I recently had the pleasure of working with Ashley Brantner of First Pick Planning for Lindsay and Mason's wedding, and she was fantastic to work with from start to finish. Ashley was organized, communicative, calm, and incredibly collaborative throughout the entire day. As a photographer, I especially appreciate a planner who keeps the timeline moving while still giving the couple room to actually enjoy their wedding--and Ashley did that beautifully. She communicated clearly with the entire vendor team, handled the many moving pieces behind the scenes, and helped create a day that felt relaxed rather than rushed. Most importantly, Lindsay and Mason were able to be fully present and enjoy themselves, which says a great deal about the work happening behind the scenes. I would happily work with Ashley and First Pick Planning again and would absolutely recommend her to couples looking for a thoughtful, experienced, and genuinely lovely planner. read more

We had our wedding in late June in Tahoe and Ashley was a huge reason why the entire weekend was so amazing. We booked her about a year and a half before the wedding, and she helped us with everything along the way - vendor recommendations and calls, monthly to-do lists, in-person meetings, and an incredibly detailed timeline that made the actual day run so smoothly. She also went above and beyond in so many ways, from bringing wedding items up to Tahoe for us when our car was completely full, to folding our napkins and menus, helping with setup, and coordinating everyone on the wedding day (not the easiest group to coordinate). Anytime something stressful came up during the planning process, she immediately made us feel like everything would be fine and she had it handled. We're so glad we chose Ashley and truly had the best wedding weekend. I would recommend her in a second! read more

Do yourself the biggest favor and have Ashley as part of your wedding team! She is the absolute best, from the moment we met her to the final moments of our wedding, we had complete trust in her to execute our vision and make every effort to make our wedding day the best day. From a logistical perspective, Ashley excels. From making the day of schedule, to vendor coordination, to providing insights for things you might not have thought about - she has every detail covered. So many of our other vendors commented on how amazing their interactions with her was and how on top of everything she was, which enabled them all to work together without any issues or delays. Beyond the logistics, Ashley went above and beyond and helped us manage and stay present in our wedding day even when there were difficulties we faced. She would just appear by our sides with a drink and a smile and ask if we needed a moment away! There are so many moments I'm thankful when I reflect on our wedding day, but Ashley taking care of us not only from a logistical perspective, but also from an emotional perspective was something I will always be immensely thankful for. As a type A person, Ashley made me a very chill bride - I knew we + our wedding was in the most capable hands! We are so grateful for everything she has done for us, and I hope that you give her every opportunity to make your wedding day just as special! read more

Ashley helped us plan our Tahoe wedding and it was flawless. It was truly the best wedding ever and Ashley is the one who helped make that possible - even though we only hired her for wedding day management, she still made a huge impact and made the actual day stress free and perfect. She thought of absolutely everything, was immediately available to help with anything that came up, and made sure we were prepared going into the day with her extremely detailed timeline. I couldn't believe how detailed her timeline was, but it made our day flow smoothly and perfectly all the way through. If you're thinking about a wedding planner, she is a MUST! I would hire her again in a second! read more

I truly can't say enough positive things about Ashley. She made the entire wedding process easy, fun, and exciting from start to finish. She kept us on schedule without ever being pushy, supported our creative ideas while helping us work through the details, and made the actual wedding day feel effortless. Our bridal party couldn't stop talking about how incredible she was and how seamlessly the whole weekend flowed because of her. My entire family agrees--hiring Ashley was hands down the best decision we made during the wedding planning process. If there's one piece of advice I give to any friend planning a wedding, it's this: hire Ashley! read more

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From the very first interaction with Ashley, we knew we were in the best hands to bring our dream wedding to life! Planning a destination wedding poses additional hurdles and Ashley made the process feel fun, focused, and productive! Her natural ability to build relationships is so evident and she truly listens to you. She wasn't just our wedding planner, she became our friend and guided us to make decisions that felt like "us". We truly could not have had the wedding we did without her! We're so immensely grateful for her! read more

