Events by Emily Reviews
Reviews
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![Katie]()
Katie Sent on 10/27/2025Emily and her team made our day PERFECT
I can say without a doubt that working with Emily for full service wedding planning was the best decision we made. It’s hard to put into words just how amazing Emily and her team were to work with all throughout the process - from pre-wedding, to the day of, to post-wedding. My husband and I both work full-time and were fully in the process of a home renovation while also moving, and the thought of planning a wedding on top of that was just too much to imagine. Then we found Emily!! Emily quickly got everything beautifully organized and brought to life the vague ideas that my husband and I had, and she also patiently and thoughtfully guided us through each decision we had to make- all while being just so incredibly considerate and thoughtful about each detail and the vision we had in mind for our day. & when we saw all the details brought to life on the day-of, I could not believe just how gorgeous everything was.
What originally drew me to Emily were her beautiful designs and uniquely keen eye for detail - the events she plans are just absolutely gorgeous, and ours was no exception (it still takes my breath away to think of how beautiful it was!). But Emily offers so much more than an eye for design - she is thoughtful, organized, and understanding and made our day run even more smoothly than I could’ve imagined. Because of Emily, I never had one ounce of stress throughout the wedding day - we were able to just float through the day and enjoy it all while Emily thoughtfully and calmly kept us on-track, all while being mindful of the details we wanted to pay extra attention to during the day. We had no moments of stress during our wedding day, and we have Emily & her amazing team to thank for that. & then when we got to the venue and saw everything brought to life, I was just blown away by how beautiful it was.
You will NOT find better planning and event design than Emily & her team, and I truly cannot imagine what we would’ve done without them. I’d give them 10000/5 stars if I could!!!! If you are thinking about hiring Events by Emily, it would be a true mistake not to. We would have been absolutely lost without Emily and are so grateful to her and her amazing team! -
Sarah Sent on 09/28/2025
Just the best
It’s hard to put into words how perfect our wedding was and what an amazing job Emily and her team did in executing for us and our guests. Our wedding was at the end of an intense year for both of us at work. We hired Emily as our full-service planner soon after getting engaged and she truly exceeded all expectations. She did an amazing job accommodating our schedules and (gently) keeping us on track throughout the planning process. Her excellent taste and network in the Triangle area made each vendor and design decision so much easier too: she immediately understood our vision for the day, and we felt comfortable delegating decisions to her from the jump.
Where Emily and her team really REALLY shined was the day of the wedding. We had decided the night before to go to our rain plan because there a 50% chance of rain at the time of the ceremony. But the weather was beautiful the next morning—there was still a chance of scattered storms in the afternoon, but it was clear any bad weather would be short-lived and pass in a matter of minutes. We hated the idea of having the wedding inside while looking out the window at blue skies. It was a gamble, but Emily agreed, and worked with the venue and all of our vendors to pivot back to an outdoor ceremony. Sure enough, a quick but intense storm came through just minutes after the guest shuttles arrived and less than 15 minutes before the ceremony time. Emily somehow made it feel like that was all part of the plan: guests enjoyed drinks in the covered cocktail hour area, we watched the rain pass with our families in our respective suites, and less than 10 minutes after our scheduled ceremony time, we walked down the aisle with blue skies overhead. It was absolute serendipity and could not have happened without Emily and her team advocating for us and coordinating with the venue and our vendors. The most incredible part is that throughout all of this uncertainty, we felt relaxed, happy, and confident that the day would be beautiful no matter what happened.
All this being said—if you want an absolutely beautiful and joyful wedding day, and a relaxed wedding planning experience, HIRE EMILY. She is an absolute no brainer if you’re getting married in NC, but would be an amazing choice for an out-of-state wedding too—she has an incredible, national vendor network and an amazing eye for aesthetics and design in any setting.
A huge, forever thanks to Events by Emily for the best day of our lives 💛 -
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![Deirdre]()
Deirdre Sent on 10/26/2024Stress-Free Wedding Planning!
