Element Event Design

If I could give Mandi and her team 10 stars I don’t think that would be enough. Hiring Mandi was hands down the BEST decision we made in planning our wedding. I actually just read the review from Katherine and I couldn’t agree more. We got married at Mill Creek Barn in Watervliet, MI and we live in Portland, OR and we were not planning on being back in MI until three days prior to the wedding, so we were a bit of a difficult case. Mandi and I actually never met until the day before the wedding, but I felt like she was one of buddies. I never expected to adore my wedding planner, but good Lord I did/​do. She helped execute my ideas through sending me Etsy links and allowing me to rent some of her ridiculously adorable décor. I really cannot express how much she goes way above and beyond her call of duty. She even drove home a groomsman who had a wee bit too much to drink. I am pretty sure that was not in the contract. :) Anyway, to sum it up, she made our day go completely smooth and it looked exactly as imagined, but better. Mandi is worth her weight in gold. She sincerely blew us away.

Mandi was our day of coordinator and she was great and a real pro. She was always very responsive and available whenever we had any questions. I’ve been to a lot of weddings, but when its yours, there’s alot of things you don’t know or anticipate and Mandi definitely helped us in numerous ways. I can’t think of a wedding planner doing a more complete, competent, and creative job. Kudos to you Mandi!

I’m a Chicago gal who was trying to plan a wedding in SW Michigan (or anywhere between Detroit and Chicago) to keep it close to home and family. I was initially reluctant to use a wedding/​event planner for several reasons — wanting to save money, being fairly crafty/​creative myself and having confidence in handling on my own details in pursuing something less «traditional», and being pretty resourceful. Shortly into the planning process, I realized it was going to be harder than I thought. I then met Mandi Buckland of Element Design.
What sealed the deal was her calm energy and diversity in events she’s worked on (weddings, parties, festivals, including «green» fests/​events). She was great in identifying several unique wedding location options in Southwest and Southern MI, including a fabulous barn, a garden, and a super cool lodge (we ended up at a mansion in Holland). When I asked her to design the invitations with a «modern art nouveau theme» using a peacock to match the theme of a mansion built in the early 1900s (not easy!) — she provided several fabulous sample designs within a short period of time. Our final invitations were really unique and fun! After our invites went out, I received an unexpected amount of of great feedback («I love your invitations!» «They are so unique,» etc.) and I could tell they made people look forward to the wedding.
I felt like Mandi figured out my sense of my style quickly, and she was able to identify options that fit that were creative, cost-​conscious (extra plus) and didn’t compromise on quality. At the same time she was working with me, she was helping a friend design invitations for a wedding at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, so her range of work can be simple, arty/​less traditional, to more traditional/​upscale. Pretty impressive!
Mandi is professional, efficient, super creative, and I would recommend her to anyone in Chicago, Detroit (or anywhere in between the two cities in Michigan or Illinois) who is planning a wedding in Southwest or Southern Michigan!