FAQs

Here are some of the most common questions couples have:

Can You Tell Us More About Yourself?

Absolutely! I am an endangered species: The Native New Yorker. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and after a lifetime of apartment living, my husband and I decided to buy a 120+ year old home in Jersey City where we lovingly restored it to its full potential.  Like many during Covid, we came to the realization that we needed to shake things up and decided that it was time for a BIG change. Despite being raised in a city, I am a true lover of nature, SCUBA diver and open water swimmer and we realized we wanted to live somewhere with more of an outdoor focused lifestyle. It didn’t take too long for us to land on Hawaii. After nearly two years of planning, we have settled in Kailua, Hawaii home to two of the best beaches in the world with views of the gorgeous Ko’olau Mountains. Being able to plan weddings surrounded by natural beauty is an absolute dream.

I am a hobby potter and when I’m not outside hiking or swimming, I love to spend my time on the pottery wheel creating functional and non-functional items. I dabble in many hobbies from pottery to cooking and I have travel to thank for that. Travel has always been a huge part of my life and am lucky to have had the opportunities to travel and live abroad. Traveling extensively teaches you so much about yourself but even more about other people and cultures and my experiences have made me a more well-rounded person and better event planner. Let’s meet up over a delicious glass of wine or a tequila cocktail and discuss your wedding plans!

Do you specialize in anything?

Absolutely! As 1/2 of a multi-ethnic couple (my husband is from Berlin and I am a Latina from NYC), I understand the complexities of blending two (and sometimes more) unique cultures. Because of this understanding, many of my weddings are for couples from mixed backgrounds, nationalities and religions. I love working with couples from different backgrounds to help them combine their unique upbringings and cultures into one cohesive event.

In addition to that, I’ve established that our true calling is raw space weddings and events. While we love all weddings, we especially love being able to use our creative ingenuity and know how to create a beautiful wedding from scratch at a raw space. Some of my favorite raw spaces for weddings in NYC are The Foundry, The Central Park Zoo and private estate tented weddings. Some of my favorite raw spaces for weddings in Hawaii are Kualoa Ranch, Waimea Valley and many of the intimate private estates throughout the islands.

Why Did You Decide To Become a Wedding Planner?

It is one of the few careers paths where you need to be highly organized, creative and also have a wide skill set. I have always thought of myself as a Jill of all trades and being a wedding planner allows me to tap into those skills while constantly learning new things and developing a wider skill set. I learn more and more from every wedding and every couple I work with. It is sincerely such a great and rewarding job to have.

Why Is Your Company Called Lifestyle Maven Events?

I feel very strongly that a wedding should fit your lifestyle and not the other way around. While I love weddings, I am not entirely enamored by the wedding industry. As a former bride, I hated being told what I needed to do, buy, wear, etc. I love working with a couple who allow their personalities and styles to shine through on their wedding day and decided to choose a name for my company that was reflective of that. I have also, always loved the word maven and Lifestyle Maven Events just clicked with me.

Do I Need to Hire a Wedding Planner?

Most couples today are working professionals with full social and family lives and are simply too busy to plan a wedding with its many details. Wedding planning can be overwhelming and stressful when you do not have the time that is needed to put into it. Statistics show that the average wedding takes approximately 250 hours to plan–that is equivalent to 6 full work weeks! Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life and it makes sense to hire a professional to assist you during the process. We have secure vendor relationships, and work with only the best wedding professionals so that you can rest assured that every member of your wedding team will be giving their all to make your wedding an authentic and beautiful reflection of your marriage union.

How Long Have You Been a Wedding Planner?

I have been working as a wedding planner for 8+ years. I started doing freelance wedding coordination for several catering companies throughout NYC. That is when I realized I had a knack for planning and coordination and it quickly snowballed from there. It wasn’t until January 2015 that Lifestyle Maven Events was established. Since then, I have been loving every minute of it!

Can I Afford a Wedding Planner?

Absolutely! Because of our valued relationships with vendors, wedding planners often save you money. Many times preferred vendors will offer discounted prices to our brides. Also, we will work with you to develop a realistic budget and help you produce your dream wedding within that budget providing budget-friendly ideas and suggestions.

Still Not Sure Hiring a Wedding Planner is Right for You?

Take advantage of our free consultation! Just visit our contact page and let us know when you would like to meet. Each consultation takes about 30 minutes. This is a great opportunity to get to know us and ask any questions. You are welcome to bring your future spouse with you to this initial meeting and every meeting thereafter. Don’t have time to meet? Set up a Zoom consultation anytime.

