Engaging Affairs

We worked with Christine at Engaging Affairs for our day of coordination. Christine was awesome. She technically started one month out from the wedding but she helped me a ton before that (she was especially great when I emailed her in a panic 4 months out because we found out that we needed to find a new venue).

Christine basically made it so that the week, and in particular the day, of the wedding, we didn't have to worry about anything. She took care of all of the last minute details and organization so that we could relax and have fun and actually enjoy our day! She coordinated all of the arrivals and deliveries with the other vendors, ran the rehearsal, set up everything at the venue (she even brought my dress over from the hotel so that I wouldn't have to worry about bringing it), kept everyone on schedule, packed everything up at the end of the night, etc. etc. etc. She was...

I will never be able to say enough amazing things about Sara Muchnick of Engaging Affairs to do her justice so I will just say, do yourself a favore and HIRE HER IMMEDIATELY!!!!

Sara took care of every detail of our wedding and went above and beyond to literally take care of every detail of our wedding weekend, eventhough we only hired her for the wedding itself. She made everything so completely wonderful!!

She was fabulous to work with in so many ways. From the day I met her in October, to my wedding last weekend she has always been: friendly, super organized, super helpful, fabulous with time management and incredibly easy to work with. She did 100% of the negotiating with our vendors and handled every problem that arose during planning with ease. She knew every vendor we were interested in, and was able to negotiated great deals for us because of that. She also recommended fantastic vendors in a pinch when my dress didn't fit the week of my wedding, when I had to switch photographers at the last minute and her hair and makeup team were the best I've ever seen.

Sara is an amazing communicator. She was in contact with me practically every day of the week for 8 months. She responded to any email I sent to her in 10 minutes or less which is absolutely incredible.

The day of my wedding I asked Sara how many other brides she was working with at the time. I was astounded when she told me 25. I felt like the only (or at least the most important) bride she was working with for over 8 months!!!! This is really a credit to Sara and her time management and just how professional she is.

In short, Sara Muchnick is the BEST OF THE BEST and anyone would be so lucky to work with her!!

Hiring Sara to plan my wedding was one of the BEST DECISIONS I've EVER made!! I could not have been happier with her!!

Sara is incredibly professional, friendly, helpful, organized, and an excellent communicator. She understood exactly what our wedding vision was and literally made our dreams come true! It was unbelievable.

Planning was such a breeze with her - she knew exactly what to do and knew all the best vendors in the area. She never once let us down.

And because of Sara I was able to relax and literally enjoy every second of my wedding day. She was always there when I needed her and took care of everything perfectly. She really made everything so wonderful and stress-free. Our friends and family (and I) still rave about her to this day!!

I hired Christine Godsey as my day-of planner and I am so glad I did. My May 7, 2011 wedding was perfection. She provided me with an excellent check list that covered absolutely everything a bride needs. She has a great selection of vendors that are as great as she is. Efficient is not enough to describe her. she's a perfect planner! She responds to emails like she sleeps with her phone. She is organized and I know I thoroughly enjoyed my wedding ( I did not have a care in the world that day) largely because I knew she was there to take care of every detail of my wedding day. I would recommend her to every bride.

I had a great experience with Engaging Affairs! Christine was very professional, totally and completely on top of things, incredibly responsive, helpful to suggest GREAT vendors and just a cool girl all around. I hired EAI for "day of" but Chrisinte went above and beyond and helped me whenever I had questions about anything. She brought two assistants with her the day of the wedding and they were amazing as well! I really could not have had such a smooth wedding without Christine and her assistants. If I need to hire anyone to plan another event I will certainly go to EAI.

We hired Christine Godsey from Engaging Affairs -- and I would 100% recommend her as a wedding planner. She was absolutely amazing and we feel like it is because of her that our wedding went so smoothly and efficiently.

Christine is extremely capable and knowledgable about what she does. She has a take-charge personality, she pays attention to the details, and will not let ANYTHING go unnoticed or slip through the cracks. Christine is also extremely responsive. Throughout the entire planning process, I don't think that any of my emails went unresponded for longer than an hour (and if for some reason she couldn't get me an answer immediately, she would at least respond to my email to let me know that she received it, and would get an answer to me as quickly as possible). I can't tell you how important of a trait this was during the planning process -- especially in light of the many wedding vendors out there who are not at all responsive.

