Questions to Ask A Wedding Planner Before Booking

As Chicago based Wedding Planners, you might call us biased when we say we are VERY pro Wedding Planner. As much as we would love to work on everyone’s wedding, we understand that it’s important to find a wedding planner that matches with your energy. We know we aren’t for everyone, and we know not everyone is for us.

We recommend chatting with potential wedding planners before booking to find the best match, so here are some important questions we recommend asking your “potential” wedding planner before booking.

Elle and Nathan's Renaissance Meets Arts & Crafts Wedding at Redfield Estate

Elle and Nathan had a very non-traditional wedding, and it was gorgeous! Everything was earthy, romantic, dramatic, intimate, and fun! Some of the biggest inspirations were Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Mad Hatter Tea Party, and the dramatic color palettes of a Medieval Painting.

What to Expect During the Wedding Rehearsal

As Chicago-based wedding planners, the Fierce Productions team will support you every step of the way. A major perk of booking us, whether for full planning or just coordination, is that we guide you through your wedding rehearsal.

So, what exactly is a wedding rehearsal? Well, it’s when you practice the wedding ceremony a day early! The purpose is to make sure everyone is on the same page, so the actual ceremony goes as smoothly as possible.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about wedding rehearsals:

Allegra and Hanchen’s Intimate Wedding

Allegra and Hanchen wanted a wedding that felt fun, cozy, romantic, and welcoming. Their main priorities were for guests to feel relaxed, for everything to feel organized, and for everyone to feel present during the important wedding moments. They had the most gorgeous ceremony outside on Loft Lucia’s terrace followed by an elongated cocktail hour, where they got to enjoy plenty of time mingling with all their friends and family. The weather was perfect and everyone loved getting to spend time outside. Guests then headed inside to enjoy dinner, speeches and lots of dancing! Check out some of their cute, colorful, intimate photos below!

5 Questions to Ask Your Caterer Before Booking

Catering for a wedding is the biggest investment, so you want to make sure it meets your standards! Booking your caterer is an important part after you solidified your guest count, and booked your venue. Before booking, you want to make sure you are clear about everything included from the beginning. As beloved wedding planners in Chicago, we help guide our clients through every process, and we always recommend our favorite vendors. That being said, here are a few questions you should ask your caterer before booking.

Theopalooza! A Lollapalooza Themed Children's Birthday Party

We love when we get to plan and design birthday parties! This birthday was for a 1 year old, and we didn’t hold back! The theme was Theopalooza—a Lollapalooza themed birthday event. You bet we had tons of colors, ballooons, and sequins. To make this a music festival to remember, all guests were highly encouraged to wear colorful attire, and received VIP lanyards for entry. We had a variety of children performers and puppets entertain all age groups by singing songs, dancing, being silly, and interacting with all the guests. After the performances, we had a live DJ kick off the dance floor. It was a wonderful celebration for all ages!

Creative Ideas to Enhance Your Cocktail Hour

As Non-traditional Chicago Wedding Planners, we have designed many unique weddings. Many of our clients have desired out-of-the-box ways to make their wedding different, and memorable. A simple way to elevate your event, is by having some sort of “fierce” moment during your cocktail hour. Cocktail hours are the perfect time to get a bit creative, as guests wait between ceremony and reception. You truly can be as tame or wild as you please, but below are a few ways you can enhance your cocktail hour.

5 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer Before Booking

When booking your wedding photographer, you may think “oh it’s just photos, it doesn’t matter who we book it will all be the same”. Well…there’s actually quite an art to photography, and you want to make sure you find the perfect match to your vision. Some photographers excel with the dark and dramatic, some excel with the bright and colorful. Especially if you do first looks, you will be with your photographer for most of the day, so you want to make sure it’s someone you’ll get along with. As skilled wedding planners based in Chicago, we are match makers with photographers and clients. That being said, here are a few questions you should ask your photographer before booking them:

How Do I Build a Wedding Timeline?

As expert Wedding Planners in Chicago, we know how to structure out a wedding day. Truthfully, there are a lot of nitty-gritty details you need to think about when constructing your timeline. Sometimes, it can feel a little bit like piecing a puzzle together. When you book our event planning services, we make sure to create an ideal wedding timeline together; we make sure it’s something you approve of, so we can handle all the logistics. That being said, you might be wondering why we time things out a specific way, or you’re attempting to structure your own. Which ever option, here are a few important things to think about when forming a solid Wedding Timeline:

Christine and Mike's Colorful Karaoke Reception

Christine and Mike eloped in March of 2023, but decided to finally celebrate with loved ones by hosting a joint anniversary, and wedding reception party at Bridge410. The overall atmosphere was a laid back family styled event, but with loads of color, moments of play, and karaoke! The couple wanted the celebration to be more about the experience, so they wanted to make sure there were many unique elements to keep guests entertained.

3 Questions to Ask Before Creating a Wedding Guest List

As Chicago based wedding planners, we love when we get to support our couples from the very beginning of the wedding planning process. Believe it or not, one of the first things you must do is create a guest list. You might be a bit surprised, but you need to know how many people you want to invite before you select your venue—otherwise you might find yourself in a bit of a sticky situation with the venue not being able to host all your planned guests. We understand the stress that can come from selecting who to invite! You’re probably thinking “Should I invite my childhood friends? Do I really have to invite great-uncle George? What about my newest friend from work?”

If you are struggling to decide who to invite, here are 3 questions to ask yourself:

5 Chicago Venues with City Skyline Views

We get it, the Chicago Skyline is gorgeous! As Chicago Wedding Planners, we always love those sunny clear blue sky days. It’s truly the most iconic way to say “Chicago Wedding.” We have designed, and coordinated tons of weddings in the city, and we never get tired of it. From our experience, here are personal 5 favorite venues with views of the skyline.

Things to Ask Your Wedding Venue Before Booking

Beyond a wedding planner, your venue is the first vendor you should book. Maybe you have your dream venue. Maybe you have no idea what your want. That’s ok. Just keep in mind, no matter how you feel towards a venue, there are a lot of small details, and things you should consider before booking the venue. As expert wedding planners, we have supported clients from the very beginning, and have toured many venues with them. Here are a few questions you should ask your venue before 100% committing (even if it is your dream venue):

Emily and Alex's Chic City Garden Wedding

Emily and Alex had a gorgeous wedding at Cafe Brauer in Lincoln Park. The vibes were chill, bougie, garden celebration, and family. When they inquired, they discussed their vision to be “Backyard wedding vibes, casual and easy going; a boozy and bougie backyard celebration.”

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