Elsilu Events -

Meghan Manley

Heather and Charlotte were everything I didn’t know I needed in planners! I could write an entire book about my positive experience with Elsilu. I am a Type A, perfectionist and had a vision of our wedding weekend and Heather executed on it perfectly. Heather allowed me to be very active in the planning process - a MUST for my Type A personality. Our weekend turned out better than anything I could’ve ever imagined! We had several guests tell us it was the most beautiful wedding they had been to. We wanted our personalities to shine through in all the details and Heather took the time to really get to know us and helped us add personal touches that made our day so special. Heather just had a way of figuring things out. The morning of the wedding I showed Heather a video of my dad and I from childhood dancing to our father-daughter song & next thing you know the video was playing in the background during our dance. She took a special moment and made it even more special. Also, apparently our tent ripped the day before our wedding & Heather had a new one delivered and set up before I ever knew anything happened! I cannot recommend Elsilu enough!!

Maha Ghazzi

Hiring Elsilu for planning my daughter's wedding was the best decision. Heather and Charlotte are extremely knowledgeable and experienced. They helped us plan a perfect celebration weekend that consisted of a welcome dinner, wedding, and fairwell brunch. They take the time to get to know the bride and groom and carefully consider their desires in every decision. They are well acquainted with vendors in northern MI and made the process super easy for us. Their recommendations were spot on for everything from rentals, floral design options, room design, etc... Our guests consistently told us that this was one of the most elegant weddings they attended. We had hoped to do the ceremony and cocktail hour outdoors, but the weather did not cooperate. Heather and Charlotte quickly developed a plan B, and we were able to conduct the ceremony outdoors when the temperature was in the 50s, and they adjusted the rentals accordingly. They were able to make my daughter's vision of an outdoor ceremony become a reality! My daughter and her husband were extremely happy and said the wedding was better than anything they ever imagined. I highly recommend Elsilu for planning any event, they are truly the best! I felt like they were part of the family and I was able to truly enjoy the weekend while they worked hard behind the scenes.

Karla Haan

Do NOT use Elsilu to plan any event!!!!

It’s a shame a zero star option wasn’t available.

In the summer of 2024, I flew to Michigan and personally witnessed this sham of an operation coordinating a family member’s wedding in the lower peninsula of northern Michigan. (I don’t want to embarrass my relative although I’m sure Elsilu has been contacted by the legal council of the venue already so to them it’s no secret.)

Everything was in disarray. Ya know how wedding guests usually have no idea when something has gone outside the plan? Well this was obvious and was based in negligence and incompetence. Everything that they were responsible for was off and the bride and groom were very upset. I am sure they tryed to hide this but they were livid. ON THEIR WEDDING DAY.

Before I get myself carried away let me place an exclamation point on this ridiculous excuse for a wedding coordination company by saying that the reception ran until late hours of night but the coordinators LEFT around 10 PM. I asked the brides family and this was hours earlier than they were supposed to leave I was watching and since the venue was not staffed and everything was up to Elsilu I wondered who was going to clean up the giant mess at this rented facility. Seriously ALL OF THE ELSILU STAFF LEFT by 10. Guess who cleaned up the mess left by the reception guests.

I will give you a minute.

THE RECEPTION GUESTS! Family of the couple cleaned up and I wish I was joking.

One problem after another and the bride was in tears by the end of the night. That fact alone. That fact alone. No. Do not use them. Thank you.

Kylie Lyons

Hiring Elsilu for my wedding was the best decision I made throughout the entire process! Heather and her team, are amazing at what they do and I cannot thank them enough for making my wedding an absolute dream come true. From the very beginning I knew Heather at Elsilu was who I wanted to plan my wedding. Not only was her work absolutely beautiful, but Heather is down to earth, easy to work with, and knows Northern Michigan vendors better than anyone. She makes anything you want for your wedding happen. I gave Heather the basic details I wanted for my wedding and what she put together went above and beyond my expectations. Besides making all my wedding day decor/food/music/etc. wishes come to life, Heather and Charlotte also ensured that I enjoyed my wedding day with little to no worries. I was stress free and able to truly enjoy my wedding day with my husband, family, and friends. Wedding planning was easy and my wedding was perfection all thanks to Elsilu. I cannot thank Heather, Charlotte, and the rest of the Elsilu staff enough for all the effort they put into planning our special day! I HIGHLY recommend hiring Elsilu for any event 🙂

Kate Malone

Heather and her team are an absolute must-hire! Our guests can't stop talking about how stunning and well-thought-out our wedding was, down to every last detail. Heather took our ideas and turned them into reality, better than what we even envisioned. She delivered in every way. Logistics were perfectly executed, and we went into the wedding day with complete trust in her and her team.

