Planning a wedding for our daughter Brooke was nothing short of a full-time job. I still remember our very first Zoom call with Sarah Heaney of Leila James Events. Having planned my own wedding 32 years ago, I quickly realized just how much the wedding world has evolved and it was truly eye opening. By the end of that call, Brooke and I both knew without hesitation that Sarah was the one.

From day one, Sarah’s communication was exceptional. She guided us through every suggestion, idea, and adjustment with such thoughtfulness, always with the goal of making the wedding day better than we could have imagined. She has the rare ability to confidently run the entire show and we trusted her completely to do just that.

Where Sarah’s expertise truly shined was during an incredibly difficult moment for our family. Just seven weeks before the wedding, we experienced an unexpected medical emergency and were forced to postpone the wedding by an entire year. It was devastating. In the midst of that emotional time, Sarah stepped in and took full charge, coordinating with all of our vendors and the venue, Castle Hill Inn, during prime wedding season. Without burdening us with logistics, she miraculously secured two new dates within three days. To my husband and me, she was truly an angel.

Fast forward to the new wedding day, and it was nothing short of perfect. Sarah and her team exceeded every expectation. Their talent, professionalism, and attention to detail were unmatched. Every element was seamless, and the result was one very happy daughter and son-in-law.

We will be forever grateful to Sarah for being such a trusted, capable, and compassionate wedding planner. With three more weddings ahead in our family, there is no question we will absolutely be calling her again.

Thank you, Sarah. 💛

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Sarah and the Leila James Events team, and we truly cannot imagine planning our wedding without her! From the very beginning, Sarah impressed us with her incredible attention to detail, her thoughtful and elevated design ideas, and the calm, confident organization she brought to every meeting. She has an amazing energy—warm, upbeat, and reassuring—that made the entire planning process feel exciting rather than stressful! Her professionalism was evident in every interaction, and we always felt completely supported and in expert hands. She anticipated needs we didn’t even know we had, managed timelines with ease, and made thoughtful suggestions that elevated every aspect of the day. Whether it was coordinating with vendors, perfecting the layout, or ensuring each personal touch was executed beautifully, she handled everything with precision and care.

We began our wedding planning on an unusually short timeline, and Sarah handled it with total grace. She kept us on track, coordinated seamlessly with our vendors, and made what felt overwhelming suddenly completely achievable. When we unexpectedly had to postpone our wedding by a full year, Sarah guided us through the change with the same professionalism and positivity. She quickly re-booked all of our vendors, handled every logistical hurdle behind the scenes, and made the entire transition remarkably smooth.

Our wedding was truly everything we had hoped for, and we owe so much of that to Sarah. If you’re looking for a wedding planner who is dedicated, detail-oriented, creative, and an absolute joy to work with, Sarah is the perfect choice and we cannot recommend her enough! We are endlessly grateful for her and cannot imagine our day without her guidance and expertise. Thank you so much, Sarah!

We had an excellent experience working with Sarah and the LJE team. Sarah helped us to execute on our vision - from our seemingly crazy design ideas to our smallest details. We felt completely at ease on our wedding day with her and her team there - we felt taken care of from start to finish. With LJE orchestrating the weekend’s events, all of our vendors were enabled to perform at their very best for us. We felt our budget was put to its best and highest use for design impact and meaningful moments. Sarah was incredibly hands on and yet respected our wants and desires. Highly recommend having her on board to make your dreams a reality. - Emma and Jeff

When our daughter and now son-in-law got engaged we were so excited. When they told us they were planning a wedding in Newport, RI in June 2025 we got nervous. My husband and I live in Boston and our daughter lives in NYC. None of us were familiar with the Newport area other than having spent several weekends there. After vetting many event planning companies, our daughter selected Sarah Heaney of Leilah James Events. She was local to Newport and had been in business for many years. Her portfolio of events was exquisite. Boy, did we make a great selection! Right from the start Sarah was a joy to deal with. She was thoughtful, thorough, organized, incredibly detail oriented and had relationships with many vendors. She asked the right questions and pointed us in the right direction. We were planning a large formal wedding (250 people) and Sarah was non-plussed with all that entailed. She also assisted with the rehearsal dinner, the welcome party and the brunch the day after. My husband and I are not used to being hands-off with every detail but Sarah kept us in the loop with everything she and our daughter were planning. After two years of countless hours of planning, the wedding weekend was magical! Sarah and her team never hesitated to step in when behind the scenes situations arose making everything seamless and perfect. As parents of the bride we were thrilled with the end result. The décor was breathtaking and the love in the room was palpable. Our family and friends were saying that it was the best wedding they had ever attended! Our daughter had a vision and with Sarah’s help, it was executed beautifully. There is no better feeling than when your daughter and new son-in-law says says “Thank you. This was the best weekend of our lives!” We cannot say enough about Sarah and give her the highest recommendation possible. Don’t look any further for a luxury event planner. There is no one better than Sarah and her team!

Working with Sarah and the entire LJE team, without a doubt, was the best decision we made with respect to our wedding. I know our experience in the year and a half of planning, and on our wedding day itself, would have been fundamentally different without Sarah and her team.

The detail, care, consideration and efficiency Sarah brought to the process was unmatched. While we initially opted to work without a planner, we quickly realized we were in over our heads. Sarah got us back on track, guiding us with ease, care, understanding, and true knowledge of the end-to-end process.

Aside from the logistical and planning mastery, one of the things I am most grateful for Sarah and her team for is their emotional intelligence and support throughout the entire planning and wedding process. Sarah has an innate ability to connect with others; she understood our goals for the wedding, our worries, concerns, and broader dynamics we navigated while planning the wedding. She quickly identified and understood where we needed more guidance or a firm opinion, and offered it, and equally heard and supported us in decisions we needed less assistance making. She was always in our corner, supporting us and bringing to life our vision for the day, and the entire planning process.

