Our Story
Cygnet Events and Design is a luxury wedding planning and design firm based in Chicago and the North Shore. Founded in 2012 as Chicago Vintage Weddings, an event planning and vintage rental company, we quickly established ourselves as top wedding planners in the city due to our high standards in taste and communication.
In 2022, we unveiled an exciting change: Chicago Vintage Weddings would now become two separate brands. Cygnet Events and Design is the new face of Chicago Vintage Weddings’ planning division, and Arcana Vintage Rentals is the rental division. Being able to focus solely on our voice as planners and designers is a liberating shift, as Cygnet retains and expands upon everything that has driven Chicago Vintage Weddings’ success over the past decade.
Cygnet Events and Design focuses exclusively on weddings and wedding-adjacent events. We adore wedding planning and understand the demand for excellence and focus that our work entails. We are based in both Chicago and the North Shore, and we travel for destination weddings on a selective basis.
Event Design
with a purpose
Cygnet Events and Design is a mission-driven company that proudly supports conservation and animal rescue, along with a broader social justice platform. Since our inception we have been members of the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance, serving as board members and always striving to put the “chic” in eco-chic. We are One Tail at a Time and CRISP animal rescue monthly donors, and we also support with in-kind donations. We have even fostered several animals in our studio!
ORGANIZATIONS WE SUPPORT
We Love your Dog
You love your pet, why wouldn’t you want to include them in your day? We are experts in how to safely and happily incorporate pets in your wedding day, so you and your best friend can both have the best day ever.
meet the Team
Kate Reavey
Owner and Lead Planner
Kate founded the company in 2012 as a way to channel her love of design and her extensive hospitality background into something that would bring joy to others.
Both a big picture thinker and obsessively detail-oriented, she loves working with clients to figure out their needs and realize the vision for their events from start to finish. She thinks even the most minor details are exciting and loves figuring out event logistics. Clients and families consistently praise her organization, taste level, communication and ability to take charge of any situation. Kate eats, sleeps and breathes weddings; she feels lucky to be able to do what she loves for a living and she treasures the lasting relationships she builds with her couples.
A west suburban native who lived in Chicago for over 15 years before moving to the North Shore, Kate is intimately familiar with the entire Chicagoland area. When she isn’t working, she enjoys traveling, restoring her Tudor home, and deep dives into horror classics and natural history. She can usually be found at home with her family and rescue dogs Hoagie and Lambchop.
kate@cygneteventsanddesign.com
(312) 504-1478
stephanie gibbs
Event consultant
Stephanie is an experienced events veteran, having produced over 400 weddings during her career.
Stephanie is a highly organized, detailed and driven planner who expertly produces every event. Prior to joining Cygnet, Stephanie led a high-volume, luxury wedding catering company and worked alongside a partner planner to establish herself as one of the top event producers in her competitive niche. Stephanie’s passion for weddings and design–along with her hospitality background and relentless work ethic–shines through in every wedding she plans. When Stephanie isn’t working, she enjoys vintage shopping, cooking from scratch, dancing and writing.
AMINAH BAZZELL-SMITH
COORDINATOR
Aminah is an experienced, compassionate event planner with some serious design credentials.
Aminah has been planning weddings in Chicago for nearly a decade, and first began working with Cygnet in her role as an event florist at renowned floral studio Asrai Garden. Her creative writing background results in impeccable communication of even the smallest details. Currently engaged, Aminah is planning her own wedding and she puts that same care and enthusiasm toward each and every couple she serves. Aminah is known for her kindness, organization and creativity; she leaves no stone unturned in helping Cygnet couples plan and execute their perfect day! When Aminah isn’t working, she loves pursuing her passion for beauty and aesthetics, caring for plants, watching reality TV and hanging with her cats Billie Holiday and Eartha Kitt.
Veasna Kim
COORDINATOR
Veasna is a wedding wizard, having spent 10 years in the Chicago special events industry.
A Public Relations and Hospitality Leadership major at DePaul, she applies that organizational and leadership knowledge to each event she manages. Veasna’s calm, collected presence is exactly what a couple needs on their wedding day, and she rallies vendor teams to deliver flawless results. Veasna’s favorite part of a wedding is when the couple gets a chance to relax and let loose once the formalities have wrapped up!
TAYLOR BURKE
COORDINATOR
Taylor is a couple’s dream come true. She is a triple threat, having worked not only as a wedding planner but a venue manager and corporate planner.
Taylor joined the Cygnet team in 2021, meeting the challenge of the post-pandemic reopening head on. Prior to that, she managed and planned events for a busy venue in her native Kansas City. Organization and communication are her strong suits, and she loves the opportunity to connect with couples and vendors as the big day approaches. Taylor loves building a personal relationship with her couples and advocating for them every step of the way. On wedding days, she can be found triple checking every detail and making sure that everyone in the wedding party and family know exactly what to do.
