Ohana Events Reviews
43 Reviews
Rated
4.9
out of 5.0
Recommended by 99% of couples
Awards
19 User photos
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![Sarah]()
Sarah K. Getting married on 12/10/2021Words Cannot Describe How Wonderful They Are!!
When our wedding plans changed due to COVID, we were stressed, overwhelmed and didn't even know where to begin. Then we met Danielle and Emily and our minds were IMMEDIATELY put at ease. As someone who is also V organized, I thought I would never meet someone who met my standards. BOY was I wrong! From the start, Danielle and Emily asked us all the right questions, put together a game plan and gladly took over all of the things that were stressing us out. Not only that, but they were SO nice, approachable and we actually wanted to stay on our Zoom call with them LONGER than 2 hours! They went above and beyond in every aspect of their service and never made us feel annoying for all the questions we had. The day of our wedding they showed up early, coordinated everything with our vendors, set up last minute things and handled any hiccups (I honestly don't even know if there were any). If you are looking for a wedding planner in the Chicago area, PLEASE hire Danielle and Emily. I seriously cannot say enough how wonderful they were - not just at getting stuff done and staying organized, but at making us feel so loved on our big day! -
![Liz]()
Liz C. Married on 09/05/2021Just Say YES to Ohana Events
SAY YES to working with Danielle!! I can't say enough how supportive, intelligent and helpful Danielle and her team are. She knows the industry through and through. In a situation where you don't know what you don't know, Danielle KNOWS what's normal and what's not and will help you make decisions that fit your desires. There were so many times I thought "I guess that's just a wedding fee" and Danielle was quick to explain if it normal/expected or something we should negotiate/change with vendors. She has great relationships with many, many Chicago vendors who equally adore her which made the whole process of planning enjoyable with very minimal stress. She's incredibly detailed and thorough with every step. She's hands-on and willing to help not only via email and her detailed documents (wedding timeline, venue comparison sheet, 3 month to do list, 1 month to do list, tipping etiquette etc.), but also in person to visit venues, have a timeline meeting, and food tastings. Investing in Danielle was the best money we spent on our wedding and I would do it 100 times over again. -
![Diana]()
Diana S. Married on 09/03/2021Definitely Hire
Such an excellent experience with Danielle and her team. Was not convinced a coordinator was necessary, but would entirely recommend to future couples. Danielle kept any issues from becoming our issues. The day was that much more enjoyable. Thank you! -
![Alison]()
Alison B. Married on 08/15/2020AMAZING experience with Ohana Events when postponing our 2020 wedding
If you are planning a wedding for 2021... or have to reschedule/postpone your 2020 wedding ... the very best choice you can make is to hire Danielle with Ohana Events!!! We hired Danielle to assist with our summer 2020 wedding. Never did we anticipate having to postpone our wedding due to the pandemic. Trying to figure out all the details or when/how to postpone/reschedule would have been so stressful and overwhelming-- on top of the stress we already felt about all of the changes in our lives and in the world around us.
The very BEST decision we have made in the wedding planning process is to have Danielle as our wedding planner. (And we have not even had our wedding yet!) Danielle has been so positive and supportive, yet realistic. She talked us through considerations/options with postponing our wedding. And when we ultimately made the decision to postpone, Danielle quickly reached out to all of our vendors, coordinated and researched dates they would be available, possible fees involved with postponement, etc. Then she presented all of our options to us, laid out very clearly and concisely.
Ultimately, Danielle was able to reschedule EVERY SINGLE ONE of our vendors to a new date next year, with no fees or penalties. Danielle coordinated getting all new contracts written/signed, and truly took on the burden of planning/rescheduling the entire wedding day. She also helped me with ideas for notifying our guests with sample emails/"change the date" cards. Danielle included us in every part of the process of postponement, but ultimately we were so happy to let her use her expertise to coordinate the details of rescheduling an event with the venue and vendors.
