Curating one-in-a-lifetime experiences
Our Offerings
Cygnet Events and Design is an internationally recognized, awarded Chicago wedding planning and design firm with a reputation for being a top U.S. event planner. Our team boasts over 50 years of collective experience and has seamlessly planned hundreds of weddings.
Relationship building is at the core of all we do, and we believe the most successful events result from a people-centered approach. Our bold design sense takes inspiration from unexpected sources and allows us to craft exceptional, immersive experiences that are deeply connected to our clients’ personalities.
With a limited number of weddings booked each year, we ensure that each event is a priority. From fast response times to tailored communication approaches, our goal is to appreciate and respect the uniqueness of each couple. We are intricately familiar with each event and deeply invested in its execution.
Our Offerings
FULL planning – DESTINATION – PARTIAL planning – COORDINATION
Full wedding planning
Full service planning means we touch every element of wedding planning and design, starting at day one. This is a concierge service that allows clients to effortlessly engage with the planning process.
From vendor sourcing to contract review, from custom budget creation to guest list management, from spreadsheets to floor plans, from rehearsal coordination to comprehensive on-site event execution, we are there every step of the way. We specialize in bespoke design, multi-day wedding weekends, tented weddings and destination management. We are happy to go wherever our clients’ love takes them, or to recommend areas of the U.S. and the world best suited to their needs.
Each lead planner on our team serves only up to 5 full service clients per year. Quality over quantity is the heart of our philosophy. We are driven by a goal to tell each client’s story through carefully considered, expertly interwoven elements that come together to create something that lives on far longer than the event itself.
We are there every
step of the way
DESTINATION PLANNING
Destination wedding planning offers couples access to all of the benefits of our concierge full planning service wherever in the world they choose. Multi-day management and multiple site visits for our team are always included.
We work with top venues and vendors in far-flung destinations to collaboratively design incredibly special affairs. Our processes allow us to produce events at an incredibly high level wherever our clients choose, even if it is a new location for our team. Partnerships with planners around the world also ensures that each destination event has boots on the ground for local planning expertise and insight. Respecting local customs and cultures is always a priority, as is drawing from local resources in order to highlight the richness of each locale.
Design, logistics and guest-focused curation are core components of destination planning.
PARTIAL WEDDING PLANNING
Partial planning allows couples the flexibility to handle some of their own planning, while having expert management of other elements from the start. Many couples enlist us to focus specifically on design for partial planning.
With partial planning, clients have the advantage of accessing our wedding planning tools and expertise from the moment they book. While we do not touch every single element from day one, we work with couples to target our services for a hyperfocused planning approach in specific areas. Vendor sourcing, budget management, customized planning timelines and much more are included with each partial planning service.
As the wedding approaches, we step in to manage and execute all of the final details.
WEDDING COORDINATION
Coordination begins more than two months before the big day. With this service, couples do their own advance planning and we step in to seamlessly execute the final steps.
Wedding coordination is best for couples who feel confident in booking their vendors and making their initial plans, but who understand the necessity of having an experienced planner see everything through. Upon booking, we provide a curated list of recommended vendors to ensure our couples work with the best.
Our coordination service is consistently praised by couples, guests and vendors as one of the most thorough and effective in the city. Coordination dates are extremely limited each year, as we give priority to full and partial planning bookings.
CUSTOMIZED PLANNING
We tailor our approach to each client, offering a high level of customization for each budget, design and element of the planning process. We are fully focused on the client and guest experience.
What makes us stand out?
There are myriad planners out there, but none of them is quite like Cygnet. We set ourselves apart by adhering to exacting standards of productivity, communication, ethics and taste.
Productivity
We’re workhorses, but it doesn’t feel like work when it’s a labor of love. Rather than tracking hours and assessing ever-changing hourly fees to our clients, we simply put in the time each event needs. Our limited number of bookings means we have the availability to address issues as they arise, rather than making clients jump through hoops or wait for us to manage time-sensitive tasks. Our couples aren’t forced into boxes; they’re given a tailored blend of structure and freedom to best suit their needs, while we do all of the heavy lifting.
Communication
Do you enjoy waiting for responses? We don’t, either. We are seamless communicators who understand the value of delivering on expectations. We will get back to your emails, dot your “i’s,” cross your “t’s” and always strive make you feel that you have a superhero in your corner. Communication is key in this world, and we are at the top of our game.
Ethics
Cygnet Events and Design adheres to a strict code of ethics and professional conduct. We pride ourselves on transparency. Our rates are based on what our work is worth; while some planners may have lower up-front rates, many take commissions which ultimately cost the client much more. Once we are booked, we work only for our couples and what is in their best interest. We also never advertise to be included in any “best” lists, so you know that all of our accolades are 100% genuine.
Taste
As a design-forward planning firm, we bring a lot to the table. We constantly have our finger on the pulse of the latest design trends, top designers, and the complicated logistics that go into producing each unique event. Rather than outsourcing our design work to other firms, we manage much of it in house to ensure that each client has a seamless experience and cohesive execution. Most importantly, our weddings bring the “wow” factor!
“The absolute best money we spent for the entire wedding.”
Kathryn and Robert
