CCS EVENTS

Colleen (and Chardonney) from CCS events were amazing - they ensured that our big day went on without a hitch and I cannot recommend them more highly! I was a very busy bride - my fiance and I had just moved to a new city, I started a new job, and I'm still working to complete my PhD - take all this into consideration and you can imagine what a bundle of nerves I was when planning the wedding. My fiance and I initially thought we could handle all the planning, but when we got overwhelmed with all the details and time began to dwindle, we contacted a number of Richmond area wedding planners about 3 months prior to the wedding to seek assistance. After speaking with Colleen for a total of 30 minutes, I knew that she was the perfect choice. After asking a few general details, she knew who we were as a couple and what we wanted/needed to make our day all we wanted it to be. We planned the wedding remotely (via conference calls, and only one face-to-face) and a lot of the details were addressed during the 3 months prior to the ceremony. Colleen was responsive, friendly, supportive, calming, attentive, and her taste is impeccable (the list goes on and on). Colleen and Chardonney (our day-of coordinator) made sure to stay true to our vision and totally exceeded our expectations - using their services was one of the best decisions we made (except deciding to marry each other).

I can't imagine having the wedding we had without Colleen. As MOB I didn't have to do anything the day of the wedding except enjoy and indulge. If there were any problems that day, she handled them and never let on that there was a glitch. She is very down to earth, so it was easy for my daughter to relate to her and feel comfortable with her during the planning process. Colleen had recommendations for vendors and we used many of them. She provided many "props" for the reception that saved us money. Her prices were very reasonable for the service she provided and we felt she and her staff were worth every penny!

We shopped around for a planner because we realized the importance of finding someone whose personality meshed with ours. From the very first phone conversation we knew Colleen was the one! She was very personable, listened to our vision and offered great advice. We knew we were in good hands. From that point on we trusted her to make all the planning and details fall into place. She was very patient and is truly and expert at what she does. I valued her opinion and even in those times where I was not 100% sold (linen color), my wedding day turned out to be absolutely beautiful!! I wouldn't have changed 1 thing! I was absolutely worry free the day of, Colleen handled everything and did an amazing job! We could not have pulled off such a beautiful wedding without Colleen and her staff. They were very professional and knowledgeable. I would recommend CCS Events to anyone in the wedding planning process, trust me, you won't regret it!

I just want to take a minute to recognize the extraordinary efforts of Coleen Cook and the entire CCS Events staff. Initially my wife and I were clueless as to where to start when planning our event. Fortunately we met Coleen early in the process because she provided us vital guidance and directions that allowed us to make all the right choices for our wedding day. Coleen and her entire staff were not only very professional and resourceful but they listened to us and made sure our day had the personal touches that made the experience truly our own. Coleens recommendstions with vendors were superior, her knowledge of our venue flawless, and her staff helped us pull the wedding day planning together seamlessly. I can truly say that our event would not have been as beautiful and memorable as it was without CCS events and my wife and I are eternally grateful. Best decision we made !

Colleen was the foundation to our successful wedding. At first, my fiancee and I believed we could handle the planning ourselves. However, a few months into planning, I knew we needed help. In comes the Savior.

Colleen kept us on track, went through every aspect of the wedding to make sure nothing is missed. Through our multiple planning meetings, and small "homework" that she had us involved in, we actually finished our planning 1 month ahead of schedule. It was very nice to not have to worry about things for one month.

A week before the wedding, we dropped off all of our things to Colleen (Picture Frame of Engagement pictures, Party Favors, Seating Charts, Name Cards, etc) and on the Day of the wedding, we find everything set up the way it was planned and asked for. Colleen did a wonderful job, making us as stress free as possible.

The wedding itself was very organized, timing was perfect. She kept families, photographers, and others on task to get through photos. Amazingly enough, she brought us drinks and food from the cocktail hour, because we were so busy taking pictures. Otherwise I would not have known what our crab cakes would've tasted like :)

Colleen stayed til the end until it was just us and my parents remaining. She thanked us for allowing her to be a part of our wedding. In return we all hugged and thanked her for allowing us to have such a magical day. We parted ways, heading to out hotel suite, only to find a sweet surprise/gift from Colleen waiting n our room. She is the best on many levels.