One final note -- Our original agreement with Danielle was for "month of" services-- just the final planning of our wedding. What she has done for us over the past month has been nothing short of incredible, kind, and so so generous. My fiance and I -- as well as our extended families-- are so grateful to her and in awe of her talents!! We could not have made it through this stressful and unexpected postponement without her support, organization, expertise, and kindness.
The very best choice you can make in planning, postponing, or rescheduling a wedding this year is to get Danielle with Ohana Events on your team!! You will be so happy that you did!!! -
![Samantha]()
Samantha E. Married on 08/08/2020Stellar! Made my microwedding amazing
I had no intention of ever utilizing a wedding planner, but then the pandemic hit and suddenly I had under 3 months to adjust all my plans, including finding a new reception venue. This is where Danielle came in and really saved the day. She helped us research a list of venues and ended up getting us an amazing deal with a location she had a prior relationship with. It was the perfect spot and met all of our needs – the right vibe, a beautiful space, outdoors, spacious yet intimate – all within our budget. Securing the venue alone was well worth the money spent to connect with Danielle, but even more she was an amazing help on the day of the wedding as well. Several of my family members and friends mentioned how helpful and on top of things she was. A pandemic microwedding might have been our Plan B, but with Danielle’s help, it felt like Plan A. I HIGHLY recommend working with Danielle and her team 😊 -
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![Paige]()
Paige L. Married on 07/18/2020Highly Recommend!
I couldn’t wait until April to start working with Danielle as our Month of Coordinator for our July 2020 wedding. From the start she was committed to me and the planning process! Even before her scheduled time to work with us began, she was quick to answer any questions I had about vendors and the small details to make our wedding special. Soon after our first meeting in April, my fiancé and I made the difficult decision to postpone. Danielle was so supportive and reassuring. She made us feel like we were her top priority. I was so stressed about this decision and felt such a burden of planning a second wedding. Danielle took on all of that stress and contacted all of my vendors. Within 24 hours she let us know that ALL of our vendors were available for our new date. Danielle was very understanding and was really able to empathize with our situation being a 2020 bride-to-be herself. I continue to be impressed with her commitment to supporting brides through organizing a virtual summit with other event/wedding planning businesses in Chicago. While 2020 hasn’t lived up to its expectations, Danielle has exceeded them and has already started making 2021 the best year yet! I can’t wait to write another review after our wedding next summer, and will be recommending Ohana Events to all of my friends getting married in the future. -
![Allison]()
Allison Z. Married on 05/22/2020Do yourself a favor and book with ohana!
Do yourself a favor and BOOK WITH OHANA!! We went back and forth about having a day-of coordinator and I am SO thankful that in the end we decided to have one! We first met Rachel when we were looking at venues and although we didn’t love the venue she worked at, we couldn't get Rachel out of our head! From our very first impression she was SO put together and organized and knew everything there is to know about a wedding!! We were thrilled to learn she also did wedding planning and we decided to hire her as our day-of coordinator! She was an absolutely incredible resource for us throughout our wedding planning process whenever we needed advice or vendor recommendations. She especially went above and beyond helping us navigate changing our wedding plans during the pandemic! I’ll never forget coming home to an Ohana events card with a cheerful message encouraging us when we had to postpone our wedding, it was the kindest gesture. Rachel put together the most detailed timeline for our day and then on our actual wedding day Danielle was there to make sure it all ran seamlessly!! Danielle was absolutely incredible on our wedding day, making sure things were on time and people were in the right places! She was SO sweet to all our guests (I know in the past sometimes I've seen wedding planners get a bad reputation with the guests because they are too pushy, but let me assure you that Danielle is SO kind and genuine and would never make your guests feel uncomfortable). She went above and beyond on our actual day and the times she saved the day included (but were not limited) to the following: scrubbing mud out of my wedding dress minutes before I walked down the aisle, sending her assistant to go get eyelash glue when I needed it, sewing my wedding dress sleeve mid reception (yep she had her own little sewing kit), supplying me and my bridesmaids with spray on deodorant whenever we needed it and lastly packing up everything at the end of the night and making sure my husband and I had all our belongings. THOSE REASONS are why it is SO beneficial to have a day of coordinator! Danielle truly had everything I could possibly need and it was so wonderful to have a go-to person on my wedding day so that I didn't have to bother my mom or someone in my bridal party!! I will forever appreciate those day-saving acts of kindness/preparedness. Overall I cannot recommend Ohana events enough!! My sister has already booked them for her wedding in the spring- that is how much we love and trust them!! THANK YOU OHANA!!!!
