SouthWind Events
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SouthWind Events is an event planning and production service that started south of the Windy City (Chicago). We have since grown and now serve the entire Chicagoland area, or wherever you need us. We are here to plan, coordinate and execute all your special events - weddings, birthdays, receptions, baby showers, etc. We are also here to serve all your professional event needs in planning your conferences, retreats, or other such events. Whatever the event, we are here to serve you.
One of the first questions we hear from newly engaged couples is: "Where do we even start?"
With so many decisions ahead, it's easy to feel like everything needs your attention at once.
It doesn't.
There is an order that makes planning feel more manageable, and following it helps every decision that comes next feel a little clearer.
1. Get engaged, then breathe
Before you touch a planning app or pinterest board, just sit in it. You have time.
2. Set your budget
Every decision that follows (venue, guest count, vendors) comes back to this. Do it first.
3. Hire your planner
If you're going to have one, bring them in now. They'll help you make every decision after this.
4. Figure out your guest count
Your number drives your venue options. You can't venue shop without it.
5. Book your venue
Your date lives here. Almost everything else can't be confirmed until this is done.
6. Book your photographer & videographer
Top photographers book out fast. Lock them in early while you still have options.
7. Hire the rest of your vendor team
Florist, caterer, band or DJ, and hair & makeup; build out the full team.
8. Design your vision
Once your vendors are in place, you can really start digging into the look and feel of your day.
9. The details phase
Invitations, seating charts, ceremony script, timeline, rehearsal dinner... This is where it gets granular.
10. Hand it over
In the final weeks, everything you've built with your planner is in motion. Your only job now is to show up and get married.
Save this reel for our recommended planning sequence, from the moment you get engaged to the moment you step back and simply enjoy your wedding day.
Because thoughtful planning isn't about doing more.
It's about knowing what to do next.
šchicago wedding planner | save this for later
07/07/2026
Two years since Malik & Nia McMillon stepped into forever.
Even now, thereās something steadying about looking back on where it all began.
The energy in the room.
The people who showed up for them.
The feeling of two lives choosing to become one.
Because while the wedding day is a single moment in time,
it becomes the foundation for everything that follows.
Two years of building, growing, and continuing to choose each other in the everyday.
Happy anniversary to the McMillons š¤
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