Going into the wedding, I was able to relax and put all of my worries and "coordinating/planning/take charge" tendencies to the side, and just relax, be in-the-moment, and enjoy the day. This seriously says a lot because I am a total "type-A" person and have trouble letting go. Christine not only won me over, but my husband still goes on and on about her and how wonderful she was, and my parents (especially my dad) still say that hiring Christine was one of the best decisions we made with respect to the wedding (my dad even offered to serve as a "father referral" for her)!

I also felt like Christine went way above and beyond what our agreement provided for -- she truly wanted to make sure that we had an amazing wedding, and so was willing to do whatever it took to give us that -- even if it went a bit over the responsiblities that we had contracted for her to provide.

While I know that there are many many wedding planners to chose from, I honestly believe that Christine is one of the best in the business and you would be 150% happy if you chose her.

Since getting married, engaged friends have asked me for the my number one piece of advice. It is: get a planner--specifically Christine Godsey from Engaging Affairs. I'm sure all of their planners are fantastic, but I can only speak of Christine. Seriously, I have no idea how I would have planned this wedding without her. She was like a friend/mentor/therapist rolled into one. We knew she was great from the first consultation. She went down the timeline of our wedding and spoke about things we would have never thought of. She gave us great recommendations but also made sure that we made all final decisions. I never felt like she was trying to push me to do anything.

I would email her day and night and she would ALWAYS---I mean ALWAYS---respond. I really felt like she was completely invested in our wedding. Even though I know she was doing weddings every weekend, I felt like I was her only client. She would talk me down from the edge during my "moments" and even thought of ways to involve my husband in the planning.

Also, she stays on top of ALL deadlines. I am the biggest procrastinator and having her little emails saying, don't forget I need your decision on a-b-c, was a stress-saver at the end of the day.

The day of the wedding was fantastic and I have to say that it had to be because of Christine's professionalism. This woman knows what she's doing and she will make sure everyone--mom, dad, all vendors, cranky flower girls, bossy relatives--are on board. Everyone in my family loved her.

My one and only complaint was the song that I wanted to walk down to ended at the wrong time, but apparently I was the only one who noticed so what can you do.

Overall, Engaging Affairs is an exceptional wedding planning service. They were worth every single penny. I could probably write an essay about why you should hire Engaging Affairs. If you want to enjoy the process of putting together a wedding, definitely get in touch with them.

This was the actual email I sent Christine Godsey the Monday after our wedding:

Christine,

Thank you sooooo very much for all of your hard work and help to make our wedding perfect! I cannot express how grateful I am for all of your support and advice these past few months. The professionalism and promptness of you and your staff absolutely blew me away. Everyone was so organized and committed to making my and Elliot's vision for our wedding a reality. Everything ran so smoothly; Elliot and I did not have to worry about a thing, because we knew things were in your capable hands. We were actually able to eat and enjoy our own wedding! We kept saying that hiring you was the best money we ever spent! I cannot thank you enough for making our wedding so wonderful! I've been told my numerous people that it was the best wedding they've ever been to, and I owe so much of that to you! Thank you a thousand times over! I will DEFINITELY recommend Engaging Affairs to all my engaged friends, and you can expect GLOWING reviews on Yelp and Wedding Wire :) Thank you again!

Amy Jones with Engaging Affairs was our wedding coordinator and she was absolultely worth every single penny and more. As my ratings indicate, I have nothing negative to say abut Amy or the Engaging Affairs team. We had Amy come on board about 8 months before our wedding - I had already secured some major vendors but needed her help pulling the look and feel of the night together. We had a large wedding (300+ guests) at the Mandarin Oriental witha lot of cultures and moving pieces and I needed someone to take the reigns and manage the details. I was also having a hard time finding an Islamic officiant who would perform a fairly neutral ceremony that integrated American ceremony elements. Amy found the perfect officiant for us, pulled together every aspect of the night so that it flowed perfectly and even added some exciting elements I hadn't thought of before (a live arabic band to accompany a belly dancing segment!). Our friends and family can't stop talking about what a memorable and incredible evening our wedding was and it wouldn't have been possible without Amy Jones!

Bella is great, she was so supportive and truly made me feel at ease when the big day finally arrived. She thought of every last detail and was there to make suggestions durring the planning phase.

