I love to create custom items for my clients. I have made floral arrangements, signs, pins, baked goods, and invitations. These photographs feature a few samples. All photos were taken by Nancy, Greg Gibson Photography, or Blue Rose Photography. 

Jason & Meg Bell were married in the Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart, at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Their reception took place at St. Francis Hall, also in Washington, DC. Megan and Nancy connected through a common friend and bonded over their mutual love for organization and of personal details at weddings. 

Below, Meg and Jason share a little bit about their experience with Nancy as their Coordinator: 

"We wanted our family, friends and guests to enjoy the whole wedding day without having to ask them to help us with set-up, take-down, or any of the other activities involved in pulling off a wedding celebration for 150 guests. Nancy's assistance in handling the day-of details made this a reality." 

"In advance of the wedding, Nancy was always accessible to answer questions or provide advice. Her answers were always timely, thoughtful and very helpful. On the afternoon of the rehearsal dinner, we met with Nancy and turned over many items that she transported to and set up at the venue. These included: lanterns/candles, menus/favors, picture frames, escort cards, napkins, speakers for cocktail music, etc. She made this all look great at the venue! Nancy also worked closely with the venue's great on-site staff to keep things on track, despite the fact that Friday evening traffic made the caterer very late. She periodically (but appropriately) checked in with us to see if there was anything we needed and to see about adjusting timelines when things moved off schedule due to unforeseen circumstances.  When we decided how to adjust things, Nancy made sure the other vendors at the venue were aware. At the end of the night, Nancy worked with the catering and venue staffs to pack up all of our personal items."

"Nancy's role could best be described as, "Available for Whatever." Specifically, she delivered lunch to both sides of the bridal party, distributed bouquets and boutonnieres, ran down some ChapStick for the groom and assist with keeping everyone on schedule."

"When Nancy was no longer needed pre-ceremony, she headed over to our reception venue which was about 20 minutes away.  She transported a PLETHORA of items that we weren't able to previously drop off at the venue and was an absolutely SUPERSTAR in setting things up.  Our wedding consisted of a number of personal touches (menus, favors, a photo table, bourbon bar, custom escort cards, to name a few) and a TON of vendors (DJ, cake, liquor, caterer, florist, venue manager). Nancy coordinated all of the vendors (and distributed their tips for us) and set everything up beautifully. When our directions were not clear, Nancy used her judgment and it turned out perfect!"

"As with the rehearsal dinner, when the schedule was thrown off because of photos and traffic to the venue, Nancy checked in with us to see how we wanted to adjust it.  She then let all of the other vendors know so everything went smoothly. Nancy was responsible for packing and loading the items going home with us (centerpieces, lanterns, picture frames, etc.). This was a LOT of work!"

Megan and Jason felt that having a coordinator was a benefit because, "The things you cannot account for that inevitably come up during a wedding make it impossible for the bride and groom to handle everything on their own.  Without someone to help out on the day of the wedding, and even the rehearsal dinner the night before, the amount of stress involved would be unimaginable.  We could have turned to friends and family to help out, but we didn't want our guests to put in work at our wedding.  We wanted them to celebrate with us.  Having Nancy there made the entire weekend so much less stressful, and so much more enjoyable.  She did everything we asked of her and in a way in which we were never concerned about whether it was going to get done in a way that we would like.  We couldn't have been happier with the job that she did for us.  Thank you, Nancy!"

(photos by Greg Gibson Photography)

Rich and Nancy grew up together and after he got engaged to Katie, they asked Nancy to help them with details and organization on their special day. Working with friends is an extra special joy!

From Rich and Katie..."Our wedding was in May 2014 at The French Creek Golf Club in Elverson, PA. We sought a wedding coordinator/general assistance because we needed help with the finishing touches including decorations, table numbers and signage. Nancy provided reassurance and a path to get there.  Nancy took all of my concerns and organized them into a logical train of thought and then helped plot a course to get to the finish line! Having a coordinator was a benefit because I so appreciated her creativity and know-how!  We reached out to Nancy less than a month before our wedding and she was able to jump in and minimized the stress of planning a wedding! The most special moment of our day was dancing and living it up with 170 of our closest friends and family members.  And the rainbow just before the ceremony!"

(Photos by Clem Murray and Tennison Photography)

Renee and Nancy met through the Junior League of Philadelphia and she sought out Nancy's services for her May 2014 wedding to Brian in her hometown of Reston, Virginia which was held at a local Catholic Church with a reception at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens following. In Renee's words...

"I sought out a wedding coordinator/general assistance because there were too many details! I wanted someone to execute those details on the day and I didn't want to worry. Nancy provided peace of mind, timeline of events, confirmation of vendors, coordination of vendors on the day, point of contact for any questions, last minute hair fix, tampons, vendor management and more! Having a coordinator was a benefit because, I didn't have to spend my wedding day coordinating vendors, details and timeline." 

Renee's Favorite moment of the day: "dancing the night away and enjoying my friends,  family and husband!"

