Ana, one of Ariel's associates, officiated our wedding because Ariel was unavailable…read more Ana was sweet, kind, and wonderful with words. She video conferenced with my then fiancé and I and we all hit it off. We are so pleased with Ana and we are thankful Ariel works with such generously nice people. Ana was able to meet with my husband and me at our cake tasting just to talk and go over what the day would look like and again we talk and she listened to what we wanted, aka a non-lengthy wedding ceremony since I'm a crier, and gosh-darn-it she made it the short and sweet. The price was also great for a non-customized ceremony, $200. $100 was given at time of reservation and the other half after the ceremony. Thanks again Ana!!

Ariel did such a wonderful job as our wedding officiant! She was so easy to work with and really…read moretook the time to learn about my fiance and myself. The ceremony she wrote for us was romantic, sweet, and very personal. She has a great presence and was very clear and easy to understand. Even my grandmother, who has to wear hearing aids, said that she could completely understand the ceremony and thought it was beautifully written. Ariel is also multi-lingual and speaks Spanish fluently which is a huge plus. Many of our guests commented to us afterwards that she was the best wedding officiant they had ever seen and that our ceremony was one of the most touching. She was amazing!

Where to even start-I started the wedding planning process without a coordinator, but quickly…read morerealized how helpful it would be to have someone who actually knows what they are doing behind the scenes. After much research (I mean A LOT), I came across Simply Special Events, and met with Julie shortly after. She instantly won me over; she was not only fun to be with, she was organized, gave her input when I needed it, and was overall so obviously passionate about what she does. She helped me along during the last few months leading up to our wedding with countless little tasks and meetings, and truly became such a support system for me! The wedding day went off without a hitch! It was pretty incredible, considering there were so many moving parts at my venue, along with all the details. She took care of making the place look GORGEOUS, as well as coordinating our wedding ceremony (I swear there most have been two of her)! During the reception, she went above and beyond to make sure everything was running smoothly with all of the vendors, and took care of any little glitches along the way without us knowing it! Do yourself a favor and hire Julie! She is hands-down the most wonderful coordinator out there and is very competitively priced. I miss her already!!

Simply put, Julie kicks ass! Honestly we weren't even sure we needed a "day of" wedding…read morecoordinator, but now I don't know what we would have done without her. Leading up to the wedding she was on top of all of the details, and helped us coordinate with the venue on even the smallest things, but she really shined on the day of the wedding. On the day of, she was there anytime we needed anything, and she kept everyone else on top of their game, keeping very cool under a high pressure situation. On top of being a great multitasker, she is easy and nice to talk to, never lost her cool, and always was two steps ahead of me. Thanks so much Julie!

We chose Sharon because she was different from the rest of officiants you typically hear about or…read morehave seen at previous weddings. For anyone who thinks that the officiant is simply someone who reads a bunch of words, marries you and doesn't think this is an important part of the wedding... you should really re-think that, it is much more. Sharon took the time to get to know how we met, who we are and dug deep into our lives. She makes you think deeper about your partner, family & friends, why you're tying the knot and what you really want from it all. She really helped set the vibe/feeling and flow for the wedding as well being the officiant. Just remember, during the ceremony all eyes are on you and the words being spoken by the officiant and its a significant moment... When Sharon sent us our first draft of the ceremony, it was already perfect and we didn't need to make changes. Also, Sharon's overall personality/vibe is really comforting, happy and she is very on top of things throughout the whole process. Again, don't let the idea of an "officiant" or costs change your mind as everything you know is the old way of doing things. Sharon/Inner Light Ceremonies is the new benchmark and standard of officiating.

