James Abel Events Reviews
Reviews
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Awards
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![Whitney]()
Whitney Sent on 01/13/2025Incredible Wedding Planning Service!
James was absolutely incredible through every step of the wedding planning process from the first consultation to the wedding day itself! I especially appreciated his prompt communication, organization and professionalism. Anything we needed, James was able to procure. He has a great aesthetic eye and works with top vendors to ensure the best experience while being respectful of our budget limits. I highly recommend James Abel Events for all your wedding and event needs! -
Lindsay Sent on 05/05/2026
Highly recommend James!
We had the pleasure of working with James for our wedding in March 2026, and he came highly recommended by our venue. From start to finish, he was incredibly easy to work with—organized, responsive, and instrumental in keeping everything on track while making the entire planning process genuinely enjoyable.
What stood out most was how seamlessly he operated on the wedding day. He managed everything efficiently and behind the scenes, ensuring the day flowed smoothly without us ever having to worry about a thing.
We also have to highlight how beautiful his floral arrangements were. I shared a few Pinterest inspiration photos, and he absolutely nailed the vision.
We highly recommend James for any event or wedding planning needs. He truly makes the entire process feel smooth, stress-free, and fun! Thank you James -
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![Gabriel]()
Gabriel Sent on 06/28/2025Highly recommend James as your wedding planner
First of all, thanks James for making our wedding weekend the best one of our lives.
We did not have any last-minute stressful situations thanks to James’s great attention to detail and organization skills. Though, judging by his diligence throughout our planning process, I am sure he would have solved any problem smoothly had the need arisen.
James did a seamless job working with a multitude of vendors and helping us manage our budget (including renegotiating rates) to make room for more fun surprises during our wedding day. James always brought good ideas/vendors to the table, and he was open to work with new vendors to achieve the identity we wanted to imprint in our celebrations.
The night of the wedding reception, James was nothing short of a general that managed a platoon of people make our dream night come to life.
We highly recommend working with James to anyone planning a wedding celebration. -
![Julia]()
Julia Sent on 06/03/2025Amazing wedding planner!
James was wonderful to work with! He had great ideas and suggestions for the day, while also listening to what our vision was and bringing that to life. Working with him and his team was seamless and really lifted a lot of the work and stress from our shoulders. Would highly highly recommend! -
![Lacey]()
Lacey Sent on 05/01/2025One-Stop Creative Shop
Right after we got engaged, we chose and booked our venue by ourselves and it was so overwhelming and stressful that we then hired James. As the year of planning went on, we realized how incredibly lucky we were to have found him.
James is a one-stop shop for invitations, paper products (signs, escort cards, etc.), and flowers. Having fewer outside vendors to deal with was a huge bonus. James was able to bring our ideas to life and would go back and forth with us as many times as necessary to perfectly realize our vision. In addition, his design instincts are flawless; multiple people reached out to us to exclaim over the Save The Date and the invitation he designed. From the beginning of the planning process, the floral design was the thing I was most looking forward to, and when I finally saw the arrangements in person, I was truly wowed. People are still talking to us about the flowers almost a month after the wedding.
The vendors that James recommended were all wonderful and we loved the ones that we ultimately chose. The only tricky vendor we dealt with was the hotel/venue, which we chose before we hired him. He was able to manage several situations with the hotel that, without his finesse and grace, may have become contentious. In particular, one of those situations was managing food allergies. The hotel, which was also the caterer, was incredibly unhelpful but James was able to diplomatically impress upon them the seriousness of the situation and provide us with the safe, worry-free wedding we had hoped for. He even found us an excellent nut-free bakery for our cake, which was delicious.
Throughout the many elements of the wedding, from welcome party to final party favor, James followed our lead when we had ideas and gave us expert advice whenever we needed it, which was often. He had solutions for every problem we presented him with and remained calm and confident in every scenario. He’s also just a lovely, personable guy.
My only piece of advice is to trust him implicitly. He won’t steer you wrong.
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Courtney Sent on 01/09/2025
Beyond our Wildest Dreams - A Royal Wedding Thanks to James!
We cannot thank James enough for the incredible role he played in making our wedding day truly magical. As a couple from the UK planning a wedding in New York, we were initially overwhelmed by everything and differences in US weddings to UK ones, but James made the entire process seamless. From the very beginning, he was with us every step of the way, offering creative ideas and solutions that brought our vision to life in ways we hadn’t even imagined. His attention to detail was impeccable, and no request was too big or too small for him.
