Just superb service! If you're considering who to use to bring your wedding dreams to life, you must use MaKela Allen and the Cole Drake team. Every detail from the consultation, the wedding day and post wedding events were carefully thought out and tailored to us as if we were royalty. We truly experienced the wedding of our dreams. We 100% recommend ColeDrake. read more

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This past weekend our Cole Drake planner, Courtney Bailey, achieved what I never thought possible...a flawless wedding at the gorgeous Four Seasons in Calistoga. I consider myself a perfectionist...but Courtney and her team have me beat! I knew from the beginning working with Courtney that we had nothing to worry about, but still I'm the type that doesn't expect everything to turn out just the way I invisioned. The magnificence of this wedding was so far beyond my most hopeful vision. All of this orchestrated by Courtney and her amazing team, along with vendors she trusts. Courtney's upbeat personality was such a pleasure throughout all the months of planning. I don't know how this wedding would have come together had I chosen a different planner, but I will say there is no way it would have been the jaw dropping, exquisite event that it was...not even close! read more

My husband and I had the most incredible experience working with our Wedding Planner the entire process was fun and smooth sailing and Makela surpassed our expectations. It was the most beautiful day of our lives which we will cherish forever thanks to her and her incredible team. -Chloe & Brendan read more

If you're looking for full transparency or someone to respect the budget range you agreed on...proceed with caution if working with MaKela. Since we live in NYC and Napa is a destination wedding for us, we made it clear when interviewing wedding planners that we want the planner to be located in the Napa area, which she told us she was. It wasn't until we flew to Napa for venue visits that we learned she had moved to another state and hasn't been living in the Napa area for the last few years. Initially we filled out a form with our wants, needs and budget and put a 10k retainer down, and through the initial process and her guidance we agreed to up the budget to our highest range. There was a lot of alluding to and going in circles about higher costs but never upfront transparency on how much higher the financial commitment would be for what our vision was up until after we saw the venues in person...which would require 100k over our agreed budget. She disregarded everything that was important, without offering a solution or truly listening to understand. Being new to this and had we known that the wedding we had in mind would be unrealistic at the budget and headcount we agreed to (with her as a planner), it wouldn't have taken us 4 weeks to walk away from our relationship with MaKela. Fortunately we were able to find a fantastic wedding planner in the same price range but who actually listens to her clients, allows for flexibility when it comes to vendor costs and has our best interests in mind. read more

My husband and I got to know Stephanie really well during the one-year planning process for our wine country Sonoma wedding (St. Francis Winery, 10/18/14), and she was a wedding-planner-dream-come-true every step of the way! It's hard to describe everything that Stephanie did for us in just a few words, but looking back, we wanted to highlight several things that really stood out. 1. Personality. Stephanie has an amazingly calm demeanor. Given how stressful the entire process could be, she made it reassuringly easy every step of the way. She was genuinely on our side. We felt that she was a loyal friend who was watching out for our best interests at every point. 2. Flexibility. We had a specific idea of how we wanted several parts of our wedding to be. Although Stephanie's initial recommendations for a few vendors were not what we initially had in mind, when we discussed our ideas with her, she was always understanding and offered other options that we loved. For example, we requested a Steinway grand piano to be placed in the tasting room at the winery for our after-dinner program. It was difficult to locate a piano that met all of our needs, but Stephanie made it happen! 3. Timeliness. Stephanie was quick to do everything for us, starting with the very first phone conversation we had. From her past experience, she had a great sense of when everything needed to be in place, so that we didn't have any last-minute worries. For example, for our outdoor courtyard dinner in October, Stephanie arranged to have extra heaters available months in advance, knowing that they may not be available closer to the event date. 4. Detail-oriented. This speaks to both Stephanie's personality as well as her extensive experience. There were so many things that we wouldn't have thought of, and she was always on top of those details. When we talked to her about the placecards for our guests, she even considered whether they would catch in the wind, and recommended ways to stabilize them. On our wedding day, Stephanie was there at all of the important moments: guiding our families before the processional, being there for us immediately after our ceremony, and helping us transition smoothly to the evening events. 5. Connections. Because of how well-connected Stephanie was, we felt like we had the perfect team. Stephanie had already worked closely with our officiant, florist, caterer, musicians, and more, which made the whole process truly seamless. If you are looking for a wedding planner for a Sonoma or Napa wedding, calling Stephanie may just be the best decision you will make! read more

