Big Juicy Events

Please note this is the first online review of anything we've ever done...

Dominique Bell and Big Juicy Events without a doubt made our entire wedding. Without her support, organization, sense of humor, and unmatchable taste - nothing we did would have been as enjoyable and memorable as it thankfully became. When we decided to have our wedding in NYC, we knew we needed help but were fairly certain we wouldn't find a coordinator who matched our sensibilities. Then we met the talented Dominique Bell. My husband and I consider ourselves to be non-mainstream, design-minded, and completely not into most of the over-priced and cheesy wedding stuff that exists out there. And there's a lot of it!

Dominique not only had amazing vendor contacts and ideas (AMAZING IDEAS), which she gladly shared (saving us tons of research time), she took time to meet with us and frequently kept us in check with timelines and to-do lists. She did an exemplary job of allowing our vision to shine through and also knew when to the take the reins to get the job done and free us from stress. Most importantly, the day of....ah, that whirlwind and dreamy "day of"... Dominique and her assistant, Lakisha, repeatedly went above and beyond seamlessly. To this day we still have no clue if or when any snafus arose, because if they did we wouldn't even know. She kept everything running flawlessly and took care of our entire crazy family behind the scenes. Our family still asks about her, say she was our angel.

Dominique handled every ounce of pressure with ease. We really felt that she took the stress away and allowed us to just be in the moment. We have received so many compliments on what a heartfelt and cool event it was, and I can honestly say we owe most of this to Dominique and Big Juicy Events. We had the pleasure or working with a coordinator who has found a calling, but best of all - we met a friend whom we trust.

Quickly after planning for my small wedding started I realized I would need a little help day of.
From the start Dominique was a perfect fit; she was affordable, she would be available the entire day start to finish without additional hourly fees (which was NOT the norm for many Day Of Coordinators I contacted), she would handle things I hadn’t even thought about (drop offs and pick-ups, day of timelines, making sure everyone was where they needed to be, vendor payments) and most importantly, after a face to face meeting, I knew I immediately she would be good at she job and that I could feel comfortable leaving things in her hands on the day of my wedding.
“Good at her job” is an understatement. I CANNOT say enough about Dominique - She was the best wedding decision I made, hands down. She was SO much more than a day or coordinator. From the moment we decided to work together (which was 2 months before my wedding) she was emailing me right away gathering information on what I had accomplished, providing me with timelines and checklists, recommending vendors, she was making sure I was staying on track with deadlines and bookings, and she was always readily available via email with any question I might have. She really went above and beyond her duties.
Day of she was amazing… proficient and efficient, everything that I had come to expect of her. She was back and forth between the venue and the hotel making sure everything was running smoothly, and there at the reception with whatever I needed. All my family loved her and even friends at the wedding commented on how she always looked like she was running around taking care of business!
Even now, months after the wedding Dominique is still a source of support and help (she tracked down my photos for me without my even mentioning it to her!). She is AMAZING and I cannot recommend her enough. I know I would not have gotten the genuine care and quality you get with Dominique if I had gone with anyone else.

Dominique is a brilliant and thoughtful officiant who is easy to work with, budget-friendly, and great at what she does. She is kind, courteous, responsive, and an excellent writer and keen listener. From our first email exchange right up to the big day, Dominique was an invaluable resource and a memorable part of our successful ceremony. We had a wonderful experience with her from our initial meeting a few months before the day at a cafe in Union Square (where we hit it off and immediately knew that she was a great fit for us) to the excitement of signing our marriage license paperwork immediately following the ceremony, she was with us every step of the way.

Dominique was available to us at any time and offered to provide council on wedding-related issues beyond the actual ceremony. Having access to her knowledgeable perspective was a great asset, especially when working out some of the finer details of the ceremony. She was very quick to respond to emails and always addressed each question and/or concern thoroughly and thoughtfully. Like others have mentioned, we did not want to write our own vows so between her personalized questionnaire and our first meeting, she was able to craft beautiful and heartfelt vows that truly captured us as a couple. Her knack for translating couples' thoughts and anecdotes is impressive!

On the day of the wedding, Dominique was at our venue early and offered to help in any way possible. We wanted a brief yet personal ceremony and Dominique provided us with exactly that; the ceremony was beautiful and even better than we had envisioned. Our friends and family could not believe that we had only met Dominique a few months before; so many of our guests thought that she was an old friend of ours, which is a true testament to her abilities.

Dominique is fantastic. If you're looking for an affordable and caring officiant who will deliver a memorable ceremony, look no further!

We hired Dominique a week before our wedding (we had issues with the officiant we originally hired). Dominique was extremely helpful to us, she responded to any email with an hour and had a ceremony draft just a few days later.

Dominique performed a beautiful ceremony that we will never forget. She made it feel personal and authentic to us, she really listened to our requests. Many people complimented that our ceremony was one of the nicest they had seen. I would HIGHLY recommend her services!