James went above and beyond what was expected of him—handling not just his official duties, but taking on tasks last minute that were completely outside of his scope. He was a problem-solver, a calm presence in moments of stress, and a true professional in every sense of the word. Even when I made some, shall we say, ‘outlandish’ requests, James handled them with grace, patience, and an unwavering commitment to making our dreams come true.
The day itself was everything I had ever dreamed of and more. James not only made it all come together flawlessly, but he also kept me so calm throughout the process, which was invaluable. His incredible attention to detail and ability for managing everything behind the scenes made the entire experience feel effortless. We've even had guests calling it a "royal wedding"! That’s a testament to the stunning execution and elegance James brought to every aspect of our special day. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding and we owe so much of it to his dedication and expertise.
It’s rare to find someone who not only understands your vision but takes it to the next level in such a personal and thoughtful way. We’ll truly miss working with James—he was more than just a wedding planner to us, he became a part of our wedding journey and a very good friend and we are so grateful for everything he did. If you’re planning a wedding, we cannot recommend James highly enough!
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Grant Sent on 01/09/2025
The Best Wedding Planner
I cannot recommend James highly enough as a wedding planner! From start to finish, he was absolutely amazing.
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![Sophie]()
Sophie Sent on 08/29/2024perfect A+
James was everything I could have ever wanted and more. He gave us our most perfect dream wedding. He had the perfect balance of involving me and taking on all of the work, so I could continue to work through the wedding planning. He made it so fun and easy. The actual wedding couldn't have been more beautiful. It exceeded all my expectations. It was an Alice in Wonderland dream world that matched my dress. Everything from the invites to the decor and food was perfect, and he was so mindful of budget and family dynamics. Can't recommend enough. -
![Peter]()
Peter Sent on 05/13/2024James gave us the wedding of our dreams!
James is truly an expert in his field and is fun to work with. He was also very patient answering all of our questions regarding the wedding planning process. Would highly recommend James to plan your wedding. You won't be disappointed! -
Pamela Sent on 02/05/2024
Our Highest Recommendation
We had an excellent experience with James and give him our highest recommendation.
James was always reachable and responsive, generally just excelling at communication. He has a wonderful eye for design and was able to coordinate all of our flower arrangements without us having to bring in a separate vendor. He even managed to make our bulk candy dessert bar look beautiful and match the décor!
He was mindful of our budget, but also knowledgeable in that he could tell exactly where it was worth it to splurge and where it was better to save. He worked seamlessly with our venue and band. He demonstrated his professionalism and good taste early on, and we therefore trusted him enough to take his recommendations for a photographer and hair/makeup artist without hesitation. They were both awesome as well!
I truly believe that you couldn’t go wrong with James. On top of everything else, he is just genuinely a fun, nice person that is a pleasure to chat with.
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Bobby Sent on 12/04/2023
James is amazing!
James and his team were on top of everything. He made the process extremely easy and helped get us everything we needed. He even managed to add details to the wedding that we didn’t even expect (just through talking with him he added special details to the ceremony and other events). -
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![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 03/01/2023A genuine pro and best choice we made
I didn't have much of a vision for my wedding save for a sparse and random Pinterest board, yet James managed to bring my dream winter wedding to life. He calmly and expertly helped me, my parents, and my now husband navigate the New York/Brooklyn wedding industry, recommending and interfacing with incredible vendors on our behalf, answering every little question, and presenting just enough options--all within budget!
His honesty and years of experience made for a stress-free planning process (despite our venue moving to a new location mid-way) and a flawlessly executed event (despite our never having seen the finished venue). If there were any hiccups, we didn't notice!
Above all, I knew that I did not want a "typical wedding"--James understood the assignment. My husband wanted a taste of the Swiss alps in Brooklyn--James achieved it, glistening faux snow and all. We didn't know a single wedding vendor in New York--James had all the connections. My mom decided she wanted to play a video at the wedding a few weeks before--James made it happen. All this to say that I am forever grateful we found James and would not change a thing about our unique, elegant, memorable, fun, and delicious wedding! -
![Donna]()
Donna Sent on 08/30/2022Outstanding!
How many weddings have you attended where multiple toasts include praise for the party planner? Well, that is what happened at our our daughter’s unforgettable winter wonderland wedding held in May. It was a stunning experience!
