Esse Event Planning

Service levels: Full-service planning

About Esse Event Planning

Esse Event Planning

Creating experiences and empowering others.

With over eight years of project management and event planning experience, Sidney brings a new perspective to celebrations. She began planning events as a college student for her campus activities board where she helped plan all events from open mic nights to spring concerts. In addition to her work on campus, Sidney also assisted a local upscale restaurant with weddings and events. After college, Sidney spent her free time apprenticing and learning alongside Atlanta-based wedding and events planners.

From busing tables to designing floor plans, Sidney has been a crucial part of almost every event she has planned. Events are personal. Sidney will plan the event as if it were her own and will pay attention to every detail imaginable. Her mission is to create accessible events that are meaningful and unique. Her bespoke approach to event planning concentrates on partnering with and supporting the Atlanta community and beyond.

Services by planning level

Full-service planning

Pricing starts at $4,000*

*Plus % of total wedding costs

Partial planning

Pricing starts at $3,000

Day-of coordination / wedding management

Pricing starts at $2,500

Event design

Pricing starts at $2,500*

*Plus % of total wedding costs

Destination wedding

Pricing starts at $5,000

Elopement / microwedding

Pricing starts at $2,500

A la carte

Pricing starts at $498

Reviews

Write a review

Rating: 4.4

4.4 out of 5

10 reviews

JL
J & L.
Rating: 2
•Zola
•Oct 2, 2026
Disappointing Coordination Experience
We are giving 2 stars because Sidney genuinely is a nice person, and we did have positive interactions with her throughout the planning process. Unfortunately, our experience with Esse’s coordination services did not meet the expectations we had going into our wedding. We placed a tremendous amount of trust in Sidney and her team to execute the plans we had spent so much time developing together. On the wedding day, however, we experienced a lack of organization, communication, and coordinator presence during several important parts of the day. There were times when we, our family, and other vendors had difficulty locating members of the coordination team, which resulted in our family and vendors stepping in to handle things we expected a four-person coordination team to manage. We experienced issues with the timeline and vendor coordination, getting-ready and photo coordination, guest arrival, reception setup, and communication of planned moments throughout the reception. Several details we had specifically discussed and planned in advance were either not executed as expected or required us, our family, or other vendors to step in. We also found ourselves personally coordinating multiple deliveries and other details the day before and the day of our wedding when we expected those responsibilities to be handled by the coordination team. We were also disappointed by the team's attire. Our wedding was a formal event, and the attire worn by members of the coordination team was extremely casual and did not reflect the formality of the event. Appropriate professional attire was also specifically addressed in our contract, making this particularly disappointing. Several of our family members and guests independently commented on the team's attire as well. What was especially disappointing was our experience after the wedding. One particular responsibility had been specifically discussed during our final planning meetings, and we had agreed upon a plan for how it would be handled. That plan was not executed, an issue arose, and we were subsequently presented with an additional charge for the team addressing it. Although the issue was brought directly to us during the wedding, we were never informed that having the team handle it would result in an additional charge or given the opportunity to approve that expense beforehand. The additional charges were ultimately dropped after we raised our concerns and discussed the numerous issues we had experienced or learned about following the wedding. In the days following the wedding, we also learned from family members and vendors about additional issues occurring behind the scenes that we had not been aware of while trying to enjoy our day. That was particularly difficult to hear after placing so much trust in a coordination team specifically so that we and our families could be fully present for our wedding. We understand that weddings are complex and that unexpected situations happen. Our disappointment is not based on one mistake or one moment. It comes from the accumulation of issues throughout the day, plans that were not executed as discussed, and the amount of responsibility that ultimately fell to us, our family, and other vendors. Nothing will ever change how much we loved our wedding or how grateful we are for the memories we made. We simply wish our experience with the coordination had matched the amount of planning, trust, and care we put into preparing for such an important day.
Y
Yohanna
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Jan 8, 2025
Excellent wedding planner!
Esse Event Planning was an absolute pleasure to work with for our wedding. From the very beginning, their communication was clear, protective, and highly organized. The team at Esse was thoughtful, timely, and incredibly collaborative throughout the entire planning process. They expertly navigated our multicultural wedding with diverse vendors and working styles, ensuring that every detail was accounted for. Esse and her team kept us on track and adapted seamlessly to any changes that came up, allowing us to fully enjoy our special day. We are so grateful for their exceptional service and highly recommend Esse Event Planning to any couple planning their wedding.
A
Ann
Rating: 2
•Zola
•Oct 25, 2024
Not a Priority
Giving a 2 star instead of 1 star due to the friendly personalities of the team members. My husband and I had Esse Events for our wedding on October 12th and were deeply disappointed in service received. A week and a half prior to the wedding, Sidney informed us that she would not be present at our ceremony and would be there for the reception due to Esse Events intentionally double booking another wedding on our wedding day. Essentially, we were being informed that our wedding would be given less priority. So, ok whatever, that means the labor we paid for would be for 3 people instead of 4. Except, day of the wedding, only 2 of the paid for staff were present which meant that our reception site was not being set up during the ceremony as planned. This caused our dinner to start almost an hour late and our catering to be cold when served to guests due to the delay. Smaller things that disappointed us: 1. Treatment of our belongings during clean up; glass picture frames and decor were thrown in trash bags instead of placed in storage bins provided. 2. No showed our final walkthrough at the venue after confirming attendance We truly trusted Sidney and Esse Events especially given the open line of communication leading up to the wedding. It is unfortunately not the service we expected for the actual day of.
LA
Lisa A.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Jul 2, 2024
Bar Mitzvah planning
Esse Events was awesome to work with. Sidney was communicative and open to my (many) needs and ideas. Highlight recommend!
DB
Darcie B.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Jun 27, 2024
Fantastic planning and florals
Hiring Sidney with Esse Event Planning was the best decision we made for our wedding. We hired her for her planning and floral services. She ensured we met on a frequent basis to make sure we covered every aspect of the day, and she came with great ideas for bringing our vision together. She communicated directly with vendors which lifted a lot of that responsibility off our shoulders and ensured everyone had the details needed for day of. And on the wedding day, my husband and I didn't have to lift a finger. Everything ran smoothly without a hitch. We even received complements from our guests about how smoothly everything was running! Working with Sidney for floral design was such a fun experience. She came with a mood board after our first conversation and was very transparent with what our budget could get us, which ended up being so much more than we expected! The florals were a dream, and I can't count the number of complements I received, especially on the bouquet! If you're in the Atlanta area, I 100% recommend Esse!