Ashley kept us sane and stress-free through the wedding planning process! Ashley was the best decision we made during our entire wedding planning process. I promise you won't find anyone more capable, friendly, organized, and efficient than her. When it came to planning, she took a big weight off our shoulders. We were able to rely on her recommendations and expertise given her experience with Lake Tahoe weddings, which saved us hours of research and probably thousands of dollars. She listened to our needs and dreams and recommended multiple vendors that suited our style and budget. We wouldn't have been able to select such a strong team of vendors without her input. In the months leading up to the wedding weekend, Ashley kept us on track with helpful nudges, check-ins, and milestones. She guided us on priorities, which made us feel less overwhelmed by the whole process. Then during the wedding weekend, we didn't worry at all because we knew Ashley had it handled. As a Type A person, this is unusual for me, but it speaks to the trust that Ashley built up over the months of planning. She was so organized and smooth that even though I had a pile of miscellaneous goodies (like restroom amenity kits which we had never talked about) to take to the venue on the wedding morning with no directions on where they'd go or what they were all for, she figured it all out and put them in the right places. And when a table centerpiece bouquet went missing, I learned the next day that Ashley had craftily made a new impromptu bouquet by reusing flowers from our ceremony arch. I'm sure there were more incidents that we never heard about that she fixed for us so we could fully enjoy the moment. We were lucky to be able to work with Ashley. She was a dream and such a positive influence on our wedding planning. 11/10 we would recommend her! read more

Our friends and family said this was the best wedding they had ever been to and we are endlessly grateful for Ashely planning the wedding of our dreams at SweetWater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA. From our first meeting to the final goodbyes, Ashley made the entire process not only stress-free but also truly more enjoyable than we anticipated. There's no way we could have done this without her enthusiasm for our wild ideas, helping solve any obstacle with joy, and envisioning how it could all come together. Every aspect was perfectly orchestrated. My partner and I both come from event or film production backgrounds, so we knew we were in good hands, and she truly exceeded our expectations. Her attention to detail, creativity, and organization turned our vision into reality in a way we could only have dreamed of. It's clear that she put her heart into your work, and for that, we are incredibly appreciative. We will always cherish the memories of the most epic wedding anyone has ever experienced, and we couldn't have done it without an excellent planner like Ashley. read more

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We had Ashley do the planning for our summer wedding in Petaluma CA. The whole process was smooth and seamless. Contracting with First Puck was easy and they answered all of my questions quickly. They were flexible to find a plan that worked with our budget. Once we were placed with Ashley, she was on top of every single detail. She's organized and professional. She was reassuring and checked in very often to make sure we were on track. The wedding day went smoothly and I knew Ashley and her assistant were on top of everything so that my husband and I could sit back and relax. I would absolutely recommend Ashley and First Pick for an amazing planning experience! They make your life so much easier so that you can truly enjoy this special time! read more

First Pick Planning Services - Wedding Planning Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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Ashley was fantastic! We hired her 2 1/2 months before our wedding in Woodside, CA. Even with so little time, she was still able to keep us on track with planning, making decisions, and finalizing every detail. She thought of many things I never would have thought of. Everything came together beautifully on our wedding day thanks to Ashley! read more

We found Ashley Brantner from First Pick Planning as she was listed as a recommended vendor for our venue (Palisades in Lake Tahoe). Let me just say hiring her was the best decision we made!! We interviewed 3 planners total, and Ashley stood out the most as she was very friendly, professional, and she had done a ton of weddings at Palisades, so we knew we were in good hands. We also just vibed with her the most and she felt like a friend during the whole process. We never felt stressed, and she kept us on track from the time we hired her up until to the end of our wedding night. We started working with her about 9 months before our wedding and hired her for partial planning (24 hours) which was perfect for what we needed. She helped us curate the most perfect vendor team which was what we wanted the most help with. During the process of picking out our vendors, she would give us 3-5 options with details and examples of their work and then coordinated calls with each of them. She then did all the behind the scenes coordinating with the vendors, so we didn't have to stress with constantly responding to vendors and could focus on other aspects of planning the big day. We unfortunately ended up having to switch our venue to the plan b location due to weather conditions and Ashley really stepped up and made sure we didn't have to lift a finger the day of the wedding. She was even there as a shoulder to cry on as I was a bit emotional with the change of events, but she constantly reassured us how perfect the day was going to be, and she did not disappoint. From the moment we arrived, she had drinks handed to us to calm our nerves and made the day go by so seamlessly. We had the BEST time working with her and we can't recommend her enough. If you are on the fence of hiring a planner - DO IT! You will ultimately hire vendors and spend money on your wedding, but if you want your mind at ease and your wedding day to be perfect, you need to hire Ashley! 10000% worth it! read more