I'm not sure where to start on how fabulous Laura Weatherly was to work with! I knew in our very first conversation that she had to be the person to help us plan and execute our biggest day! Not only did I feel that she was a kindred spirit, but I could tell by how that first conversation went that she would be a wonderful and creative thought partner.

Laura is calm, professional, incredibly fun and just a joy to be around. Her expertise never ceased to impress me or my family. As a matter of fact, all of our vendors commented on how fortunate we were to be working with Laura!

I had been in a number of weddings before I was engaged and witnessed what chaos and disorganization can do to a wedding day (and couple). Laura is always calm and has a solution for any possible mishap. She and her team made sure that we enjoyed every moment of our big day and that our needs were met before, during and even after the event. We still receive comments from guests about how wonderfully special our wedding day was.

Thank you Laura (and team) for helping us create such wonderful memories!

I cannot rave enough about Engaging Affairs! Laura Weatherly helped me plan my wedding from start to finish. Additionally, Laura literally made my dream a reality. I had some very specific concepts and ideas that were relatively difficult to implement, but Laura found a way (including a huge fall tree for guests to locate their seating cards)! Because I'm a law student and my mom frequently travels for her job, we did not have the time to track down and interview tons of vendors. Laura recommended the best vendors for the job, scheduled, and attended all of our meetings. She also gave her honest opinion whenever I asked for it. Laura also expertly handled any problems that arose, and I cannot thank her enough for her help! Lastly, Laura really listened to and cared about us as a couple. Quite literally, Laura and her team made our wedding day the best day of our lives!

Engaging Affairs SHOULD be your wedding planner! I worked with Sara Muchnick and could not have been happier. She's fast to responding back, understands your taste and will go the extra mile to make things happen!

I had two ceremonies in one day which started early in the morning until late at night. Sara and her team were there for every moment. I never had to look for Sara on the day to ask certain questions on what to do...because she was always there!

Her organization, time management, creativity, diversity, and understanding of different cultures is a talent that can not be surpassed.

Engaging Affairs handled our wedding with extreme polish. Everything went smoothly thanks to Christine Godsey's experience and personality. She made my life so much easier and I would highly recommend her to anyone who is getting married!

Amy at Engaging Affairs was a great help to us as a day-of-coordinator. She did walkthoughs with us prior to wedding, made a timeline for the day of, and was in contact with all of our vendors. On the wedding day, they worked so hard to make sure everything went perfectly and did not stop for a minute. I don't think this wedding could of went so well without her! If you are not having a full-on wedding coordinator, a day-of coordinator is a must and Amy did an amazing job!

The owner of EAI has authored a book "Stop! Don't plan a wedding without this book." Having read Ms Weatherly's book, I added her firm to the ranks of those Wedding planners I planned to interview. The planner I interviewed, and eventually hired, was Sara Muchnick.

Having interviewed several planners, I was struck by the 'I'd say anything for you to hire me' attitude during these interviews. Ms. Muchnick had the sagacity to let me know that I was looking at an unrealistic floral budget for my expectations. She let me know nicely, but I realized then that she knew what she was talking about, and wouldn't just glaze over any trouble spots, but would help me deal with them before they became issues down the road. I hired her immediately.

Recommended vendors were each stellar, within budget, and extremely personal to work with. I prefer to support smaller local companies, where the staff really has a joint interest in making sure everything comes off beautifully. Ms Muchnick was spot-on with her contacts and recommendations.

Throughout the wedding, Ms Muchnick and an assistant were there to assist where necessary, always helping things flow effortlessly. Afterwards, only my sisters (bridesmaids) were even aware that she was there, and helping to coordinate. They were behind the scenes, but always there when necessary. Nobody even noticed their presence!

I found EAI to be a professional, well connected and consistely supportive (and easy to contact) firm. They were able to provide exactly the service I needed, and did a great job. I would not have been nearly as relaxed and enjoy my wedding celebration if they were not there throughout. Well worth their weight in gold.

Having hired Engaging Affairs for a previous wedding, I was so sure I could do a second, less elaborate wedding without professional help. About a month before the wedding date I called for reinforcements! Christine was hired to be at the rehearsal and at the wedding but also oversaw that last critical month for us. The owner/manager of the venue had turned out to be very difficult to work with, a real know-it-all. Christine stepped in and became the buffer and my go-to gal in insisting that he do the wedding our way, not his! She coordinated with every vendor, developed a written time line, down to the minute, and kept us on track with all the details and obligations, some of which I had, indeed, forgotten. In so doing, she lifted a terrific burden from me as mother of bride that allowed me to enjoy the day by my not having to be responsible for the many details and a few problems on the wedding day. There were a few issues at the reception and she handled them and the manager with great aplomb. I apprecaite her efforts, her support and her agreement that it was not me but the owner who had been the difficult party.

