Hummingbird Bridal and Events

We debated if we wanted a planner or not, but Mandy was seriously the best decision we made through the entire process. I don’t know what we would have done without her.
As a designer I had planned on being somewhat involved in the design process, but wanted someone to help with the logistics. Mandy covered that and more. She has a million contacts throughout New England and finds the best vendors to work with. She handles all the headaches in a calm, organized, strategic way. She focused on what we wanted and helped us keep budget in mind. And on the day of, man she made our wedding way more beautiful than I could ever have done on my own. Don’t overthink it, just hire Mandy and know that you will get to have more time enjoying your engagement/​wedding than stressing about planning.

Mandy is absolutely amazing. Many of our guests commented that it was the best wedding they’d been to, and I know that we couldn’t have pulled it off without her. I wanted a simple, easy, fun wedding, but realized quickly that no wedding planning was going to be simple. Mandy is so experienced and competent, and I couldn’t believe how she could remember all the smallest details. She kept us calm during the planning process, and we enjoyed our meetings with her. She responded to my many emails quickly, and she was thorough at answering my many questions. She communicated with and updated the vendors often, which made our lives so much easier! Thank you so much!!!

My husband and I hired Mandy to help us plan our wedding. I was going through some medical stuff and was distracted and unorganized. We were so overwhelmed until we found Mandy. She is SO organized, cool and on the ball. Meeting with her felt more like hanging out with an old friend who really «got» what we wanted — than with an event coordinator… it was actually FUN. She found the perfect venue for us (artists for humanity), the perfect caterer, the yummiest cake, found me the perfect hair and makeup artists, the best photographer and was so calm and assuring throughout the whole process. I honestly have no idea how anyone plans a wedding on their own — I was so confident the whole time that our wedding was going to be perfect. And it was. We decided on a Midsummer Night’s Dream theme, and our guest loved how unique it was. It was the best day of my life — and a big reason for this was Mandy. She encouraged us to follow our own vision, no matter how quirky but was also very honest with us as to what was going to work and what probably wouldn’t. I recommend her services to everyone — no matter how big or small your event is. She’ll make it a rockin’ good time for sure, and you won’t have to worry about a THING.

When we met with Mandy from Hummingbird Bridal for our initial consultation, she asked us to tell her what theme we had chosen for our wedding. «Theme??» I thought? «Umm… I don’t know» I answered– certain that I had already screwed up our entire wedding. «Tell me what you’d like the event to be like?» Mandy explained. So we shared our choppy and unclear thoughts– we wanted our wedding to be a big party where we could acknowledge and thank our friends and family. We explained that each of them had in some way taught us how to love so that we could in turn love one another. «Got it» she quickly replied. Really? Because we didn’t even fully know what we meant. But lo and behold, she most certainly did get it. Mandy soon started sharing the most perfect ideas for the most unique/​individualized wedding that we didn’t even know was possible.
From the perfect suggestions for an unconventional venue (Arlington Town Hall) to our fantastic photographer (Little Fang) and florist (Bittersweet Gardens), Mandy consistently pointed us in the right directions. She understood our budget and helped us to stay on track. Day of, Mandy was beyond amazing and had everything and everyone exactly where they were supposed to be. She was calm, poised, professional and fun. She never missed a beat– even when it rained moments before our outdoor ceremony was set to start and we had to switch to option B, quickly moving the ceremony and cocktail hour inside. She made our option B seem as though it was option A! More importantly, Mandy made all these changes without us or any of our guests noticing that anything was different.
We have already recommended Mandy and Hummingbird Bridal to our friends who are in the process of planning their weddings and will continue to do so. Hummingbird Bridal is definitely the type of team we would want all of our friends and family to have the opportunity to work with for their events. THANK YOU, MANDY AND THE HUMMINGBIRD TEAM!