Our daughter, a passionate skier and a lover of all things snow and winter, wanted a wedding celebration that expressed this part of her personality, and so a wedding was planned for February, 2022, as a sequel to a small intimate COVID-constrained wedding that occurred in November, 2020 (and one baby later). Unfortunately, COVID was not yet tamed, and Omnicron reared its transmissible head. We were compelled to make the decision to postpone the wedding six weeks before its scheduled date because at this point there was too much risk attendant to an indoor wedding. We deliberated and went back and forth and in good conscience would not proceed. We called James with the bad news. Without blinking an eye, in an afternoon, he salvaged the event, and all of its elements, and rebooked the entire thing for May. We experienced nary a ripple; we can only imagine what he had to go through during those few short hours.
Winter wonderland in May you ask? Yes it was. Our wedding was complete with real evergreens dusted with powder snow, white birch logs and lanterns illuminating the center aisle for the wedding, and snowballs. Lots of styrofoam snowballs James recreated a ski lodge down to plaid table runners, snowflake napkin holders and snowflakes projected on the wall and dance floor. The waitstaff wore identical ski patterned sweater vests. Guests retrieved their table assignments from a simulated campfire made of tulips and sticks with cutouts to resemble marshmallows that revealed individual table assignments. The bride and groom were pelted with snowballs as they retreated down the aisle after the wedding ceremony. The flowers were gorgeous; all white contained in silver and white birch containers.In short, the decorations were creative, whimsical, elegant and truly memorable.
Our guests still talk about the quality of the food and the array of choices; many dishes and bites so different and original. The food was delicious; way above the traditional wedding fare (done with good intentions but falling short of expectations).
Planning a wedding should be a positive and fun experience which culminates with an event that is fun and meaningful, uniquely expressing the values and tastes of the hosts and couple. That is exactly what James Abel delivered.
He was easy to work with, responsive, reassuring, devoid of surprises and worry-free, and all delivered with a sense of humor and respect for the budget. James satisfied us in every way. James listened carefully, offered creative options and executed on the vision in a manner that exceeded our expectations. The process was meticulously managed and resulted in an event that was, by all measures, a great success.
It was the event our daughter envisioned and dreamed of. As we view the photographs the attention to detail shown by James and his staff was impeccable. If I only had another event to do James will be the first to call. Perhaps our daughter and son-in-law will engage him for their son’s Bar Mitzvah? They have our vote!
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Lisa Sent on 08/08/2022
James Abel is an incredible wedding coordinator and has our highest recommendation!
Our wedding was the best day of our lives, and it was all because of James Abel! He is not only incredibly experienced, but also a pleasure to work with. From our very first meeting, we immediately knew how much he genuinely cares about his clients, listens to their needs and does everything to ensure they have the wedding of their dreams. He made everything seamless and we never had to worry about a single detail falling through the cracks -- from picking out the venue together, to coordinating all of the vendors, to arranging the most stunning flowers for the reception, to all the day-of logistics (and everything in between), he was there every step of the way. We could not have done it without him and cannot wait to work with him again on many parties to come in this next chapter of our lives. James has our absolute highest recommendation! -
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![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 08/08/2022Thank you James!
James was a delight to work with! We couldn't have pulled off our wedding celebration without him. We relied on him to help source the venue, photographer, band, cake and bridal makeup/hair which took a considerable amount of time off our plates. Each vendor worked out perfectly - even when the original makeup artist got covid 3 days before the wedding, James was able to find a great replacement within 24 hours. We got many, many compliments from our guests on the flowers which James does himself. We worked with James for over two years to plan and execute this event - we were twice postponed due to covid - and at every turn he was helpful, understanding, calm and easy to work with. His experience in hosting an NYC wedding was invaluable to us and we were thrilled that our guests had the experience we were hoping for. -
![Nick]()
Nick Sent on 06/07/2022Responsive, Thorough and Excellent!
James was an incredible wedding planner, leading us through the entire process so that everything went seamlessly. He made it such a special day and was responsive and thorough throughout the whole planning process. He did an incredible job setting up the flowers for the ceremony and reception. We highly recommend him for your wedding! -
![Chris]()
Chris Sent on 10/28/2021James Able delivers the perfect wedding!!!
James is a dream wedding planner! His professionalism, creativity, enthusiasm, and "make it work" mentality truly make him an invaluable asset to any event or wedding. He delivered two of the most beautiful, personal, and unforgettable ceremonies and parties imaginable. We couldn't be more thrilled with our choice to use him to plan our wedding and reception. -
Becca Sent on 10/17/2021
Best Decision Ever
During our first few months of wedding planning, we were completely overwhelmed with options and long to-do lists. I was reluctant, but decided to enlist a wedding planner to help us. Choosing James was the best decision we made throughout the entire wedding planning process.