For our marriage ceremony, my fiancé and I wanted a secular ceremony that reflected the values we…read morehad brought to our relationship. Our wedding planner (Chanda Daniels) put us in touch with several bay area professional officiants, but it was clear that Sharon was the right fit for what we were looking for. Sharon Lacay is a charming, compassionate, and graceful person who will work with you to construct and lead an intimate ceremony for you and your partner. She has a calm demeanor and always has a smile on her face. Starting close to 9 months in advance of our wedding, Sharon met with my fiancé and I to learn about our values and what we wanted to share with our family and friends. In just a few hours of conversation she synthesized our core beliefs and sacred truths, putting together a draft for our ceremony that captured all of the things we were looking for. In fact, while reading the first draft I was overcome with so much love and emotion that I started to tear up. We had only minor edits afterwards, and Sharon helpfully checked in with us as we neared the date to make sure the ceremony still felt true. Sharon also has a great eye for detail. During our rehearsal she pointed out different ways we could approach the altar in the Redwood Grove (Berkeley Botanical Gardens, Berkeley, CA) and how we would pass the microphone among the wedding party for their readings. All of our guests remarked on how unique, beautiful, and personal our ceremony was, from readings to the tree planting ceremony, ideas which Sharon brought to the table. In sum, if you are looking for a joyful and secular officiant who can help you create a ceremony that reflects your relationship, look no further than Sharon. We are so proud of how she helped make our wedding day a joyful and special occasion for us and our families.

We hired Shana as a day of event coordinator and she was perfect! We brought her on a few months…read morebefore our big day and she hit the ground running. She was organized, had great ideas, put out fires, and listened to us! When our wedding day came she really made sure we were present and not worrying about how things are going! Would highly recommend!

We want to thank Shana for her day-of coordinating services for our wedding reception! My husband…read moreand I realized we needed a day-of coordinator as it got closer to our special day and we found Shana. From our first phone contact to the end of our reception and everything in between, Shana was great to work with. She's experienced, professional, and very easy to talk to! I appreciate her taking the time to travel out of town to visit our venue with us and go over our plan. Having planned my own wedding, Shana stepped in to ask about things that I hadn't thought of and I'm so thankful! She guided us by preparing and organizing our thoughts beforehand which was extremely helpful in giving us a better idea of what our special day would look like. On the day of the wedding, Shana was there to execute the plan and to have everything go smoothly. I even had family members tell me that they liked how she had the answers to everything! Shana, thank you so much for all that you've done. We were so happy to have you be a part of our day!

Mel and her team (Shea and Nicole) were amazing!! I booked Mel for Day-Of Coordination services,…read morebut she definitely went above and beyond, starting with planning and coordination even months before the wedding! Mel came highly recommended by my videographers (Stillwater Wedding Films). We had multiple planning phone calls starting months before my actual wedding day (which was awesome / I don't think other "Day-Of" coordinators do!) We had a huge 240 guest count Filipino wedding. My cousins were my wedding planners, but needed a lot of help with day-of coordination and execution. Our timeline that Mel came up with and helped execute gave us time to enjoy our wedding, while still having everything we wanted at our wedding (e.g. photos with family and friends, speeches, the infamous Filipino money dance, mother/son and father/daughter dances, sunset photos, an outfit change, cake cutting, late night snacks, and more!) Mel and her team were professional, caring, and supportive, assisting with any needs! Mel and her team's enthusiasm to help did not go unnoticed, and my family enjoyed working with them! I also heard of some hiccups that Mel & her team solved right away/my husband and I never knew about, until after the wedding (which is what you want on your wedding day!) Mel and her team worked well with my family and all of my vendors, to help my wedding dreams come true! Thank you Mel and EventsByMC!!

Melanie was amazing from start to finish! She truly went above and beyond -- even helping me find a…read moredecorator after my original one ghosted me. From that moment on, she made the entire process feel easy and stress-free. She really took the time to understand my vision for the reception and turned it into a seamless plan. You can tell she's incredibly experienced -- she offered helpful input and suggestions that made everything flow perfectly, yet still made sure I felt in control of every decision. The day of the wedding, she was professional, calm, and super easy to reach. With her and her two assistants handling everything, the day went so smoothly that we actually had time to enjoy ourselves and dance the night away. Mel constantly checked in to make sure we were taken care of and handled any issues quietly behind the scenes -- I honestly thought everything went flawlessly! They say there's no such thing as a perfect wedding day, but Mel made ours feel pretty close. If you're looking for someone who's reliable, organized, and genuinely cares about her clients -- don't wait, book her now!

