We are incredibly grateful to Armando for his patience, understanding, and unwavering support throughout our wedding planning journey. There were moments leading up to the wedding when we were navigating major life changes and found ourselves unresponsive at times, yet he remained receptive, compassionate, and genuinely empathetic every step of the way. Armando is truly an artist in his craft. He has an extraordinary ability to take a couple's vision, understand the heart behind it, and transform that dream into reality. His creativity, organization, and attention to detail are unmatched. On the day of our wedding, everything exceeded what we had imagined--it was absolutely perfect. We cannot say enough about Armando; we truly could not have done this without him. He was our anchor and our guide throughout the entire process. Having him lead us and be such an integral part of our special day was an incredible experience. We wholeheartedly recommend Armando to any couple seeking a planner who is talented, dedicated, and deeply invested in making their wedding unforgettable. You will not regret it. read more

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Spectacular! I really think that Shauna, Alegria by Design, should be in the dictionary definition of that word. The wedding that she did at the Sunstone Villa was amazing from start to finish. Shauna planned a three day wedding celebration at the Santa Ynez winery. The flowers/decor, activities, flow of events, staff, security, bridal party preparation and coordination, photographers, catering... wow, wow, wow. She is so professional, so kind, so fun. She truly top of the top when it comes to planning of events. We highly recommend! read more

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Armando was such a fantastic planner! From the very beginning he was organized, responsive and professional and that never changed. Together, we created a vision that came to life and was simply jaw dropping on the actual wedding day. His calm demeanor throughout the entirety of the planning process and on the wedding day was so greatly appreciated! I would recommend Armando to anybody getting married. Such a great experience!!! read more

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We--(Spencer and Elaine) want to extend our warmest heartfelt gratitude to Armando. We experienced his exceptional professionalism in planning and coordinating our event; his wonderful sense of humor; kindness and patience and we felt enveloped by his support, love and understanding of all of our uncertainties, fears; and hopes that are apart of the wedding experience. Our hands are on our hearts in appreciation for all that you did for our special day. You were integral to the success of our wedding! Thank you Armando. Love and light. Spencer and Elaine read more

I met with the Alegria team at our venue and didn't even want to meet any other coordinators after that. Armando was a pleasure to work with and was fun to interact with, as he has a lot of personality. We hired Alegria By Design for event design and month of/day of coordination. This was a tremendous help to us since we live in San Francisco. With Armando's experience, eye for design, and solid vendor relationships, we had a wedding that was like a dream. He is very thorough and is also straight forward with you in providing advice. All the details and timeline were communicated prior to the big day. I must admit that I wasn't even nervous on the day-of because I knew we were in good hands. I have had several guests comment saying that the flow of the wedding was seamless, and I completely agree. Armando was very professional and I highly recommend him. read more

Shauna is amazing ! Got married at the canary hotel in the middle of October and literally had the most perfect Night. Shauna was referred to us by the hotel and we actually met with 3 other planners but connected the best with her. My bridesmaids and I loved her so much they want her for their weddings ! She really made the night flow so smoothly I have not one complaint. She always answered her phone and every text and always seemed to put me first no matter what was going on her life at the moment. She's super patient which is nice because I'm not the easiest person to deal with. She's extremely knowledgable - She had ideas and answers to everything throughout the planning process up to the actual day. YES! I would recommended her to anyone who's getting married in Santa Barbara - She can handle it all ! read more

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Shauna was phenomenal! She helped us plan a beautiful elopement in Santa Barbara in less than two weeks! She helped us secure the lower lawn at the Ritz Carlton, Bacara with a dinner at Angel Oak restaurant to follow. She helped us find an amazing ceremony musician, Conner Cherland, and fabulous hair and makeup artist. She planned our timeline, walked the event space, and coordinated set up and timeline with all our vendors. She was there with us the day of to ensure everything went off without a hitch, which it definitely did. We can't thank Shauna enough for all she did to make our wedding memorable and beautiful! read more

