Lola Event Productions LLC - Chicago, Illinois

Serena Shoff

It’s taken me a while to find the right words to describe Michelle, and even now, I’m not sure I can fully do her justice. We were married on August 19, 2023, and having Michelle as our wedding planner was one of the best decisions we made. From the beginning, she was an incredible mediator, always balancing my husband’s and my ideas with such grace and understanding. Her warmth and kindness extended beyond just us; she treated our families and friends as if they were her own, and her thoughtfulness was felt by everyone.

Michelle knew our vendors so well that every appointment felt like catching up with friends rather than ticking off tasks. She was always punctual and incredibly organized. On our wedding day, she executed everything so perfectly that I genuinely never knew if anything went wrong because she had it all under control. Her knowledge of the wedding industry is truly unmatched.

We adored working with her and can’t help but wish we had another wedding to plan, just to experience her magic again. Thank you, Michelle, for everything you did to make our day unforgettable!!! We are eternally grateful!!

Here’s some photo proof of just how much Michelle and anyone she brings into your wedding circle cares!!!

karen blair

To be honest I do not even know where to begin this review except to say that we could have not done the wedding process at all, and certainly not as well as it was done without Michelle! Shortly after our daughter became engaged, we realized we needed a wedding planner to assist us with the process. The engaged couple was too busy with work and life to be able to do this on their own. After interviewing a few wedding planners, they decided on Michelle from LOLA Event Productions. It only took one meeting with Michelle for my husband and I to realize this would be a worthwhile expense for the wedding. Michelle wowed us with her organization and planning skills. It was great for us as parents to understand the timeline, budget and possible options for creating a wedding that the couple would be thrilled with. Michelle really took the time to understand the couple and their personalities. Throughout the process she presented to couple the decisions that had to be made and options that could meet what they were looking for. She was careful not to persuade the couple one way or another, unless she really felt strongly about an option. On the day of the wedding and quite honestly the entire weekend, we were all relaxed and did not worry about any of the details because we had a timeline with details in hand from Michelle. We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with our family and friends which was so important to us. For the couple weeks following the wedding we basked in the “afterglow” of a beautiful ceremony and celebration for a beautiful couple. We could not have done this without Michelle!

Lena Volpe

I can’t recommend Lola and Lori enough. She made our wedding an absolute dream. She was incredibly organized, and handled all the stressful parts of planning so we could enjoy the process. She was also just a ton of fun to work with, and I really looked forward to our meetings! Not to mention the amazing vendor recommendations. Everyone at our wedding asked how we found such a great band, florist, cake etc. all that magic came from Lori! She really truly made our dream come alive! If you’re thinking of booking, go for it!

Morgan Klein

From our first meeting with Lori, we knew we would be in good hands. We worked with Lori for almost a year and a half, planning our Illinois wedding from Minnesota. Any challenges presented by planning out of state were met with Lori’s willingness to meet virtually and crank out work in person over periodic trips to Chicago. Right away, she made it easy on us by narrowing the overwhelming field of options into catered selections she knew would match what we wanted. Lori was able to help us develop our vision and perfectly translate it into reality with all of the fantastic vendors in her arsenal. Absolutely every detail of our rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, night before reception, and wedding day was considered and executed to perfection. Lori is definitely the person you want in your corner on your wedding day! Her ability to direct, manage, and anticipate any outcome made for a stress-free wedding day, knowing we could rely on her for anything. If there were any issues the day of, we never knew because everything was handled with care before it reached us. The peace of mind Lori provided is truly invaluable, and we couldn’t recommend Lori and Lola more!

Jen Gautam

Michelle was AMAZING!!! I cannot stress that enough. We had a tall order: Indian-Scottish fusion over the course of 3 days, with a somewhat opinionated Father of the bride who was VERY involved in planning and both the bride and groom working demanding full-time jobs. Not only did she execute everything flawlessly, but exceeded our expectations. I would choose LOLA every single time, particularly Michelle. She’s professional, super organized, insanely prompt responses to my millions of emails (and my Dads). My husband and I were stressed we wouldn’t be able to find time to plan, but Michelle made our schedules work and made planning a breeze. All the vendors that came with Michelle were equally as amazing and such a joy to work with. Everyone talks about the wedding blues, I had the wedding planner blues. Michelle, thank you for the best day(s) of our life, we cannot thank you enough. For anyone kicking around the idea of getting a planner, get one! And get a LOLA planner, I promise you will not be disappointed. Best, Jen and Matt

Kavi Rajendran

We worked with Michelle as our wedding planner last November and it was the best decision we made! To say that my husband and I had no vision for our wedding would be an understatement. All we knew is we wanted to host a beautiful and fun party with our friends and family but had zero clue where to start. From the very beginning, Michelle was incredibly organized and detail-oriented. She took the time to help us find our preferences and helped us craft a vision that reflected us. Throughout the entire process, we had constant communication and check-ins, which made us feel supported and informed every step of the way. She also managed our budget effectively and helped us not only spend money on what we wanted but what would make our day fun and beautiful. The wedding day was absolutely incredible, seriously the best day of our lives. We STILL hear about how amazing our wedding was from friends, family, and even strangers! Thanks Michelle!!!!!

