Liven It Up Events

Where do I start?! Misha Newgren at Liven It Up Events is absolutely incredible. She is poised, professional, knowledgeable, and kind. Her calm demeanor and organization helped make the day go so smoothly. I cannot recommend her enough.
A bit more info — we decided to go with the deluxe day of coordinator package. Misha looked over our vendor contracts, joined us at floral appointments, and was quick to answer any question we emailed her. Misha always gave us honest advice and opinions about vendors, which I found extremely helpful. And on the day of the wedding, Misha helped with everything — organizing the floral delivery, getting us to the church on time, managing the buses for our guests, ensuring the reception kept to the schedule, and was there a second after my bustle broke with safety pins. She can do it all.
Misha knows the Chicago wedding market and has incredibly solid relationships in the industry. I have recommended Misha to every one of my friends who is engaged. Thank you for everything, Misha!

Anthony Navarro is purely THE BEST! I would highly recommend him for full service. However, if that is not in the budget you MUST have him as your day of coordinator. He truly made my day stress free and perfect. He not only remembers every detail, he times the events out seamlessly, and does this all with grace. He commands attention to coordinate large groups (rehearsal of ceremony, etc.) yet does so in a manner that is not abrasive, it is motivating to all of those around him and just a pleasure to be around. He is an absolute must and one of the best decisions I made in the wedding planning process. If you have ever watched the wedding planner then you know what a good coordinator looks like, well Anthony is even better!

Anthony was our wedding planner for my daughter’s wedding at The Thompson Hotel on October 17^th. My daughter and I had interviewed numerous highly rated Chicago planners, but after meeting with Anthony, we both quickly agreed, we had found «our planner».
While Anthony is creative, professional, personable, and extremely competent, what makes him so special is that he REALLY listens to what you are saying, without any sense of pre-​judgement, always embracing your ideas. He then takes your suggestions and brilliantly formulates them into the most perfect wedding any bride could ever hope for!
Anthony is not just a wedding planner. He becomes part of your family. He has unwavering compassion for everyone involved throughout the entire process. We were able to call, email, text Anthony anytime of the day or night, (and we did), always receiving an immediate response. He is amazingly dedicated to his clients and makes you feel like you are the only bride he is working with at any given time, when the reality is, he is strategically managing a number of brides all at the same time…
Ironically, the week of the wedding, we were all actually bored. We had little to nothing to do to prepare for the big day. Anothony had us completely organized with his check lists, timelines, instructions for what goes where and when, that you could just sit back and enjoy the entire week. People told us they had never seen such a calm family during a wedding week. I keep waiting for something unexpected to happen, but if it did, Anthony never let on that there were any issues. The day of the wedding ran perfectly. That is a true professional!
Anthony put together the most amazing team to create our gorgeous wedding. We struggled with décor for many months, wanting something strikingly different from the typical wedding colors and look… Anthony was so very patient with us and after a few meetings with event planners, he felt there was one special person that could meet our needs. He set up meeting with Erin Dahl Sellers at Revel Décor, who turned out to be the perfect visionary for what we wanted. She is so creative and such a joy to work with. It was Anthony that brought the two of us together. Watching the two of them work together is intriguing and hilarious as these two creative forces finish each other’s sentences and thought processes!!! Anthony also suggested our amazing band, The David Rothstein Band, the multi-​talented photographer, Ingrid Bonne, make-​up artist Sonya Roselli, as well as, worked beautifully and efficiently with Mimi Lopez, our wedding coordinator at The Thompson Hotel.
Anthony is the BEST wedding planner in Chicago and we will always be grateful for his creation of the most beautiful wedding for our daughter. I only wish I had another daughter so that we could do it all over again!!! It was that much FUN working with Anthony…

I can’t say enough good things about Anthony Navarro. Our wedding day at The Rookery was THE happiest day of our lives, and we owe it to Anthony. He is the epitome of professionalism, but yet so fun and charming at the same time. He just made things happen, and I felt like I never had to worry. Oh, and he helped plan our entire wedding from California. I’ll never forget the image of him steaming my ginormous wedding dress on the big day. Not only he is just an outstanding event planner, but he truly is a good person. We were very lucky to have him and Tanya make our dream wedding come true. It is no surprise to us that he is ranked number 1 on Unilocal

Working with Anthony was such a joy. He made the entire wedding planning process as easy as one could ever hope it to be. He helped us find amazing vendors and walked us through every step of the process, sharing insights we’d never ever have been able to find on our own.
Our wedding was exactly what we wanted, and Anthony and his team played a huge role in that. I can’t recommend working with him enough.

Misha was awesome for our wedding. From helping set up and create our candy station to figuring out our warm apple cider station when the weather turned for the worst… she did an amazing job. Very professional and also calm and collected on a chaotic day. Highly recommend!!!

