I got married in 2020, yes during the pandemic. Why? Well my dad's been battling cancer and so has…read moremy husbands step-father. It was the right thing to do because at the end of the year my husbands grandfather passed away, we are so fortunate that he made our wedding. With that said, planning a wedding is stressful. Planning a wedding during a pandemic is next level. Luckily, I had Emily from a sparkling event by my side every step of the way. Emily was literally a God send. From the minute I got engaged (before the pandemic) to planning all the details, Emily was there answering all my questions and handling tough things like discrepancies with vendors and making sure things got done in a timely manner. She was my go to when I was having a breakdown as so many crazy things happened during the planning process that I was going to write a memoir. But when the day came, and I looked all around me, it was worth it. I got to marry my husband knowing that all the blood sweat and tears Emily and I had endured was priceless and I am forever grateful for her support and her let's get it done attitude. I highly recommend a sparkling event for your next event whatever it may be, if they can weather the storm during 2020, they can definitely handle anything.

I was lucky, because my future daughter-in-law hired Mandi for her November wedding in Carmel…read moreValley, CA. Mandi managed the rehearsal dinner that we hosted for our son and his bride. Having a destination event, required that I have a local and experienced person working with me. Mandi was perfect, as she had insight into the bride's preferences, yet worked with me as the host. She managed the venue staff, the photographer, florist, and decorating details. I was able to ship supplies directly to her and she handled all the details. The winery garden dinner for 45 was flawless! Most impressive was the personal service and quick replies during the planning and organizing. She's a kind and generous person who happens to be an amazing professional event planner!

We had the pleasure of working with Coastside Couture for our wedding in Nov of 2022 and we are…read morestill reminiscing about the incredible day they helped us create. From the very beginning, their team was dedicated to understanding our vision and bringing it to life in ways that exceeded our expectations. They dug deep to get to know us and our families and words can't do them justice. One of the standout aspects of their amazing work was their recommendation and orchestration(no pun intended) for a band that matched and exceeded our hopes for a lit and epic dance floor. The energy and talent of the band they suggested turned our reception into an unforgettable celebration. Our guests are still talking about how much fun they had dancing the night away. The attention to detail and commitment to excellence from Heidi, Sonja, and Harley were evident in every aspect of our wedding. They managed to seamlessly blend elegance and fun, creating moments that reflected my husband and myself and will be memories we will literally never forget. Also I reflect now on how much stress they removed from our lives and I am eternally grateful. We have no idea all the ways they just allowed us to have fun in the process. We truly believe that our wedding was one of the best day of our lives, and much of that is thanks to the hard work and dedication of this dream team. If you are looking for a wedding planning company that will go above and beyond to make your day as special as possible, we highly recommend Coastside Couture. Their expertise, passion, and personal touch made our wedding day epic and unforgettable. Love them!!

Heidi, Sonja and Harley were great to work with for our wedding. We started working with Heidi 9…read moremonths before our wedding in Carmel Valley and she immediately started reserving/confirming vendors that we absolutely loved. She is experienced, and really knows the area and the best vendors to work with. She managed to reserve one highly in-demand vendor before we had even finalized our contract with her, anticipating that it would be the best option for us (which it was). That is how forward-thinking and proactive Heidi is - a true godsend for two people with busy schedules and very little time to plan a wedding. Without Heidi, our wedding would be an absolute shadow of the wonderful event that it turned out to be with her at the helm. We recommend Heidi for any event in and around Carmel, particularly for those individuals with tight schedules, busy lives or far reaching visions of what you want out of your event. She really focuses on personalizing your wedding day to reflect the couple's tastes and vision. Heidi and her incredible team will move heaven and earth to make sure that you have the event that you want. We hope that we will have many opportunities to work with Heidi and her team in the future. To Heidi and her team - thank you for everything.

Sherilyn was great to work with and made our wedding ceremony special. Highly recommendread more

The Stone Chapel was perfect for our private ceremony of 12 guests. Everyone felt comfortable and…read morewe were all very well taken care of by Sherilyn. Her communication with us leading up to our wedding was excellent. She is very well organized, accommodating and professional. Ben our photographer (arranged through Sherilyn) captured our day beautifully, including some outdoor shot in the gazebo that turned out adorable. The price was very reasonable and location was not far from Cannery Row where we had a lovely reservation for dinner at The Chart House. See the owner Jimmy! He helped everything go smoothly for our group. An overall absolutely wonderful day. Would highly recommend. A By-The Sea Wedding!! :) Thank you Sherilyn!