Laura Weatherly with Engaging Affairs was the best! She was attentive, calm and soothing. She helped us above and beyond what was required before our wedding day and helped the actual day to go flawlessly. (and with two ceremonies, lunch and a reception that is quite an accomplishment!) My family and friends were able to enjoy the day instead of worrying about which vendor should show up when (I think we totaled 17 vendors in all!) and Laura and her team made everything happen. Thank you!

RAVE: I was lucky to work with Christine Godsey for Day of Coordination. She's practically a superwoman on the day of your event. It will go flawlessly if you just let "go" and have her do her thing. With her assertiveness, she will be there to manage your vendors once you sign the contract and help you navigate "stress" from people in your wedding party and sometimes even your family :-)

When I was contemplating working with a wedding planning firm, I was really torn. Many people told me I could do it on my own and not to spend the money. I will admit Engaging Affairs is not one of the cheapest, but you definitely get what you pay for, and that is a top notch professional staff. In my situation, I pulled off a FANTASTIC wedding in 3.5 months but really the day of was Christine working the scene at the ceremony and the reception. I am confident in saying I could NOT have done it without her.

If you're a bride on budget like me, my suggestion is to be upfront and discuss your options. Engaging Affairs works with high end brides it seems,but they also have a lot of good input on how to work on a budget. Just make sure you tell them what you are looking for and don't be shy to tell them your price restrictions.

For Day of: you can NOT go wrong with Christine G

Everyone else gives them great reviews, so it sounds like they do an awesome job at planning, but they need to make sure that their office runs as smoothly as their weddings.

My fiancee and I were planning to hire Engaging Affairs as a day-of consultant for our wedding. Everything was looking great until we sent in the contract to lock in the date (just under a year out). We last spoke with them on Sept 13th and mailed the contract on Sept 15th. We didn't hear anything back from them, but they deposited our check on the 22nd so we knew they received it with the signed contract. Finally on the 27th, we contacted them to make sure everything was locked on, and received a reply telling us that someone else had signed a contract for our date before we did. So they took our money, booked our date out to someone else, didn't contact us, and then when we asked them about it they tried to pawn us off onto an assistant.

I would believe their explanation that it was all just a mistake in their office, except that they first told us they received the other couple's contract on the 21st (Which would make it the day before they deposited our check, but well beyond the 2-3 days it would have taken our letter to make it across the city through the US Mail), but then later followed up and said they actually received it on the 15th.

If it was truly a mistake and they really did sign the other couple the 15th, then their office staff is just awful. Because if they read our contract when they processed the check, they would have seen that the date we signed for was already booked. However, their story sounds fishy to me. If their office is like any other, they would have a system in place to check over their work and make sure they didn't miss anything. We got missed, and no one noticed. At best their office staff is incompetent at processing paperwork and managing an Outlook calendar.

Engaging Affairs is very easy to work with, we like them!

From a service providers vantage point good communications, support and knowing the planner will match their client needs and expectations to the correct form of entertainment go a long way to setting up a successful affair.

I am always so happy when I get a call from the ladies at Engaging Affairs! I know that the wedding will be beautiful, creative and very well organized. These ladies are the ones you want to be helping you with your very happy day.

The Engaging Affairs team are the best. Honestly they are. They are extremely talented, versatile, creative, innovative, organized and intelligent team of professional coordinators we've had the pleasure of working with over the years. They are hard working, honest and diligent for each and every one of their clients. As a vendor working as part of their team for any one of their events they make everything smooth for us and every vendor at each event for that matter. Coordinating and communicating between each and every vendor to see that we are all on the same page, that we all know exactly what to be prepared for, how we can each shine and do the best possible job for the client and ultimately bring us all together as "a well oiled working machine", they bring us all together as a team and this always makes for the best event possible from all of us for the client and their event. We highly recommend Engaging Affairs for every event!

I've worked with them on several weddings over the years. They are simply one of the most professional event planner groups in the Washington Metro area. Whenever I have a wedding that they are working on, I breathe easy because I know they will work well with me.