Here to echo everyone else's praise! Rebecca was the best decision my husband and I made about our…read morewedding. Once we realized planning a wedding is not as easy as it seems, we reached out to Rebecca after running into her while planning someone else's wedding at our venue. Although it was luck that we found her, we would hire her again in a heartbeat. Rebecca is extremely organized, extremely creative, and a really, really, really nice person to be around. Both the planning and day of our wedding were such a joy, and we have Rebecca to thank for that. Our wedding had a lot of moving parts, and Rebecca worked equally well with nervous parents on logistics, with me on design details, and coordinating with vendors. (Our photographer and officiant hadn't worked with her before, and both separately commented that she was exceptionally organized and professional). Rebecca even managed to kindly wrangle all 17 members (seriously) of our "boisterous" bridal party. If you're wavering on hiring a planner, just do it. It doesn't mean the wedding won't be 100% your vision, but it does mean you won't be bogged down in the stress of vendor contracts and timetables, and can focus on the good stuff. THANK YOU REBECCA!

If we could give Rebecca 10 stars we would! Rebecca is truly incredible! From the moment we met…read moreher in our first planning meeting, we instantly clicked and knew she was the perfect planner to take our vision and execute it perfectly. We had some general ideas and a vision for our wedding day and she immediately "got it" and offered her creative ideas right away. We only had 5 months to plan an extravagant wedding with many little details and it turned out INCREDIBLE! The vendors that Rebecca suggested to us were all amazing and everyone worked so well together. All of our guests said it was the best wedding they ever attended. It truly was beyond our dreams! My wife and I feel so grateful that we found Rebecca and hope that we continue to stay in touch! If you are looking for a planner, look no further. You won't be disappointed with Rebecca and Be Hitched!!!

Kristen is an absolute ROCKSTAR! Over the course of planning our wedding (which took the better…read morepart of 3 years thanks to Covid) she has become more than just a wedding planner to me, but someone I truly call a friend. She is the sweetest and most caring person and I found myself being able to talk to her about things beyond wedding details. Not to mention, she is absolutely spectacular at what she does. We hired Kristen for Design Planning and Month/Day-of-Coordination for our wedding at Solage in Calistoga. We wanted someone who was not only familiar with our venue but easygoing and fun to work with. Kristen was perfect! She worked with me on design (tablescape, floral, etc.) and helped make our vision come true while always being mindful of what we were comfortable with. When Covid struck, Kristen was a godsend and was there for us with support and guidance. She navigated us through two postponements and each time handled all of the logistics and worked with our entire vendor team to secure new dates and negotiate amended contracts. We didn't have to lift a single finger during that stressful period besides signing paperwork as Kristen did everything for us to ensure a smooth postponement process. As a planner, Kristen has a special way of making you feel like you are her only and most special client. She is incredibly responsive with emails and every interaction I had with her was just so thoughtful. She never once made me feel silly for reaching out even with the smallest of questions. She is creative, detail-oriented and thoughtful. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, she helped me stay organized and executed changes effortlessly. When I was stressed dealing with last minute transportation logistics, she took it upon herself to take over the task and thanks to her many contacts in Napa Valley was able to secure the right post-wedding transportation for our guests. Ironically, when I was first researching Day-of-Coordinators, I recall reading a review from one of Kristen's brides that mentioned Kristen was amazing during times of crisis and helped her wedding go smoothly despite raging wildfires that day. I remember thinking to myself if, god forbid, our wedding was threatened by NorCal wildfires (which at the time was the most realistic scary thing that could happen), I would definitely want a planner capable of handling a nightmare scenario. Low and behold, Kristen didn't just "handle" our pandemic wedding planning, she crushed it. Our June 2022 Solage wedding turned out absolutely beautiful! The day flowed seemlessly and Kristen and her assistant Sonja were so organized and helpful, I never had to lift a finger. Most importantly, both were just all-around delightful to work with. I remember Sonja helping me stay calm right before I walked down the aisle because I was starting to feel so overwhelmed with joy I nearly bursted into tears. When my husband's shoes were starting to give him trouble, Kristen literally helped bandage him up! We've also had so many family members and other vendors tell us just how wonderful Kristen was to work with that day. I am almost saddened to write this review because not only does it mean my wedding is over, but also because my time working with Kristen has come to an end. If you don't read any of what I wrote above, just read this - hiring Kristen was by far the best decision we made for our wedding. From day 1 we were in good hands and while they say no one cares more about your wedding than you do, that cannot be said about Kristen. She cares as much about your special day as you do.

