Anticipation Events

A few months before the wedding I realized that I probably couldn’t run my DIY-heavy show myself, and ended up working with Elizabeth from Anticipation Events. She’s a sweetheart, and quick with her e-mail replies. She actually drove several hours in the rain to be at the rehearsal, then showed up bright and early on wedding day to set up.

With some help from family and friends, she coordinated covering chairs, arranging tablescapes with 10+ components each, placing favors, hanging wired jars with tea lights, arranging and lighting about 24 dozen votive candles, and setting up bottled water and ice in the courtyard. She even found time to slice and beautifully arrange lemons and limes for the water before cuing the ceremony and arranging my train. Later she organized the teardown effort in less than an hour.

If anything went wrong, I didn’t know about it. I didn’t spend any time at all thinking about details or timelines the day of – Elizabeth took care of all of that, and I spent the day totally blissed! A few days before the wedding Elizabeth reviewed our catering contract (with Maravela’s – also awesome) and noticed that the bar was scheduled to close half an hour too early. Maravela’s happily fixed it, but the problem would have gone unnoticed without Elizabeth pointing it out on the contract.

Elizabeth was the DOC for our barn wedding this summer, and I have no idea how we could have pulled it off without her. She was amazing. The first time we met her was the day before, as she was orchestrating our rehearsal. I had been stressing so much about the wedding I was starting to get sick, but she instantly put us at ease. She has this calm, confident manner that lets you know you are in good hands, without being pushy or controlling. The rehearsal was quick and painless- not at all what I had been preparing myself for!And our wedding day? If a single thing went wrong, I certainly didn't know about it. The entire day flowed perfectly, and the whole time, Elizabeth was there, quietly working her butt off but never showing signs of fatigue. She was somehow completely unobtrusive, but everywhere at once. She even stayed late to break down all the decorations and tablescapes pack them away!She is utterly professional, quick and responsive, and really friendly too! I would recommend her to anyone.

I had Elizabeth as our rehearsal and ceremony coordinator. She was great from beginning to end. She was very easy to get in touch with, and was very quick to respond to my emails. She was very easy to work with at every step of the way. Elizabeth guided everyone through the rehearsal very professionally, and had the right balance of offering suggestions and listening to how we wanted things. Even though I didn't have her as a full DOC, she offered to help out with the other events of the day. She really helped make the ceremony as stress-free as can be!

Elizabeth was absolutely, positively FABULOUS! I don't know what we would have done without her; she's amazing with communication - extremely responsive, which for a Bride to Be, that's HUGE! The first day we met, was about a week before the wedding and she had everything down as far as the questions to ask me, the day of timeline - and OMG it was an amazing timeline. I referred to that countless times. Elizabeth followed up with all of our vendors to ensure they knew what time they needed to arrive, and of course where to arrive to; she is fabulous! Elizabeth came to our rehearsal which was SUCH a tremendous relief. I had no idea what to do, and was nervous about taking too long (we had a huge bridal party), but Elizabeth was proficient, detailed, professional and incredibly sweet! We got through it in no time - and if she wasn't there, it would have taken 3 hours. The day of the wedding, she arrived promptly at noon, as she said she would. I barely saw her at my parent's house because she got busy helping with everything. She went to the church to help decorate, bring the items we needed there (unity candle, marriage license, flowers, etc.). She was sweet enough to go to Dominicks to pick up two peace roses and even tied our wedding colored ribbon around them to make them pretty! During the ceremony - there was a monsoon - and she went to pick up sandwiches that we had ordered for the BP so that when the wedding was done, they'd be in our trolley b/c for sure we'd be hungry! After the ceremony, she went straight to my parent's house to let in the guests and to setup the appetizers/cocktails. When everyone left she cleaned the house spic and span! It was such a relief for my Mom and Dad to know they wouldn't have to spend the next day cleaning everything up! If you are looking for a FABULOUS, DETAILED, SWEET, RELIABLE wedding planner, look no further than Anticipation Events!!! A+++

Elizabeth was absolutely brilliant to work with. Hiring her was probably the best decision that we made. She worked with us to refine and finalize our day-of timeline and then contacted all of our vendors the week before to confirm our plans. In addition, she attended a walkthrough and helped us run our rehearsal. The rehearsal would have been madness had she not been there.The events manager at our venue was a bit snobby and inattentive at times, and Elizabeth dealt with his spaciness in a 100% professional, completely graceful manner (and in the process managed to help shelter the husband and I from the crazy). Elizabeth was so in tune to the details of our wedding day that I simply handed over boxes to her and then didn't think twice about any of it. I know she must have been running around like mad taking care of the setup while I got to relax and hang out with friends and family without giving setup a second thought.At the end of the night, she had brought all of our gifts, my veil, guest book, etc up to our suite. She included a list of notes that were tremendously helpful (for example: the top of the wedding cake is in the hotel's kitchen, I'm mailing the marriage license for the rabbi, the hotel saved 25 vases of flowers for display during brunch on Sunday, etc). I definitely get the sense that this is more than just a job for Elizabeth. She really cares that that the event turns our perfectly.

Elizabeth was such a breeze to work with. She probably did more for me on my wedding day than I’ll ever know. Anytime I thought of something that needed to be done, I’d turn around to find her saying, “I’ve already taken care of that, you just need to have fun.” She’s a hard worker, even with not-so-clear instructions, and a reliable contact. I was able to relax and knowing all my plans were in her hands. She’s the best!