We loved First Pick and Ashley Brantner! Ashley was our planner for our June 2024 wedding in Lake Tahoe at Palisades High Camp. She is the best! She was patient, kind, joyful, positive, smart, had great ideas, and had great relationships with the venue and all of our vendors. She made us feel like she really cared about our big day! I have no idea how she got all the many little details so perfect on the wedding day. We love Ashley and would recommend her to all our friends and family. read more

Aside from marrying my husband, choosing Ashley and The First Pick Planning team was the best decision I made for our wedding day. It took me a while to write this review because I (very weirdly) teared up every time thinking about how clutch Ashley was on our big day. She did everything I knew needed to be done (I was long ago sold on the idea of a month-to-day of coordinator) but I cannot overstate and oversell the feeling of ease and confidence she let me have on our wedding day, knowing that all the details were in super competent (and delightful) hands. Weddings are crazy and amazing and joyful and overwhelming - all the prep and planning for months coming to a condensed celebration. They are all those things even before you add a crazy set of logistics. I was able to hand all those logistics over to Ashley and then some! At its simplest, she executed so I could party and really let myself be in the joy of the day. For the practical minded out there - here are some highlights of her work - she organized our timeline with all of our vendors' timelines and made sure everyone had the same timeline, she picked up the bouquets and boutonnieres day of, she brought our décor from our room to the venue and set it all up, she made our ceremony flawless with a quick yet thorough rehearsal, she liaised with the venue and us on what went back to our room (cake, décor, etc), she packed it out at the end of the night and brought it all back to our room. She thought of everything from speaker set up to who is driving whom to the pre-ceremony photos and even took a few things off out plate like the easel she keeps in her car for seating charts. Again, I truly can't recommend Ashley and First Pick Planning enough! read more

Best decision we made for our wedding, hands down We hosted our wedding at Palisades Tahoe in November. I decided to work with Ashley because I knew she had worked at this venue multiple times before and knew how to handle its complexities (1. all vendors have to load in and out on a gondola, and 2. if the weather changes, the gondola can't safely operate and your wedding will be at another venue at the base.) From the first conversation, I felt like I was in solid hands with Ashley, who prepared me for all possible outcomes because she has worked this venue so many times before. We were about a month out from the wedding when I first engaged Ashley, and she quickly took over all vendor communications and made everyone feel totally prepared and comfortable with the venue & plan. 24 hours before the wedding day, we got the news that an incoming storm meant we had to change venues. Ashley stepped in and went above and beyond -- she replanned our whole wedding to be in the new venue at the base, and when I showed up at the venue I couldn't believe how she had worked with the vendors to make it all more beautiful than I could have imagined. Our day was perfect and seamless, and we got to be completely present because all the details and chaos were handled by Ashley. Throughout the whole process, Ashley handled everything with a total "let's make it happen", positive attitude, was so organized and helped make the chaos of wedding planning feel so much easier. Ashley is also very well connected -- she was able to get a local vendor to the new venue last minute for pipe & drape, and was able to make last minute changes to linens because she has such good relationships up here in Tahoe. Ashley was literally our wedding's fairy godmother, we couldn't have done it without her and I couldn't recommend her more highly for your wedding!! read more

