Wedding Planners Chicago & Suburbs

Behind almost every wedding film we’re proudest of stands a great planner. As videographers, we see planners differently than couples do: we watch them run the day from 8 AM to midnight, solve problems before anyone notices them, and build timelines that give every vendor room to do their best work. The planners below are ones we have actually worked beside, with links to the real weddings we filmed together.

Planners We Work With Again and Again

LOLA Event Productions

Our most frequent collaborator, with five spectacular weddings together, from Megan & Chad at The Ritz-Carlton to AJ & Aaron at the Adler Planetarium. Read our full LOLA collaboration story.

More Excellent Planners We Have Filmed Alongside

Every planner below ran a wedding we filmed, and every one earned their place on this list: Sirpilla Soirées (Mia & Stone’s Everglow wedding), The Creative Planners (Jennifer & Josh at the Botanic Garden), Bliss Weddings & Events (Christiana & AJ at the Ritz-Carlton), Michelle Durpetti Events (Danae & Christopher at The Drake), Events to a T (Lauren & Andy’s Jewish wedding), JDetailed Events (Madelyn & Andrew at Glen View Club), Camryn Brook Events (Alexandra & Christopher’s Winter Garden reception), Weddings by Jennifer Fox (Kelly Jo & Matt at The Peninsula), Chicago Vintage Weddings (Tori & Bill at Theater on the Lake), Amelia Cole Weddings (Grace & Vincent at the University Club), Danielle Kolb Events (Kate & Ben at The Old Post Office), Afton Events (Christina & Jack at Venue SIX10), CHI Chic Weddings (Lauren & Ryan at the Art Institute), Citygirl Weddings (Maddie & Brian at LondonHouse), Your Day by MK (Ali & John at the Union League Club), Storybook Weddings & Events (Kimberly & Rich at the Chicago History Museum), Elsilu Events (Teresa & Rowan in Bay Harbor), and Kismet (Ellie & Matt in Minneapolis).

Advice for Future Brides: Choosing Your Planner

Book the planner before almost everything else

The best planners book 12 to 18 months out, and a good one will save you money and stress on every vendor decision that follows, including your videographer. If your budget forces a choice, a great month-of coordinator beats no planner at all.

Full planning vs. month-of coordination

Full-service planners design and manage everything from venue search to send-off. Month-of (really “months-of”) coordinators take over the logistics for the final stretch and run the wedding day itself. If your venue has a strong in-house events team, month-of coordination often covers the gap beautifully.

Ask how they build the timeline

This is the question we wish more couples asked. A great planner builds buffer time around golden hour, protects ten minutes for the couple to breathe after the ceremony, and asks the photo and video team what they need before locking the schedule. Every wedding linked on this page ran on a timeline like that, and you can see the result in the films.

Trust their vendor list, and check the chemistry

Planners recommend vendors they trust under pressure, which is why the same names appear together on great weddings again and again. But chemistry matters too: you will exchange hundreds of messages with this person. If the first call feels easy, that matters more than any award.

The Videographer’s Perspective

When a wedding has a great planner, our films get better. We spend the day filming instead of chasing logistics, the emotional moments happen on schedule instead of in a rush, and nobody has to choose between the sunset portraits and the salad course. If you are working with anyone on this page, tell them 312FILMS says hello, and check your date with us →

Planners We Work With Again and Again

LOLA Event Productions

Clementine Custom Events

Shannon Gail Events

Bweddings

Mazí Moments

Christina Currie Events