Karen Brown New York

I hired Karen to help plan a 40th birthday party for my husband this past November. I knew I wanted to throw him a nice party but other than creating a budget I wasn't sure where to begin. After reading the positive reviews on Yelp I decided to give Karen a call. During our initial conversation Karen helped me pinpoint my vision for the party and provided some venue ideas. Once we had a place booked she made some great, and very affordable recommendations for a DJ and cake. She also was a big help in choosing decorations and incorporating personalized touches that really represented the birthday boy. Sadly Karen had a previously booked work event the night of the party (which she told me from the beginning) so her assistant Kathryn was our go to person at the event. Kathryn was awesome, she made sure the room was setup and decorated, she coordinated with the venue staff and DJ to extend the party by an hour and took pictures for us all night. I would highly recommend Karen and her staff!
Oct 1st, 2019

To anybody thinking to themselves - "self, do I need a day-of wedding coordinator?" - let me confirm to you that yes, yes you do. The fact is that it's one of the most incredible days of your life, but it's also a complete logistical bear. And you want to be spending time with your friends and family - not dealing with caterers, venue staff, PA systems, etc. So now that we agree on that: Karen was absolutely essential for making our wedding one of the best days of my life. We chatted with Karen months in advance, but only started working more directly with her team 2 weeks before our wedding, which was exactly what we needed (we chose this more limited time frame, but she's got a lá carte options where she'll work with you many months out if that's your thing). Karen was everything we were looking for - detail oriented, kind, specific, tireless, and - importantly - really lovely to spend time around. She and her wonderful staff made our day what it was.
Sep 22nd, 2019

You can't expect the best unless you choose Karen Brown. I was looking to set up a proposal event, something extraordinary for my girlfriend of 10 years, and, even to me, it seemed like a potentially impossible thing to pull off. I worked with Karen, directly, for months. The number of details we needed to work out was almost horrifyingly large. Karen succeeded in making all of it happen. Every element of the plan played out as perfectly as I'd imagined. Along the way, we experienced some challenges (dealing with vendors who proved difficult/careless), and in addition to handling these issues expertly, Karen consistently devoted energy to understanding my perspective, and championed my cause (highest standards and quality) every time. And so it's important to mention that, in the most basic sense, Karen executed the concept we developed together so professionally as to leave me astounded and full of gratitude. Just as crucially, though, she displayed a natural talent for mastering all of the nuances. The trust and respect upon which our working relationship was built, and Karen's unfailing sensitivity to the deeply human/emotional underpinnings of this proposal event -- all of it is impossible to honor here with paragraphs of praise.
Sep 1st, 2019

I have had the pleasure to work with Karen Brown on two occasions. As a co-owner of a PR firm, my partner and I brought in Karen to help us execute a high-stakes PR stunt and cocktail party. Karen was responsible for a difficult build out with an artist and general contractor. She also managed the party effortlessly. She gets her hands dirty with planning and set up, and then she's one of the brightest spots in the room when it's go time. When I started to plan my wedding (Dec. 2013), Karen was the only person that I trusted. We had an aggressive schedule as my husband and I picked a date six months after our engagement. She was an incredible leader throughout the process. Her experience was invaluable as she was a disciplined planner, yet I was most impressed by her eye. I trusted her opinion on all of our aesthetic decisions, and she brought so much creativity and spirit to our day. The little details really make her stand out. She manages to take spontaneous, professional-quality photos of you when you least expect it. And she somehow knows exactly how to coach you. Thanks to all of her thoughtful planning, my husband and I were able to fully enjoy our wedding day and stay in the moment. We had already thought through all of the minutia and we knew that Karen was keeping us on target throughout the day. We are so grateful.
Aug 15th, 2019

I interviewed several planners in an attempt to find one who would help me plan my son's "special" bar mitzvah celebration. We had a few challenges going in that would make our party a bit a-typical. First, our son has autism, as do many on his guest list, so there would need to be adjustments and accommodations and understanding from our planner who would need to be sure our vendors were all on the same page. Second, we needed the whole menu to be gluten free. Third (and most challenging), we had a "small" budget to work with. Plenty to throw a nice party but convincing anyone in the NYC bar mitzvah world of this proved to be quite difficult! And then I met Karen Brown. She was the only planner I met who didn't tell me that I needed to rethink my budget. She was the only one who didn't try to talk me into things I didn't need (no I don't need dancers to try to fire up my special needs crowd or a professional logo for signage). She was only one who came to me with an attitude of positivity and being ready for the challenge. She laid out a proposed budget within my limits and helped me prioritize and figure out where and how to save. She was creative and extremely resourceful and kept track of our expenses meticulously. She hunted down and bargained with vendors and presented me with several working options for each. She gave me a weekly "to do" list and kept me organized and on track with my own tasks throughout the process. She used vendors that not only were good quality and responsible, she supported vendors who do good work in the community as well (just like Karen who give a percentage of her fee to the charity of her client's choice). We were organized and ready to go more than a week out. And then Hurricane Sandy hit NYC that week and we hit our biggest challenge yet Our original venue for our celebration was left without power so 3 days before the big day, we had to move everything from one location to another. We had to change our menu from just gluten free to kosher gluten free. We had to rearrange delivery with all of our vendors to comply with strict delivery times. We had balloons, desserts, wines and items for the party held hostage in powerless and flooded areas. It was nuts. And yet Karen took it all in stride and managed to gracefully and calmly address each issue, communicating and working with vendors and the temple, picking up and delivering items herself (driving through Manhattan with 36 inch round balloons floating out of the car window), reassuring me that everything was under control and was going to be just fine. In the end the party was perfect - our son was thrilled and loved every minute of it. Our guests had a wonderful time, everything was smooth and seamless and fun and festive. It was truly the best party we have ever been to - both a great time and a really meaningful celebration and we will remember it forever. I cannot recommend Karen highly enough. This review hardly does her justice. I would use her again in a heartbeat. She was great before the hurricane and amazing after. Do yourself a favor and hire Karen Brown New York for your event.
Jul 4th, 2019