The Cosmos

Service levels: Full-service planning

Team size: 1 – 6

About The Cosmos

The Cosmos

Nina McCandless is an events professional with more than 18 years experience executing exquisite, gorgeous, memorable events all over the world. Obsessed with the details and in pursuit of achieving an indelible finish, she's worked with brides, elopers, corporate clients, HNIs and well-known brands like Coach, Fendi, NBC Universal, and Glamor Magazine, to name a few. Since 2019, this talented and zen planner has branched out fully into the wedding industry and loves working with couples to create a magical wedding celebrations, and planning unforgettable honeymoons.

The Cosmos offers multiple package options that can be tailored to your needs. Nina and her team prefer to provide full-service wedding planning, handling everything from vendor contract negotiations to wedding design. Alternatively, you can receive partial planning consulting or month-of if you have a clear theme and vision and just need assistance with the finer details. The team also plans destination weddings in dream locations like Italy, Greece, The Seychelles, and Mexico. With The Cosmos, your big day will be truly out of this world.

Best of Zola 2025

Services by planning level

Full-service planning

Pricing starts at $9,000

Partial planning

Pricing starts at $6,800

Event design

Pricing starts at $5,000

Destination wedding

Pricing starts at $15,000

Elopement / microwedding

Pricing starts at $4,000

A la carte

Pricing starts at $5,000*

*Plus % of total wedding costs

Reviews

Write a review
Rating: 5.0

5.0 out of 5

3 reviews

  • R

    Rebecca

    Rating: 5
    •Jul 27, 2024

    Efficient, Warm, Professional, Tasteful

    Initially I intended to plan all of my wedding on my own - and in many ways I did. We were married at the Customs House in Portland, a venue that is a blankslate venue. As I neared the day however, I began to worry that there were aspects of the planning that I overlooked. I hired The Cosmos at their Month-of package level taking all of that worry out of the process. They took care of all of the things I did miss - called out that there was no plan for trash receptacles, revised the number of glasses rented, added bathroom attendants, adjusted the number of staff etc, but an unexpected element (and maybe the most important) is that they helped me to manage difficult family members. They figured out that this is where a lot of my stress was coming from. I was so grateful to their team for minimizing overall stress. I highly recommend!

  • SS

    Simone S.

    Rating: 5
    •Jul 22, 2024

    Dream Kennebunkport Wedding

    Nina and her team transformed my family’s property into the most beautiful coastal wedding that was way beyond my imagination. Nina was supportive, organized and very creative with decor and the budget. I could not have enjoyed my wedding without the support of my planner - and to think I actually thought I didn’t need one… my mother-in-law gifted us Nina’s fee, and I am forever grateful for the gift. My wedding was a whirlwind of fun with no stress!

  • SJ

    Sera & J.

    Rating: 5
    •Jul 19, 2024

    If I could give ALL the stars!!

    Nina is not what you'd expect of a wedding planner - she is so much more. Besides the fact that she has impeccable taste, an easygoing hat about her, expert knowledge and tons of vendor relations, she made me feel from the first day of hiring her through the moments when the wedding was over and I was sharing photos, that everything would be perfect. Like a coach, she put a few of my expectations, all of my anxiety and some of my to-do list in check, but did so with such professionalism and calmness, that I feel in hindsight her fee was more than worth it. I was apprehensive about paying a planner for something I truly believed I could do. Later than I'd like to admit, I became overwhelmed and seriously behind as the actual day neared. I was referred to Nina by my fiancé's friend [note that my fiancé was so over me planning the wedding me on my own]. I had fun on my day, I was relaxed and look like I was truly enjoying our day in ALL the photos. Adding that Nina also flew in a DJ from Miami who I was and am a fan of. I thought it would be a gazillion dollars, but it was just a little bit more than the local DJs. Her industry experience def gives her an edge and made us look super cool.

Yes, we plan any type of event in any location. Nina has more than 18 years of experience planning weddings, corporate events, showers and honeymoons all over the world.
Not often, but in some cases. We book one full-service client per date. Sometimes, we will take on a month-of bride on the same day as a full service wedding, depending on the circumstances, and as long as we can provide both brides with optimal support. In such a case, Nina will be of service to both parties leading up to the event as we plan 20-55 weddings per year, but she will be on-site with the full service client while one of our other skilled coordinators will be onsite with the month-of bride.
Depending on what stage you hire us at, you can expect to hear from us on a bi-weekly basis if your wedding is several months out. We provide each client with a share drive, where we keep tracking docs, mood boards, the budget, guest list and a thorough to-do list. We send updates via email or text and schedule time for every client in the cadence that feels right for them.
Nina has planned more than 500 events in her career, from New York Fashion Week shows to an intimate dinner for 12 to celebrate 50 years of marriage & everything in between. With experience working in more than 26 global cities, Nina can build anything you imagine - in a desert, on a mountainside, along the sea or on a closed-down block. Nina and her team are skilled at contract negotiation, travel logistics, and design. Nina is known for her calm coaching, her attention to detail and her desire to execute beauty that is out of the box, sometimes elegant and understated other times totally over the top -- depending on the clients' desire.

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