Alegria By Design exceeded our expectations. From our first meeting, to the planning stage and the wedding celebration. From the first phone call with Armando my daughter and I knew that we would enjoy our experience. We purchased a full service planning. At our first meeting at The Belmond El Encanto, Santa Barbra he presented his design ideas that were exactly the wedding my daughter had always dreamed to have. He then suggested some Vendors that could fulfill his vision. He helped with the contracts for vendors and updated the budget as we finalized our expenses. He made the process understandable and as easy as possible when there are many details that need to be considered and handled. When the wedding weekend came we felt completely ready and prepared to enjoy this special celebration. Armando had a time line for our day which helped us know what to expect. He orchestrated all the necessary installations with the vendors so his design ideas would come to be. I did not have to worry about one detail. I was able to enjoy getting ready with my daughter and be completely present for every minute of the day. Armando has a perfect temperament for his role and position as a wedding planner. The wedding, cocktail hour and reception was a fairytale dream come true for my daughter and her fiancé. We were able to enjoy our friends and dance the night away. My husband and I walked away from the events of the weekend completely satisfied and we know are enjoying the afterglow of a truly wonderful event. Armando and his team exceeded our expectations. Thank you Armando! We have been blessed to have meet you and will always have fond memories of you as we remember this significant celebration for our family. read more

Alegria By Design - Wedding Planning Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Shauna is incredible! If you're getting married in Santa Barbara and are looking for a planner - look no further. From the very start, Shauna took the time to get to know us as a couple and to understand our vision for our small Santa Barbara wedding. Her vendor connections were all so great and super easy to work with and her aesthetic is phenomenal. We are so happy to have had Shauna and her assistant Heather help us day-of. It was a beautiful event! read more

Shauna was our month-of planner for our wedding at Firestone Vineyard a week ago. She was the best money we spent on our wedding -- hands down. Our venue required us to book a planner, and I'm so grateful they did; it made ALL the difference. Shauna identified little details and gaps that we would never have thought of -- things like who was responsible for getting the ice for white wine and beer, and making sure we had umbrellas ordered for ceremony musicians. She was quick to hop on calls when needed, and incredibly responsive with my millions of questions leading up to the wedding. She was incredibly helpful in recommending vendors that matched our style and budget in the lead-up to our wedding month, had an extremely detailed day-of timeline to us before our month even kicked off, and was a complete godsend day-of. I didn't have to lift a finger on my wedding day thanks to Shauna and her assistant Giani handling all of the logistics -- from making sure our vendors knew where to be and when, to ensuring setup looked like it should, to keeping our emcee on track and getting our marriage license filled out correctly. She even made time to hop on a call with a vendor after the wedding to discuss some hiccups we had. I had people coming up to me throughout the wedding saying Shauna was amazing. My biggest piece of wedding planning advice is to get a planner -- and if you're in the SB area, GET SHAUNA! read more

I had a great experience working with Shauna this past weekend. She has great vision, communication skills, and very talented. She was so nice to work with. She made the couple's wedding perfect. Her attention to detail is one more reason why I would recommend her to any future couples. read more

Armando is an artist and incredible leader needed to create your perfect day. He worked through every detail, gave wonderful recommendations, and created a wedding that exceeded my hopes! He was always available and has the connections needed to get "the best"! The day of the wedding he was a maestro that ensured everything was five star. I am so happy we worked with him, best decision in our wedding planning and execution was to work with Armando. I would highly recommend!!! read more

Our wedding was over a month ago, and we are still in awe by Armando's work. He exceeded our wildest dreams. He handled everything on the day of the event, so we could focus on spending time with our guests. In the months leading up to the event, he was also very responsive to our emails and always provided great guidance. Third, he has great personal relationships with vendors in the industry, and he was able to steer us to the best ones given our price point. (This would've been very difficult to do on our own.) Lastly, he is a very friendly person and easy to work with. We cannot recommend him enough. read more

Armando is the best of the best. We wanted an intimate, elegant wedding that would be beautiful without feeling over the top. Armando delivered on every level -- bringing our attention to the details that count while honoring our wishes to keep things stress-free and streamlined. Not only does he know how to get the job done with precision and efficiency, but he has a keen creative eye. He knows how to bring your vision to life... but better! You can trust Alegria by Design with your special day, and I am so glad we did. read more

Armando was magic! We recently got married 08/29 at Bacara Resort and Armando (along with Shauna) were an integral part of our dream wedding! Armando was a pleasure to work with along the whole process and offered so much advice that was truly KEY in executing our vision. Armando worked well with us and was a true professional. He is very well known in Santa Barbara and it was always reassuring to hear that he was great to work with! His recommendations and sage advice kept us in line and on target with what we wanted. We were very particular about A LOT of aspects of the wedding and he really was amazing at negotiating and compromising with our goals in mind. Shauna and Armando really were very organized and on-point come wedding day! We couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thanks! Plus, Armando can get down on the dance floor! ;) read more