- Ken & Van Chin

Colleen and her team bend over backwards to do whatever the bride and groom need for their day to be perfect. They traveled to the Outer Banks on more than one occasion so that they could get a sense of the venue and ceremony location (beach) and helped with so many details we would never even thought of. They also loan you equipment/decorations they have... it's a win/win! The price literally can't be beat and if we were to do it all again we wouldn't change a thing. Colleen is a busy person so keep that in mind, but she gives you multiple methods of contacting her and pretty much works day and night. Thank you CCS Events!! We couldn't have done it without you!

We started interviewing planers about a year and a half before our wedding. We wanted someone that had a proven track record that would be able to handle the “special” guests that we knew that we would have on our day. The moment we met Collen we knew she was the perfect fit for us. During the planning phase she would meet with us every few weeks and give homework for our next meeting. It was a bit tedious at first but it paid off in the end. The last few months before the wedding were not all that stressful because the majority of our decisions were made months ago. She also worked her magic with our vendors. We were extremely impressed with how she handled the lighting for the event. She was able to get us more than what we were expecting for less than what we were expecting to pay. I would highly recommend CCS to anyone that is planning their wedding.

Sorry that this review is a really late! I started working with Colleen about three months before my wedding, at a time when I was having major health problems and realized that I just couldn't DO my destination wedding anymore. All of the details were just too much for me to handle. Colleen not only ensured that my wishes and those of my husband and family were met, but she went wayyy above and beyond, even so far as to give my husband and I a free upgrade on our room at our reception location. (And when I say "upgrade," I mean like "MAJOR upgrade!" She communicated very well with all of my vendors and ensured that this went as smoothly on the Big Day as possible! Would I recommend Colleen? Heck yes! She is professional, courteous, friendly, and she not only "gets the job done" but she "does it very well." I would highly recommend her to anyone!

I was referred to CCS Events by a friend, and I was so happy that I found Colleen and Emmett to assist me in planning our wedding! I am a designer, so I had most of the ideas and colors in my head, but I needed help with putting it all together and coordinating the day of. Look no further, Colleen and Emmett did a fabulous job with coordinating all of my vendors, making phone calls with my venue, seating, flowers,minute by minute itinerary, everything was so much easier with them to lean on. Our wedding day was so enjoyable and worry free because Emmett made everything run so smoothly, always calm and collected. Colleen even called to check on me from the wedding she was coordinating in another town. I felt so special. My parents did not have to worry about anything at the end of the night because Emmett had already gotten the presents/special keepsakes put away in their room before the last guest left the reception. I would reccommend CCS Events to all newly engaged couples!
-Sarah

When I decided I wanted to hire a day-of coordinator and I stumbled upon CCS Events, I had no idea I was making the best decision I possibly could for my wedding. I honestly have no idea what I would have done with Colleen and Emmett. Our venue's event coordinator was seriously lacking, and CCS totally made up for it. Not only did they assist in helping prepare our logistics for the day-of, but they also answered any and all random questions I had and offered advice and tips. When we got into binds with our venue, they were always available to give us their opinion/advice on what we should do or even to solve the issue themselves! Our wedding day went without a hitch thanks to CCS and if I could do it all over again, I would hire them from the start. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking any wedding planning or coordination assistance!

Where to begin? My mom found Colleen and insisted that we hire her to plan my wedding. Frankly, I was a little nervous because I had never met her, was going to school in Utah, and only had 5 months to plan a wedding. Time and time again, she pulled through. There will always be bumps in planning a wedding, but we pushed through ours with no stress at all.5 days before, the main tablecloths came in and they looked awful. Without missing a beat, Colleen immediately ordered my second choice and I really appreciated that. She really shined on our wedding day. I did not worry about a thing. I showed up and everything was beautiful. She was extremely helpful with finding certain people for pictures, taking care of gifts, keeping to the schedule, and everything else. I can honestly say that I stressed about absolutely nothing on my wedding day because I knew Colleen would make it happen. She's so fun and personable and creates an environment that is stress free. I highly recommend her to any one looking for a wonderful wedding planner.

