Savvy Expressions Wedding & Event Coordination

Overall, could not have planned our wedding without her. She helped us identify vendors that did a good job. Initially, it was unclear to what degree she would take care of tasks compared to what we were supposed to do, but once my wife and I verbalized our confusion she was very responsive. She really came through at the last few days before the wedding as many details came up. She was very easy to reach and stayed in close tough as needed.

Stacey was very professional and really helped us in our wedding planning process. She recommended quality vendors and set up all of our appointments for us. It was extremely helpful so we didn't have to spend time looking for vendors. She was very organized and made everything run smoothly at the rehearsal, wedding, and reception.

Stacey is a fantastic wedding planner. She worked with us to find the vendors that we the right fit for us. We wanted to have a very small, unique wedding. She did a great job at pointing us to the right vendors, speak to us about their good and bad qualities and letting us decide whether they were right for us. She was always very flexible with meeting times since husband, at that time fiance', and I had very different time constraints. I would highly recommended having Stacey help you plan your event, whether it be wedding or any other type of gathering. She is Excellent! We had the wedding that we dreamed of, with the least amount of stress due to Stacey!

Stacey was great! I worked with her for a little over a year planning my wedding. She was always accessible via phone and email, and always answered every question my mother and I had. Although she was busy, she made time for us and met us whenever we were available. Stacey was as involved as I wanted her to be... so if you want to plan the wedding and just need advice or questions answered, she's wonderful for that. If you don't want anything to do with the planning, trust Stacey to plan a gorgeous day for you. I think the most beneficial part of hiring Stacey was her role in the whole wedding weekend. She completely took over all the busywork and let me and my whole family relax. She met/instructed all the vendors who were arriving, solved any problems, contacted my vendors when they were running late, and was there to calm down a VERY nervous bride (me). :) I would highly recommend Stacey to any future bride! Believe me, she will make your life so much easier.

If you want to have as stress free an experience as possible, then you need to hire Stacey. She's worth every penny, and is very affordable. I was able to just be a bride and enjoy my day because I had her taking care of all of the behind the scenes stuff.

Sincerely,
Angela

My wedding took place on December 4th 2010 and Stacey was coordinator for the Day-of Wedding only. I have to preface my review with saying that this is no way to embarrass or humiliate Stacey but I simply do not want a Bride to have the same experience and more so -spend the money (that is not cheap) on a service that will not meet minimum expectations. I don't live in Champaign so I wasn't really familiar with all the vendors and what their work was like, but learned along the way which vendors were dependable and who were not. I did a great job planning and re searching who to work with and sad to say that I should have done my homework better with the coordinator. I had a very negative experience with Stacey. I had a great experience with all the vendors that I chose that I think I slacked a little on asking more questions when I chose Savvy Expressions. I am not sure if she has had only experience with small weddings that she was overwhelmed with mine, but you could tell she was not able to handle a medium sized wedding. Everyone noticed how unprepared and unprofessional she was when she arrived to the rehearsal the day before the wedding. First, in this industry you need to present yourself well. You don't need to look like you are off the runway but if you lack fashion skills, stick to all black. Look neat and clean. I had an idea of how I wanted everything to turn out and all she had to do was get people in their places and she didn't do any of that . I had to tell her so many times to take over . She sat and talked while everyone would ask, what they were supposed to do. My husband was getting so irritated that he took over and wanted to just tell her not to show up the next day. He and the workers from the church coordinated the ceremony. I do not exaggerate when everyone noticed that she was unprepared and lacked skills on planning a wedding. I lost all faith in her that day and was so glad that I had planned everything to the max and was organized, because if I counted on her to make my wedding smooth it was would have been a disaster. I live miles away and made sure to disaster proof everything for my wedding day. The only thing that went wrong in my wedding was her. Little things that could have gone better were her fault due to her lack of preparation. I didn't have my toss bouquet because she didn't talk to the florist the day before to find out where she was going to place my flowers. She was frantically calling my husband the day of the wedding because she needed to ask me questions for the church. The reason why I had a coordinator was not eliminate me running around and answering questions while I was getting ready and taking pictures. She couldn't figure out basic things .I was early to the church and she made us wait for a half hour to start the ceremony!! I was so calm that day that I don't think all of her mistakes hit me until after. She was rude to my mother in law. My wedding party that day just dismissed anything she said because she was so frazzled by everything. She made my parents walk out at the wrong time during the ceremony. I told her that my veil was very long and she would need to help pick it up a bit until it hit the aisle runner because it will get stuck and she didn't. She had three volunteers with her and they all stood around until my wedding veil fell off because the crystals were getting caught on the carpet-so guests picked it up to help. I didn't have my toss garter to throw because she didn't have it , all because she didn't touch base before the day. She didn't give the DJ our play list of must have songs to play. She brought her kids in their pajamas to the reception!!! She wore green cargo pants to a formal wedding - AGAIN- wear ALL black. My photographers and my videographer did not ask me one question on how to do their job that day-NOT ONE. My maid of honor, mom and dad missed some of my special moments trying to get my toss garter from my room because Stacey didn't have it. My mom had to leave and find my toss bouquet because she had no idea where it was. Stacey then asked my matron of honor, "Do you think I did a good job because I'm not sure?" I can't stress enough that my review is only because I don't want a bride to have her day ruined because she is counting on someone else that is unorganized to do the job. She was absolutely clueless on planning a wedding. She is a very nice person but just calling yourself a wedding planner or loving weddings does not mean you can plan a wedding. You need talent and organization to execute. Brides count on and depend on their coordinators. I regret paying her 750 dollars to basically show up and eat at my wedding. BRIDES please do your homework when hiring a coordinator! Her presence should have screamed out to me that she was not what I was looking for . Talk to her previous clients! Her neat website is not a reflection of her work.

