Lola Event Productions

One of the best decisions my husband and I made while we were planning for our wedding was to hire Lauren Prado as our day-​of coordinator. Lauren took the time to meet with us and discuss our vision for the day and took every detail we mentioned into account. She was accessible and responsive at all times and was truly a pleasure to work with! She communicated with our vendors, wedding party and family, and everyone was prepared and knew exactly where to be and what to do! She went the extra mile to pick up our personal items that we wanted at the ceremony and reception a week before the wedding and ensured that they were placed perfectly and exactly where we had envisioned. She was there with me from the morning to the very end. Lauren was continuously there for us at the right time — from making sure my dress was fluffed perfectly before walking down the aisle to even dropping off all of our gifts and personal items at home for us after the reception!
My husband and I had absolutely nothing to worry about on our wedding day because Lauren made sure of it!
We had a beautiful wedding and we enjoyed every minute of it, thanks to Lauren! Everyone who attended our wedding raved about how much fun they had and how well everything was put together. Lauren was able to manage a lot of moving parts and executed the entire day seamlessly! Our bridal party and family really loved Lauren and they appreciated all of the hard work she did. We cannot thank her enough!!! I’m so happy we had her helping us because it allowed us to enjoy the entire day and make lifetime memories with our family and friends! We couldn’t have done it so easily without her!
I highly recommend Lauren Prado for wedding day preparations! You will absolutely be a happy bride!!!

Michelle Kurinec and the entire LOLA team were AMAZING. We used them as our day of coordinator for our Chicago wedding on October 10^th, 2015. They were so much more than a day of coordinator, Michelle was with us every step of the way from our first meeting last spring until well after our wedding making sure everything was absolutely perfect, which it was. The LOLA team are all true professionals, they’ve done this hundreds of times and this is my one shot! Michelle worked directly with all of my vendors, reviewed contracts, reminded me when final payments were due, coordinated the timeline for the whole wedding weekend and made sure everyone, vendors, family, and the bride and groom knew where to be and when. I am a pretty organized person and didn’t really think I needed a day of coordinator, but WOW i’m amazed at all of the details big and small they took care of without me even having to ask or think about it was the best money we spent by far, worth every penny. I have a full time job and would often start firing off wedding emails and random questions late at night or early in the morning and would get a response immediately from Michelle who already had the answer or would know exactly where to find it, she helped guide me through every detail of the wedding. Often pointing out decisions and detailed that I hadn’t even thought of, she was on top of everything. I could not have asked for a better team, LOLA went above and beyond coordinating all the vendors, creating the timeline, and making sure all of our personal items, wedding decorations got to and FROM the church and reception venue, this was probably the biggest help. They even collected and dropped off the flower centerpieces from the reception we were using for brunch the next day. To top it all off Michelle was running the Chicago Marathon the day after our wedding, beyond impressed with her dedication, attention to detail, and ability to take on our vision as her own. She knew exactly what feel and look we were going for and truly knocked it out of the park. Not having to worry about anything but having the best day ever was the greatest gift on our wedding day, thank you LOLA!!!

Kirstin & the LOLA team are amazing! I had met with several wedding planners, but the from the moment I started talking to Kirstin, I knew she would be the perfect match. Not only is she super organized, but she is funny, has a great sense of style, and knows the industry inside and out. She helped my husband and I plan not just one, but two weddings in one weekend! And the wedding week was absolutely perfect. Kirstin and her team made sure there wasn’t a single hiccup. And if there was one, I certainly never found out about it. :) I am so grateful to Kirstin and to LOLA for helping create the best week of my life. I highly recommend them to any IL brides looking for a wedding planner. Even my parents, who were very hesitant to hire a wedding planner, said that they could not imagine what the weddings would have been like without Kirstin and they are beyond thrilled with our decision to hire LOLA. Oh, and did I mention that I was planning the wedding from DC? Because of Kirstin, I never felt stressed during the planning process. THANK YOU!

Kristy Diana helped us create an absolutely perfect day. Planning was really overwhelming with all the choices out there. Choosing a venue, photographer, caterer, linens… Kristy simplified everything. And when our venue closed a few months before our wedding date, Kristy found us an even better one! The day was so well-​organized that we were stress-​free and able to focus on beginning our life together and celebrating with our friends and family. I cannot recommend Kristy enough!