Colleen Cook, owner and operator of CCS Events...WORST WEDDING PLANNER EVER. We paid $1400 and all we received was pure disorganization and GRIEF. One week before the wedding, she says, "you haven't gotten your liquor license yet...they're going to tell you there's not enough time...don't listen to them...they can do it." Then she told my daughter to "just show some cleavage."

Day of the wedding, she had told all the bridesmaids to be there "at 2:00 for pictures". The wedding started at 4. My mother did all the flowers for the wedding, with the exception of my bouquet which she used Colleen's "in house" florist for. Despite the fact that Colleen was responsible for bringing the bridal bouquet...she did not show up at 2:00 for pictures. She did not arrive until 3:30. You guessed it...I, the bride, am photographed in EVERY PICTURE with my bridesmaids....I HAVE NO FLOWERS. My fiance calls Colleen on the phone and asks, " Are you coming to my wedding?" Colleen answers, "I'm thinking about it". My fiance asks, "Where is the bride's bouquet?" Colleen answers, "I ate it". (You can't make this stuff up).

Because she was late, guests did not know where to put gifts (Colleen was suppose to have a table set up). The gifts were laying around outside. (I have pictures)

Colleen was late, unprofessional and combative (blames everything that goes wrong on YOU). The contract said she would be responsible for taking all decorations down. The morning after the wedding, we awoke to find 2 hours worth of clean up waiting for me and my new husband. All our linens (that we'd bought) were put out in the rain and were soaked. (25 drenched table cloths are VERY HEAVY). Some were unused and could've been returned. She moved the wedding gifts from inside the plantation house OUTSIDE into uncovered pick ups, where they all got soaked.

SAVE YOURSELF THE HEARTACHE. DO NOT USE THIS WOMAN!!!!!! Something is not...

Please...if you are looking for someone who is detail-oriented and reliable, DO NOT HIRE THIS WOMAN.

Let me tell you why...

We had such high hopes when signing up with CCS Events. Colleen is a nice woman. Unfortunately, Colleen did not live up to her own hype.

Colleen will present a beautiful vision for your wedding, but do not expect it to become a reality unless you stay on top of her the whole time.

Colleen is thoroughly unorganized. And, even if she gives you a great first impression, over time, her true colors start to shine through.

She will miss deadlines, forget to return calls, blame you for her errors, say she sent emails that she did not send. She fails to take responsibility for her mistakes and often tries to push them off on the client.

We put up with this because everyone said that, on your wedding day, she runs things like clockwork.

Well...that was not true either.

She did little more than email our vendors a set of scribbled notes. Multiple errors ensued:
1)Our linens were the wrong color.
2) She failed to bring pieces of furniture that she promised (a bathtub and a table).
3) Lights over our dance floor were still being set up while our guests were entering the reception area.
4) Chairs for the ceremony were originally set up in the wrong place.
5) She arranged for 11 people to sit at a table for a VIP table for 8 (after we had sent her a list of the 8 people who should be sitting there).
6) She never fixed her error of calling the bride's father by the wrong name, and he was even introduced by the wrong name. We sent her emails trying to get her to correct her mistake. This did nothing.

No apologies, no taking responsibility, either excuses or silence from Colleen and her staff.

During the wedding, when I was venting my frustrations about Colleen to my wedding photographer, she replied, "That's what all of Colleen's clients end up saying about her."

We ended up having a great wedding, but it had very little to do with Colleen.

We had a great wedding because we had a great caterer, a great photographer, and a great DJ. Colleen did put us in touch with the caterer and DJ, though we found the photographer on our own.

I would be remiss if I did not praise Colleen's assistant, Emmet. He did a great job. He was professional and courteous. It's a shame he had to cover for his boss's mistakes.

Pros: Colleen can put you in touch with decent vendors. She has a great assistant.

