Happily Ever After Weddings

Lisa was hired as our "day of" coordinator...but ended up being so much more. She was with us every step of the way, attending meetings, helping us with anything we needed, and was even a therapist at times!! She was so organized and I never worried that she would miss even the tiniest of details. Communicating with her is a breeze. I never had to wait for a returned email or phone call, she was always so responsive (which I've come to find can be rare in the wedding business.) In fact, she was our link to the vendors whom we had trouble getting a hold of.

She created our timeline for the day of the wedding, which I was dreading. Guests have commented how everything seemed to just "happen" and never looked unorganized. I tell them all it was because of her work behind the scenes!! Do not hesitate to book her...even if it's just for the "day of!" I honestly don't know what we would have done without her. To be stress-free on your wedding day and have the luxury to enjoy your special day with your loved ones is truly priceless. I must admit that I was a stressed-out control freak leading up to the wedding, but that day was total bliss because I had all the confidence in the world that Lisa would be putting the ceremony and reception together EXACTLY as I would want it. Turns out, she made it better. :)

Future Brides, hear this... When I first got engaged, I had a lot of people ask me if I'd watched any wedding reality TV shows, like Say Yes to the Dress. Well, I had watched wedding reality TV shows in the past, and what I remembered were the wedding planners!! Let me assure you, Lisa and her team are better than the best TV show wedding planners and have NO hint whatsoever of the worst, spotlight-robbing, idea-crushing, disorganized, nose in the air type wedding planners you will see on some of the overdramatic wedding TV shows out there vying for viewers.

For those future brides on the opposite side of the coin, those who know nothing about wedding planners, or have never heard of them being used before, take note-- they are an amazing vendor to have on your side during your wedding IF they know their stuff, and Lisa does! Believe me, even if you have the best friends and the greatest, most helpful family in the world (and I do!!) you can still benefit from a wedding planner like Lisa. Lisa and her team will take a tremendous amount of the tedious work away from your helpful family and friends so they can enjoy your day with you. And if you are clueless as to what to do, where to have it, timelines and when to have it, and you don't have the help--all the more reason to contact Lisa at Happily Ever After Weddings!!

If you have an unusual, non-traditional request at your wedding, Lisa will work with it, even if it's new to her. I wanted video games at my wedding, and a lot of people had never heard of such a thing before, but she helped me to get the video games incorporated, helped me find a TV vendor and helped us add the setting up of the video games into the timeline.....so my fiance and I could be sure we had some activities for our friends who weren't big fans of dancing! The point I'm making here is that your wedding can be unique, special and totally indentifiable as YOUR wedding with the help of Lisa. In fact, if anything, she got to know me, my family and my fiance so well that the wedding she helped us plan is more US than we ever could have done by ourselves!

I received a LOT of compliments on my wedding, and a bunch of people said it was the best wedding they've ever attended! The fact that my guests were happy made me incredibly happy, and I have Lisa and her team at Happily Ever After weddings to thank for that!!!!!!!!

Lisa and her team did a great job! She helped us so much with finding fantastic vendors and getting awesome rates from them!! She did a great job getting everything coordinated and amazing with the timeline everything ran perfectly! She even all of our rented items returned for us on time so we were able to get our deposits back! We had a few problems with our bridesmaid dresses and hotel block and she handled all of that for us and got everything straightened so we didn't have a worry!!! LOVE HER and her team!!!

Lisa was a delight to work with. Everything happened without a hitch and when something came up, she handled it. She was professional and personable....We'd recommend her to anyone planning a wedding!

5.0
out of 5.0
Quality of Service: (5.0/5.0)
Responsiveness: (5.0/5.0)
Professionalism: (5.0/5.0)
Value For Cost: (5.0/5.0)
Flexibility: (5.0/5.0)

I am sooo glad that we decided to get a wedding planner and I'm soo glad that it was Lisa. My husband and I both have really busy jobs and also did not want to lose our life to this wedding. The cost is MUCH less than what you think. And now, I don't feel like we even paid enough. Lisa's vendor suggestions, skills, and inside knowledge actually help you save more money than you pay her. She is an absolute must for anybody getting married no matter what your budget is. You get specialized attention. She is truly an example of how when you follow your passion and the skills God gave you, you end up being VERY good at what you do and becoming successful. Not many people can say that their wedding day was flawless. All you ever hear are wedding day horror stories and flaws. Or, you hear about how people didn't get to enjoy themselves etc. I even had one person tell me that if that if everything goes haywire, it's a sign of good luck for your marriage. Screw that. Don't get wrapped up in that stuff...It's just somebody trying to feel better about how bad their wedding day went. Our wedding was flawless. I remember everything and I enjoyed every second. Lisa took care of everything. I would not only recommend her, I would InSIST on her!

