bride having one wedding and a screw-up would have limited repercussions to their business. But, a major issue with the client of a well-respected planner could be seriously harm future business. Now, for the planning itself. My (now) husband and I wanted help with the overall planning, design and on the day itself, but wanted to do things like vendor selection ourselves. We decided on a package that covered Planning & Coordination Services, Creative Services, and Implementation & Production Services which translates to pre-event planning, design coordination and day of execution. This package was everything we needed. Lori listened to our ideas about the day and helped us zone in one what was most important. She provided us curated lists of vendors to meet, a detailed budget estimate and monthly tasks for us to complete. We had regular meetings including some with family members whose input was important to us. Lori is also unique in understanding the nuances of planning a fusion wedding and helped us find the right cultural balance. In the end, Lori not only understood our tangled vision, but elevated it to be colorful, fun, beautiful and a true reflection of us as a couple. Of course there were stressful moments in the planning process and having Lori’s support made those moments so much more manageable. She brought experience and humor to stressful situations and gave me confidence that the wedding itself would be wonderful. My husband and I threw some outlandish requests her way (he wanted a bear at the wedding!) and, on the day of, made some changes to the timetable on the fly—Lori rolled with us, embraced and elevated our ideas and somehow made everything come together perfectly! Our actual day of was incredible- the décor was perfect, vendor coordination was smooth and logistics were expertly managed. My family and I were able to really enjoy our event as Lori orchestrated everything from set-up to the perfect timing of the first dance to getting our gifts home at the end of the night. And, the topper on the wedding cake, she surpassed my wildest expectations and made my quirky husband’s dreams come true by donning a bear costume and joining us on the dance floor! While a dancing bear isn’t for everyone, the point is she understood what we wanted and went BEYOND all expectations to make us happy. Lori Stephenson is a delight and made our wedding truly magical. I cannot recommend Lori and LOLA highly enough.

KA

Karen Tye

Two words: Exquisite. Phenomenal. Kirsty and LOLA were the perfect fit for me and my fiance. We get along pretty well with everyone, but what we needed in our planner was a LOT of direction, but not in an overbearing way. My fiance was super low maintenance, I needed a lot of input, and after all, weve never planned a wedding before. I also needed some no-nonsense efficiency. I was working on a bit of a time crunch, since I was in my last year of medical school and swamped with interviewing for residency and taking my last exams, etc. There couldnt have been a more supportive planner than Kirsty. She was incredible at helping me use the little time and energy I did have for wedding planning to the best of my capability. In Chicago, you have literally hundreds of wedding photographers, videographers, florists, bands, DJs, bakeries, calligraphers/stationers, makeup artists, etc to choose from. Its a double edged sword; its nice to have options, but how on earth do you do thorough research on every single one of them? Or even just trying to vet say... 10 from each category and meet a few of each? You cant. Not while being a medical student, at least. One of the best things about working with Kirsty was her wisdom as she got to know my likes/dislikes, all while keeping our budget and priorities in mind. Her expertise cut out not hours, not days, but WEEKS of research I would have had to do on my own. Her recommendations were usually an introduction to a great fit on the very first try. Kirsty was also so communicative. Id emailed her at least once a week and that was just at the beginning for working together. I got worried when a friend shared his horror story when his planner had gotten married and pretty much checked out right before his wedding. But if anything, Kirsty only got more responsive as we got closer to my wedding day - and her own! She made sure the entire LOLA team was accessible to me and on top of anything during her own wedding weekend. I loved having her super fresh perspective and guidance from everything from the wedding day itself to the bachelorette. She shared her own discoveries, so I felt like I was always getting the latest and greatest from the wedding industry with her. One of my favorite examples was the new custom Snapchat geofilters when they had *just* come out, just in time for our big day. There came a point when my fiance who teased me the week before the wedding, "Remember when you said you didnt think you needed a planner?" Oh, man. How sheepish I was. One of the many reasons why Im glad hes my husband now. I could barely sleep the night before, thinking of last minute things from a playlist to the perfume Id left at home. I emailed Kirsty, of course. The day of, we were able to savor every moment. Any fires that needed tending to, Kirsty handled. Instead, my husband and I got to focus on making happy memories with our loved ones, memories that you cant put a price on. Not just us, but our guests too - many of them are still raving about the dream weekend we had. Finally, Kirsty was still present even after our wedding. Things that people dont tell you: theres tons of aftermath to deal with, even if everything does go smoothly. And if it doesnt, you want an advocate like Kirsty in your corner. She handled some unfortunate negotiations with a vendor for us smoothly and quickly. In short, investing in a planner is one of the smartest decisions you will make in the entire wedding planning process. I will forever be grateful to Kirsty for helping us have the wedding weekend of our dreams and memories that will last us a lifetime.

ME

Meredith Williams McKiernan

Getting a wedding planner isnt the best decision you can make about your wedding (after deciding the groom!). Getting the RIGHT wedding planner is. Choosing Lori and LOLA events was the best decision I made in the entire process, and heres why: The wedding planner is the person who introduces you to every other vendor you work with generally (venue, floral, photography, catering, music etc...) and as such has out-sized influence on your entire experience, cost, and outcome. Being able to create a curated list of vendors who can execute perfectly on your vision and at your budget requires that your planner listen to you and understand your unique vision. Lori is superior at this rare and essential quality. I interviewed over a dozen different planners. Id done my research and knew what an average Chicago wedding cost, and average size. I wanted to be creative in certain areas, skipping certain items, so I could invite more people and focus on what I thought important. But I needed a guide through the Chicago wedding maze because I had to plan this while living in a different state, so I needed help. But when I spoke with most planners, many immediately told me Id need to cut my guest list. Others flat out said that I couldnt afford them and to not bother. Lori was the *only one* who asked first, "what kind of wedding do you have in mind and what are your priorities?" She started by listening to me, and that feature paid off in dividends throughout. When I told her what I wanted and what I didnt care about, explained my thinking and why I thought my budget reasonable, she said "yea we can do that." And we went from there! She guided us in finding professionals in every area who were a perfect match and fit for our personality as a couple and our goals for our wedding. Everyone commented throughout how at ease I seemed during the planning. And the reason was I had Lori in my corner, who actually *made* it easy. Yes, planning a wedding in Chicago while living in a different state was easy with Lori on board. She helped me organize and execute an incredible day for us and our guests, and most importantly helped us find the other professionals needed to make it absolutely perfect. And it was FUN - I enjoyed working with Lori immensely. Your wedding should be what you want. Plain and simple. We wanted an epic party with all those we loved in attendance, superior photos, at a beautiful and unique Chicago venue, and got that in spades. We had an AMAZING wedding. Without Lori and LOLA, none of it would have been possible. She completely nailed it in every single area. An outstanding achievement. I could not have done it without her and cannot recommend her highly enough.

Other organizations