Marcia Gardner, GBI General Manager
Corprate Events
Ellen is organized and responsive. She is very reliable and is always available when needed. Ellen is also extremely connected within her network. She has access to contacts for all aspects of any event. Ellen is a go-getter. She takes charge and allows me to continue with my full-time job, knowing the tasks assigned will get done without a follow-up.
Ellen is also very creative during the planning process of an event. She uses her creativity to come up with new, fresh ideas and execute them into a successful event of any kind. Ellen is detailed, and has great communication skills. She knows how to get her point across without any ambiguity. Lastly, Ellen is always onsite during events, which allows our team to not only have a resource onsite, but mingle throughout the event.
Elizabeth Akers, 2016 Swan Ball Co-chair
Cheekwood Estate and Gardens
When I co-chaired the Swan Ball 2016 with Nan Cox we hired Ellen. It was one of the best decisions we made. Her dedication, passion and attention to detail were invaluable to the success of the Swan Ball. I would love to work with her again soon.
Molly Hegwood, Bride
Houston Station
From beginning to end, Ellen took care of each and every detail on the wedding day. Ellen has coordinated many events in Nashville and has a positive relationship with vendors across the city. Vendors were eager to work with Ellen and were in constant contact with her before the wedding. Ellen asked lots of questions before the wedding day to ensure that our vision for the day was met.
On the day of the wedding, she arrived when the venue opened ready to assist as vendors arrived and she was the last person out of the venue that night. If there was something that went awry on the day of the wedding, we didn’t know anything about it. Ellen found an issue with our flowers and had the florist come to fix the problem immediately to ensure that everything was perfect!! After our wedding, we kept hearing from guests that we had the most amazing wedding planner because the wedding was seamless.
My husband and I could not have been happier with our decision to have Ellen Hollis be the planner for our wedding.
Melanie Cook, Guy Brown
Corporate Events
Ellen Hollis is our go-to event planner for all our corporate events! She is extremely organized, creative, and able to work with any budget. It is always a pleasure working with Ellen and her staff- from the beginning stages of planning, through all of the decisions on decor, food, entertainment, etc., and then seeing it all come together on the day of the big event. Her seamless day-of coordination ensures everything runs smoothly and everyone is able to relax and enjoy the party. We are so lucky to have found Ellen!
Ashok Sudarshan
Surprise 50th Birthday Party
I have had the privilege of attending several Ellen Hollis events over the years here in Nashville. Each has been stylish and comfortable but most importantly enjoyable for the guests. There are elements of whimsy, color, and panache and I know that Ellen takes great pains to ensure she understands the purpose of the event, the guests, the hosts, their likes and dislikes, and builds a certain energy that flows through the gathering. More to that point, when I first moved to Nashville and was invited to a gathering she had organized a friend said, ‘You never miss an Ellen Hollis party.’ Needless to say that first and every subsequent event has never disappointed in food, drink, service, professionalism or thoughtfulness.
In 2015, Ellen was kind enough to take on organizing and executing one of my most important events, a surprise 50th birthday party for my wife. She started the planning process with me 7 months early and then meticulously worked with me to get things defined, set up, enhanced and, finally executed to perfection. All of this was done with Ellen asking the questions and driving the plan so it was much easier to maintain secrecy. You can imagine the amount of effort given that it involved all of my wife’s sisters, our children and numerous friends at our own house, and yet Ellen made sure it was a surprise.
She asked the right questions at the right time to ensure nothing was rushed. We had the perfect caterer and choices, a bartender mixing a signature cocktail named for my wife, a beautiful tent set up in the backyard for overflow that even included approval from the HOA, thanks to Ellen, and the very thoughtful addition of a photographer to ensure no one had to miss the party because they were snapping pictures instead of enjoying. It is that level of attention to detail, meticulous planning, and genuine care that separate Ellen from everyone else.
Lauren Cochran, Bride
Cheekwood Frist Learning Center
Ellen provided my husband and me a flawless wedding reception at Cheekwood. The planning process with her was always personable and organized. She was always able to answer all of my many questions so I felt informed and confident that all would go smoothly in her hands. She has great relationships with all of the vendors we chose to work with. She delivered us a truly magical experience for our family, friends and us, as a couple. I would recommend her to anyone wishing for a beautiful, carefree and memorable special event!
Whitney Weaver, Bride
OZ Arts
Ellen is such a joy to work with. She planned our wedding and was key to helping us maintain sanity on our wedding day. She took charge of all of the planning while keeping us informed along the way. She really made an effort to get to know us and made our day so special. Everyone needs Ellen on their wedding day. I highly recommend!
Mary Brette Wylly, Bride
Union Station
Working with Ellen was the easiest and best decision we made during wedding planning. She was organized and efficient and always made everything manageable and enjoyable! She had great ideas and contacts with fabulous vendors….we could not have done it without her!
Sara Moggio, Emids Conferences and Events Manager
Corporate Events
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ellen Hollis both as a vendor and as a colleague.
Her upbeat, positive energy radiates when onsite which makes for a fun working environment that is also very well organized! She treats everyone with respect and has great relationships with her clients.
I would recommend Ellen hands down – for weddings, corporate and non-profit events – she can handle them all with grace and a smile!
Pam Wylly, Mother of the Groom
Rehearsal Dinner at Greenbrier Distillery
I am so very happy that my daughter in law chose Ellen Hollis to be her wedding planner! Ellen flawlessly executed the entire wedding weekend for us, from rehearsal dinner to reception.
Her relationships with local vendors and rental companies were priceless and her cheerful demeanor was comforting and endearing. A diligent and extraordinarily hard worker, Ellen dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”.
She was instrumental in helping to create a memorable experience not only for my daughter in law and son, but for both of their families and guests as well.
April Carpenter, Bride
Lilac Farms
Working with Ellen Hollis was the best decision I made while planning my wedding. From beginning to end Ellen had everything completely covered, thought of things I never would have known to plan for, and made my wedding day relaxing and stress free. She even completely redesigned our ceremony layout 24 hours before our wedding when the weather was less than cooperative, and it turned out to be better than what we had originally planned.
She is professional, prompt, and truly invested in her clients. Ellen knows everything there is to know about how to pull off a flawless event. She turned my scattered wedding visions into a beautiful reality, and I am so grateful for her guidance! I highly recommend working with her for any special event.
Tim Ozgener, OZ Arts Nashville President and CEO
Corporate Events
Ellen Hollis has worked many events at OZ Arts Nashville. Each has been exceptional. She is organized, detail oriented, has great opinions and amazing taste. Most importantly, she executes and makes things happen. She’s my go to person when it comes to events in Nashville.
Nani Gilkerson, Bride
The Cordelle
Ellen was absolutely fantastic. We wanted to be pretty involved in the wedding planning process early on, so we did a lot of the heavy lifting up front with Ellen available to consult with as needed, which was great. She helped us find vendors, reviewed contracts, and answered numerous questions along the way, giving us the confidence to take some risks and create the wedding we wanted. She was always positive, encouraging us and helping us find creative solutions.
When we were ready to hand over the reins a few weeks before the wedding, Ellen took over and dealt with all of the logistics leading up to the wedding day. On the wedding day, she was calm and professional, dealing with issues behind the scenes so we could just focus on enjoying the experience.
Everything went so smoothly we had to email her to ask if there were any issues that we didn’t know about! Numerous friends and family members commented on how great she was during the wedding. She is incredibly competent and we trusted her completely, which was such a gift given all of the stress that accompanies planning and hosting a wedding.
