Blue Canary Events

Steve and I just got married on November 12th, 2011. Rebecca from Blue Canary was our month-of wedding coordinator. We initially heard of Blue Canary from a friend who had gotten married a year earlier and highly recommended their services. When we reached out to Blue Canary, we were put in touch with Rebecca. Rebecca and I e-mailed back and forth, and I seriously "fell in love" with her over e-mail. It was clear that she had an awesome sense of humor. I joked to Steve that she was my e-mail best friend haha. We met with Rebecca for the first time (at St. Elmo's coffee pub in Del Ray, VA), and we were thrilled! She gave us SO MANY useful suggestions - that spanned from where we should buy or beer and wine to what materials we should use for our chalkboard menus. We booked with her that night! About a month before the wedding we met with her again - this time at Del Ray Pizza in Del Ray. We had dinner and talked with Rebecca for almost three hours! She was SO, SO INCREDIBLY helpful. She asked us thoughtful questions that helped us figure out what loose ends we needed to tie up (there were many more loose ends than we thought). Again, she gave us expert advice. She really has such a wealth of knowledge about weddings. About a week before our wedding, Rebecca met with us at our venue to help create a floor plan and so much more. We were very appreciative, especially because she had to travel quite far to be there. Now, onto the wedding day! Steve and I got married at a venue that did not have an on-site event coordinator. The venue was pretty much a blank slate. Therefore, a LOT of work needed to be done, in terms of setting up for the event, decorating, coordinating our rental equipment, caterer, etc. Rebecca went ABOVE AND BEYOND in every way. We also had a lot of special things we wanted to incorporate into our wedding day - inlcuding wish lanterns - and our friends planned a flash mob for us as a surprise. Rebecca and her team helped coordinate everything so it went off without a hitch. We were so INCREDIBLY THANKFUL for everything she did. Steve and I paid for our wedding on our own, so we were very hesitant at first to invest in a wedding planner. However, I can honestly say that it was the best money we spent. Rebecca was funny, conscientious, and organized. She rose to every challenge we gave her, and she executed everything perfectly. We cannot say enough good things about her and Blue Canary - and we HIGHLY recommend them! Rebecca will make your dream wedding come true :-) -Steve and Katie

Tori Malby of Blue Canary was excellent. From the first time we met with her, she was tuned to what we wanted. Most importantly, she knew what we did not know and saw to every detail. Weddings can be very stressful under the best of conditions, but it was a perfect day thanks to Tori. Her recommended vendors were wonderful and as professional and attentive as she was. It was a wonderful experience, tough I do not plan to get married again I will certainly contact them again for other events. I hightly recommend Tori and Blue Canary!

I'm not sure where to start in reviewing Rebecca and Blue Canary - I can't count how many times I said during the planning process, "This is the best wedding expense, hands down," and that was true to the very end of our wedding reception and afterwards. Rebecca is a fantastic planner AND friend, and I can't think of a better person to have in your corner when planning a wedding. Despite only being hired as a month-of planner, Rebecca was there for us from Day 1, from vendor recommendations and moral support to going way beyond the call of duty to back us up when a vendor wasn't living up to our expectations. When I walked into the wedding I was shocked at how well she had interpreted our vision into reality - everything looked 100% perfect, and any small fires that may have come up during the reception were put out without us ever getting involved. We originally hired a month-of planner to really just help out with the complicated logistics of setting up and tearing down a largely DIY wedding at Glen Echo Park. While that was definitely worth the cost alone and I can't imagine having pulled off the wedding without Rebecca and her wonderful assistants, we also got way more than that - Rebecca was a consistent presence in the months leading up to the wedding, and seemed 100% excited to be involved - it never felt like just a job to her. She and her team helped make our wedding a reality when I really thought it probably wouldn't come together as I'd imagined, and she was a 100% pleasure to work with throughout. I'd hire her again tomorrow in a heartbeat!