Our biggest goal for wedding planning was to not be stressed out – a nearly impossible goal, but one that we succeeded at because of Events by Emily. As our full wedding planner, Emily was there to help us navigate everything from choosing a venue to making sure everything ran smoothly the day of. She worked with us to build a vision of what we wanted our wedding day to look like and then helped us make that vision become a reality.
Our favorite parts of having Emily as our wedding planner:
- Her and her associate Rebecca would provide us with a couple options of vendors for each part of our wedding (i.e. venues, florals, lighting, hair and makeup, officiants, etc.). These recommendations were based on our vision for the day, but significantly narrowed down the sheer number of vendors out there to a list that was a LOT more manageable than just searching on the Knot. They were also based on positive experiences that Emily has had with these vendors in the past, which is incredibly important (can you imagine your hair and makeup person not showing up on your wedding day? Not on Emily’s watch). If we didn’t like any of the options or wanted more options, Emily and her associate Rebecca were happy to provide more options.
- Emily went with us to the majority of the vendor meetings and asked questions that we wouldn’t have even considered asking.
- When we had a question or wanted to add something, all we had to do was email Emily. No tracking down each individual vendor, having to follow up by phone, etc. Emily was our go-to person.
- On the day-of, we were able to just enjoy our wedding day and not worry about logistics or who was going to set up the centerpieces or whether all the vendors knew where to go to set up. It never crossed my mind to worry about anything other than getting married to my best friend because I trusted Emily completely to make our vision come true – and she did!
The Events by Emily team was there for us every step of the way, making wedding planning not the stereotypical stressful nightmare but instead a fun process leading up to the best day of our lives. Emily was kind, responsive, supportive of our vision (always making sure that our voices were heard above all others), and on top of everything the whole way through. We are so happy we chose to hire Emily as our full-service wedding planner and highly recommend Events by Emily to anyone considering doing the same!
(Photography by Laura Memory Photography) -
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![Bianca]()
Bianca Sent on 08/16/2024The most enchanting weekend weekend
We had the most fantastic wedding experience working with Events by Emily. Emily and her team helped us plan our Bridgerton/English garden inspired wedding this past June at the Duke Chapel and Hope Valley Country Club as well as rehearsal dinner and Sunday brunch at the Washington Duke Inn. One of the reasons we chose to work with Emily was because of her experience with floral design and indeed, her ideas along with Bowerbird Flower’s made for the most enchanted wedding. We appreciated that Events by Emily was always quick to respond to our questions, were respectful of our budget, and alleviated so much wedding stress. On the day of, it was really helpful to have the Events by Emily team checking in on us frequently We truly think our wedding was carried out flawlessly and was the perfect celebration of our love story. B & T -
![Ellie]()
Ellie Sent on 10/08/2023The BEST experience
We used the full service package and I can confidently say that choosing Emily & Rebecca was the best decision we made during the entire wedding planning process. From beginning to end, they listened to all my worries, answered my endless questions, and kept me calm and focused. We live out of state, so their help was invaluable in identifying venues and vendors and basically planning everything while we weren't there. They know the BEST vendors, and it's clear how much the vendors love them and love working with them which makes me whole planning process and day of feel so much easier and seamless. While planning, I felt like I was never able to fully verbalize or even visualize what I wanted, but Emily took my endless ramblings and created the wedding of my dreams. She knew exactly the look and vibe I wanted even though I was often indecisive and bounced around from idea to idea. Aside from the incredible job both Emily and Rebecca did, they're both just really nice and fun to be around. I am sure the day of our wedding was stressful for them, but you would have never known. They were both such calming and steady presences for us throughout the day. Everything went off without a hitch and it's truly all thanks to them. They gave us one of the best days of our lives and I could not recommend them more. Hire them! -
![Elizabeth]()
Elizabeth Sent on 09/30/2023The BEST Wedding Planner!