Cons: Colleen is forgetful, irresponsible, thoroughly unprofessional, and does not deliver on her promises.

I think having a wedding planner is a great idea. Just make sure you get one that follows through on his/her promises so that you get the wedding you spend your time and money planning.

NOT PLEASE AT ALL! I HAD TO CANCEL MY CONTRACT BECAUSE SHE NEVER DID ANY WORK. THREE MONTHS BEFORE MY WEDDING I HAD TO HIRE A NEW VENDOR THAT WAS AMAZING!!

I called Colleen and her staff to do day of coordination for my wedding (that I planned in 8 months and two different states, neither being the one we were married in) and she provided so much more than just day of coordination. My venue had someone "in charge" but when we met with them, they couldn't remember my name nor help with anything, so Colleen and her team quickly stepped in and I cannot thank them enough for all that they did.
We worked for about a month before the wedding on how I wanted the wedding to look, what each vendor should be doing, the schedule for the rehearsal & wedding, she got the entire vendor list in line, on time and so they didn't bother me at all.
I was a very hands on bride, and she matched me for each thing I had a question to, she had an answer. She helped me find out how much alcohol we needed, where to put the tables, how to set up the tables with votives, flowers and table numbers, where the buffet should be, the cake, the bartenders, the dj, ect.
When I finally came into town (a week before the wedding) we were supposed to meet at the location, but there was a huge snow storm and the venue closed down (she had to drive 2.5 hours each way). They said we could come the very next day and even though she had to move all of her appointments around, she still came the next day and did the entire walk thru and covered all of our bases.
The rehearsal, Colleen had a great plan for where my bridesmaids and groomsmen would stand because we (the bride and groom) were up a higher platform with the pastor.
There were moments before the wedding with vendors that Colleen and her team resolved quickly and efficiently so nothing got messed up. She calmed down family members, helped throughout the entire day with keeping the bridal party on time and really ran the show. It was truly amazing! I wouldn't have as much fun as I did at my wedding without her.
Oh, and my florist wanted us to return the vases instead of picking them up herself, and Colleen returned them for us because she didn't want us to worry about anything after the wedding!
And the venue forgot to put my linens that we rented back in the mail to the company, which could've cost us $3000, but Colleen, who skillfully got all of their cellphone numbers, called all of them and got an appointment with UPS in a matter of minutes.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Colleen and her team. They have a great storage facility with tons of wedding props which will save brides literally thousands! And they're involvement and dedication to your day and you will save your sanity.

If you want to avoid any kind of stress on your wedding day, go with CCS Events, Colleen and her team!

My fiance and I were looking for someone to help with the details of our wedding that we did not want to have to bother with, and that is exactly what Colleen delivered. Overall, we are very pleased with our decision to work with Colleen. Over the course of our planning, she kept us on track with things and offered several suggestions when we were unsure of what to do. Along with Colleen's services came the use of her wedding items, which is an added bonus and was greatly appreciated. On our wedding day, we did not have to worry about anything and Colleen pulled everthing off perfectly. My fiance and I did not want to have to worry about any setting up or breaking down of things on our wedding weekend. Our motto was, if there was someone close enough for us to ask to help with this, we would want them to enjoy the wedding like us and not have to bother with that. So if you have the same mind-set, or just want someone to keep you on track, I would recommend Colleen's services.

I could not recommend CCS Events enough for anyone looking for a wedding coordinator in the Richmond area. CCS Events was recommended by both our venue and our caterer, and about 5 minutes into our consultation we knew we absolutely wanted to hire Colleen. And she did not disappoint!

We hired CCS Events for their wedding day-of-coordinator services. I knew I didn't want a full on wedding planner since I'm a bit of a control freak, and I personally like to do the research and plan the details. During our initial consultation Colleen offered up the cost if we were take her on for her full services just in case we were interested, but we declined. She listened to what we were really looking for, and from then on provided us exactly what we needed for day of services.