Wedding planning can be intimidating with plenty of large plans that can be difficult to fathom and plenty of small details that pop up along the way. But Ashley made the whole wedding planning process not only comfortable, but exciting. Ashley came recommended by our band, and we couldn't be more grateful! She was great as our communicator between different parties and vendors; she made all of the information, the timeline, and our own schedule easily accessible. Furthermore, weddings can be high-pressure environments but never once did Ashley lose her cool- not even when our wedding cake took a small spill! She greets each challenge with confidence and lets you know you're in good hands. When we felt we needed more guidance, Ashley readily made herself available to guide us through our final walkthrough allowing us to breathe a little and actually feel excited for the big day. read more

I had the extreme pleasure of hiring Ashley Brantner with First Pick Planning for my recent wedding, and I must say it was the best decision i could have made for the wedding as a whole! For some background, I have worked for over 20 years in live event production, and in a former career was in the wedding industry as well! Ashley's attention to detail, guidance, proactive approach to planning, and expertise all coincide to create an incredible experience for anyone that may need help planning their event. Ashley provided detailed timelines, a workback schedule, ensured we were on track for all of our deliverables, and was always ready at a moment's notice to jump in and ensure we didn't let anything fall through the cracks. On the day of, I really just had to show up. From there, Ashley had everything in hand, and the day went as perfect as possible. No detail, large or small, was left unaccounted for. Not only did Ashley ensure that everything went off without a hitch, Ashley ensured that when we had any questions, issues, or needed literally anything, she had it covered and that it would not impact our enjoyment of our once in a lifetime event. Overall, I cannot recommend Ashley's services enough. I have been an event producer for over a decade now and can say with some authority that Ashely is not just good, but absolutely incredible at what she does - and will absolutely call her again for any future event planning needs! read more

So glad we hired Ashley from First Pick Planning for our wedding day management. She made it easy to relax and enjoy our day without having to worry about any of the details. Highly recommend! read more

Unfortunately, we did not have a good experience working with Jen as our partial planner for our wedding in June. Jen was not communicative with us or our vendors (particularly in the weeks leading up to the wedding), she failed to complete essential tasks (such as preparing a seating chart according to our spatial preferences, coordinating with our vendors to ensure our final work orders were accurate and not duplicative, or reviewing our contracts, notes, and timeline before coming to us on our wedding day with logistical concerns), she completed tasks last minute (such as responding to our/vendor emails several days - sometimes weeks - later, or collecting insurance docs from our vendors mere days before the wedding), and she was extremely defensive whenever we raised concerns during the planning process. Also, if you're doing an Indian wedding, her vendor recommendations are limited, and you'll end up doing much of the research yourself. She was our weakest vendor, by far. That being said, Jen did a decent job on the day of our wedding. While she did come to us several times on our wedding day regarding logistical items that could have been handled independently, she was at our venue first thing in the morning and left several hours after the wedding was over, and overall, the wedding flowed smoothly. We appreciate that. If anything, we would recommend Jen as a day-of coordinator rather than a full or partial planner. She has overbooked herself to the point where the quality of her services has significantly deteriorated. read more

First Pick Planning, specifically Ashley Brantner, who was our day-of coordinator, was nothing short of a miracle worker! We had our wedding at Berkeley City Club, and Ashley went above and beyond in helping us navigate the venue & vendors, and made sure that all the details were executed to perfection. She made sure everything ran smoothly so that we did not have a single thing to worry about during the wedding, and were therefore able to fully enjoy ourselves. Her easy-going but reassuring manner is what sets her apart. We felt like she really cared about our wedding as much as we did, and that's something truly special. 100/10 would recommend! read more

Ashley was so great to work with as we were planning our wedding!! She made a normally stressful process easy and fun. She not only was incredibly responsive through the year of planning but worked seamlessly with our vision for a mountain wedding! Ashley provided professional opinions on budgeting, decor, vendors, etc. From phone calls, google docs, timeline and emails, Ashley was on it and kept our planning on track and never felt overwhelming. Our wedding day and planning was truly perfect and it wouldn't have been the same without her! Honestly, if I could, I would want Ashley to plan other parts of my life :) read more