We used Emily's full service package for our wedding and it could not have been a better experience. I live out of state and work busy hours, and she was always flexible to either meet with me over Zoom or work with my parents in the area. Emily is extremely organized and always kept me on track. She was able to connect us with amazing vendor options and gave us her honest opinions. I came with a rough idea of what I wanted my wedding to be, and Emily was able to turn that into a full-fledged reality. She seemed to know what I really wanted even if I didn't say it! Everything went so smoothly the days leading up to and the day of; if there was anything that went wrong I certainly didn't know it! -
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![Melanie]()
Melanie Sent on 10/20/2022Amazing Events Management
We chose the Events Management package and worked with Rebecca for coordination of our wedding at The Cookery. From our very first consult meeting, Rebecca was incredibly reassuring that the Events Management package was right for us, even though we were planning from states away. She was always prompt to respond and willing to accommodate meeting with us either virtually or in-person when we traveled into town. When we had our first 6-week out planning meeting, she had already familiarized herself with our vendors, and promptly started coordinating arrival/drop-off times with them to get our wedding day timeline started. She ensured that everything matched our vision, and that our day went off without a hitch. Rebecca's organization and attention to detail took away so much anxiety leading up to our big day, allowing us to enjoy time with one another and all of our friends and family. We would recommend Rebecca and the Events by Emily team to anyone looking for high quality wedding coordination and a team that's a joy to work with! -
![Shannon]()
Shannon Sent on 09/06/2022Very fun and capable team!
Emily and Rebecca are incredible at what they do and as an added bonus, are fun to be around. Our wedding went off without a single hitch, many thanks to their guidance and meticulous organization. I never felt stressed the day of the wedding knowing I was in their very capable hands. We had an amazing time and LOVED working with Emily and Rebecca! -
![Brenna]()
Brenna Sent on 07/30/2022Rebecca is Amazing
My husband and I hired Rebecca as our wedding coordinator and it was one of the best decisions we made in planning our wedding at Duke Gardens! We chose the event management package, and started working closely with Rebecca about six weeks before our wedding day. She quickly got up to speed with all our vendors, and worked with us to ensure that no detail was overlooked. Her calm, upbeat manner, professionalism, organization, and incredible attention to detail made her wonderful to work with. I fully expected to be very stressed out the week before our wedding day, but thanks to Rebecca I felt relaxed and could enjoy the anticipation knowing that everything was taken care of. On the day of our wedding she made sure everything was set up exactly how we planned it, and didn’t miss a single detail. She also did a beautiful job getting everyone in the wedding party to be where they needed to be and keeping everything on schedule. I can’t think of a single thing about our wedding that could have gone any better, and that is due in no small part to Rebecca and Events by Emily. -
![Andrew]()
Andrew Sent on 07/11/2022Amazing service, genuinely!
So helpful! Working with Rebecca as a joy. Would recommend to anyone and everyone. -
![Anna]()
Anna Sent on 04/26/2022Five Stars for Professionalism
We got to work with Rebecca for our downtown Raleigh wedding as a month-of coordinator. She made those last few (hectic!) weeks easy for us. Easy to work with, highly responsive, professional, and truly loved being a part of our wedding! We would choose Events by Emily again if we had to do it all over. -
![Caroline]()
Caroline Sent on 09/22/2020Emily is Pure Perfection
Emily is like this balancing energy. She handles things and keeps her cool, while also making everything super fun and pulling things off without a hitch. Getting married during a pandemic would have been 100x more stressful had it not been for Emily. She knew the best vendors and brought my vision to life perfectly. Plus she managed some very difficult family dynamics and made sure that we (the couple) were happy above all else. You won’t find someone with better energy and creativity. I wish Emily could coordinate everything in my life! -
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![Connor]()
Connor Sent on 02/03/2020A talented and wonderful wedding planner
We had an extremely positive experience working with Emily. We hired Emily through her partial wedding planning service and felt incredibly supported by her throughout the process. Partial planning was a great option for us. We knew we wanted to take a more active role with vendors, but we were able to save many hours of research with her recommendations and timelines. We were able to be (relatively) relaxed since we knew Emily would not let any detail slip through the cracks. Emily is a professional project manager that is both detail oriented and careful to make sure that the wedding matched our shared vision and personality. Her tailored vendor recommendations, meetings, budget management tools, day-of coordination, checklists, and timelines took what felt like an overwhelming task and broke it into manageable parts. She saved us potentially hundreds of hours of research and gathering of quotes from vendors. Also, vendors love working with her. I would strongly recommend Emily for any event planning but I think she is especially skilled at planning weddings. She knows that planning weddings requires extra attention to managing relationships with family and certain details that make the day feel truly special and one of a kind. The other thing to point out about Emily is that she in addition to being professional, detail-oriented, and highly capable, she is also a wonderful, cool, and funny person. It's a little bit strange to admit, but now that we're married, we miss our meetings with Emily. Partly because they were always productive and it was exciting to see the pieces come together, but also because she's a great energy to be around. I can't recommend her highly enough. Do yourself a favor and hire Emily to plan your wedding or next event. -
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![Rebecca]()
Rebecca Sent on 01/12/2020Emily is the best!
