Fair warning- I write very long & detailed reviews! If that’s your kind of thing, keep on reading! If not, then the TL;DR is basically that you should ABSOLUTELY hire Joel.

In the process of interviewing several wedding planners for our 240-person wedding, we could tell that Joel had the necessary & impressive experience that we needed. I asked him what set him apart from other planners. Joel said that his favorite thing about wedding planning is developing strong bonds with his clients. He is so personally invested into making sure it is the best day of your life!

My husband & I got married in my parents’ backyard at my childhood home, & all 4 of us were heavily involved in the planning. While this was overall great, it did lead to some tension when ideas clashed. Joel was an expert at navigating these & making sure we stayed on track. My husband appreciated that he didn’t immediately go along with everything suggested. Instead, he would draw on his own experience & gently push back & give us his honest opinion when it was warranted. His counsel was the saving grace for much of the planning process. He had amazing ideas of his own & was also great at helping us further conceptualize our own ideas. My husband & I also come from very different cultural backgrounds - Joel was eager to learn more & figure out ways to incorporate everything (such as dabke, a Lebanese dance)! He also introduced us to our amazing DJ (DJ Kim Collins; you should also definitely hire her), who was a perfect fit for us & our wedding.

Joel spent SO much time meeting with us, both virtually & in-person. He was on *all* of our vendor interview calls & asked super important questions we never would’ve thought of. He took the time to intimately get to know my parents’ home so that he would know exactly what he was working with. He was even on crutches for the first few months we worked together & still insisted on touring the backyard every time!

Joel was the absolute MVP of our wedding day. Don’t get me wrong; he was invaluable during the whole process & there’s no way we could’ve done it without him. During the wedding week, he was there for every 7am delivery, making sure that everything was perfect. When the tent from the rental company had a white entrance instead of clear like we’d ordered, Joel immediately got on the phone & the entrance was replaced within a couple hours (which is honestly nothing short of a miracle). He also made it a point to meet with all the vendors, including the catering & event staff, beforehand to develop rapport, & that made the big day go by that much more smoothly.

I’m not exaggerating when I say Joel is the reason I felt no stress on my wedding day (or during the whole process really). Even when we were running behind by 45 minutes, he figured out how we could make up for lost time without losing any important moments. He made sure that my husband & I got as much food as we needed & that we had a special moment to ourselves after the ceremony. He also made sure that we always had a beer/cocktail & water with us at all times (he is the only reason I did not have a hangover the morning after). He would somehow appear at the perfect time & then go make sure everything was running seamlessly. I don’t know exactly what he did during that day, & that is precisely how it should be.

Joel’s priority is always to make sure that you enjoy your wedding day & don’t worry about anything. I didn’t even know about any issues that arose (there really weren’t any, mainly because of Joel’s excellent delegation & collaboration skills), because he took care of them before they could ever reach me.

All in all - if you want someone who will:
- listen & be honest with you
- develop a bond with you
- put his whole heart & soul into the process as if he were the one getting married
- make sure you have zero stress on your wedding day (& no hangover the next morning)
…then hiring Joel will be the best decision you ever make. Thank you so much, Joel!!

Joel was absolutely fantastic! My (now) husband and I hired Just Planned Events for our big day, and we’re so glad that we did. He proved to be invaluable for making our big day a success! We went with month-of coordination, and we definitely recommend that other couples upgrade to this over just day-of coordination, if you’re undecided. We had several conversations about our planning progress when we were a few months out, and having Joel step in during the final month allowed us to make the last few hectic days of the wedding planning process much less stressful than it would have been otherwise. Going with the month-of option also made us feel like he understood our vision for the day much more than a planner would otherwise.

On and leading up to the big day, Joel expertly handled a number of surprise issues that would have completely overwhelmed us, including the need to source a few tables that were overlooked by the original vendor when we were a few days out. He also dealt with major issues that would have otherwise soured the wedding, such as dealing with a vendor forgetting to deliver our tablecloths until 20 minutes into cocktail hour (!!!). Joel was able to keep us on schedule, shield us from potential stressors, and made it possible for us to fully enjoy the moment, knowing that things were safe in his hands. The whole night, he noticed little details that we needed, like bringing my husband a napkin within seconds when he saw that his fingers had a bit of frosting on them after the cake cutting. Our families and guests were so impressed with him that some said they want to hire him too for their events! Joel is the real deal, and we recommend him wholeheartedly!

Joel is the best. He made us feel seen and heard, and was just an absolute pleasure to have regular conversations with as we led up to the big day. He made us feel at ease and in capable hands, and also provided us with good resources, advice and support. Hands down would recommend Joel to any of my friends with weddings on the horizon!