(photos by Michelle Vantine Photography and Nancy E. Ahlum)

Nell & Cliff live in Seattle, WA but their grandmothers and much of their families are in Pennsylvania. Because family is so important to them, they chose to be married at the Abington Art Center just outside of Philadelphia, PA and knew they needed a wedding planner to coordinate a cross-country affair. Following a very personal and heartfelt ceremony officiated by Marguerite Sexton (owner of Journeys of the Heart), guests enjoyed live music, dancing, signature cocktails, sculptures and the lush gardens of the Art Center. 

Testimonial from Nell & Cliff coming soon! 

(photos by Blue Rose Photography of Seattle, WA)

Testimonial from Halley & Norm, coming soon!

Here are a few snaps of me assisting Halley throughout the day. 

(Photos by Marie Labbanz of Art of Love Photography)

Sarah sought out a wedding coordinator in 2012 to assist with managing some of the pre-wedding events such as the 2 bridal showers as well as the wedding weekend events since they were all in separate cities and all away from where the Bride was living at the time. Sarah said she felt inexperienced with the wedding planning process and felt that I was able to support and provide incredible resources to assist with the planning.

From Sarah, "Nancy provided an incredible array of resource ranging for tools to help stay organized during the planning process to managing the rehearsal and day of events in order to keep stress for my husband and I to a minimum. One of the by far best services that Nancy provided was arranging and coordinating the rehearsal at the church. Not only did she help keep a very large group of people organized, but she also provided some tricks throughout the process that led to us feeling prepared for the big day as well as beautiful photos. There were some big personalities involved in the planning of our big day between my husband's family and mine. Nancy did an incredible job at helping to manage both sets of parents so that their questions were answered and that we were not overwhelmed by them. Without Nancy's help, I know my husband and I would not have been so at ease during our wedding weekend and our families feeling so supported."

"During our pre-ceremony pictures where the bridesmaids and I were getting married, Nancy helped make all of us laugh and assisted in capturing one of my favorite pictures while getting ready. My husband and I spent the majority of our relationship traveling and had a pair of stuffed turtles to remind us of each other while we were apart. While getting ready, Nancy, my bridesmaids, and I decided to dress up the stuff turtle, that was of course with us in the room, in different wedding items such as with my garters and bouquet. The picture helps remind me of how far my relationship with my husband had developed over the years as well as made all of us laugh and release some nerves before walking down the aisle. It's caring touches and special moments such as these that makes Nancy one in a million."

(photos from A.Eve Photo, Allison Krumm)

Sara was married during Hurricane Hannah in 2008 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She was wonderfully calm despite all the rain and the bridal party made the best of it. Sara and I are lifelong friends and hers was one of my first "working weddings." Sara recalled the following about her day, "Nancy was such a helpful coordinator and bridesmaid- from helping plan a beautiful bridal shower to covering my head as I walked out to the car on my wedding day. Nancy was there for every step of the way! My favorite memory of the day was when Nancy woke up before me on the morning of my wedding and it was pouring down rain. She immediately thought to make sure there were enough umbrellas to go around so that Hurricane Hannah wouldn't dampen the day's festivities."

(photos by Mhari Scott)

As you can see Kate's wedding was full of funny moments! Pictured here are Kate and Rich goofing off and later Nancy and Kate with Kate's little brothers photobombing us - we had no idea!

Kate's mom sought a wedding coordinator for her daughter's special event to provide a central contact and lead for Kate and Richard's special day. Kate and Richard chose a barn on a horse farm in Pennsylvania for their wedding and all items had to be brought in from outside. Nancy managed logistics and set up, and helped with the flow of people from an out door ceremony in a meadow, to a porch cocktail hour, to dinner in the barn.

(photos by Nancy E. Ahlum and Kathy Reeder Photography)

Jessica had been one of Caroline's bridemaids and had unfortunately fallen ill during Caroline's Wedding. Because she felt poorly all day, Jessica and Nancy formed a bond as Nancy coaxed her through the day and was able to help her make it though the ceremony and photos. When Jessica got engaged about 6 months later, she called Nancy and asked her to come to Chicago to coordinate her wedding in the fall of 2012.

Nancy received two notes from Jessica, one before and one after the wedding. The second card from after the wedding featured Wonder Woman on the cover, and Jessica and her mom kindly said Nancy "saved the day." Although Jessica and Nancy planned things to a tee, sometimes the unexpected happens! First, on the way to the church, Jessica's veil managed to get caught in the wind and fly down the highway. Nancy stopped the trolley and chased it down while Jessica and the bridesmaids cheered. Her photographer, Chris captured this crazy moment. Also, later at the reception, Jessica had a number of guests show up who were not expected to attend, and Nancy found a way to seat them in the dining room and keep them happy while Jess and her new hubby got to enjoy their reception.

(photos by Chris Zoubris)

Caroline sought a wedding coordinator for her Nashville wedding in 2011. She and her husband Doug were hosting their wedding in their home, Nashville but most of their guests were in Pennsylvania, out West, and other parts of Tennessee. Caroline also sought assistance with her Bachelorette party where she and friends attended a fundraiser for cancer in Philadelphia about a month before the wedding.

(Photos by a friend and Upcoming Events, LLC)