Emily is so wonderful that I wish I had another upcoming event so I could work with her again! Our wedding ended up exactly how I wanted, and it would have been impossible without Emily's help from the start. We hired Emily as a full-service planner. My (now) husband and I live in California but wanted to have our wedding in North Carolina, where our family still lives and where we grew up. Emily made it possible for us to plan the wedding from across the country, with minimal visits to NC. She worked around our busy schedules and walked us through the process from beginning to end, helping us create the vibe and event that felt authentic to us. She has fantastic taste, knows incredible vendors (who respect the bejeezus out of her which helps), and understands her job can often include family/relationship management alongside planning.
Emily somehow makes you feel like you're her only client. She is always ready to ease fears through a text or a phone call and takes any question seriously, no matter the size. Emily made everything so seamless we hired her to help coordinate an afterparty AND our brunch the next day. If you're considering getting help to plan your other events, I highly recommend it. Having Emily help with the entire weekend ensured everything was a success and created a consistent experience for our guests and us.
Thanks, Emily for making our day so special! -
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![Kelsey]()
Kelsey Sent on 12/30/2019Do something kind for yourself & hire her.
I don't even know where to begin. We hired Emily as our day of coordinator and she was, start to finish, a literal dream to work with. Not only was she calm, cool and collected while I struggled to wrap up my last details, she made everything easier. Everything that needed to be completed, she was one step ahead of me guiding the way. She has impeccable taste, provided guidance when I needed it, and proved to be someone I could go to with any question I had. If I could hire her for literally any life event, I would. I don't know what we would have done without Emily & Erin on the day of. They took the pieces of what we had planned and pulled it all together flawlessly. All in all, she's kind, organized and an incredibly lovely person. Just book her already, honestly. -
![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 11/16/2019If you and your partner are the two most important people for your wedding day, Emily is #3
If you are trolling these reviews in an attempt to find the perfect wedding planner, look no further! All the work that Emily put in as our month-of planner made the wedding and planning process go so smoothly. Leading up to the wedding, Emily did such a great job coordinating with all of the vendors. It was really great that, if I had a question or needed something adjusted, I could just reach out to Emily and she would take care of it. She made everything leading up to the wedding so uncomplicated for me and my in-laws. As a bride, something no one tells you is that on your wedding day, if you don't have a planner, all of the questions from vendors come directly to you and your family members. With Emily and her assistant Erin, my loved ones and I were able to relax and have a nice morning, uninterrupted by vendors. They stuck around until the end of the reception and made sure that my husband and I had the best day possible. They relieved all of our stress and conducted our wedding in a way that was professional, helpful, and made us feel very special. My husband and I often joke about getting divorced so that we can get married again and have another big fun wedding. The only thing we would do differently is hire Emily sooner. -
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Giaco Sent on 06/25/2019
Emily Made Our Wedding Perfect
It’s really hard to put into words how helpful and wonderful Emily was as our wedding planner. We hired on Emily as a full-service planner almost two years before the actual day of our wedding, and to say we couldn’t have done it without her is a huge understatement. Emily is careful, thoughtful, kind, (extremely) patient, and her attention to detail is remarkable. We live in NYC but wanted to have our wedding in Durham, and we knew we’d need full-service help. But even if you’re local, you should seriously consider Emily for full-service wedding planning. She navigated vendors, kept us on track in terms of budget and timeline, and really understands the joys (and stresses) of planning a wedding. Our 110 person wedding, held at the lovely Cookery in downtown Durham, was given life via her guidance. It was completely "us," elegantly designed, and had the perfect flow from moment to moment. She kept us on track, kept us from getting overwhelmed, and helped us navigate every situation that came up during the planning phase. She immediately got our vibe, understood what we wanted for our day, and worked tirelessly with all of our (equally wonderful) vendors to make it beyond perfect. Bringing her on board was the best decision we made for our wedding, and we couldn’t imagine anyone else helping us have the perfect day. Thanks, Emily, for everything! -
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![Heather]()
Heather Sent on 06/24/2019Excellent planner! Had a wonderful low stress planning process and wedding because of Emily!