I have been putting off writing this review since my wedding (in June) because I truly don't know how to put on paper all the amazingness that is Rebecca Dick! A 5 out of 5 honestly just does not do her justice! I can't speak for all the planners at Blue Canary, but if you have the chance to work with Rebecca, JUMP ON IT!!!!!! In every way possible, Rebecca was an amazing source of help, knowledge, support, and fun. We booked Rebecca for the partial planning package and she went above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. With my mother in NY and my husband's mother in KY (and me in graduate school full time), I honestly do not know how this wedding would have happened without Rebecca!!!! She was incredibly responsive and communicative via email (which was what we needed)-- answering questions, sending pictures of ideas, and helping me tease out the vision of what we wanted (neither of us had any real clue what we were doing! - I was not a bride who had dreamed of her wedding and pictured every detail). Rebecca was able to help us find fantastic deals, was super mindful of our budget in all the decisions, and helped navigate the process so we were never taken advantage of -- she really is AMAZING (times a billion). Rebecca "got" our vision so well that there was even a time she knew what I was talking about without me even being able to put it in words myself. With Rebecca, I can honestly say that my wedding, to us, was PERFECT. She coordinated with the vendors (in a way that left me completely out of it -- taking one source of stress completely off my plate). I can't say enough how insanely lucky my husband and I feel that we had her on our team. Even my mother, who hadn't met Rebecca until the day before the wedding was ready to adopt her into the family! She is THE BEST!!!!

Allison Ruyak, with Blue Canary Events was WONDERFUL. I got in touch with Allison and Blue Canary Events through a recommendation from a friend from college (who also has reviewed them below, thanks Kate!!) and I am SO GLAD I took her advice and used Allison to help us with our day of planning. She was SO helpful in the month leading up to the wedding. She was always so organized and on top of things. She basically took over everything I would have needed to do, the month leading up to the wedding. The day went off without a single hitch, or if it did, I didn't know about it! Everyone complimented me on how wonderful everything looked, sounded, smelled, tasted, and just came together, and it certainly would not have had it not been for Allison! Everyone also commented me on how wonderful she was specifically. Allison was so pleasant working with the wedding party, the vendors, our family, and everyone involved in the whole day. I cannot say enough about Allison and Blue Canary Events. She truly made the wedding of our dreams happen! Thank you, Allison!

What would our wedding have been like without Rebecca and the Blue Canary Team? A disaster! Funny thing is we almost didn't hire a coordinator since of course we were way over budget. But after all the money we were spending to make our wedding everything we wanted but then not having someone to make sure that everything would actually happen, on time, and smoothly started to seem silly. Thank goodness we hired Rebecca!! My wife and I are from Miami and we had a destination same sex-wedding in Washington, DC. We found Blue Canary on www.soyourengayged.com. Rebecca made a clear timeline up to the minute of our big day. During our last month, she took over all communication with all of our vendors. As soon as we hung up with her during our initial phone call, my wife and I felt an instant sigh of relief. A huge weight was immediately lifted off our shoulders. Rebecca thought of things that would have never crossed our minds. She was there whenever we needed her. She was always positive, extremely friendly and an absolute delight to work with. She even had our back when it came to little situations that come up with vendors. Rebecca and the company’s owner, Laura, went as far as looking into tax laws to make sure we were not being taken advantage of. On the big day, Rebecca, Tori, and Allison (the intern) helped make our day go by like a dream come true. They were efficient and helped move us along throughout a very hectic and busy day moving us as scheduled from the Capitol to Georgetown to the ceremony, then back on the trolley to see the Lincoln memorial and the Capitol along the way back to our hotel for the party! They were there for us and everything moved very smoothly throughout the day and into the night. It was truly a like dream… our day was just that… a magical fairy tale. I can not say enough about what a great expense, experience and difference Rebecca and the Blue Canary team made for us. We, honestly, love Rebecca. We are blessed to have had her part of the most special day of our lives and are both honored to now call her our friend.

If you're wondering whether you need a wedding coordinator, you do. Because I had a small-ish wedding, I thought there was no way we needed a wedding coordinator plus two assistants, but I tell you, I don't know what we would have done without all the help. The day of the wedding was crazy, and my mind went blank. Ryan at Blue Canary was so informative and helpful along the way. I knew that he would do a great job at the event. He provided me with countless websites with wholesale wedding goods. He always got back to me quickly and was great in managing last-minute crises. The post-wedding brunch was canceled three days before the event, and he found us another great spot that was arguably better than the place we had first booked. In addition, I sent him many emails asking who would take care of this and that and his answer was always that he would do it. I'm VERY organized and Type A and Ryan met and exceeded my expectations, which is the best compliment I can give him. The whole day went beautifully. He balanced well making sure he was doing what I wanted and then independently making game-time decisions. I was impressed with the services that Blue Canary provided. They set up and broke down the wedding decor. Ryan even transferred our table arrangements to the brunch the next day. He returned the leftover alcohol. He took care of all the loose ends. I have nothing but great things to say about Blue Canary and Ryan @ Blue Canary. Highly recommended!!