If your looking for someone that can help you with every step of your wedding, Savvy Expressions is who you want to go to. They did an AMAZING job with our wedding and Stacey was very easy to work with. She gave us ideas that made our special day memorable while not hurting our budget either. Stacey was very nice and flexible, which helped us out since we were an out of town couple getting married in Champaign. Also, she recommends very talented vendors to help out with your big day. Thanks Stacey for being an amazing wedding planner!! :o)

I will never forget watching my dreams become a reality. Savvy went above and beyond our wildest expectations for our wedding. EVERYTHING was executed with perfection. There was nothing to worry about, as anything that could have been a problem was handled. From conception to execution, Savvy provided top notch quality of service. Stacey was always attentive, responded almost immediately to anything I ever communicated, was always professional (but still fun!), flexible to my schedule, and helped me create a day that will never be forgotten. Compared to the other wedding planners we looked at so long ago, Savvy's pricing is FAR more reasonable and their product exceeds any promise made by ANYONE else in the industry. I wish I could get married again just to work with Stacey.

Stacey is amazing! She made the wedding planning process so much more enjoyable. She is also a great value for the services she provides -much more so than any of the other planners we interviewed. She is really the reason our wedding turned out so great!

I originally chose Stacey to be our wedding planning because she was super responsive. She replied to my original query within 2 hours and continued to respond to my phone calls and emails incredibly quickly for the entire 8 months we worked together. After our very first meeting, we knew that Stacey was something special. After only two hours we could see that she was well organized, invested in us and our wedding, and eager to make the day exactly what we envisioned.

Stacey is very well connected among central Illinois wedding vendors. She provided information on a variety of different vendors and booked meetings for us with those that we were interested in. Stacey attended multiple florist meetings and cake tastings with me because I felt clueless. Every decision was mine though, Stacey was focused on making sure our wedding day was exactly what WE wanted. Every vendor we used that Stacey recommended was awesome!

Stacey mapped out our whole wedding planning from start to finish and organized the tasks by month. No detail was left out. When I forgot to send in a contract (obviously no one can sign your contracts but you), Stacey convinced a vendor to hold my spot while I rushed to get the contract in the mail.

Stacey connected well with my husband, mother, in-laws and even a few difficult friends. Stacey went with my husband to pick out the tuxes (which looked fabulous). She even helped a relative plan a beautiful morning after brunch for us and our guests.

I was able to bounce my wedding ideas off of Stacey and she really made my vision come alive. I could call her anytime I thought of something that I wanted to discuss. She was great at calming any concerns I had and answering all of my questions.

At the rehearsal the day before the wedding, I tried to organize our wedding party of 15 people and Stacey immediately stepped in and reminded me it was her job to do the organizing. Stacey had all 13 of our attendants as well as the flower girl, ring bearer, parents, grandparents, readers and ushers exactly where they needed to be in a matter of minutes while my husband and I chatted with our friends and family. At the end of the rehearsal Stacey took everything we had for the next day (placecards, table decorations, vendor tips etc) and promised they'd be exactly where they belonged the next day (and they were!).

Day of, Stacey was phenomenal! She called my husband to make sure he woke up on time (I texted her at midnight the night before asking her if she could do this). Every flower and bouquet was exactly where it belonged. Stacey made sure everything began on time and flowed smoothly. Everyone knew where they needed to be. To be honest, I really don't remember seeing Stacey on our wedding day except when she ran in to our prep room at the church to warn us to put the alcohol away because our pastor was coming. My friends and family informed me she was everywhere and behind everything making sure it was all running smoothly. Everything was perfect, my dress was fluffed beautifully before I walked down the aisle, our limo was waiting where it belonged, the flower girl was smiling, every groomsman had his boutonniere on correctly, my toss bouquet was in my hand when the music started, etc, etc, etc. It felt like everything just fell into place but Stacey was behind everything working to make it all go perfectly. Everyone absolutely loved our wedding planner!

