Events By Merida

Service levels: Full-service planning

About Events By Merida

Events By Merida

Alternative event planning for fun people!

Hi! I'm Merida, owner of- you guessed it Events By Merida. Weddings to me are meant to be fun. It's a celebration of the two of you with the important people in your life, and there are no rules about how that's supposed to happen (even officiants can be optional in some states).

When I started in weddings, I began to realize how little was out there for anyone that was even slightly different from the Western standard. I set out on my own in 2016 to create a company that was open to everyone. So far, I've been having a lot of fun doing it! In my off time, you can usually find me in my library, or a museum. I love a good sci-fi/fantasy show, but I will always turn on Nailed It!

Services by planning level

Service included in starting price

Service available for an extra cost

	Full-service planning	Day-of coordination / wedding management
Description	Something a Little Different: We love for you to be you! We want your wedding to be a reflection of your personalities, and whatever way you like to have fun. We're a little odd ourselves, and we like it when you are, too.	Something a Little Different: We love for you to be you! We want your wedding to be a reflection of your personalities, and whatever way you like to have fun. We're a little odd ourselves, and we like it when you are, too.
Planning begins	12 Months out	3 Months out
Vendor Management
Transportation Coordination
Venue Visits
Final Venue Walkthrough
Timeline Creation & Management
Onsite Event Management
Event Styling & Design
Budget Planning
Venue Recommendations
Vendor Selection
Contract Review
RSVP Tracking
Accommodation Coordination
Pricing	Starts at $7,000	Starts at $2,500

Reviews

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5.0 out of 5

3 reviews

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We love Merida!!!
•Verified review
•Jasper•Dec 16
Merida is, simply put, absolutely amazing. When we first started planning our wedding, we spent a lot of time going back and forth about whether or not we needed a day-of coordinator. We’re both queer and trans, I’m autistic, and my partner is disabled, so finding vendors who really saw us and could meet us where we were at was hugely important. Merida did that and so much more and now that our wedding is over, we literally don’t know what we would have done without her. She’s excellent at reading people, communicating super clearly, and solving truly any problem. Even though we only booked day-of coordination, as we got closer to the day, she was there for all the crucial moments even when we didn’t ask her to. Aside from the big things (running the rehearsal, managing the timeline, communicating with vendors, setting up, tearing down, steaming our outfits AND our wedding party’s outfits, and on and on…) (all of which would have been MORE than enough), it is the little details where Merida truly goes above and beyond. When my partner was wildly over-stimulated while getting ready, she offered them a hug. When we were misgendered and we weren’t in the room, she corrected people. At the end of the night when we were both exhausted, she went outside and pulled my partner’s car around to the front door and THEN proceeded to load everything in. When I was waiting outside while my partner took some group photos with their friends, she LITERALLY gave me the coat off her back without me even asking (and it was 25 degrees at night and she was wearing a sleeveless jumpsuit). During our first look, she carried around our two giant winter coats and our two huge Squishmallows (that we wanted on hand for pictures) and never for a moment considered putting anything down in case it got dirty. She held our snow machine at the precise angle so we could get the snowy nighttime photos of our dreams, she bought hand warmers for our ceremony without us even asking her to, she took photos on her phone during our ceremony and sent them to us so we could have photos ASAP, she adjusted my dress I don’t even know how many times, and, to top it all off, she was so kind and good-humored the whole day. Our friends and family raved about her and how well she answered all of their questions and how on top of it she was. I literally don’t know how she did all of these things. My working theory is she has a secret identical twin and can therefore be in two places at once, although frankly even two people doesn’t seem like enough. (Maybe secret identical triplets?) In any case, there is no rating system in the world that would let us give Merida enough stars; five is nowhere near enough. We would hire her a thousand times over, and a thousand more times after that.
Merida made my dreams come true
•Verified review
•Calvin S.•May 14, 2024
If you gave me a million characters in this text box I still wouldn't be able to express just how grateful I am to Merida and her team. My husband and I have been together for over two decades and had already spent an enormous amount of time thinking about our wedding over the years, but after coming out as a trans man in 2019, I quickly realized that planning a gay wedding would involve additional challenges I hadn't considered. The thought of reaching out to vendors and getting misgendered as the "bride" over and over was an incredibly anxiety-inducing prospect. I knew we needed help from someone who understood our situation and would ensure we were both treated respectfully by an incredibly cis-heteronormative industry. From the moment I engaged her, about a year before our wedding date, I knew that I'd made the right call. As a member of the community herself, Merida was my biggest advocate and fiercest champion. Her zero-tolerance policy of anyone who showed signs of homo/transphobia weeded out any problematic businesses and in just a few months she was able to book us an almost entirely queer team of vendors, all of whom did a spectacular job on the big day. I've never been so thankful to have someone like her in my corner. Each and every call with Merida was an absolute delight. Not only is she an incredible wedding/event planner, but she is one of the most delightful people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. She is brilliant, thoughtful, and hilarious, putting you instantly at ease. No matter how nerdy or esoteric our ideas, Merida was here for it and helped us bring every little detail to life. Anytime I said the words "I know this is kind of crazy but could we possibly..." she would listen attentively, smile, and reply with "We can do that." Week after week things I thought would be impossible came together and fell perfectly into place. On the day of the event (04/07/24), Merida and her team were like a SpecialOps team, complete with a full arsenal of emergency supplies the likes of which you've never seen. She kept us on schedule but never rushed us, leaving time for spontaneity; for every minor question or concern she had a plan, not one detail was overlooked. The wedding itself was absolutely perfect. I cannot stress this enough. It was PERFECT. It was everything my husband and I had ever dreamed of since we were 15 years old. Thanks to Merida there was not a single thing we had to compromise on for the sake of someone else, there was not a single bad vibe, it was truly the most beautiful, entertaining, and triumphant celebration of queer love any of us had ever experienced. I was genuinely concerned my face would break from smiling with euphoria all day. It's been over a month now and I'm getting emotional all over again just writing this review. I never thought I would be able to be my whole entire self on my wedding day. Thank you, Merida for turning my gay little anime prince dreams into reality. If you're queer, a huge nerd, or just someone who marches to the beat of their own drum, please hire Merida. She will make all of your dreams come true.    Check out our mini-video here! https://vimeo.com/931825218/f5280e5cea
MeridaBest Decision Ever!
•Verified review
•Ellen L.•Nov 18, 2022
I can honestly say that the best decision I made during the wedding planning process (aside from saying “yes” during the proposal) was selecting Merida to be our wedding planner. My husband and I knew that we did not want a basic, cookie cutter wedding, but a big, fun party with a little wedding thrown in there and Merida was the perfect partner to make that dream a reality. During our two years of planning, Merida was always available for all questions, happy to discuss any ideas, function as a sounding board when needed and just be a guide through the craziness that can be planning a wedding. When our original caterer and DJ fell through, Merida was right there to provide recommendations for new vendors who would be on board with our vision. She was instrumental in helping us to orchestra the party aka wedding of our dreams! Though Merida was a superstar leading up to the big day, she really shined on the wedding day! She was there to ensure everyone was on time, had shirts/dresses camera ready, things ran smoothly and just be a calming presence on a hectic day. From our perspective the day went perfectly…if anything did go wrong, Merida made sure we did not know about it and that the day still went on as planned. She far exceeded our expectations…she even let me wipe my sweaty face on her shirt! Working with Merida was incredibly fun and enjoyable! We would get married every week/month/year, if it meant we got to have Merida along for the ride! Words can not fully convey how thankful we are for Merida and all that she did to make our wedding day the best day ever!