Engaging Affairs is amazing wedding planing company who is run by the talented Laura Weatherly. Laura and her team will create the wedding day you want. All the details and design will be beautiful and you will not miss a minute of your wedding. Everything will be taken care of by Engaging Affairs.

Engaging Affairs is one of Washington DC's top wedding planning companies. The weddings they plan are always top-notch!

Laura and her team at Engaging Affairs are amazingly talented event designers! It is a pleasure working with them. They know how to create wedding's best memories!

Engaging Affairs is by far THE best wedding planning company I have had the pleasure to work with.
They are very professional, resourceful, smart and they go above and beyond client's expectations.
They have been at the top of their game for over 14 years and they are only getting better.
Please see for yourself, ask for a consultation and book them...

Sara Muchnick is wonderful to work with and always very professional. She is always well organized when calling to place an order and very detailed oriented. It is a pleasure working with Engaging Affairs for wedding orders.

Engaging Affairs is first class! Not only do they put together amazing weddings, they are also a joy to work with!

I LOVE Engaging Affairs! They are a fantastic team and we have been working on many of the same weddings for close to 11 years. I would highly recommend them !!!

It is always a true pleasure working with the ladies of Engaging Affairs. You are such a great team of professionals and always make it a very smooth wedding day.

The ladies at Engaging Affairs are the best, Top notch, I recommend them to anyone looking for an established company with experience and vision.

This top team of wedding professionals is right on the mark with their advice and coordination, guaranteeing that your wedding will be even more wonderful than you dreamed!

I have had the pleasure of working with Engaging Affairs on several weddings. I must say that each of these memorable occasions has been a symbol of perfection ! Their professional approach,absolute integrity, and pleasant persona should be a blue print for all to who aspire for excellence.

The only time I'm not stressed out of my mind during a wedding shoot is when Engaging Affairs is on board. I love working with them. All of my brides have raved about them after the wedding, so I know that THEY were happy. But on top of that, they actually understand what I'M doing and what needs to happen in order to help make my day successful.

The only time I'm not stressed out of my mind during a wedding shoot is when Engaging Affairs is on board. I love working with them. All of my brides have raved about them after the wedding, so I know that THEY were happy. But on top of that, they actually understand what I'M doing and what needs to happen in order to help make my day successful.

When Engaging Affairs is coordinating a wedding where we are providing the horse and carriage the event always runs smoothly. A pleasure to work with and very organized.

Engaging Affairs creates gorgeous events. We strongly recommend them to our clients and you will not be disappointed.

Laura and her team are amazing. They can handle everything from beautiful garden weddings to dinner for 300 at the Mellon. Their weddings are spectacular and they are all such pros to work with. I love working with Engaging Affairs!

Engaging Affairs is a Class Act!

Laura and her team at Engaging Affairs do an amazing job of making a wedding flow with no worries to the bride. They work with their clients on every detail and create visual candy for the eye and a smooth running day.

The team at Engaging Affairs is incredibly talented, so it's no surprise that they enjoy a spectacular reputation. Their design, planning, and execution are always flawless - we highly recommend them!

Laura and her team are not only top notch professionals, they are a joy to work with. We had the pleasure of working with Laura and she definitely has a classy, calm manner that puts you at ease. Every detail was handled with attention, making for a wedding celebration that reflected the uniqueness of the couple, with ease and grace. For zero stress on your wedding day, don't settle for less than the best -- we highly recommend Engaging Affairs.

It is always a pleasure when I get to work with Laura and one of her brides. She has a way of putting everyone at ease. She is always calm, which is so important for her brides....they know that they can relax and enjoy the process of preparing for a wedding because all details will be covered. I have worked with Laura for many many years and I have never seen her any other way but calm, happy and relaxed.
And as a vendor....she truly cares that we have everything we need to meet the needs of our brides.

One of the top wedding planners in the area. We have worked together for many years, and I'm always impressed by the professionalism shown by the Engaging Affairs staff. Their attention to detail is reassuring that their clients will have amazing weddings!

What a fantastic team of people to work with! Anytime we know that Engaging Affairs is running the event, we can rely on friendly, courteous help and direction, regular updates to the timeline as the event unfolds, timely breaks with great food and an overall positive experience. Engaging Affairs coordinates elegant events and that elegance is relayed in the way these coordinators interact with others as well. A wonderful company for vendors and brides to work with.