I really can't say enough great things about working with Ashley at First Pick. In a time when there are more weddings than ever, a pandemic, and a million other things going on - she made this process as easy and stress-free as possible. Not only did she go above and beyond with her communication and organization, I felt like she really took the time to "get" us as a couple and that was clearly reflected in the end result of our wedding. The big day went off without a hitch and we left feeling like everything went perfectly, not a single note. What a dream! Stop looking and just book Ashley already! read more

My only regret was not bringing Ashley into our planning process sooner! She worked with us as our day of coordinator at a complicated venue (accessible only by a tram on a mountain) and made sure the day ran seamlessly. Not only did she keep everyone (vendors & guests) on track on the day of, she even bustled my dress and fixed my hair at one point and brought one of her own stools from her house for our officiant as a last minute request. Ashley was also full of good ideas and solutions whenever I had any questions or concerns and anticipated problems before I even thought of them. Can't recommend Ashley enough! read more

Ashley was a life saver. As soon as she stepped in with the planning, I became visibly happier. She took care of all the vendor communication and her execution on all our requests and details were . I had a ton of fun at my own wedding thanks to ashley. read more

Working with Ashley and First Pick Planning was without a doubt the best decision we made in the entire wedding process. Planning an Indian wedding can be complicated with multiple days of events -- but planning a destination Indian wedding in Tahoe brought all kinds of unique benefits and challenges. In addition to being professional, positive, responsive, enthusiastic, talented and everything else, Ashley's biggest strength above all is her incredible flexibility. Our wedding changed in scope and size significantly over the course of 20 months and Ashley took everything in stride. Her ability to make the best and find the best in every single situation was not only so reassuring throughout the process, but enabled us to pivot on all kinds of last-minute changes during the week and weekend of the actual wedding. Both my husband's family and mine absolutely adored and fully trusted her, which made it possible for all of us to fully unplug and just be in the moment. We couldn't be more grateful to have found Ashley and cannot recommend her more, especially for destination and/or cultural weddings! read more

We can not say enough good things about working with Ashley and First Pick Planning. We had Ashley has a our wedding planner, who helped us plan our everything from finding a venue, to booking our band, florist, deciding on decor, and photographers, while walking us through everything we need leading up to our wedding and during the day of. Ashley and First Pick made the process of planning very easy and help keep us on track with timelines and deadlines, while helping give us both vendors they have worked with as well as vendors they hadn't worked with to give us options that we would be happy with. Having Ashley as our wedding planning was amazing and the best decision we made as she is very detailed oriented and was on top of coordinating everything with our venue and vendors leading up to and day of our wedding. Ashley was always willing to provide more options for us whether it was venues, florist, photographers or any other vendors and we couldn't be more appreciative of her dedication and hard work. Again, we highly recommend choosing First Pick if you are thinking about hiring a wedding planner and would recommend you request Ashley as she helped make a year of planning and the day of our wedding go so smooth. read more

Jen and her team was the best investment we made in our wedding planning process. We were referred to her by my brother-in-law who used her as a same-day coordinator for his wedding. He and his wife had nothing but amazing things to say about her so my fiancé (now wife ) thought we'd give it a shot. She was amazing! She kept our day totally stress-free, going above and beyond to make sure all the minute details of our special day were executed to perfection. From making sure all the vendors and the band were in the right places at the right time, to making sure our kosher-only guests got their special meals delivered (there was about a group of 6 out of 320 guests), to having all the special surprise performances at our wedding coordinated with such grace, and to even problem solving on the fly solutions to problems that arose the morning of the wedding, Jen and her team did EVERYTHING to make sure my wife and I were as stress-free as possible on our special day. I highly recommend Jen as a same day coordinator to anyone planning their wedding. She is a wonderful planner and an even more wonderful person :) read more

First Pick Planning Services - Wedding Planning Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

