Planting the seeds for your wedding day
Just like there’s no right way to get married, we Firmly believe there’s no ‘right way’ to plan a wedding.
“Firmly Rooted made us feel that our dream was possible since the very first meeting!”
– Ruth and Francisco, married April 2024
Cares deeply about spending their day with everyone they love.
Has personal touches they want to incorporate into their wedding.
Is excited to be planning their wedding together.
A Firmly Rooted couple…
“Rachel and her lead coordinators don’t feel like a vendor or a service - they feel like an old friend or family member: Someone who is there for you and wants nothing but the best.”
– Also Ruth and Francisco, married April 2024
Searching for a planning team with a warm, friendly, and familiar energy that you can trust?
Planning with plenty of breathing room
Our services allow for time to get to know you and learn how we can best support you before and on your wedding day: We’ll shed light on your values, clear out any noise, and focus on what’s important to you.
Together, we’ll figure out how you want to spend the first day of the rest of your lives…And then we’ll make it happen.
Wherever you are in your planning process, we’ll plant the seeds for a smooth, gorgeous, and FUN wedding day that isn’t just true to your love story, but has room to grow from there.
“We went into wedding planning thinking that we could do most of it ourselves, but quickly learned that we were in over our heads. Rachel and her team came in and really stepped up to the plate.”
– Erik and Taylor, married February 2024.
From the Couple
“To plant a garden is to dream of tomorrow.”
It might sound weird, but when you think about it, your wedding day is actually our last day of work for you! In order for your day to go as planned, we need time to plan.
Our time together will start much earlier than the actual day-of and will look like this:
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Our First Date
Every FRE wedding starts the same way: With a get-to-know-you phone call or Zoom chat. We’ll ask a lot of questions, review what you’ve got planned so far, and walk you through what it’s like to work with us. If we’re a good fit, we’ll send over a proposal to make it official!
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You: Booked! Us: Busy!
Once you’re part of the FRE family, we’ll review your vendor contracts for any items to be aware of and give you full access to our 11 planning resources, including:
- Our signature budget spreadsheet
- Monthly to-do checklist with your big planning benchmarks
- The FRE favorite vendor list
- Our automated timeline spreadsheet to help create your base timeline
- A last-minute checklist of things we see couples forget to pack -
Final Details Meeting
We’ll get your final details meeting scheduled about 1-2 months before your wedding. We will review your vendor team and create a timeline based on your vision and our experience after coordinating nearly 100 weddings.
Then we’ll go line by line, and answer all of those forgotten questions like…
- What’s the plan for breakfast the morning of the wedding?
- How much travel time do we need to budget to and from the hotel, ceremony, photo spots, and reception?We’ll also start checking in with your vendor team around the 1 month mark to make sure the timeline is aligned with their needs to do a killer job for you.
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Meet Your FRE Lead Coordinator
The beauty of Firmly Rooted Events? We’re a team! 2 months out, we’ll introduce you to your FRE Lead Coordinator. We matchmake the best lead for your plans based on experience at your venue, personality, and availability. They’ll be up to date on your plans and ready to rock.
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Venue Walkthrough
Around the 2 week mark, we’ll schedule your big venue walkthrough. We’ll not only physically walk through your wedding spaces, but we’ll also go over your dinner service plans and timeline with the catering team, lock in the layouts, and fill in any missing information.
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Wedding Week!
While you’re getting a manicure, we’ll get our hands dirty in all of the week-of communication with your vendor team. We’ll be on call for you in case of any last minute changes. We’ll also remind you to drink some water. Hydration is key on wedding week!
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Ceremony Rehearsal
It’s all happening! Included with every Firmly Rooted wedding is ceremony rehearsal direction. Your lead planner will cue your nearest and dearest so they know what they’re doing on your wedding day and practice the important ceremony moments.
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Our Open Door Policy
Our couples are encouraged to reach out via email at any point during their time with us to ask any questions keeping them up at night. Need random advice, support, and solidarity along the way? We’re here for you.
You’ve found your Chicago day-of wedding coordination company!
“There are countless examples of how their team worked in the background to make sure everything ran smoothly…many of which I didn’t even find out about until after the wedding. FRE just got them done!”
- Amelia + Kalash, married September 2024
Your wedding day in full bloom
On your wedding day, it’s simply a matter of execution, which happens to be our thing. Your plans are in very good hands.
Your wedding will have a dedicated lead and assistant coordinator on-site for 8 hours.
get hitched without a hitch
Firmly Rooted Events
get hitched without a hitch Firmly Rooted Events
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Act as the point-of contact for vendors, family, and friends
Arrive with the FRE emergency kit of any and every thing we or you might need
Execute the timeline and make sure everything is on schedule, and make adjustments if needed
Watch that weather for any changes!
Set up your ceremony decorations, pin boutonnieres, pass out bouquets and corsages, cue and line up wedding party, and fluff the dress and veil <3
Set up cocktail hour and reception spaces with your decorations and details
Help usher your guests from the ceremony to cocktail hour
Manage any room flips and repurpose any ceremony decor as needed
Wrangle family members for post-ceremony photos
Grab you drinks and apps!
Bustle your gown and secure your wedding veil
Light every candle and make sure your reception space is ready to go
Review the order and location of reception events with your band/DJ: entrances, speeches, dances, cake cutting, etc.
Help guests find their dinner seats
Cue and coordinate the grand entrance, first dance, etc.
Make sure you get to EAT DINNER!
Make sure the dance floor is poppin’
Break down, pack up, and secure your personal items as the reception ends
Distribute any vendor final payments or tips at the end of the night
A million other little things
Our day-of coordination services start at $2,450. To learn more about how we can go above and beyond for you, schedule a consultation below!
Precious Moments ARE Worth the Price.
Here’s the bottom line: Are weddings expensive? They sure are.
…Are your wedding moments worth experiencing fully – without distraction? They sure are.
01.
“I didn’t realize our cake stand didn’t come preassembled, and Rachel had a screwdriver on hand to assemble it.”
– while they were getting ready
There isn’t a dollar amount that will replace the time with your mom, sister, or girlhood best friends as you get ready in the morning together to get married. We make sure there’s no rushing these minutes.
02.
“She noticed that the sun was shining in our eyes at our head table during speeches and subtly asked the venue to put the blinds down.”
– So they could soak in every word
You cannot put a price on getting lost in your first dance instead of wondering if the videographer is going to miss your big-ending dip that you practiced for months. That’s on us to confirm.
03.
“She made an in-the-moment assessment and recommended that we reorganize our schedule slightly to do cake cutting before dancing…which ended up being a great call!”
– While they enjoyed an uninterrupted dinner together
All of the money in the entire world isn’t worth missing the eye contact you and your partner will make as you step down the aisle at just the right note in the song you’ve been dreaming about. We will cue you.