They are easy to contact and super responsive. I changed my mind on several design elements, and they were patient and made sure it turned out exactly how we'd like it to be.

On the wedding day, I felt completely supported and almost like I had additional bridesmaids with the Elsilu team - they did everything from deliver our "welcome" favors to guest rooms to help bustle my dress and bring me band-aids. 🙂

We became friends throughout the planning journey, and I truly can't recommend Elsilu enough! 10/5 stars!

Samantha Jenkins

Hands down Heather and her team at Elsilu are the best you will find. They went above and beyond for me, my family and my wedding from day 1 to the very end. They really took the time to get to know me and what I wanted in a wedding and provide thorough and thoughtful recommendations/options. Everyone at my wedding could not stop gushing over what an incredible job they did and how awesome they were. Everything turned out better than I could have imagined. They thought through every single detail/what if situations and where there every single step of the way.

Typically wedding planning can be very stressful but they made is easy and truly enjoyable. They are wonderful and accommodating to work with. I am sad my wedding is over because I will miss working with them all! Thank you for everything Elsilu team!

Emily Newman

Hiring the Elsilu team was hands down the best decision I made in my wedding planning process! From the very beginning stages to day-of execution, Heather & her amazing team never missed a beat. They are extremely talented in what they do and I knew I was in good hands from the moment we started working together. My vision came to life in ways I could have never even imagined! No detail nor logistical item was overlooked. They flawlessly executed not only the wedding itself, but all events surrounding the wedding weekend (rehearsal, welcome party, etc.) A few months post-wedding, and my husband & I are still receiving comments from our family & friends that it was the best wedding they've ever attended. We are forever grateful for the Elsilu team and could not recommend them more!

Andrew Mestdagh

Heather and her team (Kate and Charlotte) are exceptional at what they do. They work hard early on to understand the goals and priorities of both the bride and groom - whether it be budget, flowers, design. You can feel when someone cares - and they truly care.

Their professionalism is second to none. They are easy to contact - we had standing weekly calls down the stretch leading up to the wedding. They also sat in on our calls with all of the other vendors - almost felt like your attorney was representing you on those calls - definitely gave us a sense of comfort, knowing Heather's team had our back and asked the right questions.

Their wedding planning software was amazing - we used it to track guests' responses, map out the seating chart for both rehearsal dinner and reception, as well as budgeting and tracking upcoming tasks and due dates.

For me, a real value-add from Heather was helping us (fairly quickly) narrow down one or two vendors to hire for things like flowers, DJ, photography. I realized early on that without Heather, I'd likely be interviewing 5 or 6 florists and still not knowing if I'm getting a good price or good quality. Heather listened to our needs - then recommended a vendor - the whole process was so smooth.

You can't replace peace of mind, especially the week leading up to the big day. I can honestly say that I had peace of mind going into the wedding because I trusted Heather and her team. As previously stated - they plan weddings for a living and they are very good at what they do.

Our wedding took place outside under a tent. Heather's team had the draping, linens, plates and silverware all set up beautifully the night before the wedding. That night (before the wedding) at 9 pm, the venue's sprinklers turned on and soaked everything, including the dance floor. The venue forgot to shut off the sprinklers!

Heather's team didn't panic - they jumped into gear - understanding they had less than 24 hours to fix the mess. Rewashing and drying all the plates and silverware. They took the drapes and linens to get washed at the drycleaners. There's probably much more that we don't even know about. The most amazing thing is they never even told us about this problem until after the wedding. They kept all of the stress and anxiety surrounding the sprinkler situation to themselves because they didn't want to stress the bride and groom. I thought that said a lot about their team - understanding we had an enormous problem, knowing that they could fix the problem, and not sharing those stresses with the bride and groom until after the wedding.

Hiring a wedding planner like Heather (and team) is analogous to hurricane insurance. This is the biggest party you'll ever throw. You pay some premiums leading up to it, then, when the hurricane (sprinklers) hit, they are there to clean up the mess and bride/groom are worry free. Heather, Kate, and Charlotte are more than insurance to us - they are friends. We rate them 11 / 10. We are blessed and thankful to have employed them to map out our special day.

-AJ and Molly