We would recommend Jen and First Pick Planning wholeheartedly. We stumbled upon her after an online search as we wanted someone who had previously worked our unique venue. The next day our contact from the venue itself recommended her. Then we met her for an interview and she opened a timeline google doc and we knew it was meant to be. Throughout the whole planning process (almost a year), I kept joking that if it wasn't for Jen, we would be eloping. It wasn't really a joke, it is actually true. It was both our first wedding and the whole process is very overwhelming, neither of us had planned something of this scale. As we are both fully employed with jobs which don't allow for weeding planning during the day, we chose the Full Planning Service. It was absolutely worth it. Jen guided us along the way and connected us with professional vendors. She brought our vision to reality. The day of our wedding also went off without any major hitches and all of our guests had a great time. Most importantly, we loved the finished product. Jen went above and beyond for us. At one point, we even gave her the key to our apartment, so clearly, she is highly trustworthy. Jen truly was enthusiastic and at many times felt we were her only client, especially the week of. Jen was very reasonably priced when compared to the market for LA weddings. We would definitely recommend her for any wedding, anywhere! Jen is professional, organized and she is very nice. One of the best decisions we made. read more

Jen was just like Jennifer Lopez in the Wedding Planner except the whole stealing your groom part! She was meticulous, professional and stylish. She went above and beyond everything we asked her to do. She even did things pre-emptively without us even asking. If you want someone to wake up at 6:30am to pick you up from Santa Monica and drive you to the Flower Mart at Downtown LA then choose Jen and her First Pick Planning team. If you want someone to bring her own steamer to the hotel and steam your dress in the middle of making sure everything else goes right with your wedding, then choose Jen and her First Pick Planning team. If you want someone you can trust to put together your decorations, boutineers and bouquets with little instruction, then call Jen and her First Pick Planning team. If you can get your 2 1/2 year old flower girl to smile, walk slowly and throw petals like she is supposed to, then hire Jen and her First Pick Planning team. If you don't want someone to read over contracts, suggest awesome vendors and try to save you money while still creating an event that looks like a million bucks, then don't pick First Pick Planning. BUT, if you do want everything that I have mentioned then PICK Jen and her First Pick Planning team. No need to look elsewhere. Trust me! read more

I'm copying and pasting my review from weddingwire! So you think you don't need a planner?? You are wrong! We hired Jen as our day-of coordinator but she was so helpful even before we committed to hiring her. I really feel that she gave us 110%. Her personality makes her a great coordinator because you feel like you are working with a friend. My husband and I both felt so lucky to have found her and booked her early on. Plus she had a wedding the day after ours but I never felt like she wasn't giving me her full attention on my wedding day. Every time I looked up she was within view ready to get me whatever I needed. Meet with her and you'll see what I'm talkin' about! read more

I met Jen at the Bride World Expo in July 2013. I'm getting married in June 2014 and went to primarily meet vendors. Her setup was so cute and she invited myself and mother to chat with her when we walked by. She gave me a brochure with package information and pricing. She clearly had nothing to hide. A lot of vendors wanted me to call at a later date for pricing. About a week later she emailed me stating she was coordinating a wedding in Santa Barbara which is close to my home in Ventura. She offered to meet with me over coffee or at my home on her way home back to LA the next day. It worked out perfect because her show special was contingent upon a consultation within a certain time period. Here is what I loved about her: *She was able to answer all my questions with the "right" answers *Competitive pricing *the "day of" package included a lot of lead time working together. I feel my dollar goes further with her. Some other coordinators would charge for a "month of" for the same services. *Her contract was the easiest read of all contracts I have had to read thus far. *Timely follow up *Not pushy Thank you First Pick Planning Services! read more

