Engaging Events By Ali

Whatever you pay to engage Ali’s services, it isn’t enough. Ali is fantastic. Personable, perky, easy to work with and she handles all the details you really don’t want to. Ali helped my husband and me plan our destination castle wedding (yes! castle!) and everything went perfectly. Really. I was ready for something to go wrong, and nothing did. I didn’t worry about any of the details leading up to the big day and I really didn’t need to. Ali took care of every finishing touch and made it a stress-​free, fun celebration for my husband, me, and all of our guests.

We hired Ali to be the «day of» planner for our daughter’s wedding at the Museum of Science and Industry. I had done all the planning and just wanted someone to «have my back» wedding day.
What more can I say — Ali had my back! I consider that a high compliment. We were worry free on the wedding day because Ali took care of everything.
Thanks Ali.

We contracted with Ali around January 2012 for our daughter’s May 2013 wedding. We initially chose her because of her education and experience in design but ultimately what won us over these 16 months was her consistent kindness, unflappable temperament and a sincere heart. There are numerous decisions in planning a blended Indian-​American wedding in grand style. We needed a wedding planner to navigate through many complex choices. Our unorthodox budgeting style with endless attempts at optimization was an additional challenge. There were many places where we disagreed with Ali and it was exactly in these places that her personality was a big asset. She was extremely graceful in going along with our vision and our choices and yet directing us appropriately. Her implementation on the day of the wedding was impeccable. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Called her. A week later she called me back. At least she was apologetic that it took a week. She left a message. I called her back. Never heard from her again. You’re supposed to be a planner but can’t keep phone calls organized. Not a good sign. However, this seems to be par for the course with wedding planners. It makes no sense.

Ali is amazing. Her personality and demeanor make her a joy to work with. She is a professional that gets the job done without stress. Ali is experienced and knowledgeable, worth every penny. I highly recommend her for your big day.

Awesome. Great personality and a joy to work with. My wife and I never had anything to worry about. Ali took care of everything for us. Could not have asked for a better wedding planner. THANKS ALI!

Ali was awesome! Our wedding was amazing and we couldn’t have done it without her. She kept me calm throughout the process and was so much fun to work with.
We had interviewed a few planners before we chose Ali — she was the one we clicked with the most and I knew her upbeat personality would be just what we needed. Her vendor recommendations were fantastic — I would have never found my perfect florist and invitation designer without her.
As an example of how it doesn’t get any better then Ali — the night of our rehearsal dinner Ali showed up at the hotel a bit early and came up to our room to check on us. We needed to be out the door in just a few minutes and neither of us was near ready and I was starting to panic a bit. Ali asked what we needed and proceeded to iron my husband’s shirt. Seriously! I calmed down immediately and we made it out on time… and everything else that weekend was like that, exactly on time!

As I approach my first wedding anniversary I realize now more than ever how valuable Ali’s help was with our wedding.
I look back on our photos and our video and my husband I chat about the day. It was seamless, perfect, beautiful, relaxed, elegant, totally organized and most importantly FUN! This is how the entire year leading up to our wedding and the entire planning process was with Ali! FUN!
There were mistakes made by vendors (it is inevitable) but before I even knew Ali had it handled and smoothed over so never ever did she say on my wedding day oh there is a problem, it was just hey this happened its handled but i thought you should know.
My husband and I had a blast on our wedding day and we had no worries because we knew we were in good hands with Ali.
Ali is amazing, organized, creative, classy, calm, fun, enthusiastic and treats every wedding with the kind of detail and passion as if it were her own.
If I could give Engaging Events and Ali Phillips more stars I would! She is amazing!