Elizabeth was a life saver! She made the day flow so smoothly and took care of details as they arose - I didn't even know about some of the things she handled until weeks later. She is a rock star!

Elizabeth seriously saved the day, several times over and I shudder to think what our wedding would have been like without her. She showed up early and did everything from hanging curtains, putting out place cards, our guest book, coordinating details with the caterer, taking deliveries. She also put a timeline together with me and confirmed all our vendors in the week before. Elizabeth was an amazing trouble shooter too – and made several snap decisions well for me (or checked in and advised me on what to do if I asked). She was the biggest stress relief of the day and the BEST planning decision I made was hiring her.

I could not have been more impressed with the diligence and amount of details that Elizabeth put into my baby shower. She went beyond the chips-and-dip and put together a spread that highlighted the "animals and infants" theme. From animal cookie gift bags for the guests to decor that resembled the nursery, she put on a classy shower that was a far cry from the "measure the belly" showers of old. Her creativity, ingenuity, and enthusiasm made her a joy to work with and it was apparent that she poured every ounce of energy into making this shower and day perfect for me. The special touches that Elizabeth included are still talked about by my circle of friends today. You can entrust your event to Elizabeth!

A few months before my wedding I realized that I probably couldn’t run my DIY-heavy show myself, and ended up working with Elizabeth from Anticipation Events. She’s a sweetheart, and quick to respond by phone and e-mail. She drove several hours in the rain to be at the rehearsal, then showed up bright and early on wedding day to set up. With some help from family and friends, she coordinated covering chairs, arranging tablescapes with 10+ components each, placing favors, hanging wired jars with tea lights, arranging and lighting about 24 dozen votive candles, and setting up bottled water and ice. She even found time to slice and beautifully arrange lemons and limes for the water before cuing the ceremony and arranging my train. Later she organized the teardown effort in less than an hour.If anything went wrong, I didn’t know about it. I didn’t spend any time at all thinking about details or timelines the day of – Elizabeth took care of all of that, and I spent the day totally blissed! A few days before the wedding Elizabeth reviewed our catering contract and noticed that the bar was scheduled to close half an hour too early. The caterer happily fixed it, but the problem would have gone unnoticed without Elizabeth pointing it out on the contract.Her professionalism, quick response time, and sweet way of dealing with all the stressful wedding moments was absolutely invaluable. I'd recommend her to anyone!

Elizabeth was great. She was always so upbeat and willing to help out. Even with all of the weddng research that I had done, I would not have been abe to pull this event off without her. She thought of things that we hadn't and kept everything in order. Everything ran smoothly on the day of, and she corraled everyone to there correct places, all while keeping a smile on her. She even checked in with us after the wedding to make sure things were ok. She very flexible with her services and with the price. She comes highly recommended.

Elizabeth acted as DOC at our October wedding, but she provided so much more than basic coordination services. I had a quirky and particular vision for the atmosphere we were going for and insisted on DIYing an absurd percentage of the wedding (i.e. making table runners, programs, escort cards, centerpieces, you name it!). She not only did exactly what I needed done, she went above and beyond, spending hours the measuring tables, walking the space, formalizing a timeline, and generally keeping me focused. On the day itself, she worked tirelessly to achieve my vision. As far as I knew, the wedding went off with nary a hitch. It was only months later that my sister told me about the myriad bugs- the DJ had been 2 hours late, the waitstaff had no idea what to do, etc. I had no idea the entire time. Elizabeth pulled it together without EVER stressing me out on my wedding day. No amount of money would be too much for that, believe me. Her services are outstanding, and worth every penny.

Elizabeth's service for our backyard wedding was invaluable. Initially my husband was skeptical about the neccesity of having a day of planner, but after our meeting with Elizabeth he completely understood how important her role would be for timing and organization for the day. Certainly, the day after the wedding we both felt that the day could not have gone nearly as perfectly as it did without her. We were able to enjoy the day knowing that she would handle all the little stuff and manage the timeline and unforseen circumstances that occur with any big event. We recommend her highly for her calm demeanor and professional abilities.

"When I think of Elizabeth, I think the 4 R’s:
RESPECTFUL of your plan - she sees the details and the big picture;
RESOURCEFUL - she finds great ideas and materials to enhance your event;
RESILIENT - "when", not "if", there are glitches, she rises to the occasion and RECTIFIES the situation.
Okay - 5 R’s - she is REMARKABLE!!"

Paula + David, August 2008, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

"Details and the big picture—Elizabeth does it all! She tied ribbons, stuffed welcome bags, and placed favors. She helped us create a day-of timeline and coordinated with vendors throughout the day to enable us to effortlessly stick to it. She was one step ahead of us all day—making sure that our plans were executed and that a glass of champagne was never far from hand. With Elizabeth’s help, we were able to actually RELAX and ENJOY our wedding.”

Mary + Chris, August 2008, Franklin Plaza, Troy, NY

"Elizabeth is someone you can totally rely on to make sure every detail is accounted for. She has great taste and great ideas and can adapt her style to work with anyone to create the best event based on your preferences. I can't say enough about her temperament, her style, her attention to detail. She's the best."

Jen + Bob, March 2008, Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago

Elizabeth of Anticipation Events is a phenomenal asset your wedding day. I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside her. As a photographer I love meeting like-minded wedding professionals who are passionate about what they do and put their clients first. Anticipation Events will seamlessly coordinate everything from big to small. I highly recommend their services and look forward to working with again.