Unforgettable

      Planners

Atlanta Event Planners

Our Brand Story

You can attend trainings, you can read books and blogs, you can watch webinars, and you can get hands-on experience with other planners, but when you are leading a wedding or event, it all comes down to you.

Only two years into my career as a wedding and event planner, I faced a wedding day crisis that no book could prepare me for. It was a beautiful October afternoon. The deck on the 28th floor of the building in Midtown Atlanta provided the perfect backdrop for a flawless ceremony. Cocktails had been enjoyed, pictures were taken, and everyone was seated for dinner.

As I head into the reception space, the fire alarm goes off and moments later, a chef is coming out of the venue’s kitchen putting on a fire marshal vest. He notifies me that we must evacuate the guests as a small fire has broken out on the 16th floor of the building.

This was it – the moment that would separate me from novice level and put me in expert level. How I handled the next 15 minutes would alter my career path. Approaching the DJ, I asked him to announce to our guests that we would in fact need to evacuate in a calm and collected fashion. I collected the bride and began to escort her to the stairs.

All 120 guests began to follow myself and the bride down those 28 flights of stairs. As we descended, a plan began to form. I decided to assume we would not make it back into the building and would need an alternative reception location. Luckily, the couple had selected the hotel next door as a room block hotel. By the time we reached the street, I was ready to take action.

I led the guests to the lobby of the hotel and encouraged them to find a seat in the lounge area. I approached the front desk and asked to speak to the manager on duty. It was time to put on my biggest smile as this was not likely to be an ask he wanted to hear. When he arrived, I explained the situation and asked if their onsite ballroom was open for the evening. Unfortunately, the ballroom was still in use, but he said it would be clear within an hour and a half. I asked him to fire up some appetizers to serve to the guests and began to research local pizza places to see who could get us a large order of pizza within the next hour.

About 45 minutes later, at the same time the hotel ballroom opened up, the fire department declared the building safe and we began escorting guests to the elevators of the venue to return to the reception. The chefs were still able to complete dinner preparations providing guests with a delicious meal, the DJ and photo/video team were able to set back up, and the venue and vendors all agreed to extend their contracts an hour to make up for the lost hour of adventure.

Even though the full plan did not have to take effect, I was ready. And that’s how I approach every situation within the planning process. Life around you does not stop when you are planning a major event – whether that is during the planning process or on the day of the event. And that’s where I come in. I am ready to provide that peace of mind and give my clients the celebration they have been dreaming of.

Each member of our team is empowered to be creative and problem solve through any issues that arise either during the planning process, or on the day of your event. There is nothing our planners cannot tackle. We are Emily Jordan Events.

 

Scroll down to meet our team
Jordan
Founder | Principal Planner & Designer

Jordan Xu is a Professional Wedding Planner living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Jim and their son, Theo. Since founding her company in 2012, Jordan has led over 150 weddings and events throughout the Southeastern United States. This experience allows Jordan to seamlessly design and plan the event of clients’ dreams.

After graduating from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies and Sociology, Jordan worked in restaurant special events before spending several years in non-profit fundraising. During that time, she also achieved her Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Art and Design.

As an Atlanta event planner, Jordan has been featured for her work and expertise in Martha Stewart Weddings, Modern Luxury Weddings Atlanta, The Knot Georgia, The Celebration Society, Wedding Planner Magazine, Borrowed & Blue, and Brown Sparrow Wedding. Her company has been named to The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame, and selected as Wedding Wire Couples Choice nine times. She was named a Top 10 Event Planning Expert and received two Diamond Awards in the Best Wedding category from Modern Luxury Weddings Atlanta. She has been nominated for six Allie Awards and won in 2023 for Best Wedding Team Effort. She currently serves as the President for the Atlanta Chapter of Wedding International Professionals Association, and as the  Chair for the 34th Allie Awards.

When not planning events for Emily Jordan Events clients, Jordan can be found serving her community through the Junior League, as a board member for the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, and as an International Officer for her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi.