I must admit, I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this review so late! We hired Kristen for our…read more2019 wedding at Viansa Sonoma Winery. Based on our needs, we went with a day/month-of planning package with event design. While we were only contracted for 3 scheduled meetings together, working with Kristen meant having a trusted professional to bounce ideas off of over email or phone, with basically any and all questions about vendors, timing, rehearsal dinner ideas, etc etc. After having attended a few weddings after our own and seeing some of the behind-the-scenes, what we feel makes Kristen a fantastic wedding coordinator/planner for us was that she not only has a good eye for design and incorporating a couple's individual style into a wedding vision, but she is also incredibly organized, responsive, detail-oriented, trustworthy, thoughtful, and personable - everything that you want in someone who will be working with you to plan one of the most important days of your life! Before planning our wedding, I would have definitely considered myself a bit of a neurotic perfectionist; probably not a wedding planner's first choice of a bride/groom/couple! Despite this, Kristen never once made us feel silly or self-conscious about all the questions we had, and she was remarkably patient when we were indecisive or when we couldn't quite nail down the direction we wanted to go in. She was practical and gave great suggestions on which design details to commit to and leave behind if we felt like we were straying too far from our initial budget, and ultimately, we reached a design that we still swoon about. Prior to the wedding, she got in contact with each and every vendor and created detailed plans/timelines/layouts for our wedding day and venue to make sure everyone could be on the same page. Having all the details/specifics on paper and transparently communicated with us and our vendors put us at complete ease! What really made me come back and write a review over 2 years after our wedding (I am still kicking myself for somehow forgetting to do so right away!), is all the details and stories that have surfaced from friends and family to this day about everything Kristen and the Sugar Rush team were doing behind the scenes. The rehearsal was conducted so smoothly - there was no question about who needed to go where and when, and they left no stone left unturned. Details like - which way should we stand for the best light at the time of our ceremony, giving the bridesmaids and groomsmen visual markers in the ceremony space so they would know where to walk and where to stand, touching base with each speaker and confirming whether they wanted a mic or a lapel, when they would get tapped to mic-up on the day of the wedding and who they should look for if they have questions, where the wedding party could leave their belongings during the ceremony and throughout the night - the list goes on and on! Things you wouldn't even think to consider, Kristen and her team already had covered. I learned Kristen and the Sugar Rush team (Sonja and Madison) were always available to grab and hold onto sunglasses and personal items for our Moms and wedding party and always made sure personal belongings made it back to the right person. When my husband accidentally spilled red gatorade on his white dress shirt, Kristen was there with a Shout wipe to save the day. There were a few super minor hiccups (I think one table had one fewer chair, and champagne glasses weren't set at each table setting since the caterer thought these would be passed), but Kristen and her team quickly remedied the situation and I never even heard about it until months later! We got more wind than we were expecting on our wedding day, and Kristen quickly pivoted some of our design elements to ensure things wouldn't be blowing over during the ceremony and cocktail hour. She just had great instincts and judgment and was so on top of everything! It was like the Sugar Rush team was simultaneously so present, but so invisible throughout the night. I am so thankful to Kristen and her team for their services, both leading up to our wedding, and on the day of. For any couple on the fence about hiring a wedding coordinator/planner - DO IT! I would choose Kristen and Sugar Rush Events again without a question!