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![Susan]()
Susan N. Married on 02/29/2020Day of Coordinator
Wow! I don't know where to begin with Danielle from Ohana Events. We were planning our wedding in Chicago from out of town and Danielle was so helpful there were little to no stress! She is incredibly organized, kind, responsive, and knowledgeable about the everything wedding! My friends were all so impressive with how organized and well thought everything was (especially her detailed timeline). She put my mind at ease on my wedding day, I was able to enjoy the day with my family and bridesmaids without worrying about a thing. It was perfect! She was very attentive to us during the whole process and during the wedding. She made our dream wedding come true! I would 100% recommend Danielle to a friend. -
![Timothy]()
Timothy B. Married on 02/22/2020Worth Every Penny AND SOME.
Easily the best money we spent on our entire wedding. If anything went wrong at our wedding (which was a month ago) we still don't know about it because Rachel HANDLED.HER.BUSINESS. She's an absolute boss. We hired Ohana as a "day-of" coordinator about a month before our wedding because we were starting to feel overwhelmed by the stress and the details. Within a day of booking, Rachel came to our apartment and sat down with us for several hours to get to know us and learn about our vision. From there, she was armed with all of the information she needed to take over all of the worrying. She was amazing. I HIGHLY recommend Ohana. I want Rachel to plan every day of my life. She's amazing. -
![Tori]()
Tori C. Married on 01/10/2020Above and Beyond!
We are so lucky to have worked with Danielle at Ohana Events! We reached out to Danielle about our destination wedding about 10 months before our wedding date. We knew that we were going to need a lot of help planning a wedding without ever seeing the destination (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) and planning the biggest and best days of our lives! Danielle stepped up to make sure that every detail we could think of and beyond was perfected for our wedding day! She was there to make the whole process go smoothly from planning vendors to the day of and so on. We are so impressed with how organized and knowledgeable she was with planning a wedding so far away but she helped us tremendously! Danielle was able to keep us on track with hiring vendors, finishing timelines for events and meeting budget. She is amazing at what she does and we couldn’t have done it without her! Five stars! -
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![Dene]()
Dene Married on 11/22/2019A True Wedding Love Story
This may sound strange but I remember our first conversation like it was yesterday. It was an immediate connection and unfortunately, I had been with other “frogs” to know this was the real deal! Our first conversation just flowed so seamlessly, it was an instant connection. Everything I had been looking for I had finally found! Often when I tell this story people thinking I’m talking about my new husband but I’m actually talking about our wedding planner Rachel!
She was everything we could’ve hoped for and more. After planning my wedding with another planner for a few months I started realizing I was stressed, doing way too much, coordinating with all the vendors, reviewing all the contracts, etc. I knew it was time for me to part ways. Unfortunately, that was only two months before my wedding and I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to find anyone. Rachel and Danielle are an absolute joy! Though I specifically worked with Rachel, I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle on my wedding day. Even though, it was Danielle’s fiance’s birthday she came to help support our wedding! That’s the level of service you’ll get through Ohana!