Caitlin
Lead planner

Caitlin Keesee began assisting weddings for Emily Jordan Events in 2014 and has been an Associate Planner since 2017. As a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, Caitlin is passionate about and committed to helping people. She is a connector who loves to bring people together. In and out of her professional life, she is always finding herself in the middle of planning fun and memorable events for the people around her. After graduating from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a focus on Community Building and Social Change, she has leveraged her background in non-profit event planning and volunteer coordination to create a coordination style uniquely her own. She specializes in providing that personal touch and handling stressful situations with grace.

When not working as an Atlanta event planner, she loves trying new restaurants, live theater, and cooking for friends. In her free time, you can find her perusing museums, snuggled up with a good book, or scheduling her next travel destination. Most of all, Caitlin loves weddings, with the moment of the couple’s grand exit being her favorite. All the planning and stress are now a “dream come true.” She looks forward to connecting with you and helping create the event of your dreams.

Sydney
Lead planner

Sydney Woods is an Associate Planner living in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog Sasha. Since moving to Atlanta she has coordinated over 100 events that range from private dinners, corporate, mitzvahs and weddings.

Sydney grew up in sunny Palm Beach, Florida and then went on to study Psychology at the University of Central Florida. While living in Orlando she worked for Walt Disney World Resort where she quickly fell in love with the hospitality industry. Shortly she gained employment with the Four Seasons hotels and resorts where she relocated to Wyoming and then in 2017, to Atlanta. When Sydney is not bustling a wedding gown or creating a timeline, she enjoys volunteering around metro-Atlanta, shopping, enjoying a nice cup of coffee or time with family and friends!

Sydney’s true passion is people. She prides herself in being able to make connections with her clients and deliver spectacular service as an Atlanta event planner. She loves to be able to make her clients’ dreams come to life!

LOVE STORIES

“Since I live in Chicago, and with my very hectic schedule, I knew it would be too challenging for me to plan my wedding from a distance. With this, I hired Jordan of Emily Jordan Events to be my Wedding Planner and she delivered in grand style. Jordan was very professional, organized, creative, personable and reliable with excellent communication skills. She was diligent in preparing a wedding budget early in the planning process which was a helpful guide for us to follow. If you are engaged and want to have an elegant wedding, Jordan with Emily Jordan Events is absolutely the “must have” person to make this happen.”

Yashika & James

“Wow! That word sums up our experience with Emily Jordan Events for our wedding, specifically Caitlin. I knew I wanted Caitlin to be our coordinator immediately after meeting her. Her bubbly, optimistic energy is exactly what you want on your wedding day. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have a coordinator but I can honestly say I couldn’t have done it without Caitlin! Having Caitlin and her assistant there on my wedding day allowed my husband and I to enjoy our wedding day completely stress free. I had full confidence in Caitlin and she executed our wedding so beautifully. If anything went wrong, I still don’t even know! My family, bridal party, and guests loved Caitlin! Look no further than booking Caitlin and Emily Jordan Events for your wedding!!”

Erica & Alan

“Wedding planning can be overwhelming at the very start, and Sydney was there from the beginning to answer my questions, provide recommendations, and share her advice. Closer to the wedding, Sydney communicated with all our vendors to confirm details, delivery times, etc. so I didn't have to worry about the logistics at all. The wedding day timeline was so thorough and organized which helped to keep the ceremony and reception on track. My bridesmaids were so impressed with how prepared Sydney was with every little thing we needed on the day-of. Many people commented on how relaxed I was on my wedding day, and it's because I didn't have to worry about a single thing. She helped make our big day so perfect!”

Catherine & Charles

“Don't have a wedding without Jordan on your team! Jordan and her team were amazing! From our initial meeting with her, we knew she was perfect for what we wanted. She was knowledgable, prepared/organized, and knew her stuff. We wanted to be able to hand off all the details and execution to someone so we could enjoy our special day and not have to worry about it all (we also wanted our family to enjoy the day as well and not be stuck taking care of things/vendors). Looking back, Jordan was the best decisions we made when it came to our wedding! Both of our families and our wedding party loved working with her - and so did we!”