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This review is way overdue. We hired Stephanie Cole for our wedding back in 2017 and we're so glad we did. She and her team are AMAZING! Stephanie is a total pro. She has several years of experience organizing weddings in the Napa area and really knows her stuff. She listened carefully to what we were looking for and put us in touch with phenomenal vendors who brought our vision to life. She's sharp, organized, responsive, able to solve problems, and generally just fun to work with. She's also very professional. The owner of our venue was really difficult to work with. He was rude, unaccommodating, and would lie about what was available on the property. Stephanie dealt with him brilliantly. She was firm but professional and was able to resolve issues with this guy when no one else could. As always, there were a few hiccups on our wedding day (guests cancelling last minute, issues with the venue, etc...), but Stephanie handled it all. I was blissfully unaware and was able to fully enjoy the day. In our eyes, everything went off perfectly and we had so much fun. Weddings are stressful, but Stephanie made everything so much easier for us. We are so, so glad we hired her. If you're looking for a wedding planner, look no further! She's truly amazing. read more

Easily the most important vendor of the weekend, MaKela from Cole Drake did an amazing job of executing on the vision we had. It wasn't always easy, especially with delaying the wedding and going back and forth on design ideas, but MaKela never wavered. She has such a unique, creative style that made the wedding process easier than we imagined. She knew what we wanted before we did. She did a perfect job bringing all vendors together and giving us a wedding weekend that perfectly represented who we are as individuals and as a couple. The best part in all of this is that we came away with a close friend in addition to our perfect wedding. This is just a small testament to the approach MaKela takes - she takes time up front getting to know you as people, not clients, and then combines that with her creative mind and ability to take ideas and come up with beautiful designs. read more

I recently got married in September 2014 in Sonoma Valley at the Kunde Family Estate winery. We are from Chicago, and working with Stephanie Cole to plan a destination wedding was a wonderful experience. I highly recommend Cole Drake if you're having a Napa wedding or a Sonoma wedding. Our day far surpassed my expectations, and our guests continue to rave that it was one of the best weddings they've every been to. We utilized the full wedding planning services, and Stephanie recommended excellent vendors, and was able to listen to us, and make our visions come to life, all without ever meeting us. The wedding was planned in about 10 months. We never visited the wedding/reception location, and weren't able to look at the setup, taste the cake, meet the officiant, do trial hair and makeup, etc. However, Stephanie never skipped a beat, and made me feel very confident that she understood what we wanted. She kept us on track in the months leading up to the big day. Her attention to detail was very impressive, and while it was a lot to organize and think ahead for, I felt really good on our wedding day that there would be no surprises, and that every detail would be attended to. I was virtually stress-free throughout the months leading up to the wedding, and I know I owe that to Stephanie. She kept us on track with regular emails and phone calls, and was very good at setting expectations for the process up front. The timeline on the wedding day was pretty packed, as I'm sure most wedding days are, but Stephanie ensured we moved from one event to the next without any hiccups. She was also diligent in ensuring we stayed on budget, which was important to us. She also helped us utilize our budget to ensure we spent money in the areas that were most important to us. She helped us save and/or get the most bang for our buck, and I really feel like this helped us maximize our ability to pull off a "luxury wedding". My husband and I had not really thought about our wedding prior to becoming engaged, so we were a little indecisive on some items. Stephanie is a real pro, and helped us realize and bring to life a truly magical day that neither we nor our friends and family will ever forget. I recommend getting a wedding planner to any couple getting married, especially for destination weddings, but if you're having a wine country wedding, you need to call Cole Drake. Vendors: Location: Kunde Family Estate Cake: Elegant Cheesecakes Photography: Shannon Stellmacher Catering: Park Avenue Florals: Meredith Law Design Music Trio + DJ: Wine Country Entertainment Officiant: Kimberly Thompson Transportation: Pure Luxury Hair/Makeup: It's a Date at the Powder Room read more