If you're on the fence about hiring a wedding planner, let me save you some time--do it, and make…read moresure it's Kate! My husband and I came to her with nothing but a venue and a vague idea of what we wanted our autumn beach wedding to look like, and she took that and turned it into one of the most magical days of our lives. From the very beginning, Kate was an absolute dream to work with. She is incredibly knowledgeable about all the local vendors and made the entire design process easy and fun. My husband and I were pretty clueless when it came to wedding planning, but Kate knew the answers to everything--even the things we didn't know we didn't know! Her expertise gave us confidence every step of the way. Kate is also beyond organized. She handled everything--from RSVPs and seating charts to coordinating vendor cleanup--so that on the day of the wedding, we didn't have to worry about a single thing. She ran the entire show behind the scenes, allowing us to be fully present and soak in every moment of our special day. And let's talk about Kate's personality--she was the calming force we didn't even know we needed. As the wedding day got closer and stress levels started rising, she remained completely unflappable. No matter what unexpected twists came up, Kate handled them with confidence and ease. She was also incredibly thoughtful, truly taking the time to get to know us as a couple, which made our wedding feel even more personal and special. Looking back, my husband and I both agree that hiring Kate was, without a doubt, the most important investment we made in our wedding. If you want a wedding planner who is knowledgeable, organized, and an absolute joy to work with, Kate is the one. I would recommend her to absolutely anyone!

When we got engaged, all my husband and I knew was that we wanted to have a wedding that felt like…read more"us," but we had no idea how to put that into words, let alone make the vision come to life. We knew we could plan a wedding on our own if we really had to, but that we'd be blind to the things that would make it a "wow" wedding and to be honest, we really wanted to enjoy being engaged and not have to worry about planning every single detail. We had several consultation calls with different planners, but Kaitlin stood out from the get-go as someone who is experienced, professional, and most importantly, has a skill for really listening and understanding what was important to us. Kaitlin took small pieces of what we said was important to us and made our vision come to life. We wanted a wedding that felt like an experience for our guests. We wanted them to feel relaxed, have great food and drinks, and be delighted by small surprises at every turn. Kaitlin had incredible ideas for unique vendors to bring in, from a live guitarist who fit our vibe perfectly to our own coffee truck service. She also knew how to respectfully encourage us to consider color choices or other decor that she knew would make the event feel more timeless and well-rounded. The entire weekend of our wedding, Kaitlin and our vendors were perfectly in sync. I never felt stressed over details or timing at any given point. They were attentive, caring, and incredible detail-oriented. My husband and I had the best year planning our wedding with Kaitlin. We're so grateful that our vision came to life and we'll be forever reminiscing on our perfect day. If you are looking for a planner who will be a partner with you in creating the wedding of your dreams, cares deeply about you and your loved ones, and can create an experience that wows your guests, look no further than Kaitlin!

I have been photographing weddings in the Bay Area (and beyond) for 30 years and have the…read moreopportunity to work with some wonderful people in industry. Patty has always impressed! Weddings are an expression of the love and personality of the B&G. Patty works with couples to create events that are uniquely their own. Strategizing, organizing, and working on every last detail. Then she connects her clients with the perfect vendors to make sure their vision comes true. When it counts most (wedding day) with her charming personality yet decisive personality, she executes weddings that flow with grace. As a photographer I have follow up conversations with the B&G after their wedding. The always give Patty the highest praise. Patty makes it happen! Todd Rafalovich