Her support extended not just to us, but our families as well- in speaking with our families after the wedding the fundamental theme was how attentive, supportive, efficient, organized and truly wonderful Sarah and her team were throughout our wedding weekend.

We are so grateful for Sarah and her team, and know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they fundamentally made the entire wedding process, and wedding itself, more joyful, enjoyable, and seamless than we could have ever imagined.

Working with Sarah from Leila James Events was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. From our very first meeting, she brought a rare combination of creative vision, logistical expertise, and genuine warmth that made the entire planning process not only seamless—but truly enjoyable.

I started out feeling beyond overwhelmed, but Sarah helped me fall in love with the process and took care of absolutely everything that needed attention. Her design meetings were efficient, inspiring, and fun, and she brought so much clarity and focus to every decision. She has an exceptional eye for detail and aesthetics, and she took the time to deeply understand our style and priorities. One of her most brilliant ideas was a circular ceremony layout—an incredibly thoughtful design choice that made our 220-person guest count feel intimate and connected, something we hadn’t thought possible.

Sarah also has deep relationships with some of the best vendors in the business, which made a world of difference. Every recommendation she gave us—from floral design to entertainment—was top-notch, and we were blown away by the talent she brought to our team. When a vendor unexpectedly had to be replaced just two weeks before the wedding, Sarah handled it behind the scenes with total grace and professionalism. We didn’t have to stress for a second—she had it completely under control.

Beyond her talent and professionalism, Sarah is simply a joy to work with. She’s warm, thoughtful, calm, and kind—someone you truly want by your side during such a meaningful time. She made us feel heard, supported, and completely confident from start to finish.

Our wedding was everything we hoped for and more, and we owe so much of that to Sarah. If you are looking for a planning team who is creative, detail-oriented, incredibly connected, and genuinely wonderful, we cannot recommend Leila James Events highly enough.

Sarah Heaney, owner of LJE, is clearly at the top of Newport’s wedding industry. I am a retired planner with high expectations and was pleased to find that Sarah had her finger on the pulse for every creative want, wish, request. Her response time always impressed- which was key for me as an out of town mother of the bride who had to make all of the decisions for our west coast 3rd daughter’s Newport wedding. Sarah’s attention to detail & creativity only enhanced our “shared” vision for the entire weekend!! She welcomed creative input and both executed & elevated every idea with careful vendor selections - making sure each vendor matched my daughter’s & my vision and personalities. Sarah is smart, creative, flexible yet decisive and SO MUCH FUN!!! I often think of Sarah’s laugh as we laughed our way through the planning process! She gets what matters!!! Had an amazing experience & bonus… made a forever friend!

As the parents of the bride we could not have been more thrilled and thankful with Sarah Heaney and her team at Leila James Events. Planning a destination wedding in Newport is a multi-dimensional undertaking that typically begins 12-18 months before the event. If you're looking for peace of mind with someone who can seamllessly help orchestrate your daughter's wedding, then look no further than LJE. They were incrediblty professional, resourceful and fun! They stayed on top of every detail so you could we could focus on our family and guests. Sarah and her team are simply the best!

Cannot recommend Sarah enough!

From the very beginning she made us feel so at ease and helped us navigate through the daunting wedding planning process step by step to create an exceptional wedding day that we will never forget. From start to finish, she was organized, detailed oriented, proactive and professional. More importantly, she is kind and compassionate. Truly invested in her clients to help them create the day and experience they want.

She also has an extensive network of vendors and her relationship with them are unmatched - whether it’s a phone call during a no show for a hair trial or last minute changes in guest count that affected rentals - Sarah was able to leverage her relationships to resolve these challenges with ease. Last but not least, Sarah and the LJE team were so on top of everything during the wedding weekend which allowed us to be fully present with our family and friends.

Don’t overthink it - work with Sarah and trust the process! It will be the best decision you make during the wedding planning process!

Working with Sarah was the absolute best decision my now husband and I made during our wedding planning process. She created the foundation for everything! Heading into planning a Newport wedding from out of town, we knew we needed someone who could both recommend vendors and be our local point person throughout the planning and during wedding weekend - Sarah was that and SO much more. She has such an eye for a bride's or a couple's personal style and vision for their wedding, and she was able to confidently match us with the best vendors for our big day. We had almost everything booked over a year before our wedding day because Sarah was so on top of it and wanted us to have our first choice of vendors and venues. She was patient and flexible with us - yet kept us on track! - as we approached various deadlines during the planning process, and she negotiated with vendors on our behalf to get the best prices for us. Throughout all this, she was just genuinely FUN to work with - so kind, always energetic, and so clearly in love with the work that she does. When friends of mine would ask me about how wedding planning was going, I would always respond how I wasn't worried at all because my planner was so on top of everything. This was the total opposite reaction that a lot of my friends had during their wedding planning! And finally - Sarah and her team ensured that our wedding weekend couldn't have gone more smoothly. We had a few small mishaps during our wedding weekend - last-minute additions and subtractions to the guest list, my husband's contact falling out during the reception, a misplaced check from a guest - and the LJE team made sure these weren't even blips on our radar. Sarah made sure our venue got the updated guest list, even with the changes, in time and perfectly correct for the wedding day; she had a new contact picked up from our hotel room for my husband in 5 minutes; and the missing check was back in our room the day after the wedding. There was nothing Sarah and her team couldn't' solve! If you're planning a Newport wedding, it would be a no-brainer to work with Sarah.