Lisa is "fabulous"! My mom and I interviewed 2 planners in the area before meeting with Lisa. One was good, one was bad and we were ready to see what Happily Ever After was all about. Walked in, she was so excited already about us and our story/event that my mom turned to me after less than 5 minutes and whispered "Do I sign the check now?!"

My husband and I got married on a destination wedding so we wanted to do things a little different. We wanted Lisa to throw us a laid back, classy, beach party for all of our guests and make them feel like they had been with us on the beach - even though it was January in Illinois. Lisa went above and beyond. We got more for our money's worth and I cannot stress that enough!

I probably annoyed her with how much I would email her for random questions, venting, or anything at all but she was always excited and up for the challenge. She set up all apppointments, went to all of them with us and made us totally comfortable. (She even put up with my crazy Excel spreadsheets of details!) My mom and I would throw around ideas, then change our mind, make decisions, then change things again - Lisa was great about rolling with our craziness and helping us to make our vision happen. She knows all the right vendors too.

At the end of our reception (ended 2 nights ago) adults, children, and lots in between were still on the dance floor whining that they didn't want to go home. That has to be the best sign that the night was a success. I heard the room was described as 'refreshing' and 'relaxing'. I've been getting phone calls for the past couple days about how perfect everything was. Also, my husband asked if we could do it again - and he didn't even want a reception!

I can honestly say that when my cousins, sisters, or brother get married I will strongly recommend Lisa to be their planner, and although I only got to know her for a few months while planning and asking her for favors, I will miss emailing her all day long - haha! Guess I will just have to keep checking up on her webpage :)

Oh! And even now that everything's over, she's still doing favors for me! I asked her for one this morning and she went out of her way once again.

Thank you for everything Lisa! You're the awesome!!

I thought Lisa was wonderful. She was so helpful when it came to planning every little detail for the ceremony and reception. Not to mention, she is so sweet, and personable. I also found her knowledge of wedding ettiquette very helpful, it was something I knew very little about. I would recommend her to anyone planning a wedding!

If you want to have the wedding of a lifetime and stay on budget, these are the ladies to make that happen for you. They were so professional and truly excited for my wedding. They take personal interest in the families and make sure that each detail is exactly how you want it and planned it. The whole experience was wonderful!!! Thanks again ladies for making my day so special!!!

Lisa, I thought that you rated a 5 across the board. If you had been there on our wedding day, it would have been perfect.

Lisa is amazing & very accommodating! She is worth every penny!!! Wouldn't want to do a wedding without her (and have, so I know). She provides great relief, support, & resources for the wedding couple & the parents.

If you need a wedding planner your journey should begin with Lisa and Happily Ever After Weddings – I have had the pleasure of working with Lisa for several years and have found that not only do the weddings run smoothly, but that everyone has a great time - from the vendors to the guests and most importantly the bride and groom. Lisa has the ability to make everyone comfortable and see that a bride and groom have a wonderful experience. She truly cares about a couple’s day and makes their visions become reality- all with a smile on her face. From the atmosphere, to the ceremony site and the beautiful receptions – Happily Ever After follows through. I have worked with many wedding planners over the years and some of my best experiences are with Happily Ever After Weddings and Lisa Ragan! She is a friend to all and a true professional. I highly recommend Happily Ever After Weddings – You will not be disappointed!

Lisa is a fabulous wedding coordinator she will make sure that everything in your wedding will go smoothly and be beautiful.

Lisa is FABULOUS to work with! Organized, knowledgeable, trustworthy, friendly, I could go on and on and on. Hiring her for your wedding day will be the next best decision you make...next to marrying the person of your dreams!

I've had the absolute pleasure of working with Lisa on several weddings and other "wedding related" projects and I must say that she is a perfect delight. Her lively enthusiasm for all things wedding is completely contagious and every time I'm around her I find myself thinking..."is there any way I can get married again, just to have her around on my wedding day?" Of course marrying the same man :) She and her team are a stealth-like presence on the day of a wedding, always there helping and guiding, but never obtrusive and always a joy to be around. If you’ve ever wondered “Do I really need a planner?” The answer is a resounding yes! All you’ll need to worry about on your wedding day is what shade of lipstick best compliments your flowers ;)