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Stephanie worked with us on our dream Napa wedding. The wedding was a huge success, flawlessly executed, and reflected our personalities effortlessly. Throughout the planning process she kept us on task and helped us prioritize our to-do list. The wedding day went exactly as planned and we stayed right on the timeline that was provided for us. As a couple we didn't worry about anything except making sure we could say our vows and spending time with our 220 guests. When we returned to our room after the wedding our gifts were displayed neatly with a few momentos Stephanie knew we would wanted from the wedding, all topped off with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, to help us wind down. She went beyond what was expected, she paid attention to all the little details, like making sure the bride's mother ate dinner, all of which made our the wedding spectacular. I am sad that we won't get to work with her on anything again - unless we throw a huge anniversary party in the future! read more

Stephanie Cole, of Cole Drake Events, is the Beyonce of wedding planners. I don't know how I could possibly sum up in so few words what she means to me, after this long wedding journey together. Stephanie is a planning machine, a force of nature. From the biggest decisions to the smallest details, she is a master of execution. Our day-of timeline was nearly 20 pages long. So many little, and not so little, things went wrong over the months we were working with Stephanie, but you would never have known it, because she handled each challenge with grace and poise. She kept us holding our heads high through so many tears - a few bad (like when our wedding band unceremoniously disbanded several months post-contract), but so, so many more of them happy. Our wedding day was perfect, exactly as we dreamed, and it was because of her. Stephanie will surpass your every expectation, every time. I had never met Stephanie before hiring her as our planner, but I now proudly consider her my friend. Besides saying yes when my now-husband got down on one knee, hiring Stephanie is the single best decision I made with respect to my wedding. I urge you to make the same fantastic choice. read more

Working with Cole Drake Events over the past year was absolutely incredible. They are a one-of-a-kind dream team. I started working with Stephanie a year in advance of our wedding. The first few weeks she helped us determine what we wanted out of our wedding day. She then helped us pick our venue and vendors. Cole Drake Events has incredible relationships with all of their vendors, so it was comforting to know we wouldn't go wrong with any of our decisions. Once all of that was determined we hit the ground running for the next year. Stephanie was incredibly patient since day one with not just me, but my family too. She understood there was a budget at hand and stayed within that amount, while still working towards my dream wedding day goals. Our wedding was absolutely perfect in my eyes and I owe all of that to Stephanie. She kept me calm, cool and collected. I was able to enjoy my entire wedding day and not worry about a thing. Stephanie truly made this process so fun. The hardest part was honestly saying goodbye to her and her team. If you are ever in need of an excellent event planner, without a single doubt, this is who you should choose! read more

From the first time we met with Sarah Drake, we knew we had to work with her! Before that, I wasn't even sure if I wanted/needed a planner. Having worked with Sarah & her team, I highly recommend working with a planner of her caliber when planning a wedding. It is certainly worth the investment. From recommending vendors, coordinating all logistics, reviewing contracts, she totally nailed everything we wanted! I especially love the way she worked with our wedding invitation designer, Ceci New York, to create the perfect design for us (I swear she can read minds)- I invitations would not have been possible without Sarah! Same with her relationship with our florist, Fleurs de France. The two had a great working relationship and the whole wedding/design was PERFECT! read more