Day of services included three meetings prior to the wedding. I think these meetings were only meant to last an hour, but if Colleen didn't have another meeting proceeding mine, she was definitely willing to meet for longer There was one meeting where we met for nearly 2 hours hashing away at details, and she didn't once make me feel like she was rushing me out the door. During these meetings Colleen meticulously asked me several questions to make sure she understood every detail of my wedding, so that she was able to execute it perfectly the day of. And even with my massive amount of research and my know-it-all assumption that I had prepared for everything, she asked me a few questions that I never thought of myself, and I really appreciated having her experience to bring up these little details I had not thought of. And I especially appreciated her advice for the details I hadn't thought of ahead of time. I could also tell she put a lot of time outside of our meetings. So when I think of the time she put into the wedding before and during, even though I hired her for day-of-services, her fee was really a steal.

One way we certainly saved a great deal of money was utilizing her stock pile of wedding goodies that she loans out to all of her clients. She has cake stands, frames, centerpieces, vases, table number holders, large decorative pieces, card holders, and the list goes on. It was wonderful being able to borrow a few things that we needed for the wedding, and we weren't forced to buy it only to never use it again.

Colleen and her assistant Emmett executed our wedding beautifully. I can tell they really hustled to make sure we didn't have to lift a finger and so that we could fully enjoy our day. They also had some nice personal touches, such as preparing us a picnic basket of our leftover food to eat at the hotel, and providing sparklers for our grand exit as a thank you for booking with them.

I hired Colleen from CCS Events and it was the greatest decision I could have ever made. She delivered on every single promise that she made and more. She is laid back, available literally whenever you need her, thorough, and truly a great person. There is no one else that I could have helped in the way that she did. She knows all the great vendors in the area and has good relationships with them which meant discounts for us! I could not be happier with Colleen and the next time I have any major event, maybe my first child's baby shower, I am going to call her! I am blessed and thankful to have had CCS events help plan my wedding!

Living in Austin, TX my husband and I knew that we would need every minute of our 16 month engagement to prepare for our nuptials in Richmond, VA. After about 3 months of trying to plan a long distance wedding i knew that the tasks at hand were too many to take on by myself and i would need a lot of detailed assistance that i didn't want to ask of my sister and mother (who live in Richmond). That's when my caterer strongly recommended CCS events to help me out. He told me that Colleen Cook was responsible, hard working and would deal with the vendors to make sure that everything was executed down to the last detail. When i mentioned the idea of a wedding planner to my sister and my mother they asked who i had in mind. When i mentioned CCS Events they both responded that they, too, had heard great things and that i should call for an appointment.
My husband and I went for an appointment to meet Colleen Cook and to find out what she could do to help us. She went over how she organizes things, some other options and our wedding budget. We mentioned that saving money was a priority and she agreed. She gave us an extremely competitive quote and in our first meeting we both decided that we wanted to work with her.
In the next few months, things flowed smoothly for a stress-free engagement. I would simply send an email to Colleen to let her know when i would be in town and she would book all appointments for me to choose the essentials: photographer, florist, dj, linens, place settings, etc. She let me know of "homework" that i could be doing while she was working on things from her end. When people would ask me how the wedding planning was going and if i was freaking out i could honestly answer that i was stress free and i loved being engaged. Colleen made that possible.
Colleen stood up to her reputation as a friendly, no-nonsense, hardworking wedding coordinator but she also exceeded our expectations. Providing us with many options, she proved that she was established in the Richmond community and knew many people that could give us some 'hook-ups' (this was music to our ears knowing that we would be paying some pretty hefty sums to make our wedding just what we wanted it to be- beautiful and fun).
The rehearsal was a breeze. Colleen had prepared a print out of all the questions that the church director needed well in advance. She helped me so that when all the questions started coming my way, i could deflect them to her attention so that i could focus on spending time with my friends and family.
My wedding was the best day of my life and more beautiful and fun than i ever thought it would be! Colleen was there when i needed her for a question, a direction, a bustle or a drink. But even before i saw her she was working hard with her staff to set up the flowers at the church and to make sure that all was in place and ready to go for all 175 of my guests. She orchestrated the entire event and there wasn't a single problem that arose. Even after the reception was over CCS took down the rentals from the reception hall so that my husband and i could enjoy the after party that CCS had decorated. She never let a single detail slip through the cracks.
I was 100% happy with Colleen's hard work and dedication to our special day. After all was said and done i know that Colleen is everything that her reputation says- friendly, responsible, and diligent. I strongly recommend her services for all occasions ... especially weddings.