Patty is absolutely amazing and I loved working with her!…read more I'm getting married in October in Carmel and was looking for a wedding planner to help me find wedding vendors, review contracts, and find a location for our rehearsal dinner and welcome party. Every Last Detail was the first company I called. I'm normally the type of person who calls around to explore options and find the best price, but Patty was so personable and made what felt like a daunting task seem fun so I booked her right away. I'm so glad I went with my gut because I couldn't imagine working with anyone else! Patty was very helpful and responsive. She also went above and beyond for multiple tasks. We live a few hours away from Carmel and wanted to plan a trip to visit some rehearsal dinner locations. We ended up planning this with only a few days turnaround time. I expected given the time crunch that Patty would give us a list of venues to check out based on our criteria, but she actually planned the whole trip for us! She introduced us to points of contact at each venue, scheduled each tour, and even mapped them out so we visited places that were in close proximity back to back and we didn't have to keep trekking back and forth between locations. It took all the stress off of planning and coordinating. I also know that finding spots that we would like was not an easy task in and of itself. My fiance, future mother in law, and myself all had some different/ vague ideas for the event. Patty did a great job finding locations that fit what each of us was looking for. We were so impressed, my future mother in law even hired her again after the fact to coordinate the day of the rehearsal dinner. I would highly recommend Patty and Every Last Detail for event planning!

If you are planning to get married in Carmel, Big Sur or really anywhere in Monterey County you are…read moredoing yourself a massive disservice not hiring Mariah! She is simply the best and we could not have had our wedding planning and day-of run so smoothly without her expert guidance. My wife has been friends with Mariah since middle school, and she knew she wanted Mariah to be involved in our wedding planning when we chose to get married in Carmel. Originally we hired Mariah as our month-of coordinator, but it quickly became apparent that we needed her expert help navigating everything about a year out. She soon became our official planner, and it was the best decision we made! She is incredibly organized, highly communicative and has a profound attention to detail. She really does think of everything! Given that she grew up in Big Sur she has tremendous knowledge of the local vendors, venues and just all around logistics of the central coast. Mariah is also a very calming person and worked just as much as a therapist for us as she did our planner. Even though she's juggling so much, you would never know. On our actual wedding day everything ran so seamlessly and she never seemed stressed or frazzled. I only wish I approached the planning process in the same manner. Hire Mariah for all your wedding coordination needs and you will be in the best hands!!

Our favorite part about working with Mariah is her genuine and unwavering commitment to supporting…read morethe local community around Big Sur. This is undoubtedly the biggest advantage of working with her, as she has spent years cultivating authentic personal and business relationships with so many small business owners and vendors in the area. I share this detail not only to highlight how this will streamline your planning process but to assure you that your celebration will organically be infused with the down-to-earth, warm quality that draws so many of us to Big Sur--a feeling that can easily get lost in the pursuit of a Pinterest-perfect event. When I struggled to find local hair and makeup artists who had the experience and tools to accommodate me as a Black bride, Mariah didn't hesitate to connect me with contacts from her network so I could find a perfect match (Rhonda Johnson Bridal Makeup and Hair). When I was struggling to find a gluten-free cutting cake for our reception, she sent me the information for several local, family-owned gluten-free businesses (Nece's GF). When we were curious about working with a calligrapher, she connected us with her family friend Anna Bouchard. When we were exploring local options for a farewell brunch following the wedding, she personally introduced us to the owners of Alta Bakery and Cafe in Monterey. And the list goes on! She made sure that Mike, the owner of Big Sur Bakery, could meet with us during one of our scheduled in-person consults to discuss any questions or concerns we had ahead of our event. We got to learn more about the history of the restaurant or share what it meant to our relationship. She ordered us a copy of the restaurant's published cookbook to use as our guestbook; it is such a unique artifact that is both beautiful and functional (every time we open the book to use new recipes, we are greeted with all of the sweet notes from our loved ones). I know it's typical for people to warn couples that something WILL go wrong on their wedding day to manage their expectations, but we truly cannot think of a single thing that didn't go to plan during our celebration, thanks to the stellar coordinating done by Mariah. Our day was stress-free, joy-filled, and EASY. Beyond that, it was incredibly aesthetically gorgeous because all of the vendors were able to show up and bring their absolute best service due to all the coordination with Mariah behind the scenes. It was really important to us that we could trust that our vendors would create a vision of Big Sur that captured all of the elements things we love most about the environment without us having to be prescriptive or overly particular about how everything came together. The result completely exceeded our expectations and felt so authentic to us as a couple. Other notes: I live with both type 1 diabetes and celiac disease and Mariah went above and beyond to make sure that our food/drink menu could offer me options I'd be excited about. She built a wedding day timeline that explicitly called out structured meal times, which helped ensure that I ate three square meals and had stable blood sugars all day (she was always aware of where my purse with my diabetes supplies was throughout our event). Her coordination is inclusive, proactive, and kind-hearted. Like most 2020 wedding couples, we navigated multiple postponements, tying the knot a full two years past the initial date we scheduled with Mariah. She was incredibly communicative and transparent with us throughout this time and she operated with so much integrity, always honoring our original contract and giving us flexible options to customize her service hours, as we wanted to add additional consulting hours to our day-of-coordination package in the last few months leading up to the wedding. She was always responsive and articulated clear action items and points for follow-up each time we checked in. We never had to worry about loose ends or missing details since Mariah was so proactive and communicative about each step of the coordination process. She really did go above and beyond to make our day absolutely perfect.