Where to begin! From the initial meeting, to well timed follow-up calls/emails, coordination with vendors, and of course the "you're about to get married, are you ready?" phone call during the week-of; Stephanie and her team at Cole Drake are unparalleled when it comes to professionalism and success with wedding planning. My wife and I initially interviewed 5-6 wedding planners, and Stephanie was a clear-cut favorite from the beginning, she was well prepared and very polished during our first phone call. At every turn, she was direct, but professional and cordial, all the while being fun to work with. Her connections and recommendations with vendors of all type were well-thought and perfectly paired. She was mindful of our budget, personality, preferred style, and wishes. Throughout the entire year of planning, Stephanie exceeded our expectations with each meeting and interaction. However, the day-of is where she and Emily really shined! They were constantly on the move in discreet manner at our wedding, ushering guests around, timing actions with the vendors, insuring events moved smoothly, directing, and just silently running the show in the background. Stephanie and her team were an integral part of making our dream wedding come true. Highest of recommendations to Cole Drake Events. If you want your wedding to be a fun, perfect, dream come true of an event; work with Stephanie and Cole Drake Events. read more

I got married to my husband this past summer at The Carneros Inn. Stephanie from Cole Drake Events, along with Jules from TCI, were our wedding planners. Stephanie stepped in to help the TCI team when their lead wedding staff person went on maternity leave a few months after we signed on to the venue. My mother-in-law, with whom I was planning the wedding, and I were understandably a little nervous about having someone we hadn't met coordinate the day, but she quickly quelled our anxieties with her prompt communication and graceful confidence. She oversaw all aspects of our day, was super collaborative and prompt, and saw no detail as too small. Her strong organizational skills and just how likable she was again came through when we met with her for tasting. We had a great time with her talking over the day as it was finally coming together, and she balanced helping us make decisions quickly while keeping us relaxed and enjoying ourselves. Not a small task for a type A bride and mother-in-law pair just a couple of months before the big day! Her talent shone through the most on my big day. The real magic of her work is that she makes the day run without ever intruding with her own presence. I felt like there was a genie who was with me all day, appearing just when I needed something or to make a gentle reminder and disappearing just as quickly and gracefully as she came. Her calm and firm energy again helped us stay grounded. More than anything, I knew I didn't have to worry about anything else other than being present with my family and friends and enjoying the day - the rest was in her very competent hands. With her work, Stephanie helped me be with my day in a way that was was as deep and meaningful as I could ever have hoped, and I'm grateful to have worked with such a wonderful and caring professional! read more

I highly recommend Chaz Crosier for wedding planning services. Chaz is a talented expert in wedding and event planning, as well as a genuinely kind person who is absolutely wonderful to work with. His professional involvement in planning our wedding gave us peace of mind throughout the entire process and we agree with all of the positive testimonials found in his many online reviews. We live in Honolulu and our friends and family are scattered throughout the country, so this was a destination wedding in Geyserville for all of us. We first connected with Chaz by phone and were instantly drawn to his positive energy and level of professionalism. His passion for his work is very apparent and it only took one phone conversation for us to realize he was the right fit for us. We selected the partial planning package and venue selection after considering we only wanted to make one trip to California prior to the wedding. Knowing Chaz was in the area gave us assurance and saved us from having to make multiple trips to the area. The venue selection was invaluable as Chaz planned the agenda prior to our trip based on the type of location we were looking for and the budget we were working with. Not being familiar with the area, it also allowed us to maximize our time there. Since Chaz has over 20 years in the event planning industry, we gratefully relied on his vendor recommendations which were equally invaluable as he referred us to only the best. Another wonderful benefit to working with Chaz is that he was always mindful and respectful of our budget, and because of his great reputation in the industry, he was able to save us money with discounts provided by some of his recommended vendors. The savings definitely helped and it meant a lot to hear the positive feedback about Chaz from all of the vendors we worked with. In total, we had about 5 months to complete the planning. During that time, Chaz kept us on track with regular emails and a detailed schedule that made it easy for us to manage the various tasks. He is clearly a hard worker who has perfected the art of time management and efficiency as he always made us feel like our wedding was his priority. Considering the amount of other events he was simultaneously planning, especially during peak wedding season, we were amazed by the level of attentiveness he dedicated to planning our wedding and the fact he was always available to respond to our emails within a day. The event itself was visually stunning and I was able to relax knowing that Chaz was taking care of the details. He even stepped in last minute to help us with the MC duties. Without exaggeration, we owe our perfect wedding day to Chaz who completely took care of us, our family and our friends. It was everything we hoped for and wanted and we would highly recommend him for your next event. read more

