Naturally Yours Events is an eco-friendly wedding planner in the Chicago, Illinois area. This team of planners, led by owner Carlene Smith, works to plan events that fit couples' personalities and styles with an additional focus on not being wasteful. These creative planners will help couples create an event as unique as they are, while looking out for the environment at the same time.
Experience
Carlene Smith got her start in the wedding industry working for a photographer as a day-of coordinator and de-stressor of couples. After earning a degree in advertising, she took several coordination roles in the hospitality industry that led to her following her passions and becoming a wedding planner. She runs a team of four other women, including three associate event planners and one event assistant.
Services Offered
The planning team at Naturally Yours Events offer a variety of service options for couples working toward their big day. The staff helps plan and design all types of weddings, including civil, cultural, destination, double weddings, eco-friendly, military, non-religious and religious affairs. They help with the ceremony, reception and rehearsal dinner, and offer the following services:
Recommended by 100% of couples
1 User photo
Mallory Pernai · Married on 02/23/2019
Seriously ah-mazing!
We honestly can't say enough awesome things about Kristen and the whole Naturally Yours team. We'd initially been on the fence about hiring a day-of coordinator and could not be more grateful that we ultimately decided to go with Naturally Yours. Even though we'd only signed on for day-of services, Kristen made herself available to us the moment we signed the contract - months and months ahead of the big day. She helped us with budgeting for booze (we were BYOB'ing), navigating scheduling, vendor contracts, tipping etiquette, seating charts - I could go on and on. She'd worked with nearly all of our vendors before and had great relationships with them, so she could tell us exactly what to expect and when, and how to approach them, if we had any questions or issues. She even went so far as to draft a lengthy email for us when we were battling with a vendor over overtime fees, poring over our contract to make sure nothing was missed - it proved invaluable the day-of. On the actual day, she and her assistant could not have been kinder to our wedding party, families and guests. They were sweet and encouraging before my sisters gave their MOH speeches, and were on hand with every emergency item in the book, even bending down with Shout wipes to spot-check my train before the ceremony started. They weren't intrusive at all during the reception, but kept things running smoothly and fully on-time. We went later than most (ending at 1am), and they stayed until the very end. They went above and beyond for us - if you're considering anyone, this team is warm and sweet and truly dedicated to making your day the best. We'd wholeheartedly recommend them! THANK YOU GUYS!!
Sent on 03/12/2019
Sean Fleming · Married on 07/14/2019
Great Wedding Planning
Naturally Yours Events made our wedding planning very easy and fun! We could not have done it without Lauren and Naturally Yours. My wife and I did not have much of a vision going into the planning stages of the wedding, but Lauren helped guide us and made sure we took care of everything, even the things you do not normally think of when planning a wedding. The end result was a perfect wedding in budget with no stress the day of. We would highly recommend!
Sent on 08/11/2019
Ashley W · Married on 07/12/2019
Kristen with NYE is a wedding coordinator rock star!
As we planned our wedding, we read through reviews on every vendor before picking up the phone, or emailing them for more information. NYE was hands down one of our favorite vendors - Kristen was amazing. We knew we were in good hands from the get go. She is extremely organized, professional, yet beyond friendly, and she made us feel truly special during the entire experience. They were extremely cost effective, as everything adds up ridiculously quickly for Chicago weddings - they didn't reflect the ugly grind we saw from other potential vendors as we were searching for the vendor team for our venue. We also LOVE, LOVE they are members of the Green Wedding Alliance, as we were doing our very best to be mindful of the environment, eliminate waste, etc., as we planned our big day. Last, we strongly recommend attending Wedtoberfest, even if you don't use NYE for planning, this wedding event was charming, informational, not pushy at all, and had the Chicago class and character we were searching for in our wedding planning journey. There were SO many things Kristen brought up we never would have thought of - thankfully she was on our wedding team. Even leading up to the big day, I texted her in a panic as the popcorn favor order was WAY bigger than we thought, and she responded right away, and I dropped it off at NYE so it was one less (of MANY) thing we had to worry about. I knew we were in good hands the entire time, and their location was beyond convenient. I would highly recommend NYE, and do your best to nab Kristen - she is a gem.
Sent on 08/01/2019
5 Endorsements
Carlene is such a joy to work with and has a high standard for her clients and dedication to them through all stages of the wedding planning process. Her attention to detail, work ethic, and patience are invaluable to any couple in hopes of finding the right person to help plan and coordinate one of the most important days of their lives.
Carlene works to make your day memorable. She really understands what it is like to plan an eco-chic wedding.
Carlene is wonderful to work with! She has amazing attention to detail and works hard to ensure that she exceeds her brides expectations!
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