We worked with Misha Newgren at Liven It Up Events and she proved to be the best thing that happened to our wedding! We planned our Chicago wedding from DC and she made the process so easy for us. Misha was very professional and she organized everything we needed when we flew into town and kept us on track for our fabulous wedding at Café Brauer. She was ahead of the power curve and anticipated our needs, gave sound advice when we needed it, and was always so responsive and attentive. Her recommendations for catering, flowers, and music were fantastic as all did a great job. We loved interacting with her and she was beyond amazing the day of the wedding, even driving me to the ceremony since my dad was still getting ready!
Liven It Up Events and Misha helped us plan the wedding of our dreams and we very highly recommend them for other couples planning their weddings.

My now husband and I both traveled for work and were busy with a move, grad school, new job, and a zillion other things, so we needed a wedding planner who could help us coordinate everything. Misha at Liven It Up was a DREAM! She was so friendly and cool, so organized, always calm, and had the best, most creative ideas! She organized every aspect of our wedding for us and our guests are still raving about how PERFECT it was. She suggested the best vendors to work with (while always leaving final choices up to us) and made sure everyone was on the same page with every detail.
I can’t emphasize enough how much we loved working with Misha. I highly highly HIGHLY recommend her and Liven It Up to any couple in need or wedding planning.

I’m sorry to say we did not have a 5 star experience with Liven It Up. Our coordinator was Jackie and there are several reasons why I think she did just an okay job. No, it wasn’t terrible but I went with her over another coordinator because of the reviews on Unilocal.
First of all, I felt like I reminded her to take care of tasks instead of her taking the initiative. For example, she agreed to remind me a week in advance of final payment due dates after I asked her how she helps to manage this. She fulfilled with a couple payments then sent me a list of 4 – 5 payments that were due in a few days. A main reason to have a coordinator was to not feel stressed and this added a layer of stress to my planning because I did not trust that she was taking care of things. As my husband states, we had to lead in a lot of categories still instead of following her.
When recommending vendors, she seemed to push «her people» even after I expressed that it wasn’t the vision I was looking for. She told me to reconsider them instead of suggesting others. I ended up finding the photographers myself and taking care of the invitations.
When she sent a rough draft of timeline, I responded with an error and she was quick to be defensive. The point of a draft is to point out mistakes right? During the rehearsal, my sister in law asked if her husband should stay for family photos. Jackie said, only family. So my SIL asked again and Jackie responded is he blood? Then, no. Well actually, since they are married he was in some of the pictures and I had indicated that on the timeline photo section.
During the wedding, I showed her that the tables weren’t numbered correctly and our family was supposed to sit near us. She blankly stared at me before actually trying to fix it. I noticed the props were missing for photobooth and she said she never knew they should be there instead of finding the owner and mentioning it to him.
We loved all our other vendors– loft on lake, art of Imagination, Juliet tan florist, jandl catering etc. so there was a lot to live up to. Things she did well was always respond to my emails/​texts even on the weekends, she organized a walk through with all the vendors that was extremely helpful. She attended most vendor meetings, and overall handled the day of events efficiently but just not worth the cost nor did she live up to the 5 star rating I was expecting. Sorry

One of the best features of our wedding day, and something we think every couple should strive for, was that on the day, we had nothing to do but get married and enjoy the party. Liven It Up Events, and specifically our coordinator Lisa, made that reality possible.
To be clear, we started planning our June ’15 wedding in October ’14. For most of that time, we barely considered hiring a wedding planner. But in late May, less than a month from our wedding, we realized we needed help. And even at this point, we were just looking for someone to coordinate all of the vendors we’d already assembled. Lisa provided us with that service, and so much more.
Lisa helped us to finalize our wedding day timeline, hooked us up (at a very late date) with a brilliant lighting designer and equally brilliant calligrapher, contacted and coordinated with all of our vendors (including the venue, caterer, gelato cart, DJ, photographer, officiant, liquor vendor, florist, calligrapher, lighting designer, livery service, and dog-​sitter), picked up our floral arrangements, and helped manage a past-​last-​minute crisis we created by miscounting our guests.
Lisa was also there on the day to take care of our every personal need, keep the day on-​schedule, oversee vendor set-​up, the final ceremony rehearsal, gently and genially handled guest and family requests and concerns that we or our best people would have to handle, the processional/​recessional, formal photo sessions, the guest-​book, the gift-​card box, seating cards, first dances, distribution of gift bags, and the end of evening pack up.
As reluctant as we were to spend the money at the late date we decided to, it was worth every penny. If you want your wedding day to go off exactly as you dreamed (or better) without a hitch, you couldn’t do better than hiring Liven It Up and having Lisa at your side.