"It was simply the most fantastic experience."

 

“Alison planned, coordinated, and designed our beautiful, intimate wedding at The Foundry. Alison was great at embracing our vision for our day and not deviating from it, but rather supplementing to it. The decor was absolutely phenomenal and the entire event ran like a well-oiled machine. Even when there was an unexpected hiccup, Alison handled it with such grace and quick-thinking. I couldn’t have imagined a better planning experience or more beautiful day. I’m recommending her to all my engaged friends. Thank you Alison!”

BENNETT THE FOUNDRY

"Everything was as we had hoped and many things surpassed our expectations."

 

“Just simply wanted to say our wedding went amazingly well for us, everything was as we had hoped and many things surpassed our expectations. Alison was great to work with, she offered many unique suggestions and helped us organize the event we really wanted to have. She was extremely flexible with our slightly less than traditional approach and always gave us good advice. She has a large network of suppliers and contacts and made sure they all worked well together on the day. We would highly recommend Alison to anyone considering hiring a wedding planner!”

GEORGIE, THE GREEN BUILDING

"My experience with Alison from Lifestyle Maven Events was above and beyond anything I could have ever expected."

 

”Many married friends of mine warned me against hiring a wedding planner because, in their experience, the planners would do nothing but rack up costs and prices, creating more stresses than necessary. I went against my friends’ advice and called Alison for a meeting. Needless to say, I was blown away by her professionalism and eagerness to bring my vision to fruition. Alison is crafty and creative – she is hesitant to settle for the most expensive option, but rather uses her enterprising mind to save costs and mitigate your stresses as a bride whenever possible. She was realistic with our budget, and honoured it as well. Alison is now a great friend of mine and permanent fixture in my life. I would (and will!) recommend her to all of my engaged friends and family. Thank you so much Ali for everything!”

RACHEL, THE ALBRA ROOM

"Alison and her team made it possible for us to focus entirely on having a lovely and special time on our big day"

“Lifestyle Maven Events was our day-of wedding coordinator. Alison’s input in both our wedding ceremony and reception was vital. We had quite an elaborate schedule of events lined up throughout the evening — Alison and her team made it possible for us to focus entirely on having a lovely and special time on our big day (instead of diluting parts of the romance and having to be scattered by making sure things go smoothly!). What more can one ask for on their wedding day? Our wedding was magical, which would not have been possible without Lifestyle Maven Events’ assistance.” 

ANGELIKA, THE HIGHLINE HOTEL & THE MCKITTRICK HOTEL

"Alison is creative, thoughtful and pays immense attention to detail"

“I highly recommend Alison’s event planning services. Alison is creative, thoughtful and pays immense attention to detail all while helping you to stay within your budget (a seemingly impossible task during wedding planning). She is also very on top of new trends and alternative vendor options. For example, when it came to creating a modern & chic sweets table on a limited budget, she came up with great looking & tasting ideas for our table. She even personally picked up one of the items when we realized the supplier would not deliver it to the reception location, completely removing this stress from the wedding planning. Overall, I had an excellent experience with Alison and recommend her services without reservation.”

PARVIN, BATTERY GARDENS

"They seamlessly took over the planning efforts the bride and I had put into the event beforehand and made sure the night went they way we hoped for and without a hitch!"

“The bride and I planned most of our wedding, from hiring the band, to finding the different food vendors, to preparing all the decorations. What we needed was someone to manage the whole process on the day of the event so that we could actually enjoy ourselves. Alison and Alana from LME were great and exactly what we were looking for in our day-of-coordinators. They were very easy to work with and unlike many other vendors we talked to, very accommodating to our needs. They were able to customize and tailor their services to exactly what we were looking for and didn’t try to overburden or oversell us on services we didn’t need. Before the event, they provided simple and clearly organized summary of everything the bride and I had planned for and made sure we didn’t forget about any last minute details. Alana did a great job of managing during the event and made sure everything went very smoothly. All of our vendors were where they needed to be, when they needed to be, and they all left happy at the end of the night. Alana also made sure that our families and ourselves were taken care of, which was definitely above and beyond the call of duty in our eyes. Lifestyle Maven Events ended up being exactly what we needed to get us across the finish line. They were great team players, and adapted well to our expectations and needs. Couldn’t have done it without them!”

BRIAN, LITTLEFIELD