February 13, 2020

Most people know that a majority of wedding planning companies in Chicago are small. There are no companies that have 50 planners, many having just one lead planner and that sometimes leads to the question, “what happens if something happens to you?” I get this question a lot and I totally understand where it’s coming from. I always love explaining how even though we are single owners to small companies, people don’t realize we have an extremely supportive network of wedding planners in Chicago. Many of us have become great friends after seeing one another at a hundred networking events and assisting one another on larger scale weddings.

We were so excited to put together a group of women for the first ever “Chicago Wedding Planner Retreat” which was non-exclusive and we allowed any business owner to attend. A lot of the women did not know one another, but it’s so fun to say we are all a lot closer than we ever have been after 2 nights staying under one roof in Wisconsin. Because it was close to Valentine’s Day, we themed it “Galentine’s Edition”!

We may have driven up in the worst snow storm Wisconsin has had all year, but we made it. It made the indoor campfire, fuzzy socks and wool blankets that much more comfortable. The first night we spent participating in ice breakers and other fun “getting to know you” games. Everyone pitched in to make a casual dinner alongside a crazy beautiful cheese display we could munch on all night.

But the first morning after waking up was the reason we got together. After breakfast and working on some emails separately, we got together for the workshop portion of our retreat. A few of us ladies (including Urban Allure Events, Olive Fine Weddings & Events, Lillian Rose Events) got together a few times to develop what we would talk about during the workshop. We sectioned it off as “Where We’ve Been”, “Where We Are Now”, “Where We Want To Go” and “Workshop Wrap Up”. 9 hours of amazing conversation, round robins, panels, a presentation and being truly honest with one another was one of the most valuable afternoons I’ve had in a very long time.

It’s really nice to know we work in such a supportive network who are willing to help one another. Even though we are technically one another’s competition, it was very interesting to hear the round robin question “who is your ideal client?” That just goes to show we all have different approaches that target different couples. There is enough business to go around!

I mainly wanted to put this blog together so we could showcase the beyond fabulous contributions of our vendor team that helped make this event such a success. To start:

Amore Creative

This brother/sister team (Eric & Jessica) who are based in Wheaton absolutely nailed the entire vision for our retreat. They developed the adorable “party planner retreat” logo, put together an easy to read workshop itinerary, designed a cute welcome sign, and even bound together a custom notepad and “wedding planner bingo”.

Amore Creative designs all stationary goods from wedding invitations to place cards to birthday party invites and more. To be honest, when I started talking to Jessica about this project I had a vision but I wasn’t sure how she would execute it. It was so easy to work with her and I cannot be more impressed with the final outcome. Check out all her products below:

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Steve’s Flower Market

Steve’s Flower Market designed one beautiful floral arrangement for every planner at the retreat. It was extremely gracious and we were so excited to put a little glam in a ‘cabin in the woods’. They made the entire house smell delicious!

Steve’s Flower Market designs florals and other decor for a wide variety of events, but specializes in weddings and bouquets. We highly recommend checking them out if your in need of some prettiness for your next event!

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ECBG

ECBG is a bakery that bakes just about anything. ECBG stands for Erin’s Custom Baked Goods. I told her I wanted some “Galentine’s Day” themed cookies with everyone’s names, she took the reins and designed these herself! Heart shaped cookies with marble icing and cursive names. Tied in a bag with a beautiful gold ribbon too, of course!

Erin also provided a few additional goodies such as these pink cake pops in cones, to look like an ice cream scoop. Simply adorable!

Some other fun additions to the event included:

Wedding Planning Shirts Provided by Mash Designs

Custom Pencils Provided by Desktop State

Customized wine glasses provided by Designed and Detailed

I’m hoping to make this an annual retreat, encouraging other planners to come along for the ride! I value that experience wholeheartedly and am so grateful to work in such an amazing industry. Shoutout to the 2020 ladies for joining the party –

Olive Fine Weddings & Events
Urban Allure Events
Designed and Detailed
Storybook Weddings & Events
Your Day By MK
Wedicity
Detaljer Events
Sholeh Events
Lillian Rose Events

–Ohana Events