The moment I met Colleen, I knew she got me. My fiance (at the time :-)) and I are both really busy people and she understood that, and made the planning process as easy as pie. She lined up vendors at her office at a time that was best for me (even 7:30 at night). As soon as I got there I was offered drinks and chocolates (for the stressed out bride :)). She created a completely relaxed atmosphere for me to meet with the vendors. After they left she let me to bounce ideas off of her before we decided on our final selection of musicians, florists and bakers. Every vendor she proffered was amazingly professional, and thus added to how smooth things went on our wedding day.

She had everything wrapped up and finalized 2 weeks before our wedding. We didn't get any last minute emails or phones calls. We were able to relax before the big day and spend it with family that came into town early. The wedding day itself was PERFECT despite tornado warnings and pouring buckets, change of venue for ceremony due to weather, and an underage cousin/bridesmaid who snuck a few drinks and had to be escorted out of the reception, and one guest who fainted. She reassured us and the rest of our families that this was pretty normal stuff as far as weddings go.

In fact EVERYONE was so impressed with Colleen that a few of my married friends intend to hire her for their next parties. I highly recommend hiring CCS Events to plan your wedding.

Without her, it would not have been everything I wanted...I had a pretty long list of wanted to! From the details, to the design to handling my drunk aunt, she litterally did it all. I cannot thank her enough and she has since done 2 galpals of mine!

We hired Colleen Cook from CCS Events as our wedding planner. The idea was to have someone to help me with the day to day wedding planning (my fiance was deployed during our engagement) and someone to run the show day of. Throughout the process Colleen seemed to be on top of things for the most part. She provided vendor recommendations, but they were limited. She did not keep track of any budget or expenses and when asked by myself or my mother one of her responses was "she didn't usually included the wedding dress in her budget because that varries so greatly from bride to bride." What kind of wedding planner doesn't keep track of your budget? She failed to really listen and implement my ideas, for instance the floral arrangements were exactly what I did not want and stated I did not want at our "Mock-Up." On the day of, there was no one keeping track of the time and the schedule even though it was a specific request of my mother's that we be at the reception by a certain time (we were 45mins late). Colleen was quick to entertain any idea I had and always said it would fit within the budget, she never tried to convince me otherwise and never gave me alternatives that may have been more budget friendly. These are just a few of my disappointments. My mother was so disappointed with Colleen's services that she sent a complaint to the BBB.

At the beginning she presented herself very well. She appeared to be a professional who knew the industry. I would definitely recommend shopping around when it comes to a planner. As I have come to find out others have had similar experiences with Colleen.

wedding was in '06. started planning from out of town and she was a great help then. But when I got to town and had a week free before starting my job, her computer stopped working and she refused to meet up with me because she had to have her computer to do anything -- a week wasted!! then she would not let me go to the party rental store until I picked out my colors - for which I said I needed to see the color options in person to pick them. I eventually went to the store myself (which she was furious about) and was able to pick out my colors in 5 minutes and move on with the party rental portion. On my wedding day, there was an issue with some greenery -- so she changed it but didn't bother to call and let me know so instead I showed up and had the unpleasant surprise (b/c I hated the change - I would have preferred nothing to the replacement-- had she just asked). There were other issues too and when I emailed after the wedding - like a prior reviewer - she was VERY defensive and tried to place all the blame on me.
I feel I'm pretty easy going, but found her VERY difficult to work with -- her assistant, who was the one who was at my wedding was AWESOME and I wish I dealt with her the whole time.
she was cheaper than the rest of the vendors at the time and I got what I paid for.

Colleen is a pleasure to work with. Very focused on the day's event and follows the details with precision.