As Jay-z once rapped “Now, back to my Beyonce…”, which in this case is Rachel! I mentally coined Rachel as the Beyonce of wedding planning! She’s a star! She works hard! She gives great recommendations! She’s always present and she always looks so stylish doing it! 😊 Before hiring Ohana Events my inbox was full of communications from vendors. I was managing so much and my stress was through the roof! After hiring Rachel there was so much peace and WAYYY fewer emails! Rachel knew what was important to me and made decisions that kept our wedding visions and values in place. There were things, the day of the wedding that Rachel took care of and I was relieved that she didn’t ask my opinion on and just handled it. Literally, during the wedding, my mom came up to me and said “you have an amazing planner! She’s really taking care of everything!” There were some hiccups along the way like any wedding day will have but I will promise you that there is no one else in this world you’ll want handling those hiccups but Rachel and Danielle!
So if you don’t read anything else, here are some highlights:
•She’s the bow on a great gift: At the end of the night, we were able to return to our room and Rachel had nicely packed everything up for us in there. (our hotel was literally 7 steps away from our reception so I’m not sure how that would work out if you are far away)
•She makes decisions: I could list countless examples
•She advocates: There were two things that came up 2 weeks before our wedding that she handled for us. I don’t know what she did or how she did it but the stuff got HANDLED!
•She makes quality recommendations
The Good:
•The timeline! OMG coming from a person who loves organization- that document is GOLD!
The Bad:
•I told Rachel often the thing I didn’t like about her the most is that I didn’t meet her sooner. And now that my wedding is over it’s that we don’t have another event to plan together!
The Bottom Line:
•When I first started planning my wedding, I tried cutting corners to save money on a wedding planner but take it from me – don’t do that! Find cheaper chargers, different floral arrangements, maybe even a different dress, like that’s how important it is to hire a quality planner!
As Lilo said on Lilo & Stitch “Ohana means family” and truly Danielle and Rachel felt like family throughout this process. Our wedding couldn’t have been the magical wedding of the decade that it was without Rachel.-
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![Cassidy]()
Cassidy Married on 08/10/2019The Perfect Wedding Coordinator
Our day would not have been what it was without Danielle and Ohana Events. We feel so lucky that we were able to have Danielle as our wedding planner. From the very beginning we knew that we could trust her with our wedding and vision. She is professional, kind, organized, driven and dedicated. The day would not have come together like it did without her. The detail of our wedding timeline was perfection and covered everything we could think of. On the day of not only did she keep us "on time" but she kept us calm (and me sane). We wouldn't of trusted anyone else with the biggest day of our lives! -
![Bertel]()
Bertel O. Married on 07/12/2019Fantastic Planning and Excellent Execution Throughout!
The first thing you need to know about Danielle is her level of commitment to you as a client and your event. Danielle met my (then) fiancé and I for our introductory meeting at a nearby Starbucks during last year’s Polar Vortex, when it was -20 degrees outside. If that doesn’t prove her level of commitment, I don’t know what will. Danielle was extremely friendly, welcoming and energetic about our event. She first wanted to know more about us, how we met, the proposal, and our ‘vision’ for the wedding, rather than immediately describing her services. When it came time to understand her process, Danielle took time to explain her experience as an events coordinator, even before launching Ohana Events, and then walked us through the various services offered within each package. We knew immediately after meeting with Danielle, that we wanted Ohana Events for our wedding.
Danielle pays attention to details and reviewed every single one of our vendor contracts. She also provided a few recommendations, such as, what vendors to pursue and those we might want to reconsider. Given Danielle’s growing business, she has worked with a number of venues, florists, bands, transportation companies, etc. and helped us through the decision making process for each. In that vein, Danielle caught a number of errors within multiple contracts and helped us navigate those conversations with our vendors.
On the day of our wedding, Danielle was an absolute rockstar! She knew exactly where everyone was to be, at what moment and in what location. Danielle was operating at another level, committing every detail to memory; this kept us (and more importantly) our parents calm throughout the entire day. For example, when it came time to take pictures after the ceremony, Danielle commanded the room, calling out the names of friends and family who would be in the next picture; this expedited the process and allowed us to get to the reception on time.
In short, our wedding weekend was executed flawlessly. No mistakes, no errors, no last minute changes…all because of Danielle. I highly recommend Danielle to anyone who desires peace of mind, appreciates attention to detail, and who wants a professional who understands how a wedding weekend should be structured and executed. When you meet with Danielle, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
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![Andrea]()
Andrea E. Married on 06/15/2019Absolutely everything we were hoping for and more...