Armando was so wonderful to work with. He personally knows so many vendors in the area. This made it so much easier for us to plan our wedding, as we live across the country. Armando worked diligently to plan our wedding and did everything he could to make it happen. Our venue cancelled on us 40 days before our date and he replanned the whole thing in less than 24 hours! It turned out to be even better than our original plan and was truly a fairy tale wedding. He cares about his clients and creates nothing short of perfection. read more

Armando and his team were just so helpful in helping us pull off our beautiful wedding. Neither of us are particularly knowledgeable about a lot of wedding details, and are not the flashiest of people, and he was able to quickly pick up on this and adjust his recommendations for vendors, colors, designs, etc. He had a great rapport with what seemed like every possible venue and vendor in Santa Barbara. Seriously, he must be the most social guy to know so many people there. He helped plan the overall timeline and execution of the wedding, and everything fell in to place so well! The day of the wedding itself I was expecting to be stressed out and running in a bunch of different directions, but it was just a really fun experience and he made sure we were able to enjoy ourselves while he handled all the details. On the day of the wedding every time I approached him with a question or concern he was extremely quick to calm us down and remove any stress, and managed to get involved without any issues whatsoever. He was very pleasant and fun to work with, and I would absolutely recommend him to anyone else looking for a wedding planner to remove any of the stress or questions that go along with weddings. read more

Armando made our wedding so so special at Sunstone Winery!! We loved him and he was soo professional and nice and handled each member of the bridal party as well as the staff and crew with such professionalism. He recommended all of our outside vendors and each one was spot on! We HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Armando and his team! read more

Thanks Shauna for being an awesome event coordinator! YOU did an amazing job creating a dream wedding for Miki & Wes and made my job as a photographer so seamless! You directed the lovely couple to kiss after walking down the aisle post ceremony to capture that must have photo, thank you! They were SO stoked when they walked through their reception area, I think they pinched themselves bc they couldn't believe how amazing it all looked! Hope to work together again soon! read more

When I originally did outreach to different planners in the SB/Santa Ynez area, one of the first people I reached out to was Alegria. Shauna got back to me almost instantaneously. I had a handful of planners who got back to me. And somehow I missed what Shauna had said in her email. Long story short, I interviewed 4 other planners and then ended up talking to Shauna, which was great because we could NOT make up our minds until we spoke with her. She was confident, easy-going and her specialty was attention to detail. We totally connected on many levels in terms of taste, style and what worked for me and my hubs. We did the "month of" planning and that included her giving us vendors to follow up with and providing some of that legwork. We pretty much hired everyone she recommended and were not disappointed at all. We were thrilled with her work "month of" and the "day of" as well. She took over and we left it all to her. Everything worked out wonderfully and easily. If you want to have an easy time (or as easy a time as wedding planning is in reality) then you will want to look up Shauna. She was just great!!! read more

I always thought planning our wedding would be very stressful, had it not been for Shauna that would've been the case. Shauna was there from the beginning to the end. I had a budget and she made sure that the most important things for us we're covered. However, you would never had known that we were on a budget because Shauna made sure everything was arranged beautifully. She crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's. Our wedding day ran so smoothly, there was not one hiccup. We never felt any stress at all because Shauna made everything seem so easy. I loved her so much I wanted her to party with us at the wedding. My only suggestion for people when they get engaged is hire Shauna and you'll have the best engagement and wedding possible. read more

We needed a month of and day of coordinator for our wedding and Shauna definitely was the BEST! She was communicative from the beginning, guiding us on what vendors we needed and helping us look over vendor contracts. She helped create site maps and a thorough timeline that really helped keep the wedding organized. Shauna has so much wedding planning experience and she gives great advice on what you will and will not need depending on the venue. On wedding day, she was our absolute savior! We had so many moving parts but the wedding went without a hiccup. I would definitely recommend Alegria and Shauna! read more

Armando was great as a wedding coordinator for our wedding. In a very short time he was able to organize the event and made a stress free experience for my husband and I. He always takes care of every detail and sincerely takes into account your vision for your event I highly recommend Armando to make any event a very memorable one! Mayra R. read more

Our wedding last night was perfect in large part to Shauna!!! She was great, paid attention to all the details, kept the flow of the whole day going so smooth!! So amazing dealing with me and all my emails and all of the props and decorations I had. I was so relaxed and was able to just enjoy my day with no worries!!! read more

We received an outstanding service from Algeria By Design. We opted for the month of package. Shauna's knowledge and know how really allowed us to relax in the final lead up to the wedding. She coordinated with all our vendors and the hotel seamlessly and we were very happy with her attention to detail and hands on help every step of the way. Thanks Shauna - you were fantastic! read more

