OUR PHILOSOPHY
It should feel
as good as it looks.
A beautiful wedding is only part of the story.
We believe the best celebrations are the ones you can feel where the room is beautiful, the energy is effortless, the details feel personal and the people you love are fully in the moment.
That’s why we think beyond timelines and tablescapes. We consider how your guests arrive, how the room flows, what catches their attention, what draws them in and what they’ll still be talking about long after the last song.
After 500+ weddings, we’ve learned that the moments people remember most aren’t always the ones you can plan for.
Our job is to create the space for them to happen.
THE CITYGIRL APPROACH
A collaborative approach, all under one roof.
Planning, design and floral shouldn’t happen in separate silos. At Citygirl, our team works together from the beginning sharing one vision, one creative direction and one understanding of what matters most to you.
The result? A wedding that feels cohesive from the timeline to the tablescape, with fewer handoffs, fewer moving pieces and one experienced team looking at the whole picture.
Meet the Team
Our team works as one creative collective, bringing planning, design and floral together from the very beginning.
With every detail considered through the same lens, we create a cohesive vision that carries from the first idea to the final guest experience: beautifully designed, thoughtfully planned and entirely personal to you.
Sharokina Pazand
Sharokina brings her signature energy, creativity, knack for connecting and heart to everything she does. Sharokina Pazand is a visionary event producer and business strategist who believes the best experiences engage all the senses. She has a passion for fostering genuine connections that leave a lasting impact. She left the corporate world at the bright age of 24 to launch Citygirl Events, a premier event planning and experiential design company based in Chicago.
While she is passionate about creating memorable moments for others, her favorite moments are the ones she shares with her family. Sharokina has been married to her husband for 17 years and together, they are raising (loving) their 4 year old daughter and newborn son who keeps her on her toes and reminds Sharokina daily why life's small moments matter just as much as the big moments.
Founder & Experience Director | Citygirl Events
Lauren Cornille
Lauren, founder of elleAndrée Floral and Citygirl’s floral and design partner, has spent more than three decades transforming spaces through flowers. With a background in horticulture and floral design, her work has included celebrations for U.S. presidents, Oprah, Jay Leno, and Ralph Lauren. She believes flowers are more than décor—they bring beauty, energy, and emotion to a space, creating something guests can truly feel.
Lauren and Sharokina first collaborated nearly 20 years ago, when they were both just beginning their careers. They’ve grown alongside one another ever since, building their brands and evolving together into the luxury events space.
Floral & Design Director | elleAndrée Floral
A creative professional with a passion for bringing people together through meaningful, memorable experiences, she brings more than 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and over six years in event planning, marketing, and design. She thrives at the intersection of strategy and creativity, where thoughtful logistics meet inspired design.
Whether curating a community initiative or designing a luxury celebration, she is drawn to the details that make people feel seen, connected, and inspired. With a B.A. in Communication from Augustana College, her strengths lie in building relationships, telling stories, and creating moments that matter.
Outside of events, you’ll likely find her with her dog Granger, golfing with her fiancé, or at a Pilates class. She believes in good energy, good design, and that every day is worth celebrating.
Senior Event Planner | Citygirl EventsAlexis Hutson
Grace Mager
Stationery Creative Director | Gigi Mager StudioGrace, founder of Gigi Mager Studio and Citygirl’s Stationery Creative Director, believes the smallest details can make the biggest impression. Known for her thoughtful, highly personalized approach, Grace creates custom stationery and event details that feel like a natural extension of each celebration, from the first piece guests receive to the finishing touches they experience on event day.
With an artist’s eye and an instinct for translating a vision into something tangible, Grace brings personality, beauty, and intention to every piece she creates. Her work with Citygirl ensures the story of an event carries seamlessly from the overall design to the details guests hold in their hands.
Alyssa Gail Martin, founder of Frequency Social Media and Citygirl’s Social Media Creative Director, has a talent for finding the story behind the moment and turning it into content people actually want to watch. After building her own audience and going viral on TikTok, she founded Frequency to help brands grow through organic content, storytelling, and genuine connection.
At Citygirl, Alyssa brings that instinct behind the scenes, capturing the energy, personality, and details of our events in real time. Because the best content doesn’t just show what happened. It makes you wish you were there.
Social Media Creative Director | Frequency Social MediaAlyssa Gail Martin
Yazmine brings a performer’s eye for timing, detail, and experience to the Citygirl team. With a background in music and performance at Loyola University Chicago, she understands how the smallest details come together to create something people genuinely feel. That same instinct translates naturally to events, anticipating what’s needed, staying composed behind the scenes, and helping every moment unfold beautifully.
As an Event Associate at Citygirl, Yazmine brings warmth, creativity, and a calm presence to each celebration, with an appreciation for the kind of thoughtful details that turn an event into an experience.
Event Producer | Citygirl EventsYazmine Valencia
Suzi Mijailovic
A longtime friend and collaborator of Citygirl, Suzi is the owner of Chicago bridal boutique Weddings 826. From styled shoots and industry events to helping our brides find the look, Suzi and Citygirl have worked alongside one another for years, making her a natural extension of the Citygirl experience.
Bridal Fashion Partner | Weddings 826