I cannot say enough good things about Janelle & the Visionary team. I don't think I could've gotten…read morethrough this wedding without them. Janelle was supposed to be purely my day of coordinator but she went above and beyond to support all the pivots of the pandemic. She was amazing with corralling my vendors and myself (since I was starting a new job and honestly did not do everything I needed to). Once the COVID shutdown happened, she quickly pivoted with me to plan a backyard wedding ceremony in less than a month. And boy did she pull it off! With her on your wedding day, there is not a single thing to worry about. She will bring your visions to life AND THEN SOME. She worked with me on my backyard wedding ceremony in August 2020 and grand wedding reception at the Academy of Sciences in August 2021 taking every curveball the pandemic has thrown our way without batting a lash. She even brought my leftover liquor and items back to our hotel so we could continue the party all while being barely 3 months postpartum! I can tell you that Janelle will be my go to for every major event from now on. You will kick yourself for not hiring her for your events.

Where do I start? Welp, 5 stars is for sure NOT enough for this review!!…read more x100000000 I first reached out to Janelle - Visionary Events and Designs back in Oct 2017 while planning our civil wedding ceremony/celebration. My fiancé (at that time) and I weren't ready for a MEX-FIL grand wedding but still wanted to have a small gathering to celebrate our union. We met that Nov at starbucks Sunvalley Mall, and I knew right away that she was the perfect person for us. Me and Omar did get married on May 2018 thru the courthouse and fast forward to early March of 2019, we decided to actually plan for our big wedding which was set on June 6, 2020. Throughout the planning process, we met Danny (Janelle's husband and also part of Visionary Events and Designs team) they are both super talented and supeeeer nice and we just all get along very well, which made this whole wedding journey soooo much better! From creating our vision boards to our meetings which I alwayssss look forward to, Janelle & Danny made sure me and Omar (the groom-zilla) compromise in every decision we make. They are very neutral, explained pros and cons of every lil detail, mind you, there are details that we won't even probably think of until it was all laid down to us. The amount of details from planning a wedding is unbelievable. Which is why we appreciate them a loooot, like A LOT. Unfortunately, COVID hit and we had to postpone our wedding...... not only once but 3X!!! TBH, I seriously do not know what I'd do without Janelle during this time. The mixed of emotions from postponing to the stress of how things are uncertain. She took care of contacting each vendors and moving dates, made sure everything lined up. We did lost some vendors and she did looked for replacements right away, we trusted her 100000%. Our patience was tested and we are just super lucky we have Janelle to put things into the right place!!! Literally the amount of work she puts in behind every event are underestimated unless you actually experience first hand and see all the effort she does! Visionary Events and Designs stood by us from start to finish! ooof! (thankful, grateful, blessed 1000%) Fast forward to Oct 2, 2021, with sooo much anticipation and years in the making LOL, our dream wedding finally came true! All the hardwork and patience was definitely worth the wait!!!! I saw the venue layout through a pdf document, and bam! when I saw it in person I was speechless! It took me some time actually process everything as it just feels soooo surreal! Danny and Janelle made sure we had the most perfect and epic wedding PERIOD! I know there were challenges during the day of, but we honestly have no idea of anything. Which clearly explains that they solved whatever it was/it may be without taking us away from our special moment. I know we wouldn't be able to do it by ourselves, and we truly appreciate eeverrrrrrrryyything Visionary Events and Designs did to make it all possible! They are indeed THE DREAM TEAM. and we're lucky to call them OUR DREAM TEAM. Danny and Janelle isn't just our wedding planners, throughout the wedding planning journey, they've become family. We witnessed their amazing wedding in 2017 (thru social media LOL -we barely met) to actually celebrating their own milestone (Janelle's Baby Shower) and welcoming Baby Colton! We are soo blessed to be a part of their own journey as much as they've become part of ours as well. And we truly value their presence in our lives! We couldn't thank them enough as there's no words that can equal the amount of gratitude we feel for the both of them and Visionary Events and Designs. No 5 stars will be enough to rate everything that they have to offer! PERIOOODT. Highly recommend 10000/10000 to hire them as your next event planner/coordinator!!! Lastly, to Janelle and Danny, Visionary Events and Designs, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! We will forever cherish our friendship! The Romeros