When planning my wedding I knew I wanted to do most of the planning myself and I had dozens of DIY projects that I crafted, but I knew that since I was working and going to school, AND planning a wedding I would need to enlist a little help. Enter: Laura from Blue Canary Events. We knew instantly after our first meeting with Laura that we needed to book her for our Month of Coordination! She is professional, organized, and incredibly friendly which puts any bride at ease. She came with dozens of great references and when it came to the "month-of" she dealt with every vendor personally, combining their questions into one email, so that my blackberry wasn't constantly erupting and I could focus on the big day. She thought of all the small details and questions to be answered so that when it came to the wedding day everything flowed seamlessly. In addition, on the "day of" she executed the timeline she helped us create without a hitch, organized our huge bridal party perfectly, communicated with every coming and going vendor, and still had time to set up all my little projects and create the perfect dessert table/candy bar - which exceeded my expectations. Most importantly, Laura is the sweet and calming presence that every bride needs around on her day, but she also has the follow-through that every bride wants on her day!

Allison is such a gem! She is worth her weight in gold. She was so professional, organized, courteous, and genuine. She kept me true to the timeline on my wedding day as it went by so quickly. More importantly, both moms were able to relax and enjoy the day without worrying about anything. Allison took care of me, and those around me, and truly can't thank her enough. I highly recommend her!

Wish helped our overly detailed event seem effortless to us and our guests. It felt relaxed, looked wonderful and tasted/smelled delicious. Our wedding felt like a MUCH fancier affair than it was and I don't think it would have felt that way without Rebecca's (from Wish) keen eye, hard work and thoughtful approach. Wish is the best decision a bride can make!

Rebecca is amazing. She was not only my planner, but also became a friend I could rely on during the process. She told me exactly what she thought, used humor to calm down situations, and kept everyone smiling. She was on top of everything. We hired Wish for a FULL wedding package, and-trust me- they delivered. I only knew of one mishap the entire wedding, and it was not a thing my planner could control- later I found out how many situations Rebecca diffused and took care of- before anyone noticed. I am thankful for hiring them and for what Rebecca did. I got the biggest gift of all- I could actually enjoy our day and dance at our reception.

Allison Ruyak at Wish Special Events was our day of coordinator and was simply fantastic. I have quite the type A personality and have a very "I'd rather do it myself so that I know it will be done right" attitude, but I had full confidence in Allison from day one. Allison was always on top of things (and usually one step ahead!), was quick to respond to my questions and help with any and every little thing I needed in the few months leading up to the wedding, and was SO incredibly helpful in connecting with all my vendors and making sure they all knew what to do and where to go on the day of the event. At the rehearsal and the wedding, she did an amazing job keeping everything running smoothly and was beyond organized. My fiance and I didn't have to worry about a thing, and if anything went wrong we never knew about it! We truly could not have pulled off such an event without her, and the money we spent on her day-of coordination services was worth every penny (and more). I really can't say enough good things about Allison and Wish Special Events!

EXCEPTIONAL service. From the first time I met with Laura Auer from Wish, I knew our wedding would be in good hands! I am totally type A and was a control freak about my wedding details, but on the big day, I knew I could relax and not worry about a thing because Laura would take care of it all! I had a lot of special details... DIY projects and little touches... and Laura took care of them and made them look gorgeous as if they were her own! For favors, I had bought a bunch of vintage cake stands to display different flavors of Macarons. Laura set up the table and made it look 1,000,000 times more beautiful than I ever could have imagined! Laura was calm and collected throughout the whole day, which helped me stay calm. Wish Special Events goes above and beyond what you would expect and does it at a very reasonable price. A++++++++++

I wish I could give Laura and her crew 10 stars for each category. Laura Auer was our wedding planner and she did the best job! We thoroughly enjoyed our planning process and the day of coordination was spot on. She helped us plan the wedding of our dreams and the day of was amazing. Laura made our dream wedding possible and we can't thank her enough. I would recommend Wish Special Events to any bride-to-be!

