When I first started planning our wedding, I was firmly and steadfastly convinced that I did not need a planner/coordinator. As a self-professed control/organization freak who had been tasked with planning events before, I really thought that—with a little help from friends and family—I could save us some money and handle all the details myself. It wasn’t until our photographer told us that she required us to have at least a day-of coordinator that I (begrudgingly) began the search for a wedding planner.

If I were to tell Anna and Jordan this story, they would probably cackle and nod knowingly—I imagine it’s a story that they’ve heard many times before. But the great thing about Anna and Jordan is that they know that they don’t have to spend their time and effort convincing misguided souls like me. They are confident in their worth and know that the service and experience that they bring to their couples is absolutely unparalleled.

Here's what I would say if I could go back in time and talk to my former self: yes, there are many aspects of wedding planning that, if you invest the time and energy, you can tackle yourself. However, no matter how hard you try, there is no replacement for having a partner and an advocate who is an expert in the industry and who will be by your side through your whole journey. For us, hiring Anna and Jordan and their rock star team meant that we had someone to fight for us when our catering budget suddenly increased dramatically and we had no idea why; someone to gently point us in the right direction when we’d already looked at 15 different kinds of napkins and water glasses that day and we were going cross-eyed; someone who will tell you that it’s going to be okay and who will move mountains for you when you realize that your outdoor beach wedding is going to be upended by a freak tropical storm; and even having three people available to help out on the day of our wedding, which meant that someone could be driving decorations over to the venue, while another person was showing all the vendors where to go, while yet another person was helping the groomsmen to pin their boutonnieres.

I know that everybody says this, but your wedding day passes in the blink of an eye. Moreover, those 12 hours are filled with enough activity, emotion, and people as it is—there is no way that you and your loved ones can be present for everything that’s happening, and also be worrying about whether the band has enough outlets for their equipment or what to do if a storm has downed a tree on your venue’s property. By hiring Anna and Jordan, you are not only hiring two consummate professionals who love what they do, are SUPERB at it, and will treat your day with the same reverence and care that you do—but you are also bringing two fantastic people into your life who you will be genuinely sad you won’t get to party with anymore after your wedding is over.

So this one goes out to wedding planner skeptics and enthusiasts alike: do yourself a favor and hire Otherside Creatives. We truly could not have done it without them and would not have had nearly as much fun along the way!

Words cannot express how appreciative I am of Anna & Jordan and everything they did to help us create the perfect wedding day! They are rockstars and born to do what they do! They were our saviors through the wedding planning process and made every idea we had come to life perfectly! A+J put in a great effort to get to know their couples and understand their wedding vision's... and in turn, use that knowledge to curate the perfect list of vendors for their couples...their rolodex of vendor connections is massive!!! I can't thank them enough for connecting us with so many incredible vendors, responding to our emails with the literal speed of light, and for ensuring our day was everything we dreamed of and more. I truly did not worry about a single thing on the day of my wedding because I knew Jordan had it all taken care of - I was able to take in the day with no stress whatsoever all thanks to her! :)

Anna and Jordan truly helped give us the best day of our lives! Their personalities work so well together and combine to make them such an amazing duo as wedding planners.

Honestly, their connections and knowledge of the vendors and the wedding community in Baltimore area is well enough alone to hire them. Sometimes I felt like I barely had to do anything with how much information they provided. We were left to just review our options and decide on what we wanted.

Anna calmed my nerves with her consistent communication and gentle ability to guide - something I very much needed - while Jordan's creativity took our indecisive, dull feedback and turned it into something beautiful!

On our wedding day, neither of us had to do anything except enjoy the day because of the amazing team Anna & Jordan put together for us. They were spot on in every recommendation and I couldn't have asked for better planners. If you are having a wedding or large event, you definitely need to hire them!