We hired Samantha Joy Events to help us plan my daughter's December wedding at the University Club of Chicago. I am a detail oriented perfectionist and it was such a relief to turn over the management of the big day to Samantha and her staff, and they did a MAGNIFICENT job! Samantha coordinated and communicated with vendors, provided a detailed timeline for the day, and spent the entire day with us to see that everything ran smoothly. When my daughter ripped her dress shortly before the ceremony, Samantha swooped in with her tool box and saved the day by repairing the dress. Having Samantha and her team with us enabled all of us to thoroughly enjoy the day and let go of any stress. I highly recommend Samantha Joy Events.

Hiring Samantha Joy Events was the easiest and best decision we made after getting engaged. We knew we wanted a wedding planner to minimize stress leading up to our big day (no one likes a bridezilla!), but what we didn’t know is that a planner does SO much more than that. We had a wedding that was perfectly us in every way possible, all thanks to Samantha and her team.

From the beginning, Samantha took the time to truly get to know us. Not once did she ask us to share dream wedding inspiration or show her elements of other weddings we enjoyed. Instead, she asked about our interests, hobbies, and how we wanted our wedding to feel. She asked how we decorate our home, places we like to travel, and colors that bring us joy. By the end she knew our style better than we did. She took my love of sprinkles (I’m obsessed!) and turned it into an elevated theme woven throughout our day. The executed design was stunningly beautiful and uniquely us.

Not only did she design the perfect day, but her industry knowledge is unmatched. At one point our venue told us they would not be able to setup 3 large farmhouse tables for our head table because of a logistical issue. Without the SJE team my husband and I wouldn’t have pushed back on the venue because in our minds, “it couldn’t be done.” Samantha offered 3 solutions on the spot, advocated for what we wanted, and ultimately found a way to make the tables a reality.

The morning of the wedding Sam was there early to make sure hair and makeup were running smoothly. She checked in with my husband and I multiple times throughout the day – to check our nerves, to make sure we ate, to tell us where we needed to be next. She seamlessly managed our room flip and coordinated all vendor drops offs and setup. She bustled my dress and allowed us a moment alone to soak in the newlywed feeling. Honestly Samantha was everywhere you didn’t know you needed her. Her attention to detail, eye for design, and get it done mentality combine to make the perfect planner.

Oh, and her planning platform is incredible! There is a task-by-task checklist, interactive seating chart, budget planner and SO much more included. It helped us stay on task each month to make sure all deadlines were met.

The first person you should call as you start planning is Samantha Joy Events, no questions asked. I HIGHLY recommend her!

We worked with Samantha Joy Events for our wedding this past July. Being that we're both University of Dayton alumni, our ceremony was at the UD Chapel and we had our reception at The Steam Plant. To add to all of this, we live in Des Moines, IA. In comes Samantha Joy Events to save the day! We hired SJE a year before our event for the partial planning and design package so that we could get the inside scoop on all the best vendors in the Greater Dayton Area.

Before we started working with SJE, we spent so much time trying to figure out which vendors amongst hundreds would best fit our needs. Luckily, getting the design package allowed SJE to get a better idea of what style we wanted and then they would provide us with 2-3 vendors for that part of the event. We cannot tell you how many headaches this saved us. Not to mention that neither of us are really good at putting the whole picture together, and SJE's design board helped us get a visual for what we wanted our wedding day to look like. 

In addition, working with SJE took so much stress of our shoulders in the months and days leading up to our wedding. SJE's production and event timeline document was super extensive and allowed us to not worry about when this vendor or that vendor is arriving on our wedding day. This was something that we could share with our wedding party to quickly let everyone know where they should be and when.

The day of the event was just another reminder of how wonderful SJE is with event planning. The way we felt and how little stress we felt more than met our expectations. We were totally engrossed in every moment of our day and didn't have a worry in the world besides enjoying each other's company on our special day. 

We loved working with the SJE team. Throughout the entire process, Samantha was the absolute perfect balance of friendly and professional. She guided us with every aspect of the wedding and we felt a great connection and friendship growing alongside. All of the services provided were priceless and we'd do the partial planning and design  again (or more) in a heartbeat!