Dominique was a pleasure to work with from the very start. She was flexible and willing to work with our budget. The first time we met she made me feel very comfortable and was open to my ideas. The second time around she came to my house to meet my husband. We didn't want to write our own vows so she asked us some questions and incorporated our answers in the ceremony. There was very little to change from the first draft; her words were beautiful. Dominique was always prompt with her emails and followed up every step of the way. On the day of, she was early and made sure everything was in order. In fact, my Maitre D' was against the way I wanted my lineup and suggested that I do it the "normal" way. When Dominique heard that she set him straight and told him that it was my day and that they should do it the way I want them to. I was just going to let it go but she stuck up for me and I thought that was very nice of her. She was caring, and made us feel like we were the only two people in the world that day. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful... We couldn't have ask for more.

"We will get it done." 10 min into our first meeting, completely unphased by everything I needed, Dominique was calm, confident, and reassuring.

I planned a 100+ person wedding in NYC in 4.5 months, with a new job and night school. My 1st wedding planner had a health emergency. With 2 weeks left, and many details unresolved (transportation, favors, welcome letter & packets-big details), I was frantically calling planners. Dominique answered her phone. Which, is rare-many have websites that are not current, or let your call go through to VM, or have a generic VM greeting so you aren't sure who you called or if they will call you back. She answers. I felt 100% better after speaking with her - and after our first meeting, I was completely confident we could do it.

Dominique has experience and contacts only an insider knows. But, that doesn't stop her from doing research specifically for your needs-not just directing business to friends. She negotiated great rates on transports and my wedding favors-not to mention getting the favors there on time, AND coming up with a great, creative idea for the packaging.

3 days to go, everything was ready. I had time to relax-a priceless gift for any bride (the groom was grateful too)!

A couple guests were in poor health & unfamiliar with NYC, needing extra attention -she personally introduced herself and took special care of them-they LOVED her & were relieved (me too!).

My wedding day, she was unobtrusive, watching over every detail and vendor as everything fell into place. She had a million things to do that day, but if I needed something, she was right there, calm & focused.

Dominique is exactly what you need, whatever that is-final details, a sounding board, an extra pair of hands making sure everything is perfect and everyone gets to where they need to be, on time and happy-she delivers 120%.

Good luck with your own weddings! Mine was perfect, thanks to her. She WILL get it done, beautifully!

As well as being our officiant Dominique was also our wedding coordinator and go to person for every question we had leading up to our wedding. On our first meeting Dominique told us that she could be involved as much or as little as we like and work to whatever budget we have. She is extremely reliable and professional. She really went above and beyond to make sure our day was exactly what we wanted.

Dominique made time every couple of weeks to come to my apartment and talk through ideas of decoration and logistics. She offered advice, gave recommendations and brought inspiration she had found.

We had a beautiful ceremony in our backyard. Dominique and Lakisha (Dominique's assistant) made the place look beautiful. After the ceremony all the guests went to the restaurant for the reception, while Dominique stayed and cleared everything away. She took care of it all. We are so grateful to her and Lakisha.

Dominique Bell was very attentive, she answered all our emails in a timely fashion, and sent several out on her own - with reminders, clarifications and a draft of the speech, which we didn't change at all. She prepared us quite well for the ceremony, so there was no surprises. She gave us questions in writing to help her with wedding vows for us and the speech she made was personalized to us. She met with me personally the first time, then with me and my then fiancé over food and drink, which was pleasant and not rushed. She even offered to come an hour earlier before the ceremony to help with any items and preparations that needed to be fixed before we and the guests got there. The place was perfect when we did get there :) She is caring, clearly loves what she does, and is very detail oriented. We added several traditions to our ceremony, and she was very flexible and offered good suggestions on them. The only thing we would suggest is to have a small podium type or a microphone stand for her so she can place her papers on it and turn the pages. She gave 100%, she wasn't rushing us to the ceremony stand, she calmly stood there waiting for us, she was social with the guests, and looked professional. We highly recommend Dominique.

Dominique was amazing! After speaking with her on the phone for five minutes I knew she would be perfect for us. She had great ideas for the ceremony. She offered up the idea of passing our rings around and having all of our loved ones hold them and send their good wishes to us. I thought that was such a wonderful idea. We met with her once and loved her. She is so personable, funny, and cool. She really captured who we are as a couple. The day of the rehearsal and wedding she totally put our minds at ease. It was a very romantic and lovely ceremony!

Where do I begin!
On my Most Important Day, Dominique made sure that it was above and beyond. Starting with spending endless hours with me and my family in many NYC bridal boutiques. I had started going with the idea that I wanted a mermaid dress. But Dominique recommended an A-line dress for my shape and guess what- I walked down the aisle is a gorgeous A-Line gown everyone loved! Dominique became part of the family. From dress to accessories to decor she was with me every step of the way.
She kept me well in my budget. She suggested many reasonably priced, great vendors. Even suggesting some DIY options for me which I loved (I made my own bridal bouquet as well as my bridesmaids' - they were a huge hit at my wedding). She was there the day of my wedding making sure everything was perfect. I have gotten many compliments and requests for her number which I am happy to give to anyone that asks (and some who don't!)

Dominique was a life saver!
Being new to New York, it felt so good to have a real New Yorker at my side.

I cannot say enough about Dominique and Big Juicy Events- she was MADE for this work and couples are always thrilled!