Instantly, the pressure of planning our wedding was alleviated. James kept tabs on all aspects of the wedding, big and small. He would do all of the hard work of narrowing everything (venues, photographers, bands, etc) to a few great options and would then bring us in to make the final decisions. Wedding planning became FUN! We were able to relax and enjoy our time as fiancés while he kept everything organized and on schedule - no details went unnoticed. He was so responsive to every question or idea we had. One of our favorite memories from that year was our food and wine tasting with James. We were blown away by every aspect of our wedding planning process.
Months later our guests are still raving about it; it was the best night of our lives. We had a stress free wedding weekend, as James and his team handled everything from start to finish. We and our families/friends were able to enjoy each event and truly live in the moment instead of dealing with logistics or issues. James is somehow able to be everywhere at once and always steps up wherever he is needed (at one point even bustling my dress and bartending at our day-after brunch). James and his team made our wedding weekend beyond perfect.
Looking back, I can’t believe I ever thought I could do this without a wedding planner. If you’re on the fence, DO IT and make sure you pick James!!! -
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![Julie]()
Julie Sent on 08/23/2021Amazing planner and a joy to work with! Incredible execution- couldn’t have asked for a better day!
James,
We wanted to thank you so much for everything you have done for us over the last year and a half to get us married!! Even with the state of the world we are in, and all the unpredictable stressors along the way (hello hurricane henri), this weekend was beyond a doubt the best weekend of our lives and we owe so much of it to you. We are eternally grateful for your diligence, attention to detail, creativity, expertise, and ability to stay calm and collected through it all. Walking into the venue on our wedding day, we were BLOWN away! From the beautiful setup in the entry way, to the unbelievable floral work on the aisle and the chuppah and the bouquets, to every single detail in the ballroom (the menus, the centerpieces, the table set up, etc etc etc), everything was perfection. We’ve talked about it a lot leading up to the day, but seeing it in person completely exceeded all of our expectations. Every little detail was thought through and executed incredibly. That extends to both the rehearsal dinner and brunch, in addition to the wedding !!! We are so happy that we had you to make our wedding vision into more than what we could’ve ever dreamed of. Even though I know there were hiccups along the way, there was absolutely nothing that we had to worry about the whole weekend. We were in such good hands and anyone would be so lucky to work with you!!!! Thank you again for everything - save the date for our vow renewal party tbd in the future :)!
With lots of love and eternal gratitude,
Julie & Brian -
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![Beth]()
Beth Sent on 10/20/2020Hire jim abel
every detail was executed perfectly! highly suggest you consider JIM ABEL and his highly capable team -
![Anna]()
Anna Sent on 10/14/2020BEYOND amazing!
I could go on and on about how wonderful our experience was with James. If you're debating hiring him, don't, just do it. You will never regret it. Due to COVID, my husband and I decided to cancel our big October wedding, but still have our wedding with families only. Like many others we were really bummed to make this decision and knew we would be sacrificing a lot, but this decision brought us to James. I called James 2 months before our wedding date, in need of someone to help make our day beautiful and special, as we were starting from scratch and getting married in a new city. Within 5 minutes of talking on the phone, he had the entire day planned out, and knew how to make it so meaningful with only 17 people. He was professional, funny and so pleasant to work with. He is AMAZING at his job. I trusted him completely, and was in awe at how beautiful he made our backyard wedding. Afterwards, I showed photos to my friends, who said it looked like a fairytale, and they couldn't get over how beautiful he was able to make everything. He also made the process so stress-free. He made our wedding feel like this was the wedding we were meant to have all along. I can't express how thankful we are for him. He's the best!!! -
Carly Sent on 03/18/2019
Amazing to work with
James was an absolute pleasure to work with. He was so quick and responsive and just read my brain in exactly what I wanted. The flowers were stunning!! -
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![paula]()
Paula Sent on 06/23/2010James did a fantastic job on our wedding. Flowers, linens and room decorations were absolutely stunning. The cocktail room/bar had so many roses that you could smell them as soon as you walk into the venue. Absolutely breathtaking!
In the dinning/dancing room he used odorless flower, so our guest can actually smell dinner. He mixed at least 10 different kinds of flowers with the most beautiful orchids we have ever seen. Our guests were blown away by the attention to details; in fact, they are still talking about the elegance and uniqueness of our event.
He stays on top of the current trends and he designs the event around your budget.
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