Thank you Stephanie. Our wedding was perfect except the DJ was a little flat but again I requested him and not Stephanie. As a matter of fact every vendor that Stephanie referred delivered for us. Our wedding was a dream come true when Stephanie helped make our ideas into reality and also added wonderful ideas of her own like instead of a floral arrangement of a phenix that I wanted she suggested a phenix cake which was a total hit with the guests. Her eye for other details like furniture and table setting suggestions were so much on point blending it perfectly with the specific color and texture of the table linen that we wanted. End result? Sophistication with a modern twist that my husband and I both loved. What I appreciated most was on the day of the wedding, I was completely relaxed with the confidence that Stephanie will take care of all the details and I was able to enjoy myself. read more

I have attended a wedding that was put together by Cole Drake Events. The setting, service and flow of the wedding was perfect. The guests dietary concerns were addressed and everyone ate like kings. As a vegetarian, I am often left with few options, but they made sure that there was a large selection for me as a guest. The location was stunning as well! You could tell a lot of thought and love were put into the planning of this wedding. Definitely a wonderful place to organize your special event. read more

Our daughter recently got married at Chalk Hill Estates Winery in Healdsburg. With Stephanie Cole as the wedding planner, everything went perfectly!! It was a large wedding (300 guests) and a venue which required a lot of set up and logistical planning. But Stephanie is very experienced and well connected with all the local vendors! She was able to negotiate great deals for us and often "worked her magic" on our behalf. All her recommendations were first class, and she gave us excellent choices to choose from, so that we had options, but not too many to be overwhelming. Stephanie's easy-going and fun loving personality makes her so easy to work with. Yet at the same time, she has excellent attention to detail and left no stone unturned. Her great experience helped us to stay on track throughout the planning, while never feeling stressed, because things were taken care of and addressed before the deadline. Pretty much all details were covered by the week before the wedding, so that the bride, groom and parents were all able to enjoy the pre-, during, and post-wedding festivities without a worry, as Stephanie directed the set-up, day of events and clean-up aspects of everything and everyone. Even with a last minute threat of rain necessitating a "Plan B," everything went smoothly and without a worry. From Stephanie's recommended list, we used Park Avenue Caterers, Meredith Law Design florals, Wine Country Entertainment for a string trio and DJ, and Elegant Cheesecakes for the best wedding cake ever! All the guests raved about the delicious food, beautiful florals and signs, and fun entertainment. And of course, the amazing cake! We cannot recommend Stephanie Cole enough. She helped to make a wonderful celebration for the bride, groom and all family and friends. It was an occasion we will all cherish for years and years. read more

As a Boston-based couple planning a wedding in St. Helena, we worked with Chaz Crosier who was confident, fun, and wonderful to work with - always keeping our budget conscious style in mind yet delivering a wedding that was so beautiful and much more elegant than anything we could ever dream of. Chaz easily gained our confidence by making us feel like we were his most important clients, taking the time to understand what we were trying to accomplish, asking us questions about things we would have never thought of but needed to consider, and running meetings confidently by providing us with ideas and helping us make key decisions. He responded to our emails promptly. When we asked for advice, he always impressed us with his expertise such as helping us craft a menu that was better than what the venue offered us or coming up with the idea of a vineyard tasting as an event for our guests during the "Catholic gap." He prepared us well and as a result, our wedding day was perfect and stress free. Working with Chaz was a wonderful experience. That feeling of having a trustworthy friend who will make you laugh, keep you calm and relaxed, run back and forth between the bride's and groom's rooms, keep the vendors on the timeline, all while sporting a warm genuine smile was invaluable. Chaz was instrumental in making the best day of our lives everything we could have hoped for. You are in good hands with Chaz. We highly recommend him. read more