Stacey is amazing, we thoroughly enjoyed our entire wedding day as well as the planning and we owe it all to her.

Willie and I would recommend Stacey to anyone. She made our wedding day a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Loved working with Stacey. She was a real lifesaver and essential to the success of our wedding! Thank you!

We hired Stacey to help with the entire wedding planning process and she was easy to get a hold of and very responsive when we had questions. Stacey was very great to work with and the best part was her connections with the vendors in town. We had an issue with our original florist 1 month before the Wedding and she found us a new one right away (and the flowers were very impressive). We had a few mishaps on Wedding Day (related to the tuxes) but Stacey and her assistants fixed the problem right away and I (the Bride) never even found out about it or noticed it till after the Wedding when my husband informed me of the issue (and we both laughed about it). It was definitely worth having someone to pay attn to all the details (setting up and tear-down) and not having to worry that something would fall through the cracks. Everything went really smoothly and I really enjoyed working with Stacey!

Stacey at Savvy Expressions was awesome!! She helped guide me and plan each detail of my beautiful wedding, I couldn't have done it without her. And the best part was that my mother, nor myself, had to think of one detail on the big day because Stacey took care of all of it. I can't even explain how wonderful that was to just be able to enjoy every minute of the best day of my life! Thank you Stacey!!

I couldn't have asked for a better day-of coordinator. Stacey was amazing and made the day run smoothly. She even found a vendor willing to help out with our lighting nightmare the day before the wedding! Stacey is kind and really cares about your day going well. The only thing I'd recommend is that you let her know to call your soon-to-be-husband instead of you on the wedding day in case anything goes wrong or needs to be resolved. I am so glad I did this and didn't know about our dance floor crisis until the crisis had already been resolved.

I thoroughly enjoyed having Stacey as our wedding planner and even have maintained a friendship with her since my wedding. She is sincere, thoughtful, and extremely thorough. I can't imagine our wedding day without her by my side. Despite being pregnant, Stacey was working very hard. Her assistants were extremely helpful, as well, and of course, just as sweet as Stacey is. :) Stacey worked above and beyond all our expectations and I would highly recommend her. She was there for us for every major and minor decision we made. She is very patient and our wedding day ran very smoothly because of her. She set us up with some very reputable vendors who also made our special day so memorable. Stacey is very well connected and it was nice to take advantage of that. We interviewed several other wedding planners and no one had the years of experience that Stacey had.

I greatly enjoyed working with Savvy Expressions. Stacey was my wedding planner and really made my day extra special!

A+ Day-of Coordinator. Stacey was a godsend. She met with us several times leading up to the wedding to make sure we had thought of everything and that she was on the same page with us. She helped me track down contracts and estimates from last minute holdouts, and she handled all the craziness of the wedding day and rehearsal with panache. As we went over her timeline for the wedding day and I was thinking, "God, how overwhelming - will she be able to do all this??" she goes, "Wow, this is so simple - it's going to be so easy!" I really felt comfortable knowing Stacey was so on the ball. Also she went and took down all our decorations for us and returned the vases to the florist and stuff the next day. Well worth her fee.

Stacey is an awesome wedding coordinator. I've had the pleasure of working with her for several weddings, and I have witnessed first-hand how she helps the events of a wedding day run smoothly while making sure the bride and groom are taken care of and are able to enjoy their big day in a stress-free environment. Stacey helps make sure all of the little details are in order, and that all of the supporting players are doing what they're supposed to be at the right place at the right time. I highly recommend her to keep what can can be a rollercoaster day fun and worry-free!

I've had some great experiences working with Stacey at Savvy Expressions. She is very detail-oriented and goes out of her way to make sure that I have everything I need to keep the bride and groom happy and fulfill my duties to them. She keeps the day moving smoothly and makes sure everyone is where they need to be at any given time.

Stacey Porter is one of the best Event Planning Coordinators I ever had the pleasure of meeting. She arranges vendor meeting along with clients to go over details in every event. Not only does she make sure that everyone is on the same page her, compiled footnote are passed on though email as a refresher. She is spot on when it comes to details and following a time line. She prides herself in picking the right vendor for the right job each and every time. If you are a Bride and Groom I wouldn't think twice in using Stacey for planning you special day.

I have enjoyed working with Savvy Expressions. She always has things ready for me when I deliver my wedding cakes. I'm sure you will be impressed with her professionalism.

Bugbees DJ Plus has worked many times with Stacey and her Savvy team. We enjoy working with them and feel they do an excellent job. Our brides and grooms who have had them have told us how pleased they were at making the decision to work with Savvy. We highly recommend them.