Kristy Diana is my wedding hero. If you are looking for the best of the best wedding planner, LOLA Event Productions’ Kristy Diana is who you need. Flawless execution, service with a smile and attention to every detail… that is what you get with LOLA! I manage projects professionally so I had a very high bar, but Kristy exceeded all my expectations. I’m so grateful for the time and attention the LOLA team gave my wedding. I actually enjoyed every minute of the reception! Not an easy task for a planner like me

Not being from Chicago originally, I was so nervous about wedding planning without my mom by my side. All of my fears and anxiety went away when we hired LOLA for our July 11^th, 2015 Wedding. Daniela and her team helped my fiancé and I find our photographer, our florist, and a wonderful person to do our makeup. She graciously put up with my constant emails, and was always quick to offer multiple solutions to any problem I could come up with. The day of our wedding was PERFECT! Thanks to LOLA’s detailed timeline and experience, we were on time, and managed to pull off the big entrance into our reception I’d been dreaming of in my head. Even better, at the end of the night, my shoes I had tossed off while dancing and my champagne flute I’d carelessly sat down, were magically in my hotel room, neatly tucked away. Amazing. I can’t say it enough– if you are feeling stressed or just need someone to help you with little things along the way– go with LOLA. You won’t be disappointed.

I used Lola for day-​of coordination. My coordinator was Kirsty. I cannot recommend Kirsty and Lola enough; they orchestrated everything beautifully, and allowed me, my now-​husband, and my parents to relax while the event ran smoothly.
Kirsty and her team stage-​managed the rehearsal and ceremony with expert ease, executed reception décor beautifully, and attended to matters big and small, from a bus break down to re-​wrapping my damaged bouquet. I was particularly impressed by the more subtle aspects of their event management, which ensured that the evening flowed well and that all our guests were properly cared for – e.g. ensuring that every group of new arrivals at the reception was immediately attended to with passed wine and appetizers.
Lola was the only company I spoke to that included décor set-​up in their basic day-​of coordination package, and they did an amazing job. I explained my basic vision to Kirsty beforehand, provided her team with my floral arrangements and décor items the afternoon of the wedding, and when I walked into dinner as a newly-​wed, I was pleased as punch with the beautiful set-​up.
If you’re on the fence about hiring a coordinator in the first place, or about whom to hire, all I can say is – hire Lola!

Lori took our vision and executed it perfectly! We chose to work with her both beforehand as well as day of, and she guided us every step of the way, helping us understand our budget, pick out vendors, and coming to meetings, tastings, and more.
People kept asking me leading up to my wedding if I was stressed and I could honestly say no because I knew Lori had everything under control. We handed off everything to her a week or two before the wedding, and then there was nothing left for me to take care of besides getting myself to the hotel with my dress. People are still coming up to us talking about how in control she was and what a good job she did.
Thanks so much for giving me the day of my dreams!

I used Lola for my day of coordinator for my wedding. Kristy was my planner, and a total rockstar. She was super helpful for the two months leading up to the wedding and worth every penny!

I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for Lori Stephenson — our wedding coordinator from LOLA. Choosing LOLA to help us plan our 9.27.14 wedding in Chicago was the best decision we could have made. Lori was so sweet, so easy going, so knowledgable — and really made me (and my mom!) feel calm and happy throughout the entire process. Any little question I had — she would answer in a heartbeat. Her attention to detail was OUTSTANDING — the décor @ the venue (Salvage One) was absolutely stunning. Throughout the entire planning process, she really took the time to get to know our style and made sure that was weaved in throughout our wedding day. The entire wedding day (from the moment I woke up) went 100% smoothly thanks to LOLA. Every single friend and family member loved working with her — but especially me. :) Hiring Lori and her amazing company to help plan your beautiful day will be the best decision you make. I was not stressed for ONE MINUTE of the wedding planning — from start to finish. And not to mention, all of our friends and family said it was the most beautiful and personal wedding they have ever been to… which is the most wonderful compliment to receive. Best day ever!

Best wedding planners in the Chicago area, hands down! I can’t say enough good things about LOLA and Kristy. Kristy planned our entire wedding in early 2013 and I don’t think we could have planned such a lovely event without her. She has a ton of knowledge and wedding industry contacts in the city. She was able to refer other excellent vendors that were so talented and truly helped us have an amazing wedding day. Her expertise was worth every cent we paid and I’d recommend anyone having a downtown wedding to consider working with LOLA Event productions. Everyone that attended our wedding raved about how well organized and beautiful it was. I attribute that all to Kristy’s detailed planning, outlining and management of the event from start to finish. We were able to sit back and enjoy our big day and everything was taken care of. Also, the LOLA studio has a convenient location.