We've been together 13 years and finally decided to make it official in 2025. We wanted something…read moreintimate and meaningful, and choosing Weddings in Monterey was the best decision we could have made. Brian guided us through everything--location, flowers, dinner, hotel recommendations--and made the entire process effortless. He was warm, patient, and open to personal touches in the ceremony, including a special bible reading that meant a lot to us. Heidi was incredible. We're two grooms who are not comfortable in front of the camera, yet she made us feel relaxed and confident. Our photos are stunning--both classic and editorial. She captured the emotion and beauty of the day perfectly. What we planned as a simple elopement became a deeply meaningful wedding experience. We are forever grateful to Brian and Heidi for giving us a day we will never forget. Highly, highly recommend.

This review is way over due. We got married 01/01/2024 and it was the best experience. From the…read morebeginning Brian was super commutative and kind. He did an amazing job with the ceremony and included everything we wanted. Heidi did an amazing job with the pictures. We are so glad we chose Heidi and Brian for our elopement we couldn't have asked for a better day. Highly recommend them for your wedding you won't regret it.

Oscar and team were impeccable! They executed my vision for a "Under the Tuscan Sun" themed 40th…read morebirthday dinner flawlessly. Absolutely everything I could have imagined and much more. They literally turned my backyard into a picturesque Italian Villa. No detail was missed, and every step of the planning process, from vision boards, budgets, rental selections and personal touches were methodical and just a breeze. Oscar was very receptive to every idea, tentative, responsive and extremely professional. We loved him so much, he's literally like family now (on speed dial) and ready to plan our next event in October; our first baby shower! Thank you Oscar for your personable touch and exquisite demeanor.

Oscar is a raising superstar, saying anything less would be an understatement. Oscar and his team…read moreexecuted the wedding of our dreams. When I got proposed I knew I just had to have him. I probably told him that a million times, "it's either OscarbyOscar or no one". He is that good !!!! All I had to do was give him my theme "Twilight" and not only did he deliver, but everything was impeccable !! The decor was breathtaking, phenomenal, something straight from a movie. Every single detail was perfect, it was timeless. If I can say one thing about him would be OUTSTANDING. He is a delightful person to work with incredible talent. A persons wedding is something that will be treasured and remembered for years to come, and having Oscar and his team create and deliver that for a couple is the ultimate gift. Investing in Oscar is the best thing any couple can do, he seriously outdid my expectations. There are a million and one wedding coordinators/event designers out there, but no one will give you that comfort and ease like OscarbyOscar. Oscar, we love you forever. Our hearts are filled with such amazing memories and we owe all of that to you. Love, Genesis and Adrian Silva

I am still waiting on my photos to come back but I have a few to share! Let me just say this...if…read moreyou are thinking about Hiring Diane...DO...if you need a wedding planner hire Diane!!!! She is ABSOLUTE MAGIC!!!!! I live in los angeles so don't have the ability to know the vendors in Big Sur and she handled EVERYTHING!!!! Her recommendations were top notch and everyone gave us the wedding of our dreams! Truly we were all blown away and all of our guests said it was the best wedding they had ever been to! I will upload more photos as I get them! I don't have photos yet of the reception but it was everything!!! The food, the dj, the flowers, the drinks, the ceremony...all of it. She is an angel...a magical angel! Super reasonable, super attentive, super helpful! She only wanted us to have exactly what we wanted. I cannot recommend her more highly!!!!

