truejoyweddings

Service levels: Full-service planning

Team size: 2

About truejoyweddings

truejoyweddings

Based in Chicago, IL, truejoyweddings is a distinguished wedding planning studio led by husband-and-wife team, Alicia and Deric. With a shared passion for celebrating love, they specialize in crafting JOY-filled weddings that are thoughtfully curated to reflect each couple’s unique story. Their personalized approach ensures that every detail is intentional, meaningful, and seamlessly executed. Whether you're seeking comprehensive planning or expert guidance along the way, truejoyweddings offers an elevated, heartfelt experience designed to bring your wedding vision to life with intentionality, grace, and joy.

Originally from Canada, Alicia moved to Chicago in 2020 after marrying the love of her life—now her partner in both marriage and business. With a background in chemistry, she brings a rare blend of precision and creativity to planning, refined through years in scientific labs. In 2021, Deric joined her in business, inspired by her passion for celebrating love stories. More than an extra set of hands, he brings a calm, attentive presence, ensuring everyone feels genuinely seen, heard, and cared for. Together, they are the heart of truejoyweddings—where thoughtful planning meets heartfelt service and every celebration is crafted with true joy.

In three words: Organized, Resourceful, Thoughtful

Services by planning level

Service included in starting price

Service available for an extra cost

	Full-service planning	Elopement / microwedding	Partial planning	Day-of coordination / wedding management
Planning begins	12 Months out	9 Months out	9 Months out	3 Months out
Event Styling & Design
Budget Planning
Venue Recommendations
Vendor Selection
Vendor Management
Contract Review
RSVP Tracking
Accommodation Coordination
Transportation Coordination
Venue Visits
Final Venue Walkthrough
Timeline Creation & Management
Onsite Event Management
Pricing	Starts at $5,000	Starts at $3,000	Starts at $3,800	Starts at $2,000

Reviews

Write a review

Rating: 5.0

5.0 out of 5

11 reviews

JF
Joshua F.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Oct 6
Best in the Business.
Deric and Alicia are the absolute best. Super professional, highly experienced, focused, organized, and above all, extremely caring. Not only did they provide world-class service when it came to planning our wedding, but they truly cared for us as a couple and constantly checked in on us, making sure we were feeling good. Day of, everything was handled perfectly. Literally no hiccups whatsoever. So many people told us it was one of the most well planned weddings they’ve ever been to. I strongly agree. Heavily, heavily recommend True Joy Weddings to anyone in the Chicagoland area. You won’t regret it.
SS
Sausan S.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Sep 15, 2026
Owner - Bakery
Working with True Joy Weddings was a fantastic experience from start to finish. They stayed on top of every detail and consistently followed up to ensure nothing fell through the cracks—which honestly made my job so much easier as a vendor. Their team was responsive to questions and kept everyone in the loop about timelines and expectations, which eliminated a lot of the back-and-forth confusion that can happen on wedding days. I appreciated how proactive they were in coordinating with me and the other vendors to make sure everything ran smoothly. If you're looking for planners who genuinely care about communication and execution, I'd definitely recommend them to couples planning their weddings.
A
Arjun
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Sep 8, 2026
Incredibly supporting and reassuring planners
Alicia and Deric were so kind, calm, encouraging and supportive to us, both as we planned our large South Asian wedding and on the day of when we had some mild anxiety about the timeline of events. They reassured us, checked in on us throughout the day, and implemented our vision with little to no hiccups. I am so glad we entrusted them with helping plan our wedding. Any future bride and groom or guest who attends a wedding Alicia and Deric plan will have an amazing experience.
AG
Aratrika G.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Sep 8, 2026
Excellent planners for South Asian wedding
From start to finish, Alicia and Deric made planning our 250 people South Asian wedding feel effortless. They stayed on top of every detail and responded quickly whenever we needed something, which gave us so much confidence leading up to the big day. On our wedding day, they kept everything running like clockwork, our ceremony and reception started and ended right on time (which is unbelievable for an Indian wedding). What really impressed us was how creative they were with designing things like our "About Us" table, and they went above and beyond what we even asked for. The team was calm and collected the entire time, and they worked together so well that it felt like they were one unit. We're so grateful for how they turned our vision into reality!
CA
Camilla A.
Rating: 5
•Zola
•Jul 24, 2026
Multi faceted and very organized
Alicia made the entire planning seamless. Definitely worth getting a wedding planner. She even caught on that we didn’t really vibe with the first photographer and brought up other options til we found the perfect one. She helped make our Mexican-Filipino wedding come true