We couldn’t have been more thrilled with Lori as we planned our Lake Geneva wedding. She totally understood our desire to work with some local vendors while at the same time bringing the best of Chicago for the parts that were most important to us. The wedding went off flawlessly, we had ZERO stress or worry throughout the process because we knew that Lori was on the job. She was super attentive and accessible, did a phenomenal job with flowers, décor, and design, and was lovely to work with throughout the entire process. Highly highly recommend.

Daniela is amazing. We hired her as a day-​of planner.
My husband and I hosted a June 2014 wedding at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Daniela made the day seamless.
I am a planner at heart but we were working with a very delicate timeframe and I wanted to be able to just enjoy a day without having to put all the work into it, so we reached out to make our day easy and fun.
Daniela was a high communicator. She was flexible to change and an excellent-​problem solver. She was clear and kept our considerations at heart at every step. Even though we only hired her as a day-​of planner, she was accessible and kind in the face of our many questions well before the big day.
Daniela also has a very collected demeanor and all of my vendors loved working with her.
My biggest organizational fear of my wedding day was that I would feel something stalled or delayed or feel like transitions were weak and that people weren’t directed in every way.
Let me tell you (IN BOLD) that with Daniela, your day will unfold without you seeing it happen, it will come together as if fairies did it, and yet, if you need something urgently, somehow she will be right where you can see her, ready to assist.
I cannot recommend Daniela more. She had an assistant with her, whose name I don’t remember (sorry!), but their work was flawless. I never had to worry.

We engaged Kristy as our day-​of coordinator and she was great! I would definitely recommend her and the team at Lola! Our wedding day went so smoothly — not a single glitch — and that was 100% due to Kristy and her coordination. I didn’t have to worry about a thing. Kristy got involved about two months prior to our event — I liked her immediately when I met her, she helped us save money on vendors we hadn’t yet engaged (transportation and flowers — more on flowers below), and it was so helpful to have her to go to with all the last minute questions. Hiring her was definitely worth the money. I debated for a long time about shelling out for a wedding coordinator and I don’t regret it one bit. I also found that their pricing was competitive, if not better, than other Chicago planners.
Kristy and her team also did our flowers/​décor — we didn’t want to spend a lot on floral and Kristy really worked within our budget, had good ideas, and executed the designs well. If you have a decent budget for flowers, I would probably go with a professional florist (as I think Lola just does it occasionally for clients), but I was still overall happy with our flowers and loved the décor.
The only reason for the 4 stars (and I’d give 4.5 if I could), was that I wasn’t always happy with the response time prior to the wedding. Perhaps it’s because I am a lawyer and my clients demand quick responses, but responses would sometimes take a few days (or more). She had it under control though, and as I said, the day of went without a hitch!

Thinking back a year ago, to when my then-​fiancé and I were deciding whether or not to hire an Event Coordinator for our May 2013 wedding, I remember going back and forth about cost and thinking «is it really necessary?» and «well, i can do most of this myself…»
I can now honestly say that hiring Lori from LOLA Event Productions was the best decision we made in the planning process. I, too, searched Unilocal high and low for Chicago wedding planners and there are — of course — conflicting reviews for everyone. We met with one other company before our consultation with LOLA. I was unsure about the cold, modern, pink atmosphere that we felt at the first company. But, I walked out of our meeting with Lori feeling so excited to work with her. Their space is so welcoming. It was so easy to be ourselves with her, and we really had so much FUN working together. She understood exactly what we were going for and executed it beautifully. She took my inspiration photos to the next level. Lori handled all the décor and floral for us as well, and she and her team built the most incredible birch arbor for our ceremony. She helped us choose vendors within our budget and made the best recommendations.
I don’t care what anyone else says. Planning a wedding is HARD. And sometimes really stressful and just plain not fun. But I am here to put your mind at ease. Lori and the team at LOLA will help you plan the most incredible day of your life. On the day of our wedding, I didn’t worry about a thing (except the unseasonable cold). We could NEVER have done it without Lori, and we are so unbelievably grateful to her for all of her hard work. Now that it’s over, we may have to swing by the studio just to say «Hi!» :)