I can't speak highly enough about Emily and her skills as a wedding planner! Hiring her was one of the best decisions we made. We got engaged and were married 6 months to the day afterwards and had a wedding for ~100 people. Within that 6 months we bought a house, both moved and had several other life events happen. Needless to say it was stressful but honestly I rarely had wedding stress. I was ridiculously happy planning it and I credit most of that to Emily. After the initial meeting she helped us nail down our vision and then she would give me 2 - 3 options for vendors that matched our style and were within our budget. It saved us so much time combing the internet and worrying about the caliber of those we were hiring. I know she had many meetings with vendors and the venue without me even knowing which is exactly what I wanted!
The actual wedding day was perfect! Everything (went off perfectly despite weather moving us inside and if there was a hiccup she and her assistant took care of it without me knowing.
She is personable but also no non-sense which fit well with my personality.
I never worried about missing a detail, not meeting a timeline, or anything on the wedding day. I highly recommend Emily to help plan your wedding! -
![Dana]()
Dana Sent on 05/31/2019The best wedding decision we made!!
Hiring Emily was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. I started off thinking I could plan our 250 person wedding out-of-state (with the help of my in-state parents), but I realized how stressed I was getting and how much I needed help making decisions. As soon as I spoke to Emily, I knew we needed and wanted her. By the time we hired her as our partial planner, we had booked most of our vendors, but Emily helped us get to the finish line. She was with us as we met with potential vendors for invitations, with our florist, the Temple, everything. She even facetimed me as she was walking through the warehouse deciding on different accessories we may or may not want for the reception. We relied on her way more than we initially expected, and it was amazing.
To sum it up, Emily is EXCELLENT at her job. She understood the look we were going for and was able to communicate with all of our vendors to help make all of the final design decisions and coordinate all day-of details. She anticipated all of our needs before we even knew we needed them and was in constant communication with us and our vendors. She reminded us when we needed to make decisions or purchases, and was always there for support! Emily will get the job done, get it done quickly, and get it done right. It took an incredible amount of pressure off of our shoulders.
We had zero worries day-of and Emily handled everything perfectly! We were able to step back and enjoy the day and we knew she would take care of anything that came up!
We enjoyed every minute of working with her and are so appreciative of all of the time and effort she put into our wedding! Hire Events by Emily and you won't be disappointed! -
![LouAnn]()
Louann Sent on 05/20/2019Events by Emily was awesome!
Emily was thorough, efficient and delightful. We had a great time working together and her follow-through was excellent. If she helps with your wedding, you'll be in great hands! -
![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 03/18/2019Love and Laughter!
I could not imagine having a wedding without Emily! Her calm demeanor and helpful suggestions allowed us to enjoy the day to the fullest! We had a stress free day full of love and laughter. Thank you Emily! -
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Suzanna Sent on 01/08/2019
Thank you, Emily, for the most beautiful day of our lives...
My husband, Stephen, and I began the wedding planning process during a rather hectic time in our lives. We’d recently moved across the country from our longtime home of North Carolina for his medical residency, and we were still adjusting to his grueling work schedule, the SF bay area cost of living, and simply being in a new place! We briefly wondered if perhaps we should wait until a more “stable” time to plan our wedding. But we didn’t entertain that possibility for long: we couldn’t imagine putting our special day on hold for any longer. We wanted to be married! And despite the logistics, we knew we wanted to tie the knot back in the state where we met and fell in love, surrounded by the friends and family there that supported us.