Christina

We are so happy we worked with LOLA to plan our wedding, it was absolutely perfect. We were able to give our loved ones an experience that highlighted our best selves, while also authentically representing our relationship.

The LOLA team had a huge wealth of knowledge about venues, vendors, and vibes, which was super helpful since our wedding was in Chicago and we live in New York. The vendors we connected with were all amazing, the venue was gorgeous, and the vibes were perfect.

The LOLA team was also so clutch on the day of the wedding itself, they worked magic behind the scenes that enabled us to totally engage with our family and loved ones without worrying about logistics.

LOLA’s creativity, expertise, and thoughtfulness uplifted every part of the planning process. Our families were amazed at how considerately they set up, planned and hosted us when we toured venues and sampled catering. They were also super respectful of our preferences (e.g. extra covid precautions), we felt thoroughly cared for throughout the past year and a half.

Lori is an awesome person to work with. We loved partnering with her and the LOLA team over the past year and a half, they are so genuine, cool, and fun. We feel so lucky for their guidance!

Jennifer Roeslmeier

Throughout the wedding planning process, we can’t count the number of times we said thank goodness we have Carly! Carly was our wedding planner at Lola Event Productions and we can’t say enough good things about Carly’s diligence, attention to detail, responsiveness, and organization.

We found Carly after we had picked our venue and were in the mix of looking for vendors. We found it challenging finding vendors by ourselves without knowing anything about them. Carly recommended a list of vendors for every need, and they were all the BEST in the industry. They were highly reputable, and vendors Carly had worked with in the past. We were confident with the vendors we selected and sure enough they were all amazing come wedding day! Carly also handled the communication with the vendors and sent out a detailed day of timeline to each of them. I couldn’t even imagine trying to coordinate all of the times with the vendors by ourselves! Carly provided every detail to them, handled questions, and communicated what time and where they should be on the wedding day.

Throughout the entire wedding planning process, Carly had great detail and kept us on our appropriate timeline and when we should be completing different tasks. She was on top of everything and was extremely responsive. Whenever I had a question, she was quick to respond and always had an answer. It was very helpful to be able to work with an expert in the industry because there is SO much we didn’t know about planning a wedding and so many details we otherwise would have missed. Our wedding would have looked a lot different without the help of Carly. She also helped make the process a lot less stressful. When we started planning our wedding, we wanted to enjoy the planning process, as we had many friends that were stressed planning their wedding. We enjoyed every minute. Even wedding week, I imagined it would be a chaotic week, instead everything was in line and it was more relaxing leading up to the big day!

Just when we thought Carly’s amazing planning couldn’t get any better, come wedding day we were truly amazed. Everything was flawless and worked like clockwork! We had 11 girls at my house the morning of the wedding getting hair and makeup done and getting ready. Somehow, we managed to be ahead of schedule and got to the church early! Carly made sure we stayed on schedule—between eating lunch, getting dressed, doing first look pictures with the bridesmaids—she helped us stay within our timeline. The day of, we also had an assistant wedding coordinator who was fantastic. Once the ceremony started, Carly went to the reception location to ensure everything was going smoothly, while the assistant stayed at the church to help things run smoothly there. Having Carly at the reception hall relieved a TON of stress knowing she was there to ensure all of the vendors showed up and the room was looking how it was supposed to. Carly also helped bustle my wedding dress, which caused a lot of stress to my maid of honor, mom, and mother-in-law before the wedding! Carly had the proper tools and helped bustle it without a sweat! At the reception I also felt a headache coming on and Carly checked in during dinner and gave me Excedrin from her emergency supply kit. Carly was so prepared and helped save the day!

Overall, the wedding day EXCEEDED expectations. It was the fairy tale wedding we had dreamed of, and we owe that to Carly. She helped make our vision become reality and her coordination and planning is truly unparalleled. I also can’t count the number of times throughout the wedding day she just checked in to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. That truly meant a lot and we felt cared for! We heard from many people that it was the BEST wedding they have ever been to. We were blown away by the number of times we were told that. Working with Carly was the best decision we made in our wedding planning process and highly recommend working with Carly and Lola Event Productions as you plan your wedding. You will not be disappointed!