“A wedding planner can be considered a somewhat extraneous expense when considering everything that needs paid for in a wedding; however Five Grain Events is completely worth every penny and at least consideration if you aren’t thinking of getting a wedding planner. We ended up doing full wedding planning and worked with Joan. If there was any question whether it would be worth the cost, we are believers that it absolutely was. Not only was Joan a fun and calming presence to have around during the whole process, she is so organized, professional, and knowledgeable, that it makes every aspect of planning a wedding really fun! I’ve heard so many people say that they were glad their wedding was over because they didn’t have to plan anymore. I couldn’t feel different. Joan made the planning process so enjoyable! We were able to involved with every aspect of planning but were able to ask questions and voice concerns when they arose. She provided a list of vendors she’s worked with and would recommend for every step of the way, including florists, officiants, videographers, which made choosing vendors really easy in a city that has so many options for everything. Joan made it possible to enjoy the wedding planning process, as well as the wedding, without a care in the world.”

“It’s hard to put into words how awesome Joan and team are. I know you’ll see it in other reviews, but it is true. This was – hands-down, far and away – the best money we spent on the wedding. I cannot imagine how anyone gets through the planning/day-of without Joan. Just knowing that every single detail was covered in the weeks leading up to the wedding gave my fiancé (and in turn, me) a peace of mind you cannot put a price on. As a guy, it might be hard to imagine the sheer number of decisions and “small stuff” that has to be assembled during the few weeks leading up to the day, until you see Joan’s 10 page list.”

“Hiring Five Grain Events was the best wedding decision I made by far. I worked with Jennifer and she was amazing – so friendly, kind, responsive, and professional! I am an out-of-town bride, so I really needed help and Jennifer was there every step of the way. My entire wedding ran so smoothly I can hardly believe it. Everything truly seemed effortless and I know that is because of Jennifer and Five Grain Events. I am truly impressed by what I saw, and the fact is that she was probably doing a million things behind the scenes that I don’t even know about. Highly recommend!”

“I had to take the time to personally write this review and let other future brides know how wonderful Emily and the entire Five Grain Events team were. My husband and I enjoyed working with them every second and we could not have pulled it off without them. We received so many compliments about our coordinator, Emily, from the rehearsal to the day-of and everything in between. They are a truly talented company and I am grateful that we had them for such a special event in our lives. I plan on referring Five Grain to every friend I have getting married as I cannot say enough fantastic things about their team. Thank you for providing our wedding with such care – it was the best night of our lives. We did not realize how much goes into planning a wedding and I do not know if (actually, I am certain) it would have not been as perfect as it was without Five Grain. Mike and I were actually able to enjoy ourselves with thanks to Five Grain… We want to do it all over again!”

“Hiring a Chicago wedding planner from Five Grain Events for our wedding day was the best wedding planning decision my husband and I made. Emily Rodecker is a fabulous Chicago wedding planner! For the bride, particularly one with a large wedding party, many guests, and lots of out-of-town family, the day can become very stressful. But because of Emily’s wonderful work, the day was perfect and we couldn’t have asked for a better way to start our lives together. Emily has an amazing personality and she’s such a sweetheart, filled with creative ideas to help you realize your perfect wedding. Plus, everybody in our wedding party loved Emily and her assistants. She was helpful to everyone, worked with all of the vendors, and organized every possible aspect of the wedding. We didn’t have to worry once and my parents (especially my mother) loved working with her. Brides-to-be, be sure to tell you mothers how Emily will let them be simply the MOB. We highly recommend Emily and Five Grain Events if you want a dreamy and perfect wedding day in the Chicago area.”

“Working with Five Grain Events and especially Emily could not have been easier. Emily was definitely a key factor in making this whole process so much easier. Not knowing anything about planning a wedding, Emily helped me navigate this crazy world and orchestrated an amazing night. I honestly had no drama or problems the night of my wedding, and if there were Emily took care of it and to this day I still don’t know about them. She did way more than what was expected throughout the whole planning process; was also available to answer any questions, help lead me through the questions and issues with any vendors, and made our wedding a night that to me and my husband was perfect. I would recommend Five Grains and Emily over and over. In fact, I did! My maid of honor, who is getting married in April, finally took my advice and realized she needs Emily too!”