Planning a Yountville, CA wedding from Chicago, IL was a breeze! Alexis was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and accessible throughout the entire process. As a bride that really did not want to be involved in the planning process, Alexis planned an amazing "surprise wedding" for us, and it was everything we had hoped it to be and beyond. The vendors and the details were all perfect. Thank you! read more

I cant say enough about Cole Drake Events. Stephanie attended to every matter and I simply had to request and never thought twice about something being done. Really, most things were taken care of before i even thought to ask. It was a dream come true and i can't thank these folks enough! read more

Stephanie made our wedding amazing and unforgettable. She was always fighting for us and ran the wedding with perfect efficiency and perfection. Our ceremony was unique and she made sure we were connected with the best vendors for what we wanted to do and she even negotiated with our venue to keep costs down. Stephanie and the Cole Drake team are now life long friends of ours. If you are looking to do a wedding in Napa, Stephanie and team are the best. read more

Stephanie Cole and her team at Cole Drake events were the best!! She was the most attentive and helpful wedding planner with the best ideas and recommendations for other vendors as well. I could fully trust her opinions while I was planning my wedding from out of town. Stephanie made my Napa wedding dream come true. She had every little detail down and was very straight forward with me throughout the entire process. It was absolutely amazing and I just wish it didn't have to end. read more

We could not love Cole Drake Events more! Our team at Cole Drake, led by Stephanie Cole, exceeded all of our expectations. For 11 months we worked with Stephanie to create our 3 day Napa Valley wedding experience. We live in Philadelphia so, other than 3 planning trips, we had to rely on the expertise of our "team on the ground" in Napa...we were never let down. The Cole Drake team was so easy to work with! They were always friendly, enthusiastic, professional, fun and always a joy to work with! They kept very detailed documents and spreadsheets on DropBox to keep us on track, they would respond to e-mails within hours, they had the most amazing ideas and suggestions. More importantly, we gave them a vision "Mad Men In Napa" of a 1960's wine weekend in Napa, and they RAN WITH IT! They came up with clever ideas from food, music, settings, clothing, invitations, etc... that turned our vision into a reality. They didn't give us a "turn-key" wedding, but designed a one of a kind event that blew the minds of our 180 guests! They created 7 unique events over our 3 day wedding (Family Lunch, Wine Blending Competition, Cooking School, Mixology Class, Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding and Champagne Brunch) that were all unique but linked together thematically. I would not change one thing about our wedding, truly, it was perfect! I would happily talk to anyone who is considering Cole Drake to share photos, videos, documents/spreadsheets, and anecdotes about our experience! COLE DRAKE MAKES DREAMS COME TRUE! read more

I don't think there is enough room to write all the wonderful things my husband and I experienced with Stephanie at Cole Drake Events when our wedding was being planned. Being a couple from New Hampshire and wanting a Napa wedding, we assumed our wedding planning adventure would be a little difficult. Enter the amazing people at Cole Drake Events. Stephanie was always one step ahead of everything we needed for our wedding, and I couldn't believe how fantastically she turned our vague ideas and details of what we pictured our wedding to be into the most amazing dream wedding we could have imagined. Even with a three hour time difference, we were always able to speak to her with any concerns or new ideas we had. I wasn't aware of all the things that went into planning a wedding, and we could not have asked for a better wedding planner. Stephanie has such a wonderful personality that it felt as though we were speaking with a good friend that we had known for years every time we spoke to her. We had the pleasure of also working with Sarah and Chaz at Cole Drake events, and we had such a great time with them as well. All of our New England wedding guests couldn't stop telling us how amazing our wedding was throughout the wedding day, and for months afterwards. I can't thank Stephanie and Cole Drake events enough for making our entire wedding experience stress-free, flawless and everything we dreamed of. read more