If there’s one thing that could give an example of how valuable Hummingbird Bridal & Events (and Mandy) was in planning our wedding, it’s this; we enjoyed every minute of our wedding day. We had been warned that, if we weren’t careful, our day would flash by and we wouldn’t get the chance to enjoy the party we spent over a year planning. Not the case! Our stress-​free day wasn’t because our wedding day went smoothly – even though it did – it was because, if there were to be drama, we trusted Mandy to handle it. Our job was to have fun, dance, and eat (and yes, we actually were able to eat… some AMAZING food thanks to Mandy’s recommendations in catering and bakery!)
Both of us moved to Washington DC in the months before our wedding and Mandy took it all in stride. Despite what could have been an otherwise stressful situation for a wedding planner she continued to keep us on track with her timeline.
Another thing that Mandy does really well is getting to know her clients. Hanging out with her greyhound and drinking a beer, it was hard to remember that we had work to do! Since neither of us had time to visit twenty venues or meet with ten photographers, Mandy – after learning our tastes and personalities – shortened our list to two or three options. We visited two venues and met with two photographers, one caterer, and one florist. It wasn’t luck that we happened to like the first people we met; Mandy put us in front of people that she knew we’d like. And if we hadn’t liked them, she would have kept working hard to find the perfect fit.
To be completely honest, when we first started wedding planning and many people in our lives kept asking if we were going to get a wedding planner I dismissed their advise quickly. I was insulted that they thought I needed help with this. I actually really enjoy planning and organizing events and activities. I was also concerned that any wedding planner would be extremely corporate and distant. I didn’t want a corporate event planner anywhere near our intimate and special day. With Hummingbird Bridal & event I have been proven wrong and I am so happy about it! We have been left cherishing not only our wedding day but every minute leading up to it and it is in LARGE part due to the phenomenal leading, organizing and caring of Mandy and Hummingbird Bridal & Events. We could not have been happier with our experience.

Mandy is a superstar. Hiring Mandy and Hummingbird Bridal for our recent wedding was the best decision we could have made.
Mandy is organized, strategic, confident and smart. She is incredibly creative and supportive, motivating my husband and me to make decisions that made sense for us and focusing on the right things rather than getting caught up in the minutia. She is an expert at moving the time line forward with ease and without stress, and she reminded us to be excited and actually have FUN during the year long planning journey. It is hard for me to believe that I wasn’t her only client this year because she was ALWAYS available to me and never once made me feel as if my questions, concerns or ideas were wasting her time.
I could go on forever but I’ll end my praise here. If you are reading this review just do it, pick up the phone and give Mandy a call. Hire Hummingbird Bridal immediately. This will be the best decision you can make for your wedding just as it was for ours.

After interviewing several wedding planners, we chose Mandy to take the lead on our daughters’ wedding and never looked back! Mandy quickly assessed where we were with this complicated wedding in which people were gathering from 5 different countries for 5 days. Although several of the big decisions had been made (site, caterer for dinner), I had hit my limit planning this wedding in MA from CA! Mandy immediately went to work completing our planning for rehearsal dinner, day after brunch, and very specific needs for beverages (locally brewed beer and wine!) On the day of, I got to be the mother of the bride with minimum involvement in set up or coordination of vendors. Mandy made this all possible while keeping our budget under control. She goes the extra mile — arranging extra lighting for the wedding night when we discovered a problem on the rehearsal dinner night — by having an assistant run out for tiki torches at the last minute. She is friendly, easy to work with, patient, and can command the attention of rowdy groomsmen throughout a wedding rehearsal! Mandy is the perfect blend of competence, professionalism, and calm. I can highly recommend her services.
Sandra D.