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“Hiring Joan was quite simply one of the very best decisions we made when it came to our wedding. We had a relatively short timeline by Chicago standards (got engaged just before Christmas and were married in July), and I’m really not sure how we would have pulled it all off without her. She provided great insight during the process of choosing all of our vendors, and her recommendations helped us narrow down the totally overwhelming number of options, which saved us loads of time and probably money. She was incredibly organized and kept us on track in terms of our “deadlines,” and if we’d had any questions about whether or not we’d made the right decision in hiring her, she completely blew us away in the month leading up to the wedding. She was totally on top of everything, and most of the time when I asked her about whether or not we had to do X thing that had never occurred to me but some blog or magazine or person who felt the need to give me “advice” mentioned to me, she’d say, “Oh, yeah don’t worry about that – I did that last week!” I almost certainly owe having a full head of hair on my big day to her being so on it during the blur of those last couple weeks before the wedding.

On the weekend itself, Joan and her team were totally professional and did a fantastic job of ensuring everyone was where they needed to be while still ensuring the event was about the two of us and our families and friends. She was totally visible and accessible to me, but the average guest likely had no idea she was even there, which is a difficult balance to strike and is part of what makes Joan so good at what she does.

I was never the girl who has been planning her wedding since childhood, and after our incredible day, I was frankly thrilled to have the whole wedding prep process be over with, but I was legitimately sad that it meant that I wouldn’t have an excuse to chat with Joan anymore! If you’ve gone through the whole wedding bonanza and find yourself thinking, “Aww I’m going to miss my planner!” when it is done – I truly can’t think of a more ringing endorsement than that.

I would recommend Joan and her team with absolutely zero reservation!”

“It was a great pleasure to work with Shannon and her assistant Kelly at our December wedding! We were initially on the fence about hiring a coordinator for our wedding, but it was the best decision we made. I don’t know what we would have done without them on the day of the wedding!

Within a few months leading up to the wedding, Shannon started by creating a detailed timeline of the event, and included all of the small details of the day that I didn’t even consider. I was blown away over the attention to detail when I first read the 3 page timeline of the day. Then we had a few meetings where we walked through the day and nailed down all of the details of the set-up and vendor coordination. There were so many meetings and other necessary things to take care on the few weeks leading up to the wedding and it was a huge relief to have Shannon to take care of all of the major communications. She asked all of the necessary questions during the venue walk-through, and kept everything organized in her impressive three-ring binder made especially for our wedding, where she kept all of the contracts, timelines, etc.  She also took all of the decor items we bought or made the week before the wedding and made sure they were set up the exact way we imagined it on the actual day.

Shannon was there to walk the wedding party through the rehearsal, which was a huge help since I would not have known what to do or tell our friends what to do. On the actual day of the wedding was when Shannon blew us all away. First, she was constantly communicating with and directing our vendors, which would have been a burden for me to have to do on the day of the wedding. But also it was like she was reading my mind the entire night. Whenever I had a question, or lost something, she was there resolving the situation. She and Kelly were also so friendly and fun to hang out with, that by the end of the night they became our friends. My friend even mentioned Shannon in her toast 🙂

All of the wedding blogs will tell you that something will go wrong on your wedding day, but literally nothing went wrong on ours thanks to Five Grain Events!”

“Hiring Five Grain Events was the best wedding decision I made by far. I worked with Jennifer and she was amazing – so friendly, kind, responsive, and professional! I am an out-of-town bride, so I really needed help and Jennifer was there every step of the way. My entire wedding ran so smoothly I can hardly believe it. Everything truly seemed effortless and I know that is because of Jennifer and Five Grain Events. I am truly impressed by what I saw, and the fact is that she was probably doing a million things behind the scenes that I don’t even know about. HIGHLY RECOMMEND”

“I was given a list of day of coordinators from our reception vendor and proceeded to check them out on Yelp. Five Grains reviews caught my attention and after meeting with Shannon Gonzalez, we knew we had found the right one! I love to plan parties, but I wanted to enjoy my daughters wedding. Shannon and her crew were fabulous and made it possible for all of us to enjoy the day. There were a lot of logistics and it all went off perfectly. I can’t thank Shannon, and her assistants, Nicole and Jennifer  for their support and hard work in making this day perfect! I could not have managed without them!!  Everyone commented on what a great personality Shannon has.
I will miss her now that the weddings over!”

“5G made our day the best it could possibly be! We were in the difficult position of planning a Chicago area wedding all the way from the West Coast and Joan and her team made it happen – my wife and I could not have done it without them.

5G can customize whatever level of support you need and they will exceed your expectations in every way imaginable. They directed us to outstanding vendors at various price points across the board, particularly our photographer and caterer, both of which I would also recommend.

If you’re thinking “maybe I could use some help with this whole wedding planning thing” or even just with the day-of stuff, you should definitely go for it and you should absolutely consider 5G. Joan and her team’s attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile really made the difference for our wedding.

At this is the time of giving thanks, I cannot thank 5G enough of all of their efforts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”