Dustin & Bryan

“We instantly fell in love with Emily Jordan Events when we were looking for a full-service wedding planner. Jordan was professional, organized, and very relatable! Emily Jordan Events also uses some really cool software to help you manage and keep all your planning in one place! I really valued having Jordan there with me every step of the way- she was always knowledge, helped me ask the right questions, and played as a key sounding board as I would make different decisions. In months leading up to the wedding, when I would start to panic, she always stayed so cool, calm and collected and help me work through what I was worrying about. Day of is really where I cant imagine not having Emily Jordan Events. Jordan and her team were AMAZING. They had everything so in control and on time. I was able to fully enjoy my day because of them! I trust them completely and would highly recommend them to anyone!!”

Amy & Ross

“There are not enough wonderful words for Sydney! She went above and beyond to plan our wedding and despite the rain (literally 15 minutes before our wedding was to start) she still pulled everything together flawlessly!! She was amazing each step of the way and truly took the stress off of me - weddings can be diffcult to plan! Also, one of my most favorite things she did was make us feel truly like her one and only wedding she was focused on the entire time we worked together! I know she had a full plate and still made a point to make me feel confident in her! Thank you Sydney, for making our wedding a dream.”

Taylor & Justin

“Working with Caitlin was a dream! I cannot begin to explain how much stress she took off me for the wedding. I didn't get a full wedding planning package, but it was absolutely amazing to have Caitlin there holding the reigns for the last couple of months and coordinating the day of. I almost definitely would have fallen apart had she not been there. Her positive energy kept me motivated through all the decision-making and she was such a joy. Very possibly the best decision of my whole wedding (besides my choice of husband). I could not have had such a beautiful wedding without her.”

Colleen & Sheng

“Jordan was so amazing to work with!! She had fantastic vendor recommendations, made the contracting process easy, and coordinated everything seamlessly. Planning a wedding from another state was stressful, but Jordan went out of her way to make things possible - including opening her beautiful home to me and my family for my hair/makeup trial. She was there for me through every question, concern, and change. My wedding day went so smoothly because of her, even with schedule fluctuations! Thank you SO much, Jordan!!!”

Julia & Andrew

“I could not have had the wedding I did without Emily Jordan Events! My family lives out of state so they helped me with literally EVERYTHING for the wedding. There are so many little things I would have looked past, and it was so nice to have them take care of things so I could focus on the fun stuff and enjoy the process.”

Sarah & Nelson

“I worked with Sydney with Emily Jordan Events for my wedding and the fact that I still think about how amazing she was months later is a testament to her hard work! We had a small intimate wedding and she handled everything perfectly. Sydney is responsive, personable, and worth her weight in gold. Thank you again for putting everything together seamlessly. Much love!”

Katherine & Nathaniel

“To say Jordan and her team is exceptional would be an understatement! I could not recommend Emily Jordan Events more. Not only were they extremely professional and kind, but their attention to detail and making everything flow seamlessly was incredible. Jordan and her staff helped make our wedding dream become a reality. I really appreciated how flexible Jordan was for our planning sessions and she saved my life by picking up my wedding dress the day before the wedding when I had to deal with unexpected family issues. Do yourself a huge favor and hire Emily Jordan Events!!”

Laura & Jimmy

“Do yourself a favor and hire Emily Jordan Events now! I know that a coordinator does not always sound like it's worth the money when you first start planning, but I would impress upon anyone that a day of coordinator is the guaranteed way to make sure you and your hubby, wedding party and family all get to enjoy the day without sweating the details. Jordan was incredible through the entire planning process and was very responsive when I had questions about even the smallest details. In my final planning session, Jordan put me at ease that I had everything ready to go and helped identify extra details I had never even considered. My wedding day was perfect and I know I owe it all to my wonderful vendors who were all lead by Jordan and the Emily Jordan Events team!”

Emily & Cameron

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