Kirstin and the Lola Team were absolutely amazing!!! From the moment I sat down with Kirstin I felt like she had everything under control — and she did. The entire week people were surprised I was getting married because I didn’t seem stressed, and I have Kirstin to thank for that. It was like she knew what I was going to ask before I asked the question. I got married over Memorial Day weekend. Since most of my guests were from out of town I wanted to have a trolley ride but I hadn’t considered that the parade would be the same day. When I reached out to Kirstin she had already mapped out alternate routes, knew how long the parade would last and assured me it would not interfere, and it didn’t.
Since I planned the wedding from Maryland I had to ship a ton of things to Chicago. In transit one of the bridesmaids bracelets was slightly damaged. Leave it to Kirstin to save the day. She pulled out her kit and fixed the bracelet. She was my personal super woman. She had such a great personality and spirit. I could go on and on. She was so professional. I received several compliments regarding her work.
I was extremely impressed with her organizational and time-​management skills. When we talked I told her I wanted the wedding to start on time, and it did. We got a little off schedule during our trolley ride but as soon as we got to the venue, she got us back on schedule. We had a large wedding party (21 including my husband and I) and she really knew how to handle the guys, which was one of my concerns considering they had started celebrating early .
I literally have nothing bad to say. I attribute the day to running so smoothly, and as planned to Kirstin and her team. Hiring Lola Event productions to do my wedding coordinating was one of the best decisions made — it was money well spent! Thank you so much for making my day so memorable and making sure it went off without a hitch.

I would give Lori from LOLA six stars if I could! We could not have asked for a better wedding day or better time for our guests. Not to mention, planning the wedding was nothing but fun and… organized and easy! Our wedding was just a few weeks ago and people are still talking about it!
Lori was helpful, open to new ideas, honest with pricing, and really understood what we wanted for our wedding. She truly made things easier for us which allowed us to not worry about a single thing on the day of — -which gave us more time with our guests! It was so reassuring to know she was there if we needed anything at all.
She truly listens to what you want out of your day and what are the most important things to you about the wedding. I couldn’t recommend her more. Also, LOLA offers a number of different packages which I think allows for people to choose which option may be best for them.
We couldn’t have asked for a better planner or better person to work with than Lori!

I shopped around a bit for a day-​of-​event-​coordinator, and chose LOLA, because they are the only place I spoke with that actually was willing and ready to physically help with setup for my wedding. I couldn’t believe other places were willing to charge 1500 – 2000 without actually being willing to help with any aspects of the décor (without an extra fee).
Thank goodness for LOLA and for Kristy D. She is such a great person, easy to work with, has an demeanor that puts you at ease, and worked so hard to help pull together all the details.
Cool as a cucumber, she knows her stuff, saved the day in about 10 different ways, and was able to pull together all my crazy DIY decorating projects in a way that made the space absolutely beautiful and was what I had dreamed the space could look like.
Without doing the bigger packages, you will be working hard up until the day before, but after your rehearsal, you are done! You get to enjoy your rehearsal dinner and the wedding day without having to worry about all the random things that can (and will) go wrong.
I am SO happy I worked with Kristy. The day without her would have been stressful and I wouldn’t have been able to focus fully on the most important parts of the day. I was able to be present, and that made it all worth it.

I am shocked to read Linda Y.‘s review of Lauren Carter. So much so that I feel that I must leave another review from our wedding in July. Usually, I wouldn’t wait five months to post a review of a service…
Even though our wedding was on an extremely tight budget, Lauren’s design and décor won us the Style Me Pretty July Chicago award. Her taste is impeccable. Her suggestions, floral advice, and timing put together the most memorable evening.
Lauren was reliable, efficient, and met with me over the course of several months to help me plan. She suggested incredible and reliable vendors that provided us with a classic feel. She accompanied us to all of the vendor meetings, helping us feel comfortable. She suggested new ideas in front and with the vendors, showing us that she cares about the design and feel of a space, while making sure we stayed within our budget.
Lauren found us a DJ, a string trio, a florist, transportation, a caterer (Ken at Blue Plate is AMAZING), and an event designer that made Café Brauer feel even more beautiful than it already is. The pictures below speak for themselves. Her connections with the best (and reasonable) vendors speak to her professionalism and character.
Lauren Carter is a tremendous wedding planner. I am so proud of our wedding and Lauren helped us achieve a perfect day.

My husband was extremely resistant to the idea of a «Wedding Coordinator». I get it. We’re already spending an arm and a leg on the entire wedding, and now we need help with it? Uh, yeah. I needed help. Also my space required I have someone, too.
I met with Lauren, and I loved her right off the bat. She worked with us, knew our budget, gave us great suggestions and helped us immensely on our wedding day. I did the «Last Minute Lola» which is basically touching base with Lauren, and he’s really there the week of.
I’m a control freak, anyway, so I didn’t need anyone to help me with everything. Just logistical stuff.
Lauren was awesome, I HIGHLY recommend her, and wow, did I ever need her.