I had almost the exact same experience as Olivia below. Our wedding was 1 week before Olivia's and…read morewe had almost an identical experience. I hate to leave a negative review as I knew Diane was dealing with some personal stuff, however, this is not the person you want ghosting you for months leading up to the event or cutting ties with you a week before the event. Also, I heard from an assistant of hers who said she would be taking over (we never knew Diane had an assistant) however when we emailed this assistant back, they never responded. We tried reaching out to Diane several times and eventually took matters in our own hands and organized our day assuming Diane would be nowhere to be found. Then 1 week before our wedding when everything was set, she began emailing our vendors (photographer, flowers, videographer, officiant, hair and makeup) and communicating a completely different timeline and old information that was wrong!?! She had not read our emails we copied her on for months and caused so much unnecessary headaches the week before our wedding bc we had to go back to each vendor and explain that Diane's information was old and dated and to stick with the timeline we had communicated. This is. Not what you want to be doing last minute. In the end, we all agreed to part ways. Our wedding turned out exactly as we wanted minus the Loss of the $750 for Paion that she suggested and minus the headaches and drama leading up to the event. I can say that she gave us a list of vendors which we paid for, however we did hours of our own research to find hair and makeup & photographer and deserts. The only vendors we used from her were our catering company, Catering Monterey- phenomenal btw - officiant, Soaring Starkey- HIGHLY RECOMMEND, and Big Sur flowers, they were pretty good and made a gorgeous bouquet but had some issues delivering the flowers to us the morning of and left them at Glen oaks reception instead of the house which was frustrating bc we were on a timeline and the reception is not close to the house. The worst part about this experience is that not only did things get so contested and we agreed to part ways 1 week before the event, she also listened to my vision and then booked us for Paion Estates which after talking to my photographer, Lynn Lewis (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) we realized that my vision would not happen at Paion. So we lost our $750 deposit for that location in order to take the wedding photos on the Rocky cliffs (north of glenoaks) which is all I explained I wanted from the beginning and showed very detailed images of my vision. Lynn Lewis, our photographer ended up putting together the day of timeline and making all our dreams for our elopement come true. her services include vendor referrals and timeline management. I'd you're having a small wedding, skip the coordinator all together and just go with Lynn. Lynn was the photographer we found on our own. I'd be happy to talk to any future bride about my experience. Drop me a message and I'll email you. Diane was a nice person and in the beginning I thought this would be great, but as time passed it was clear she's had other things going on and was not 100% committed or at least she wasn't with Olivia and myself.

I wish I could give 1000 stars to this venue and team. I am blown away by my experience working…read morewith the team at Carmel Fields. Obviously, weddings are expensive and in our initial search for a venue I was so worried about finding somewhere beautiful that was worth the money. Carmel Fields is MORE than worth every penny. Alycia gave us our first tour of the property. She was extremely thorough and professional and answered all of our questions. During our tour, she informed me that they source the vendors to ensure a stress free day/experience. It sounded too good to be true, but it wasn't. After deciding to move forward, every interaction I had with the Wegdewood team was a world class experience. I do not say that lightly. They are all patient, kind, and so helpful. They go the extra mile to ensure your expectations are met and exceeded. Alycia was our coordinator for the event. She worked so hard to ensure that everything was perfect, and it truly was. I did not worry or stress about anything leading up to or during the event. Everything was organized and Alycia handled anything that came up. She was understanding and supportive and really helped with every aspect of the event. She is so professional and experienced and helped bring our vision to life. I am so grateful for her!! Moving on to the food... WOW. Out of this world. Every plate served was hot, fresh, and delicious. Our guests raved about the food. If you are reading this review and wondering if you should move forward with this venue, I highly recommend you do if you are looking to have a seamless, fun, and perfect event.

This venue is very beautiful. Thank you to Alicia for our virtual tour and Sophie for an even…read morebetter in person experience. Sophie would've been so wonderful to work with but we have decided to go with another venue. Despite that these ladies are truly amazing and the venue is pretty and the packages are great. I would highly recommend here for a Carmel wedding.