Thanks to Marylen Expositio, I had my dream wedding - every little detail was perfect including things that I never would have even thought about. My wedding day was completely carefree. I highly recommend her as a wedding planner and that seems like a massive understatement.

She faced serious obstacles - myself included. I spent the summer before the wedding working 8 hours away and was in my third year of law school for the month leading up to the big day. I was very busy, yet super demanding, and made her job hard with my schedule and lack of follow-up on issues. We were also working on a 5 month time frame for a wedding of considerable scale. However, she came through in every way.

Specifically, among Marylen's greatest strengths are:

(1) Her near Clairvoyant ability to translate her client's general desires into EXACTLY what they want, even when they don't have the perfect vision of what that is. We had one initial meeting regarding flowers and decor where I pulled out some pictures of things I liked and things I hated from wedding magazines like The Knot Florida edition. I told her I liked this, BUT wanted something a little different. I gave her mere adjectives describing my style. When I saw my centerpieces which featured driftwood with dangling candles, covered in beautiful green and white orchids - I could not believe she translated my ideas ("I like natural stuff, driftwood is cool, and terrariums would be great..") into something that I could not have ever imagined. She did EVERYTHING including selecting all the decor, the flowers, and found the best florist who provided what I believe are the most beautiful centerpieces in the world.

(2) Her knowledge and experience. Her knowledge of what is out there and familiarity with local vendors was INCREDIBLY helpful. She cautioned me when I wanted something, but she had bad experiences with that vendor or item. She encouraged me to hire someone who turned out to be the best photographer, despite the non stellar appearance of his website. Because of her experience with my venue (Deering Estate) she knew exactly what we needed - down to the kitchen equipment. A week before the wedding when my husband and I decided we wanted to do a choreographed first dance, she found the best instructor who was available during the four hour window we had available. The guests loved it.

(3) Her professionalism and tact, even in the face of a demanding, yet unavailable bride and her equally demanding parents. Marylen never seemed frustrated, never chastised me for my lack of responsiveness or timeliness but always made sure to let me know when deadlines were absolute and when she knew I wanted to provide input regarding the decision. She was able to successfully decide minor issues without consulting me and knew when to talk to me about something and when to discuss it with my parents.

(4) Her preparation, support, and understanding of my stress lead to a wedding day where I had NOTHING to worry about (except of course my bridesmaids, but they were beyond her control).

(5) SHE is great. Marylen is kind, funny, got along with my parents and really understood what I wanted without me having to lay it out. She knew what I would think was tacky without me having to say it. She reminded me to breathe at the right moments. She is the kind of an likable, genuine, caring, compassionate person that any bride should want to work with and have with them on their big day.