We, our family, and everyone at the wedding was blown away by Danielle and her team. We partnered with Ohana Events for Day-Of Planning and she was absolutely incredible. We had reservations in the beginning, wondering if it would even be necessary to have the help of a planner. In the end, I'm so glad we did and I don't think we could have done it without her. I had planned a very elaborate setup with a lot of our own decorations, complete with fully-stocked bathroom trays, countless candles, floral arrangements, and candy bar jars and scoops. I completely underestimated how much work it would be to unload, set up, breakdown, and reload everything at the end of the night (our venue didn't allow overnight storage of any kind). In addition, many of our floral arrangements and our ceremony arch was re-purposed for centerpieces or reception decorations. Working around guests during cocktail hour to do so, Danielle was seen everywhere, constantly moving, and making sure everything and everyone was where they needed to be when. Danielle never batted an eye when we told her all that we needed her to take care of. All of those countless candles, huge ferns, and decorations magically ended up back in their boxes and in our vehicle at the end of the night. We rushed out of our reception to meet our limo, and simply handed our keys over to Danielle, who arranged to have it delivered back to the hotel that so it would be waiting for us in the morning, packed and ready to go. Her get-to-know-you meeting in the weeks leading up to the wedding was so thorough. You could tell that she was looking to make the day as special to us as we imagined it. She showed up to our hotel the morning of the wedding with something like 8 umbrellas (it was unexpectedly raining) for all of our family to use as we headed out to our venue. She set up our candy bar table, cleaned up our bridal suite (more than a couple of times during the evening), set up the guest party favor table, orchestrated our rehearsal, wrangled family for post-ceremony pictures, etc., etc., and was just a complete ROCKSTAR. I can't sing her praises enough. Even weeks after the wedding we were still getting comments from friends and family about "that amazing planner". We would recommend Danielle and Ohana to anyone looking for an event planner in Chicago, the surrounding areas, and beyond. Thank you, Ohana! -
![Kimberly]()
Kimberly Married on 01/26/2019Having Danielle Day-Of is a MUST!
After working with Danielle, I am positive that a day of coordinator is the BEST wedding gift you can give yourself (or someone else). Danielle is so organized, pragmatic, thoughtful, attentive, and kind.
One of the things I discovered on my wedding day was that you care about the details... until you don’t. Danielle does an amazing job of the balancing act between bringing things to my attention when a decision needed my input, but just taking care of everything else without me needing to know.
She made the entire week of my wedding so much smoother and less stressful. Highly recommend! -
![Katherine]()
Katherine Married on 12/30/2018She was fabulous!
Danielle is wonderful! Her kindness goes a long way. She was incredibly helpful in making all the details of our wedding fall into place. We had many props that needed to be set up because we were throwing a 1920's wedding and she placed everything exactly how we wanted. She was very organized and it made the wedding day go like clockwork. She was really fast in responding to emails and texts and had an answer to everything! I'm really thankful to her for all the details she reminded us of that we hadn't considered. Her suggestions were perfect and we couldn't have pulled it off without her. Would recommend her in a heart beat! She really is the perfect person for this job! I hope to have a reason to work with her again in the future. -
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Alison S. Married on 10/27/2018
Highly Recommend!! Made our planning effortless!
Danielle and her team were absolutely incredible to work with! I used Danielle as a day of planner, but she went above and beyond what I expected that to entail. Danielle's experience in the industry and with vendor's in the industry made the planning process 200 times easier. Danielle is excellent at handling adversity and guiding you through the more delicate negotiations and conversations of wedding planning. Danielle will be there for you with whatever you need, and does it all with a smile on her face! She answers questions you wouldn't even think to ask and isn't afraid to give her professional opinion when you need the help. Our day went off without a hitch and we owe that to Danielle and Ohana Events!! -
