A Perfect Event

Far from "A Perfect Event". If I could give 0 stars, I would! I have never written a review for anything in my entire life, but as an EXTREMELY disappointed bride-to-be, I had to warn future Chicago brides to STAY AWAY! Signing a contract with Debi Lily was the first, and BIGGEST MISTAKE I made as a newly engaged girl. From the very beginning, my planning with Debi was far from "perfect". She was constantly "so busy" and would continuously make excuses for not getting back to me in a timely manner. I felt like I would give her chance after chance to redeem herself and she never did. Honestly, the only thing she did quickly was cash her deposit check. I would have to ask her the same question(s) NUMEROUS times before getting a response, and when she did finally respond she would shoot me a one-liner and MAYBE answer one of my questions (if I was lucky). She always ended each one-liner email with the same FAKE phrase: "We are so excited!" What is she so excited about, cashing a $3,500 check and not having to work for it???

While I worked with her, for approximately 3 months (3 months too long!) she must have gone through at least 3 "assistants", and none of them had a clue what was going on. One time I stopped in Debi's store to check on the status of an invite, and her new assistant was unable to help me, of course, and told me that Debi was out filming a commercial and that she would have to get back to me at a later time. So I am just wondering...what exactly is Debi Lily's job title?? Is she an actress? A television star? A wanna-be Martha Stewart? I will tell you one thing, she IS NOT an event planner!

She is rude, unprofessional, and sarcastic. Her time is more important than yours, and she makes that quite obvious!

The only clients that are of any importance to her are those that she believes will somehow get her and her "perfect event" noticed. Unless she knows that she will be recognized in a magazine or on television for planning your event she could care less about you, no matter how much money you are willing to spend.

She cuts corners, orders cheap material, and then charges an outrageous fee...a fee that I would not mind paying, for a quality event planner and quality work, but Debi Lily is far from high quality. She is a SCAM ARTIST.

She pays absolutely NO attention to detail and could quite frankly care less about your special day and what you are envisioning for that day. She does what she wants and makes MISTAKES, and does not apologize for her wrongdoings. In fact she blames you, the client, for the mistakes that she makes.

If you notice...all of the reviews on Debi are either one extreme or another (all one star or all five stars) which seems a bit strange to me. Trust me, the people giving her one star have her all figured out, and those giving 5 stars must be friends, family, and paid employees of Debi.

Do NOT let her "Mary Sunshine" personality fool you, she is a fraud, and I promise you that if you go with her, your event will be far from perfect.

I cancelled my services with Debi and paid her to do absolutely nothing...please do not let this happen to you.

I am now working with a wonderful planner who is truly helping me plan the wedding of my dreams and I am so glad to say that Debi Lily will not get any credit for my "perfect event"…

My Monthly Event Planner. I use this place at lest 3 times a month. they Know what they are doing and they do it RIGHT. Debi Lily is a perfectionist in every since of the word and will not settle for less. It is no wonder Oprah has named her as one of her favorite event planners.

When I work with A Perfect Event, I know I am going to get a good night sleep without having to toss and turn wondering if it going to get done.

Thanks Debi, for all the work you and your staff do to make my events run smooth.…

Our NYE Wedding at the Blackstone. Debi, I can't stop smiling revisiting that magical, majestic evening.  You took the grand elegance of that little palace ballroom and turned it into a glistening, shimmering heaven.  I will never forget the moment I walked into that room, swooning, intoxicated by the unimagined beauty reflected over and over again in the multiple mirrored doors.  Indelible.  This wedding exceeded all expectation.  Thank you for helping me present my precious girl with the gift of a lifetime. 

We thank you for every perfect decision, from the florals, linens, invitations, menus, programs, martini bar, etc., to the glorious glamelia bridal bouquet. And thanks to your recommending Avery House Photography we now have stunning visuals to remind us of that once in a lifetime evening.

Thank you for spending the evening with us and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. The execution was flawless.

You deserve every accolade and award given for your brilliance and vision.  I hope as a result of sharing our experience, others in the sea of wedding confusion find their way to you and experience the joy that can be a wedding done by a master.  Caily and I will stand as a testament to any on the fence Bride and Mother of the Bride.  Please use us as a reference when need be. 

And, we miss you too!  I try and keep up with you via your blog.  It feels like girlfriend talk!  I love it. So many great entertaining ideas. So excited for all of your upcoming adventures.  When I get overwhelmed with all that we have going on (Weddings, Concerts, Spring Gala, travels) I think of you and how you manage to do it all with such style.  Your joy is infectious, you are an inspiration and I am so happy to have found you!  

Deb Hoban…

Consistently friendly, professional, innovative. I helped plan the wedding for my sister and her fiancé who live out of state in May 2010. My sister chose a wonderful venue, but it only offered a large loft space. As a result, we needed to provide everything (DJ, caterer, linens, tables, chairs, dishes, bartenders, liquor, flowers, décor). Debi had coordinated the wedding for a friend of the family a few years ago, and came highly recommended by a reliable source. Although we started out wanting to do a lot ourselves, it soon became clear that Debi was far more capable, willing and able to get it done better, which saved us a lot of time and stress. Debi recommended our DJ, bartender, caterer (and created a wonderful menu), designed the space and décor, and of course created the most beautiful flowers for the wedding party. During the planning process, Debi consistently came up with great ideas from wording the invitation to creating special touches that made the event personal and special. In addition, she filled in the many gaps of items that we overlooked, forgotten to include, or simply did not realize we needed. My mother insisted on ordering and delivering the tablecloths from a company near her. When they arrived, 4 of the tablecloths were not the right length. Although Debi did not have anything to do with the tablecloth order, she quickly contacted the linen company and got the correct replacements in time for the event. Debi consistently went above and beyond to make the event special and stress free for us. In addition to planning the wedding, Debi was especially helpful in keeping everyone calm right before the wedding ceremony and during the reception. Since we had not rehearsed for the wedding, we simply instructed to the wedding party to “just listen to Debi, and do as she says”. Debi remained calm and professional, providing direction to everyone in the party (including the 4 children). It was a great relief to know that someone who knows what they are doing is in charge, and everything would turn out great, which it did. My sister’s fiancé was timid about using a wedding coordinator at first, but after meeting Debi and talking to her he was immediately put at ease. She is down to earth, friendly, listened to everyone’s vision of the big day, and carefully managed the multiple personalities and opinions to create a spectacular event. I would never consider hosting an event like this without using Debi. Overall, she saved us time, money and frustration to create a truly perfect event.…