Neither of us knowing much about the planning process, we were embarrassingly naive. After a few crazy months of attempting to do it on our own, we finally admitted the obvious: we needed help!
Millenials that we are, we found Emily on Google. Her words felt immediately reassuring. Her vibe was down-to-earth, clear, and refreshing. It felt like she already knew the essence of the wedding we wanted to create. Honestly, she also just seemed like someone we'd be friends with! Where we were with our planning process at the time, this felt like exactly what we needed: someone to understand us, guide us, but also connect with as a couple... from all the way across the country (no biggie!)
Our first meeting with Emily (via Skype) confirmed this initial impression. She was validating and kind, but also no-nonsense, assertive, and professional. She told us that she enjoyed working weddings of all budgets, and when we threw out our crazy ideas (like having a bike race the morning of our wedding) she didn’t bat an eyelash -- though she did bust out a smile! She clearly explained her services and didn’t pressure us into choosing a particular package. But, after the call, it didn’t take long for us to sign on for her full service option. We were in touch with reality now, and we knew that planning a low-budget wedding from across the country was a huge endeavor.
As the months ticked by, Emily continued to impress us. She was super communicative, meticulously organized, and helped us anticipate countless aspects of wedding planning we would have never realized ourselves until the final hour. Though she has a list of trusted vendors, she was willing and open to working with the many friends and family who pitched in for many aspects of our wedding (a second-cousin wedding photographer, an uncle who grew our flowers, a friend who made our pre-mixed cocktails, cycling friends who were DJs and cake bakers, to name a few!) We understand now that this was no small task -- she worked very hard to communicate and coordinate with people she had never met.
Because of Stephen’s grueling work schedule, he wasn’t able to attend most of the wedding-related planning trips. Emily accompanied me on tasting appointments, venue walk-throughs, equipment rental visits, and coffee-dates. And because she was planning her own wedding at the same time, we bonded over the disorienting double-standards put upon brides by society. She calmed me down, she validated me, and she was only ever a text or email away. To this day, when I hear the word “Emily”, I feel a little rush of calm & relief. She’s the real deal, and she gets it.
As the wedding approached, knowing that Emily was taking care of so many logistical things allowed us to focus on the personal touches that were important to us. I was able to spend time doing fun crafting projects and making things like the crossword puzzles on our menus, a childhood photo wall, a DIY polaroid photo booth, gold spray-painted bicycle wheels, wooden painted signs, and (of course) our wedding day bicycle race! Our memories of wedding planning tasks are mostly ones that are enormously meaningful and personal, so much so that they still bring us to happy-tears months later. This would not have been possible without Emily.
The week of the wedding, we were thrown a few curveballs (I got food poisoning and the weather took a threatening wet and freezing turn), but Emily was focused and assured. I felt calm knowing that she was there, no matter what. And guess what?
Our wedding day was absolutely PERFECT. And as a lifelong perfectionist, I don’t use that word lightly. It was utterly and completely the best day of our lives. Every single moment was heart-expanding, life-changingly perfect. Thanks to Emily, we were fully present in every moment. We were able to talk at length with nearly every single one of our guests. We were able to eat our dinner leisurely and have an intimate conversation from our sweetheart table (Em’s idea) as we looked over a barn full of our nearest and dearest. We danced until our feet were sore.
Our day was so intensely beautiful that our emotions were even higher in the days that followed. We didn't feel a drop of relief or regret, because we were already missing each second of it. She made that possible. -
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![Lacey]()
Lacey Sent on 07/19/2017My now husband and I were lucky enough to work with Emily while planning our wedding at City Winery. To say Emily went above the call of duty would be an understatement. She was patient, attentive, friendly, and fun to work with.
Looking back I can now say I was a pretty high maintenance bride, but Emily wasn't phased by it (or at least didn't let it show!). She always responded quickly to emails and phone calls and answered my myriad of questions. When we thought the worst had happened, losing our photographer, she was ready and able to provide us with suggestions for back up photographers.
I would be happy to hire Emily again and I whole-heatedly recommend her for any of your event planning needs.
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