For two decades Alchemy Events has provided full service event coordination, design & styling from their home base in New Orleans, producing events for clients who are looking for something truly unique! Whether it's a classic, over the top look to wow your guests or a non-traditional wedding that pushes the envelope, Alchemy Events produces events unlike any other, often incorporating breathtaking production elements & custom made installation pieces. From an ice cave inside a glacier to a ceremony on a bridge or even shutting down Decatur Street for a double baraat (brides, why should only the grooms get the big parade entrance?!), we've got you covered!
Featured in many publications & international blogs as both a contributor & with their client's weddings being featured, Alchemy Events owner Rena Sweeney only accepts a limited number of clients per year to make sure you are truly their focus. In addition to non-religious, LGBTQ+ & traditional Christian weddings, they also specialize in multi-cultural events, often working with Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Assyrian & other couples. With a passion for learning about other cultures & belief systems, Rena's extensive knowledge & expertise from two decades of experience is unparalleled. Eco-friendly, vegan & weddings that are inclusive of pets are also a particular love of theirs. Clients also benefit from their online client portal for planning everything for your wedding all in one location.
They do not offer set packages, as each client's needs are unique, however, pricing begins at $6,000 & couples should expect to spend roughly 15% of their budget on services. For DIY weddings, a one of a kind Master Plan package is offered for only $500 to get your planning started with personalized vendor recommendations, planning tools & much more!
Services Offered Alchemy Events provides an extensive array of services including:
Rena was AMAZING! I don’t know what we would have done without her. From the very beginning, she was always the most pleasant person to work with. We planned a cultural fusion wedding incorporating traditions from Indian, traditional American and New Orleans weddings. Her knowledge of all three was impressive and she never questioned us when we proposed an idea that involved combining multiple cultures. She always found a way to make it happen. She was particularly helpful in the last couple of weeks leading up to the event. We had to completely change our transportation plans last minute and she was on top of it reaching out to vendors before we even knew of the problem. She even found me a licensed and insured babysitter for the wedding at 10pm the night before the wedding! She has a great reputation within in the New Orleans wedding community, with multiple vendors telling me (unprompted) how much they enjoyed working with her. That’s how you know someone works hard, is dependable, and a professional, when others in the industry compliment her work. She also worked with our budget and helped us find vendors within our price range and come up with creative solutions to help us stay close to our budget.
Rena also has a great design eye. I didn’t have a very specific vision of what I wanted the décor on the tables to look like and I felt comfortable allowing her to create the table arrangements herself. Everything turned out so much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined! When we were looking at different venues, she suggested ways we could design and plan things, which was very helpful to me.
Rena and her team allowed us to enjoy our wedding without stress. Whatever issues came up (problems with the bustle), Rena had a solution. She fielded questions from friends and family members and allowed us to point them in her direction. At the end of the event, even my father-in-law (who can always find a problem with everything) was very complimentary of her and her staff. We were so happy with our decision to hire Rena for our wedding. Best decision we made during the wedding planning process!
Sent on 10/20/2019
Alchemy Events's reply:
Rachel, thank you so much for the wonderful review! I loved working with you & Jimmy so much & the kind words your father-in-law gave me at the end of the night meant a lot to me as well. I'm so glad to hear that you heard great things about me from other vendors as well! It's so nice to hear that everyone was complimentary and on the flip side, all of the vendors loved working with the two of you as well! Thank you so much for selecting me to be part of this journey with you; wishing you many more years of love & happiness!
Vanesha
· Married on 04/20/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Rena is amazing and I recommend her 100%
TL/DR Rena is amazing and I recommend her 100%
I started working with Rena after having difficulties with a previous planner. By the time I approached her, I already had 25% of the main wedding details like venue, hotel, and some vendors finalized (although I wish I had worked with her from the get go, then lots of red tape that we came across would have been a lot easier). When I first reached out to her, I was frantic, desperate, and extremely stressed. As most brides, I have a very demanding job, very tight budget, and absolutely no time. Planning a New Orleans wedding from New York City started to feel like an extremely daunting task.
As soon as Rena signed up, everything seemed to start falling into place. She took charge but also made sure that all my dreams and wishes came true, she listened to what my parents had to suggest, and what my husband needed, all while staying in my budget! She helped me make decisions by breaking everything down in the simplest of manner and she was extremely respectful of my time and schedule (even though she was planning MY wedding!). I'm not going to lie, my budget stretched like chewing gum, but that was mostly because I wanted what I wanted. Rena did an amazing job of always presenting me with all my options in a range of prices, and ultimately everything was my decision. Even when she found me very affordable vendors, they did a pretty amazing job and I have no complaints with any of them. There was one major issue where one of the biggest vendors quit a month before the wedding, I was in complete panic mode, but with Rena's help, we were able to find alternative options with whom I was extremely pleased.
Not only was Rena a wedding planning life saver, she went so much beyond that. There were times when the stress started getting to me and it started affecting my personal life, I remember calling her and asking her help in making some decisions that felt very difficult to make that were causing an impasse between my husband and me, or my parents and me, but she was able to walk me through the decision making process and give me guidance that made a real difference.
There were some day-of issues that I'm sure all weddings have. I think if we had gone through the sequence of events and what was important and what was okay to skip in case of time delays, we would have been slightly better off, but ultimately, all I remember from my wedding weekend is being extremely happy, laughing my butt off, and being the most carefree and relaxed bride I could be. I had complete trust in Rena and her ability to handle all the details, and she did not disappoint. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend her 100%, not just as a wedding planning service, but as a true partner in making your wedding dreams come true.
Sent on 10/14/2019
Alchemy Events's reply:
Vanesha, thank you so much for this review! I loved working with you & Shajib to create the beautiful weekend of celebration for you & your families! I hope you have many more years of love & happiness together and always look back on your New Orleans wedding fondly. Thank you for selecting Alchemy Events for your wedding!
Nick
· Married on 09/01/2018
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
When Grace & I first started to plan our weddding, we knew the location and some of the primary vendors were already identified, so even though we were planning our wedding remotely, we thought it would be easy to do on our own... after a few weeks of trying to do it all on our own, we knew we needed help. After reaching out to several planners, Alchemy Events offered us the most inclusive options we had seen so we knew that would be the best choice. What we didn’t expect was how above and beyond Alchemy Events and Rena would go to make sure we had the wedding of our dreams. Rena is the best wedding planner out there, her hard work throughout the planning process and most importantly on the day of our wedding, was incredible. Rena and her team made sure that when our big day came, there wasn’t a single thing we needed to worry about. Of course, every wedding has its challenges, but Rena was always fast to respond and resolve before we even knew that there was an issue! Rena made us feel comfortable and confident that all of our wants and needs would be handled and executed exactly to our imagination. Her advice throughout the coordinating process was spot on, she had great tips and input that saved us a lot of money but also introduced ideas that we didn’t not think of but we’re worth every penny. While we came in thinking our wedding would be as we imagined, it ended up being ten times better! All thanks to Alchemy Events, every detail was perfect and the wedding was beautiful!! We will look back at our wedding as the best party we ever had, and Rena as the one that made it happen. We would absolutely recommend Alchemy Events for anyone else looking for passion, understanding, and attention to detail from their coordinator. If you want your vision to become a reality, Rena is the one with the skills to make that come true.