I hired Mandy for full service planning for a 600 plus person graduate school event. She did a FANTASTIC job and would use her again in a heartbeat. Here are my thoughts:
1) I was just married two weeks before the event Mandy planned (the wedding was down in Florida) the entire time I wished I was getting married in Boston so I could have used Mandy for both events bc she was so much better than my actual wedding planner
2) I would come up with crazy ideas or suggestions like lets get snakes, sand, fireworks, a flash mob, etc…(it was a themed party) and Mandy WOULDN’T respond like most people do «Ryan your crazy these things aren’t even possible». She would be just as excited as I was about these possibilities and would start researching immediately.
3) The full planning was totally worth it, the event was over 7 months in the making and I met with Mandy three times in person and countless phone calls/​emails. Speaking of most of my emails she responded within 30 minutes if not seconds and I actually don’t think I ever left a voicemail as she always picked up. She not only came up with three different theme ideas but had pictures and essentially story boards for each idea.
4) She knows great vendors, but at no time did I EVER think she was pressuring me to use someone in particular. She always got second opinions and could help negotiate or figure out what we needed to cut to stay in budget. Some of the deals we got I know we simply would not have been able to get without her.
5) I am someone who worries about everything and can’t have a good time unless I know everyone else is having a good time first. At the event I was so at ease bc Mandy was there, I did not have to worry about a thing and the event went flawlessly.
6) She goes above and beyond of what I would expect even for a full service planner. Example we ordered 300 foam glowsticks last minute and I had no idea that each glow stick was individually packaged and needed a tiny piece of paper to be removed from the battery before they could be turned on. Mandy and her team sat there and did this for all 300 of them. This is just one example, I was constantly impressed.
7) I consider myself somewhat of a creative person/​think outside the box (see comment number two) but Mandy would come up with great ideas that took this event to the next level.
Overall if your still reading, give her a call/​set-​up a meeting you won’t be disappointed.

Mandy of Hummingbird Bridal is simply the best! I don’t know how we would have pulled off our wedding without her!
We wanted a wedding that was unique, felt like «us,» that wouldn’t break our budget. We spent looong hours finding the perfect venue. Unfortunately, that venue (Community Rowing Boathouse) didn’t have an on-​site person who would «run the show» and help ensure our wedding day went smoothly. As our planning progressed, it became more apparent that hiring a «day-​of coordinator» would be smart and worth the investment. However, a wedding planner wasn’t factored into our budget.
We first spoke with a few planners we found on Unilocal and in other Boston wedding magazines, and were turned off by their bossy, often arrogant attitude toward weddings in general (not to mention their high price tags!). We didn’t want someone to tell us how it «had» to be done. We wanted to find someone who would who would complement our style and help us execute OUR wedding, not overhaul the vision we already had. (Within budget, of course.)
We were about to give up the search when we found Hummingbird Bridal. Halleluiah!
The price was right. Our date was available. Most importantly, Mandy was the PERFECT fit for us.
We quickly realized Mandy is the wedding planner for those who don’t want a wedding planner. When we first met Mandy for coffee, we explained where we were in the planning process, showed her magazines, threw out ideas we had. She was so sweet and supportive, and we immediately could tell that she «got it,» and we felt comfortable and confident in her ability– and her fabulous personality! We hired her on the spot.
Even though we hired her for day-​of coordination, she was still readily available and responsive when we hit a snag throughout the planning process. When we needed advice on centerpieces, limos, bridesmaid gifts, you name it, Mandy was there with brainstorms, links, advice. (My husband was obviously devastated he got to miss out on some of these VERY crucial decisions). She always offered up great solutions and was never personally offended if we choose not to follow through with her suggestions.
When it came time for the wedding, she ran the rehearsal brilliantly and executed our entire wedding day without a hitch. She coordinated timing with all of our vendors, made sure the lights were hung, flowers in place, photo booth in order. Working solo, she juggled both a limo & shuttle bus break-​down and still managed to get the wedding started on time. She was super friendly yet professional to all our family, friends, and guests, not to mention all our vendors, and at the end of the night even made sure gifts, etc. were safely in their designated car. And she did it all with a great attitude and sense of humor.
The wedding was a smashing success, and I don’t know how we could have pulled it off without her. Hiring Hummingbird Bridal was hands down the BEST decision we made in planning our wedding! Thank you Mandy!!!