I had SO much fun on my wedding day and I can confidently say that it was in large part thanks to Jen at First Pick Planning. I never thought I would be one to get a coordinator, but after deciding to do an at home wedding I thought that would be a good decision so that my family and I would be stress free that day. I chose the partial planning package so that Jen would be familiar with everything along the way. What I ended up getting was so much more than I expected. Jen spent HOURS with me and I'm sure went way beyond her contracted hours. She came with me to almost every vendor meeting, recommended AWESOME vendors, offered to do and put together so many things that other vendors would charge an arm and a leg for (she put together the flowers for a recent bride!!!), and more. She works tirelessly, always with a smile on her face, and consistently goes above and beyond. She would answer my emails at 2am after getting home from another wedding! If that's not dedication I don't know what is. She remembered the smallest of details (I can't tell you how nice it is to have someone to remember everything for you, when you're sleep deprived and stressed, it can be hard to keep track of all the details vendors are throwing at you), she helped out with things way beyond her job description (helping my dad figure out our lighting design and offering to assist with DIY projects), and so much more. The day of the wedding, Jen was always there when I needed her. I honestly don't know how she handled all that she did. She also put together all of the details I had planned and she executed it exactly as I envisioned and maybe even better! This included things such as a persian sofreh table and a smores bar. She even made sure all the other vendors did their job better. Jen has the best personality and always made me feel so calm! By the end she felt more like a friend than anything else. On top of it all, Jen has extremely competitive pricing. If anything she should charge more. Do yourself a favor and hire Jen. It'll be the best money you will spend on your wedding. read more

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Jen is such a gem. I met her at a wedding event and we clicked immediately - I remember leaving our first meeting feeling totally sure that she was the right choice. I was actually massively hungover when I met her at the event, but I still managed to like her enough to set up a meeting. Boy was I right! She knows a ton of vendors and hooked us up with our caterer, who was an AMAZING cook with totally reasonable prices. I had only been to one wedding before I had to plan my own, so I had a ton of questions - who do I tip? when do I need to book a florist? who gets invited to the rehearsal? how many speeches? - she answered them all quickly and easily. She took great notes on things I didn't think to write down. She gave us a timeline early on with important tasks for us to complete. She even came over to help me stuff the invitations. The best things about Jen are: 1. She is so fast. 2. She knows the BEST people. 3. She is a happy, helpful problem solver. Whatever has happened, she'll quickly and cheerfully figure out the best response. When I was getting annoyed with a vendor's communication, she quickly took over and everything was immediately solved and smoothed over. She was also honest. If I suggested something she didn't think was a good idea, she'd say "I don't think that would work out. Here's why." My wedding was a huge success and I know it's in large part thanks to her. THANK YOU JEN! read more

A very belated review from our April 2017 wedding. We hired Jen for our day of coordinating, and the day would not have been as smooth, as stress-free, or as fun without her help! She helped us flawlessly manage our 250+ guest wedding, organize our large families, and set up decor and coordinate with vendors at multiple sites. In the pre-wedding process, Jen was always available and responsive. In person, she is friendly, calm, and meticulously organized. There are probably a million things she did in the background that I am not even aware of, but I am so thankful for. Hiring a day-of coordinator for our self-planned wedding, especially hiring Jen, was the one of the best decisions we made. Thank you Jen! read more

We can't say enough about First Pick. We had a destination wedding in Palm Springs and had the help of Ashley as our "day of" coordinator. She was so much more and we couldn't imagine the wedding without her. Ashley is based in San Francisco and we didn't meet in person until the day before the wedding. We instantly felt at ease after our first Skype meeting and she was so on top of everything through the whole process. Whenever we had even the littlest conflict with a vendor Ashley stepped in and helped things get resolved. The weekend of the wedding we were able to stay calm and enjoy ourselves because we knew Ashley and her assistant Amy were going to take care of it. While Ashley was making sure everything was running smoothly, Amy was behind the scenes running everywhere and working so hard. My father in law has even told us numerous times how appreciative he was to have Ashley keeping him in the loop. It's a real skill to get all of the bridal party, vendors, and guests where they need to go and still have everyone like you. These girls did it to perfection. We seriously can't thank them enough and would recommend them to anyone. True professionals. read more

Where to begin...It was an absolute honor to have Ashley be our coordinator for our wedding! She exceeded every expectation and was our rock through the entire process. She was very organized, easy to work with, sympathetic to our concerns, attentive to detail, and motivated to ensure we had the day of our dreams. But above all else, we established a level of trust with Ashley that made every other part of the planning process much less stressful. Due to various weather-related issues, we were unable to see our venue before our wedding day, meaning that we had to trust that Ashley would bring our vision to fruition. Without that trust, we do not think our Wedding Day would have been as amazing as it was. Ashley was able to communicate to us exactly how our venue layout would look and what we needed to plan for to ensure we had the perfect day. And don't get us started about the actual Wedding Day. Ashley was cool, calm and collected the entire day, and that energy flowed through to us, allowing us to enjoy the day even with all the potential stressors going on in the background. We simply cannot thank Ashley enough for everything she did, we are so grateful. We strongly recommend Ashley for any event you may be planning! read more