Ali is amazing. She got us through the process without any outstanding bridezilla moments and made it the most beautiful wedding that we, or any of our guests, had ever been to. She is warm, knowledgeable, prompt, open to ideas and able to work them into magic.
I am not sure how she did what she did, but we had a flawless multi-​day fest (welcoming party, rehearsal dinner, wedding, after party, after-​after party), that was arranged in less than 6 months AND we were out of town for four of those months.
She really took time to listen to what we wanted, which is important to us as we did not want a standard wedding. We wanted something unique and she provided us with the vendors and the ideas to do that.
I cannot express how much gratitude I have for her, the process could have a nightmare, instead it was intense, but manageable, no major fires, no breakdowns, and my guests and my partner and myself, all went away feeling happy.
I should add that everyone loved her. She is the kind of lady that you want to hang out with after everything is done and are kind of sad because the event is over.

Ali was indispensable in planning our long, complicated wedding. We had 2 ceremonies (a Civil and a Hindu), lunch, dinner, cocktail hour, and countless details. Ali was always prepared, always keeping us on track and on schedule (the whole point of a wedding planner), and always fun and charming. She understood the different cultural aspects of our wedding and sensitive to the different needs. She made excellent recommendations for food, music, and flowers. She even ran to get extra wine when we ran out during the reception — no one was the wiser! If you are planning on a wedding of any scale, consider a wedding planner, and we could not have asked for a better one than Ali. Bravo!

There are wedding coordinators, and then there is Ali Phillips of Engaging Events by Ali! When my (now) husband and I got engaged a year ago here in Chicago I was instantly overwhelmed with choices, and knowing that we were on a budget we knew that we needed help. I found Ali online and immediately booked an appointment with her. Needless to say my husband, myself and my mother all loved her from the start! Ali made us feel like our wedding would be her number one priority and didn’t even flinch when we mentioned that our dream was to have a beautiful wedding in the city… on a budget! Ali was honest, and professional with us every step of the way. We booked the platimum package with Ali, which I strongly reccommend, it was worth EVERY penny! Ali literally walked us through every step of the way! My now husband and I absolutely loved all of our vendors, not only were they incredibly professional, but they were all great people. We had, fun times DJ, Glen Abog Photogrophy, Flora for flowers, and Poetic Productions for Videogrophy, and Palmer House Hilton for our reception, ALL were simply amazing!!! My wedding was a week ago and everyone is still raving to us about it… It was hands down the wedding of our dreams and within our budget as well!!! Ali made sure that everything ran as expected the day of the wedding, not only did I get to enjoy my day but my family did as well without the burden of any responsibilities. I honestly can not say enough great things about Ali, she is a terriffic person who happens to be a terriffic wedding coordinator!

As a wedding vendor I always love it when I have a bride who has a jack rabbit of a wedding planner to help with the day. Ali Phillips is that jack rabbit. She is always on top of things, pleasant to work with and always maintains complete professionalism with her bride and the couples guests. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I know Ali is going to be doing my brides wedding.
Ali has all the experience in the world compared to some of these planners who plan their weddings and then think they can make a living out of it. Her experience and passion for her job truly set her apart from any other planner out there.
I hired Ali when I got engaged and she helped me plan my international wedding. She was always on top of things and made sure things went smoothly. Despite her not speaking Italian, she had my Italian wedding all planned out. I didn’t have to do a thing but keep working on my business. She told me when to do something and I did it. It was wonderful.
Ali is worth every cent in my opinion and I believe brides should be brides and let the planners handle the party. Ali is quality folks, and experience is priceless.
If you are looking for someone that you don’t have to worry about, hire Ali. She has your best interests at heart and will be sure your day goes smooth.
xoxo
Sonia

I am lacking the bride gene. So when it came time for me to plan my «dream wedding» (whatever that was), I knew I was going to need some help. Enter Ali Phillips.
She helped us decide on a venue (Crystal Garden at Navy Pier), found us our photographer (Becky Hill), our musicians (Laksar Reese and Su Orquestra, as well as FunTimes DJs), our flowers (Asrai Garden) — everything. We didn’t have to do much searching or thinking. She kept us on time and in line throughout the entire process.
Then — on our wedding day, she made sure that we had nothing to worry about. My husband and I (and our families) could just relax and enjoy!
Seriously, we couldn’t have done it without her. It was the best money we spent on our wedding and she would’ve been a bargain at twice the price.