We hired Jonrah Events expecting a high level of guidance, organization, and attention to detail. However, we were disappointed across all stages of the planning and execution of our wedding. First, we did not feel like our planner made an effort to meet with us in person before the wedding. She did not attend our venue walkthrough, menu tasting, or week-of meeting with our photographer.

I was asked to share my Pinterest board to help communicate our vision, which clearly was never viewed because the initial mood board made for us differed by such a significant amount from what I had pinned and from what we had originally discussed. We felt like we were constantly repeating ourselves from meeting to meeting and Sarah was not taking adequate notes, which was very frustrating. Multiple topics and ideas were either forgotten, changed, or were repeatedly revisited when a decision had already been made.

Communication and vendor coordination were another challenge. On several occasions, we received information that turned out to be incorrect and had to be corrected after our planner followed up with the vendors. Although we appreciated having someone act as a point of contact, there were times when the process created additional work for us rather than reducing it.

Keeping track of payments was also very poorly done. I ended up keeping my own excel with dates and method of payments for the vendors, because that information was all buried in insanely long email threads. It would have been helpful to have all this compiled in one place by the planner

The week leading up to the wedding was particularly stressful. When we discussed the possibility of rain, the contingency plan presented to us was to move the ceremony indoors and have guests seated at their dinner tables. This was significantly different from the plan we had discussed a year earlier and did not feel suitable for the wedding we had envisioned.

We also had to ask how the planner would know where to place each name placard and in what order at the tables. She then provided us with an Excel document to complete just days before the wedding, adding to our list of tasks and stress during an already busy week.

Another concern was that the pre-wedding plan accounted for two bottles of wine for the vendor table, which we felt was abit inappropriate and had not expected our wedding planners to be drinking during the event.

There were several details on the wedding day that we felt could have been handled more proactively. The bridesmaids were not given clear instructions about their responsibilities. They had asked about using vases for their bouquets as centrepieces and were told not to worry about them, but the vases ultimately were not available at the reception, leaving the bouquets lying on the tables.

We also had to bring several issues to the planner’s attention during the day, including the fact that only one bar was operating when we had expected two. In our view, these issues should have been identified and addressed proactively rather than noticed by us and brought to her attention.

Ultimately, we were looking for someone who would guide us through the planning process, help us anticipate potential issues, coordinate with our vendors, and allow us to enjoy our wedding rather than worry about logistics. Instead, we often found ourselves repeating information, researching our own vendors, and checking that important details had been addressed.

There were certainly aspects of the wedding that went well, and we appreciate the work that went into the event. However, we were disappointed with the level of service we received relative to the price we paid. Based on our experience, we expected a higher level of communication, proactive planning, organization, and attention to detail.

We worked with Sarah from Our Jonrah Events to plan our wedding. It was an amazing experience. Our initial meetings were a little rocky because we had to unexpectedly change wedding planner, because of illness. But when I expressed those concerns Sarah made sure that I was comfortable and confident moving forward. She set us up with excellent vendors and stayed within the budget we requested. Our day was meticulously planned and we had the most memorable experience. Since we have had many friends and family reach out to us saying that was the smoothest wedding they had ever been to, which is a testament to Sarah and her team. I would recommend any bride planning a wedding to reach out to Sarah and her team to plan your event.

Sarah is definitely a professional, we were hesitant to hire a wedding planner/coordinator for our big day at the beginning but decided to ask for some quotes to know how much it would be, Sarah was the first one to reach out to us, she was upfront about her prices and what she does, we were a bit hesitant because it is not cheap but fast forward to our wedding day it was 110% worth it, even though we decided to hire her for the day of coordinator only. My only regret truly, is not hiring her services for at least partial planner because it would have been nicer to have an expert help me plan my wedding. Even though we weren’t fortunate enough to have her present during our day, her team was excellent and she went above and beyond every moment she could to be on site with us. We were also beyond glad to have hired her for set up and tear down, we had to catch a plane to Europe the day after and of course our family was tired as well but having them pack everything so nicely and organized definitely took a huge weight off our shoulders and our family and friends as well. Everything was very seamless and any hiccups were unnoticed, we are glad we hired Our Jonrah events, Sarah is also very easy to deal with, attentive, responsive and gracefully dealt with our last minute requests. If you’re looking for a wedding planner we definitely undoubtedly recommend our Jonrah Events.

Sarah was very accommodating to our last minute ceremony. She even had a emergency crash cart prepared for any weather/unexpected event. She caught a lot of little details that we would have missed on the itinerary if it were not for her.