Hiring Shauna was the best decision that we made in our wedding planning process. She helped us find other excellent vendors (DJ, Photographer, Celebrant, etc.), coordinated our ceremony and reception with a minute by minute timeline, and ensured that the events ran smoothly. She was detail-oriented, organized, efficient, and friendly. We had our wedding at the Riviera Mansion and Shauna was crucial in ensuring that our big day was perfect. Thank you! read more

Shauna is amazing! From the moment we hired her as our month-of-coordinator, she was fantastic with vendor recommendations and logistical suggestions as we planned our wedding from out-of-town. Then, the month before the wedding, just as we were starting to get really overwhelmed with all the little details, she took over all of the logistics and provided support we didn't even know we needed. It is due to Shauna (and her awesome assistant) that we were so incredibly relaxed at our wedding, and able to completely enjoy every moment of it without worrying about anything at all. I know several little minor crises came up, and I don't even remember what they were because they were handled before I had to think about them! I would (and will) recommend her and Alegria to anyone getting married in the Central Coast area!!! read more

Shauna of Alegria by Design did a fantastic job in making our daughters special day one she will always remember. She recommended wonderful vendors and everyone did exactly what they promised. Shauna replied via email or phone punctually. If we wanted to tweak an idea or change plans she did so happily. The day of the wedding we were able to enjoy every moment....she handled a difficult situation the day of the wedding very professionally and gracefully. We would HIGHLY recommend Shauna and Alegria By Design to help you with your wedding!!! read more

We had a FANTASTIC experience working with Shauna and the Alegria team for our wedding. They ensured that everything before, during, and after the wedding--the food, the layout, the vendors, the details the day of--were to our liking, and we could not be happier with how our wedding turned out! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Armando did the flowers for my wedding in Santa Ynez last weekend and they were exactly what I wanted and absolutely beautiful! I am very picky and have definite ideas about what I like and don't like and Armando was very collaborative and added his own extensive creative ideas to what I wanted. The details were impeccable and the combination of colors was perfect for a summer morning wedding. Armando is very responsive and knows how important communication is to a bride-to-be! I would absolutely recommend his services to anyone wanting creative, modern, beautiful wedding flowers. read more

Armando was my trusted Genie! He made our 3-day weekend wedding in Montecito, CA sooo perfect! He worked with me for almost a year, and he was really patient and dedicated about everything. He respects and executes what we truly feel. He helped us with everything and anything under the sun. All our family and friends were very impressed with all of his work and speak very highly of him. He went over and beyond to offer his services me, my husband, and my family. Exceptional! Thanks so much, Armando! We've truly found a friend in you :) read more

Shauna is amazing! We hired her as the month of coordinator for our June 20th wedding, and she was so helpful throughout the entire process. We planned our Santa Barbara wedding from LA and weren't familiar with any local vendors. Shauna recommended all of the vendors we ended up using and they were all fantastic. She answered all the crazy questions I had very quickly and once our wedding weekend got here, she took over and made sure everything was perfect. She was asking questions to the venue I would have never thought to ask and she made sure that every detail of our set up was done exactly as we envisioned. I can't say enough about how amazing she was to work with. She truly helped make our wedding day the best day ever! read more

We had our wedding on the 4th of July at the University Club. It was absolutely magical. Armando made sure that every thing was absolutely amazing. Our expectations were blown away. Armando was the leader of an amazing team that made our wedding surreal and unbelievable. read more

When I first started planning my wedding, I wasn't sure if I needed a coordinator, but I was referred to Armando by Paulette at Tres Hermanas Winery where our wedding was taking place. The moment we first spoke with Armando, I knew I needed his services and knew he was the one that was going to pull it off exactly how we wanted. He read me perfectly! Knew I wasn't a 21 year old bride, so knew I didn't want to do a bouquet toss or anything of the like. The event was classy and perfect. Armando listened and worked with our vendors when we needed him to. He was our "strong", so I could just enjoy the planning with him rather than be the bossy one ;). He just made everything simple and was so relaxed about everything. He and Shauna both came to the rehearsal and were so fun to work with; my whole family loved working with them. It was like we'd known each other for a long time, everything was so natural. On the day of the wedding, Armando and Shauna were also both amazing. They kept everything under control and we just showed up! They told us when and where we had to be and everything just flowed seamlessly. I can honestly say that I don't think I could have pulled this off with Armando. Our guests all commented on how smooth everything went, no glitches at all. I highly recommend Armando and his team to anyone who is just starting to plan a wedding. He just made it so easy! read more