There aren’t words to express how thrilled we are with Anthony Navarro and his team at Liven It Up Events. Our corporate anniversary reception was more than a success. Our executives, colleagues and clients all had such an incredible time. The compliments still keep rolling in.
After reading all of the great reviews on Unilocal and doing some internet research, I decided to contact them about our corporate event in Chicago. As we are located in Montréal, having someone local was key to our comfort organizing this from so far away. Within seconds of speaking with Anthony, I knew that he has the experience and contacts that we needed to make our party great. But, it wasn’t just great, it was unforgettable — the bar has officially been raised.
Anthony was personable, professional, calming, as well as tireless throughout the planning process and reception. He thought of details that I couldn’t have thought up and had excellent contacts for the entertainment, cake, décor, photography, and at the perfect venue where we had our party, River Roast. During the event, some of us remarked how everywhere we looked, he was there. For any possible issue that could arise, such as the rain that poured down, he had a plan b, c, and d. This is an event planner with super powers who will no doubt add magic to anything he is involved in.

This review is long overdue. Worked with Anthony at Liven It Up Events for my day of wedding coordinator back in 2011. Hands down the best money we spent on our wedding. Anthony distressed our day making sure every detail was tended to so we could kick back and enjoy our big day. Pleasure to work with. Highly recommend.

I just got married this past weekend (April 18) and I just could not wait to say these words about Misha and Liven It Up Events. AMAZING!!!
Misha will have your back. She will be there for you when you need her. She is unbelievably professional and organized. SHE GETS THINGS DONE. If you really really want something, she will move heaven and earth to make it happen. But she’s also pragmatic and will hammer down a realistic wedding schedule to make sure the important stuff you need gets done.
Misha is warm, incredibly knowledgeable and she is genuinely excited for you and your wedding day.
For those who are on the fence of hiring a wedding planner — DO IT (Misha was my day-​of wedding planner). EMBRACE your wedding day. You want to occupy yourself with thoughts of your future spouse and taking this monumental step together. You don’t want to clutter your mind with thoughts about whether the caterer is setting up on time or whether the officiant knows where he’s supposed to be and when. Liven It Up Events takes care of EVERYTHING and will make sure you don’t have to worry about ANYTHING. On my wedding morning I was sipping my mimosa, laughing with my bridesmaids and getting my hair/​make up done. A great way to start the day!
Even if you have a ton of friends helping out with the wedding there has to be a point person to smoothly coordinate everything without the bride even knowing about it. I swear, LIVEN IT UP will have your back so that you can enjoy getting married!!!

We worked with Anthony at Liven It Up Events for our wedding in February 2015 and would give them 6 stars!
We worked with him for ‘day of coordination’ but he did so much more than that. He was helpful throughout the process — providing vendor recommendations, giving suggestions for what works best for the flow of the night, developing the timeline, managing the rehearsal, taking care of unexpected things the day of and keeping everyone calm.
We could not have had such a smooth flowing and relaxing wedding without Anthony. We had total confidence that he understood our vision and was an expert planner that day of, we weren’t worried about anything. And everything was flawless.
Would absolutely work with them again and recommend them to anyone looking for assistance on planning.

Anthony and his team are amazing! I think the only mistake we made with him was not letting him plan the entire thing. Anthony worked tirelessly to make our wedding successful. He calmed us down when we were stressed out, he was flexible to what we wanted, and he knew when to tell us our ideas weren’t going to work. I consider myself a very organized person but on the day of the wedding Anthony was always ahead of the game and I didn’t have to worry about anything. Also, he made our venue decorations look incredible. I showed him the look I wanted with a complicated space and he made it come to life and we received a ton of complements. We even planned our wedding from SF for a Chicago wedding which added to the complexity. He also always recommended vendors within our budget. We both loved working with Anthony and his team!

Anyone reading this post who is interested in hiring a wedding planner, let me save you time, hire Anthony right now. He is worth every penny and then some.
When we first began planning our wedding, we did not think we needed a planner. After checking out a couple of venues, we realized just how much was involved and how much time it was taking to research our options for venues and vendors. I was referred to Anthony from a colleague at work who had recently been married and had interviewed everyone under the sun. She assured me Anthony was the best, and she was right.
Anthony is extremely organized. He helped us come up with a budget, referred us to reliable vendors, and made sure we were always on track. He called this program the «partial» wedding planner, but I do not know what the other part would be unless he was the one actually getting married. There are so many random questions that would come up during the process, and Anthony was always available to talk us through them and had a great ideas and suggestions for everything.
On the day of the wedding, Anthony and his team were on top of everything. They had our entire day sketched out to the minute and kept track of all of the vendors and made sure everything flowed smoothly. He had checklists for every detail. We were able to enjoy every minute of our wedding and we could never have done that if we did not know Anthony was there and had it under control. I think that is the bottom line… Anthony enabled us to plan our perfect wedding and allowed us to enjoy our wedding day without having to wonder about what else needed to be attended to. If I could give him 10 stars in this review, I would.