I met Sarah in the Spring of 2019 at The Wardrobe Exchange. We hit it off right away and I found out that she had just launched her wedding planning company that is now Our Jonrah Events! I ran into her again at any other event called Local Love where she had her booth set-up. We knew from the moment we met Sarah that we would reach back out to her to ask her to be a integral part of our day; she is so friendly, warm, welcoming and - I cannot stress this enough - extremely organized. Even though we knew exactly what everything would look like on our wedding day, Sarah would be there as an extension of us to ensure things were running efficiently and smoothly. Not only that, but she went out of her way, above and beyond to make sure our day was stress-free and special.

I highly recommend Our Jonrah Events to everyone. Again, Sarah went above and beyond in helping us stay on top of a very long day – she got to our ceremony venue early to ensure everything was set up well before we stepped foot into the facility. When she heard my laptop was close to dying (before playing our quick-turn around wedding video at the reception), she raced home to grab the charger for us. If I could give her more than 5 stars, I absolutely would - she deserves it.

Sarah is, punctual, efficient, detailed, thorough, and a pleasure to work with. Sarah – we couldn’t have done it without you, and we appreciate you so much.

Honestly, I had the best experience with Sarah. She is genuinely kind and considerate in all that she does. From the very beginning she gave such helpful tools such as providing wedding planning templates, day of schedules and suggesting thoughtful touches (such as planning for some alone time on the day of the wedding). She also was incredibly helpful in creating a tailored day of schedule (and highlighted areas that were missing) as she is incredibly detail oriented - such as when I put the same number for the vendors, she was able to correct them for me. She understands the wedding industry well and has many existing connections with vendors in Edmonton. This proved to be a LIFESAVER when at 3 am in the morning of my wedding day I realized that I never never received confirmation from my caterer (and they were closed on Saturdays). Sarah was eventually able to get in touch with the owner but before that, she already had a backup caterer and menu picked out for me and communicated with my bridesmaid. This is just an example of the exceptional service that Sarah provided. Lastly, she is so kind, thoughtful and sincere - and I feel that counts for a lot. I highly recommend her!

It was wonderful having Sarah help us with planning our elopement ceremony. We decided to get married earlier, which resulted in a shorter timeline to plan our ceremony. At first it was overwhelming, but with Sarah's help it was much more manageable.

Sarah was very responsive, and adapted to my communication style throughout the process (I would sometimes email her, instagram dm her, text her). I felt like I was able to simply chat with Sarah about my ideas, like how I would with a friend. I appreciated being able to discuss and bounce ideas off of her in a conversational manner. She always followed up with an email summarizing our discussions and she would then turn those casual conversations into tangible plans and to do lists. I appreciated how she kept us on track by outlining each next step that we had to focus on, because it can feel overwhelming at first when there seems to be endless tasks.

Sarah was also very flexible with our schedule. We weren't able to finalize details until the last two weeks of the wedding as we were busy with other life events prior to that. Sarah gave us space when we needed, but also gave us friendly reminders to keep us on track.

In the beginning when we were looking for venues and vendors, Sarah was very knowledgable and gave recommendations that fit our style and budget. She was very quick on giving us quotes and/or estimated prices, which enabled us to efficiently decide on which vendors would be the best fit.

I appreciated how she communicated and coordinated the arrival times with my hair and makeup artist, florist, and photographer. It was easy to only have to discuss with one point person, instead of having to keep track of all the different people that were involved.

I have a type A personality and found my wedding planning overwhelming with my shift work lifestyle till we met Sarah! She has been helping us plan our summer wedding since last November and helped us navigate our change of plans due to COVID-19. She keeps in touch regularly, pays attention to detail and keeps you on track. In addition she has a calm personality about helps any bride out there who is a worry-wart. I am so glad she entered into our wedding planning journey with us and can’t wait to share pics of our day when it happens. I can’t say enough good things about her!

Meeting with Sarah to discuss my elopement plans was the best decision I made. She helped to jump start my search for vendors and was a wealth of information about the wedding industry. I really appreciated the her thoughtfulness after we met in emailing me with answers to any questions I had. I would highly recommend using Sarah in your next event as she beautifully guided me to the vision I had for my special day.

MarieAnne Lavigne

Sarah was absolutely amazing to work with. She has an eye for detail and making sure everything turns out perfectly! I recommend her to all of my clients. I look forward to working with Sarah again!