Allison was our day-of coordinator. She was a good resource during the planning process. On the day of the wedding, she demonstrated professionalism and kept things moving smoothly and efficiently. She helped to make our wedding day a huge success!

Allison Ruyak was my day of coordinator and we had an amazing connection. She knew exactly what I needed at any given time and all of her help was amazing. She would reply to my emails and phone calls the same day and make sure that whatever I needed was on track. She dealt with all my vendors and made a timeline so we were all perfect and on time. She was the first person I saw when I got to the church and the last person I said good bye too. The company provided quick reciepts and quick responses with everything! We had a few drama moments at our wedding and we all agreed we couldn't have done it without her. THANK YOU SO MUCH ALLISON! YOU WERE AMAZING!

Wish Special Events worked really hard to make my day as beautiful and flawless as possible. Thank you! I knew that every event has it's unexpected things, but Wish (specifically Rebecca) was there to make sure that I didn't have to be bothered. She found solutions that worked and I never even noticed! Knowing that I had someone to lean on for making decisions during the planning and making sure everyone was in their place on the wedding day made my day go smoothly.

I called and met with Laura. Right off the bat, she had great ideas that helped us shape our wedding. It was her idea that motivated us to create an awesome wedding! At the last minute, we decided to hire a day of wedding coordinator and Laura put us in touch with Allison who truly ensured that our wedding was the best that we could ever imagine. She is amazing and did an incredible job with our wedding. I'm not sure what we would have done without her. It is because of Allison that everything flowed and more importantly we didn't have to worry about anything. We didn't worry about anything because she handled it well and to perfection. If anything went wrong, we didn't find out about it because she handled it. Allison contacted all of our vendors ahead of time and she made sure everyone was on the same page. During the wedding, Allison made sure it all ran smoothly. Allison was always there, a step ahead and ensuring that everything went off as we planned. Our wedding was exactly the way we envisioned it and then some! I have to admit, at first I wasn't going to hire a planner but I was completely wrong. Both Laura and Allison are fantastic to work with and truly know the wedding business. They are very responsive and highly organized!! I can't say enough about them and their work. It is well worth the money and I highly recommend them! Thank you Wish Special Events!!!

we worked with cristin and she is truly amazing!! first of all, i didn't think i really needed a day-of planner but my mom thought it was a good idea and it was indeed fabulous! cristin was awesome in the truest sense of the word!! from the moment i met her, i knew we were a good match and it only got better from there. we couldn't have done it without her and i know people say that all the time, but this is the absolute truth. cristin created a timeline that made the whole day run smoothly and she always knew what needed to be done and did it! she had quick, helpful responses to emails, creative suggestions, and is a great communicator -- even scheduling phone calls around the world series games :-). she went above and beyond and jumped in whenever necessary, especially when our flower girl needed some coaxing down the aisle. cristin made our wedding a success and i recommend her as highly as i can! i "wish" i knew someone getting married so i could send them to cristin at wish. you need cristin and a day of planner! it is the best money we spent!

Probably the most important thing I did was hire a day of wedding coordinator. I called and met with Laura. Right off the bat, she had great ideas that helped us shape our wedding. It was her idea that motivated us to create an awesome wedding! At the last minute, we decided to hire a day of wedding coordinator and Laura put us in touch with Allison who truly ensured that our wedding was the best that we could ever imagine. She is amazing and did an incredible job with our wedding. I'm not sure what we would have done without her. It is because of Allison that everything flowed and more importantly we didn't have to worry about anything. We didn't worry about anything because she handled it well and to perfection. If anything went wrong, we didn't find out about it because she handled it. Allison contacted all of our vendors ahead of time and she made sure everyone was on the same page. During the wedding, Allison made sure it all ran smoothly. Allison was always there, a step ahead and ensuring that everything went off as we planned. Our wedding was exactly the way we envisioned it and then some! I have to admit, at first I wasn't going to hire a planner but I was completely wrong. Both Laura and Allison are fantastic to work with and truly know the wedding business. They are very responsive and highly organized!! I can't say enough about them and their work. It is well worth the money and I highly recommend them! Thank you Wish Special Events!!!