For our August wedding in Chicago, we worked with Vanessa LeWinter for day-​of coordination. She was fabulous — creative, proactive, and highly organized to every detail of our wedding. She juggled every aspect of our rehearsal and wedding to make it the perfect weekend. She also gives great advice and encouragement — exactly what I needed as a bride! :)
While we had many of the larger vendors finalized, she provided recommendations for the extra touches that really made our day so special, like gift ideas for my mom and husband’s mom, where to take pictures for our «first look», and finding the perfect calligrapher for our seating cards. She also provided a detailed step-​by-​step plan for the weekend, weeks before the wedding.
I would highly recommend Vanessa with Liven It Up for wedding planning!

My mom and I have said over and over again that dollar for dollar, Anthony was our best hire for my wedding on August 31 at the Field Museum.
We only needed a day-​of coordinator, since we had pretty much hired all our vendors by the time we came to Anthony, but from the beginning, Anthony went above and beyond to answer all questions that came up along the way– everything from where to get an MOB dress to whether it was necessary to put the year on the invitations. Anthony is the perfect balance of warm and professional; it’s easy to see why he has literally written the book on being a wedding planner.
On the day of the wedding, I don’t know what we would have done without Anthony. His timeline was perfect, and he was so on top of everything the whole day. I wasn’t nervous or anxious (probably in part because he had everything so under control) but he repeatedly asked if I was okay, if I needed anything.
I can’t say enough good things about Anthony and Liven It Up Events. Anyone getting married in Chicago should be fighting to hire him!

Anthony Navarro was our planner for my wedding this year on ⁶⁄₂₁ at the Palmer House Hilton. Anthony came highly recommended by a friend, and hiring him was honestly THE best decision I made during the whole wedding planning process.
Anthony’s rates were much more reasonable compared to other planners in the city, and he provided value all along the 1.5 year (oh yeah) wedding planning process. In the end, he began to feel like a member of my family!
Anthony got to know my family extremely well and made recommendations based on our personalities and what we wanted. He ended up saving us a lot of money as well by being able to suggest the best places and vendors to utilize our resources while still having the wedding of our dreams. I honestly can’t say enough nice and positive things about Anthony except for the fact that I will be sending any girl who is engaged to him.
Anthony accompanied us to our floral appointments, cake appointments, and met with us repeatedly to make sure we were on track for planning. He was always prompt in communicating via email/​phone/​text and made himself available anytime.
For the day of, a couple of other members of the team were there and they did an AMAZING job anticipating our needs and making sure everything went off without a hitch. For example, Anthony and his team already had my backup shoes ready for me after a few hours of dancing at the reception and brought my wedding shoes back up to my hotel room without me having to tell them. Having Anthony along the way made everything so much less stressful for me as the bride because I knew there was a confident, knowledgable professional that I could turn to with questions anytime who would have my back. The day of all I did was enjoy everything we had planned while Anthony coordinated with all the vendors and made sure I was in a good state of mind regardless of what happened.
I can’t imagine doing this wedding without Anthony. He was amazing and I adore him if you can’t tell from the rest of this review. Hire Anthony and the whole Liven It Up team if you want to enjoy wedding planning and not be stressed over the details! It’s so so so very much worth the money… my family was skeptical about a planner in the beginning but at the end, they also couldn’t imagine pulling off the beautiful wedding we had without Anthony’s help, professionalism, and dedication.

As part of our wedding planning process, we met with 3 planners, including Anthony Navarro from Liven It Up Events. Within the first 5 minutes of meeting Anthony, we knew he was the right planner for us and never had any regrets with this important decision.
We developed an instant rapport with Anthony because of his great personality and energy. He arrived early, prepared, asking questions and taking notes throughout our initial meeting. Every time we had a question or sought guidance, Anthony always responded within 1 day.
Not only did we hire Anthony for our day-​of planning, we also hired him for décor planning. He was excellent at assisting us in negotiating with vendors regarding rentals and obtaining best prices possible for these items, resulting in us saving thousands of dollars.
Anthony was great at listening to what we wanted, but was also honest with what risks and limitations some of our wishes presented, and offered alternate solutions where applicable. It’s one of his strengths given Anthony’s extensive experience planning a wide variety of weddings.
Anthony’s organizational skills are second to none, as his highly detailed day-​of timeline accounted for every minute and activity taking place. He was very prompt in responding to our feedback on the timeline, finalizing our timeline several weeks prior to our wedding day.
Anthony collaborated tremendously with our other vendors to ensure everyone fully understood the timeline and their responsibilities. He was very diligent in keeping everyone on schedule, coordinating with his assistant on timely delivery and setup at at our venue. Everything on the day of went seamlessly perfect and much of the credit goes to Anthony and his assistant Vanessa!