Jennifer was organized, and incredibly helpful in getting us all of the information we needed to give our clients a successful wedding. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her, and loved having the opportunity to get to know her. Jennifer made sure that the timeline went smoothly the entire day, and allowed us to really focus on doing the work we needed to. We have worked with many wedding planners, many who are tough to communicate with, however FPP allowed us to focus on doing what we do best while allowing our clients to relax throughout the entire day. read more

I haven't even had my wedding yet, but I feel Jen deserves five stars already. In the midst of a hectic and emotional week of postponing my wedding from 2020 to 2021 because of the pandemic I don't feel like naming anymore, the true colors of our vendors have shown through. First Pick Planning has been one of the ones that has put me at ease immediately and assured me it will all be ok - reducing, not adding to the stress. Thank you to Jen for checking in and for keeping our contract exactly as is, just with a new date. People like you bring the silver lining to these tough times. read more

With only about a month left until our wedding, I was frantically looking for a day of coordinator that would work with our long wedding day and that was fluent in Spanish. Luckily, my husband and I found Jen at a bridal show! She was a charm, very professional, and fit both requirements. She answered and clarified any questions I had in a timely manner. On our wedding day, she was able to tackle all situations that arose successfully along with her assistant Romie. They were both very attentive, quick to act, creative, and above all a pleasure to work with. I felt as if I had my best friends along my side overseeing and taking care of all things that I had carefully planned for. Thanks for many unforgettable moments leading to the very end of the night! ;) Many nerve wrecking moments were eased by sharing a laugh with you. Jen, you and your business Rock! read more

My husband, Paul and I were about 75% through with our wedding planning and prep believing that we would be okay without hiring a planner or coordinator. Looking back on our wedding day (as we do often, haha), we always discuss and talk about how it definitely wouldn't have been what it was without our dearest, Sarah Bond (Wooley)! Even though we went with only the day-of coordinator package, it was as if we'd been friends with Sarah since forever! She was instant magic from the moment we met her. Lovely, friendly, honest, sweet, hard-working, talked food and sports with Paul AND extremely detail-oriented (which I am also) and this is when we clicked and knew that we had to book First Pick and to work with Sarah! Working with Sarah did not feel like another wedding task; it was effortless and easy and like working with a friend! There are not enough good things to say about Sarah and all that she, Jen and Erin did to help bring our magical day to life! Fast and prompt emails, texts, calls, etc. Communication was never an issue. Our family and wedding guests and friends (until now) continue to commend our wedding day and how naturally thorough and organized it was. Some even said that it was the best wedding they had ever attended! Our family and dearest friends loved meeting her and seeing her hard work behind the scenes. Compliments on Sarah still keep raving our way and we love it and bragging about her! Our wedding was perfect to us. We had tons and tons of fun, felt so full of love and joy that day and did so without having to stress or worry about a single thing. This was important to Paul and I. Thanks to Sarah. We firmly believe that Sarah was the best investment we made during our wedding planning journey and if we had to do it over again, we'd choose her over and over and over again! First Pick Planning is a first class team, so wonderful to coordinate/ work with and helped make the best day, our best day EVER! We strongly recommend them for any events and hope to work with them again soon in our future ;-) THANK YOU SARAH!!! -PAUL & MYRA GAVINI JULY 4TH 2015 WEDDING read more

Most amazing coordinator and team ever!! She's professional, fun, and gets things done early and efficiently! She helped me for my day-of, but honestly, I felt like she was helping me months before then!! Her and her team did the most amazing job keeping my extra-large wedding flowing super smoothly! Absolutely love them!! read more