Dear Mandy,
Thank you for all of your help with the wedding. Peter and I couldn’t have survived the day without you!
From the first meeting you immediately helped calm my nerves by reminding me that all brides get nervous. You helped me to organize my vendors and the questions I should be prepared to ask them.
Thinking back to our wedding day, I remember how I could relax and enjoy the day knowing that you would be there to take care of all the details. From the place cards to the guest gifts, the decorations on the fireplace mantel and organizing all the vendors you placed everything exactly as we had planned. My reception hall was absolutely beautiful and exactly how I has imagined. Much of our family and friends still compliment Peter and I about our wedding reception. I know you had much to do with that and all my vendors said how easy you were to work with and what a pleasure you were.
If you ever need any recommendations I would tell all of your perspective brides that you were exactly what I needed for my wedding. I’m happy to know that you are more than my wedding coordinator, you are our friend!
Thank you again,
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Quinn

I LOVE Amanda! From conception to execution, she really works with the you to bring about your unique vision, and she makes you feel like you have unlimited possibilities, no matter what your budget. She’s super friendly and creative, and she’s actually FUN to work with (which I discovered is so so SO hard to find in a planner).

First, let me start by saying I was vehemently against hiring a wedding planner when I starting the whole wedding planning process. I was terrified that he or she would try to «sell» me on vendors, ideas and themes that were not me and did not reflect the people that my husband and I are. Not to mention, I had convinced myself that a wedding planner’s job was to put money into the hands of their preferred vendors. I have attended so many «cookie cutter» weddings that just seemed devoid of all sincerity and I was certain that a planner would take the reigns away from me, ensuring that my wedding day would not be «my own.»
But alas, within a few months I found out that I was not super human. I was working full time, going to school part-​time and trying to coordinate a 150-​person wedding. My head was spinning and I had no clear vision. I knew what I liked but I could not, for the life of me, bring it together into one cohesive plan of action. I needed help.
Thank GOD for Mandy. I loved her aesthetic and her mindset. She was so down-​to-​earth, and she was very understanding when I told her about all of the weddings I didn’t want ours to be like. She was honest, calm, and was chock full of whimsy & humor. I literally said the words «vineyard, periwinkle blue, rustic» and BAM, I had photos in my inbox and ideas from her that were frighteningly perfect. My ideas suddenly evolved into a cohesive look, something she called the «story.» She pointed me towards websites like Etsy & Weddingbee, showing me how to find/​create personalized & intimate items for affordable prices, all while qualifying her ideas with «you HAVE to tell me if you don’t like something,» and it put me at ease time and time again.
«Vineyard, periwinkle blue, rustic» became a Rustic Vineyard Wedding at a gorgeous winery in upstate New York. She suggested long, family-​style tables with burlap table runners, various sized votives, adorable mason jars filled with colorful wildflower bouquets, rustic wood table number holders, and wine cork place card holders. GENIUS! Her ideas were unique, creative, on-​budget and so well executed.
My request: «I don’t want a fondant cake and I want penguins mixed into the theme» (yes seriously) became a delicious butter cream, frosted, 4 tier cake with colorful tufts of wildflowers and one-​of-​a-​kind penguin cake toppers (dressed as a bride & groom).
On the day-​of, everything was planned out so carefully and was so well attended-​to by Mandy that I didn’t have to worry about a thing. I could actually enjoy myself with no stress! For a crazy, stressed out, ninny like me, that is seriously saying something. I would say «I need this,» and bam… it was taken care of. No need to follow-​up, no need to track her down; she was in the background, but was also by my side at the same time. I must have hugged her 50 times that day.
Above everything else, Mandy listens. She understands a budget and NEVER ONCE made me feel like my $ 25K budget was less important than a $ 500K budget. She takes such care and time to ensure that YOUR vision it attained, even if you’re not quite sure what that vision is to begin with. She made our day so very, very, very special, personal and real. I would hire her again in a heartbeat!