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Once In A Lifetime

5.0 (63 reviews)
Closed 9:00 am - 10:00 pm

Services - Once In A Lifetime

Event planning

Wedding planning

Once In A Lifetime Photos

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Dalina made this all happen! Thank you for everything!!!!

Amazing, full of love, incredible connections, organized and knowledgeable. That only BEGINS to describe Dalina at Once In A Lifetime!! We originally hired Dalina as our "day of" planner thinking that we really did not even need anyone (our site required that we have a day-of planner) -- we are very DIY and self sufficient so we just assumed that having Dalina for the day-of would help ease any of the stress that day. Dalina was SO much more than just a day-of planner. We spoke with her several times throughout the year - she provided recommended vendors and always had a great answer to any of our questions. Weddings are a tricky thing to plan -- there are so many details that you never think of, and Dalina was there to help us along the way. THEN...two days before our wedding, a storm hit Santa Barbara. Our site got an evacuation order, forcing us to completely change EVERYTHING. I cannot even explain how Dalina was our LIFE SAVER. She worked with us in every step along the way to make things happen and help us completely rework our wedding within 24 hours. She. Is. AMAZING. Let's not forget to mention that Dalina and her family were EVACUATED ALSO! So the entire time that my now husband and I are totally focused on ourselves and trying to get our wedding back in order, she is right alongside us even though she was dealing with having her kids stay with friends and her husband out of town. To top everything off, the day of our wedding, our DJ, Photographer and Videographer got stuck in a 101 closure due to mudslides and about 2 hours before the ceremony, we were without key vendors. Dalina NEVER stressed - she always came to me with a backup plan and a positive attitude. She honestly made me feel like she had been my friend for years...helping me navigate through the madness. She got new vendors to come and everything even STARTED ON TIME!!! I could honestly ramble on and on and on about how grateful we are for Dalina and how amazing she is. Thank you Dalina for being an incredible human and the WORLDS BEST WEDDING PLANNER! xoxoxo

Us with Dalina. So thankful to have worked with her!

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Review Highlights - Once In A Lifetime

Dalina is the detail orientated and organized wedding coordinator that any and everyone should need on their wedding day.

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Amazing Days Events - our table setting

Amazing Days Events

(96 reviews)

This review is long overdue! We got married back in October at the Santa Barbara Club (a great and…read moreunderrated venue) and chose Amazing Days Events to plan our wedding and we're so glad we did. Sophie and her team were on top of every detail, which made the process so much less stressful than I expected, and when the day came, we were able to fully enjoy it, which you can't really put a price on! The whole thing was beautiful and went seamlessly, even my family and wedding party agreed! Everything was so organized, and I appreciated their responsiveness and diligence throughout the process. I loved working with them so much, I recommended Sophie to my cousin who is getting married this year and am so exited to attend her wedding because I know it will also be Amazing! Thank you Sophie, Xochilt, and Megan!!! We are eternally grateful :-) -Natalie & Peter

Sophie and Xochilt were a dream to work with. As someone who had never thought of their wedding…read morebefore getting engaged, Amazing Days Events helped me brainstorm a vision and then used their design skills to bring the vision to life. We ended up having rain the week of our wedding and ADE jumped into action to come up with a rain plan and work with our vendors to change design and rentals. Our wedding day was perfect and it couldn't have happened without the ADE team. If you are looking for a planner that is organized, a design genius, and well respected by vendors -- HIRE the ADE team!! You will not be disappointed and you will have a lot of fun planning your special day.

Magnolia Event Design - San Ysidro Ranch Wedding in gardens

Magnolia Event Design

(47 reviews)

My wife and I hired Lindsey and her team to provide full-service event design and planning for our…read moreLong Island, New York wedding. From our initial phone consultation a year and a half prior to our wedding, Lindsey put us at complete ease with her professionalism, attention to detail, motivation, excitement and genuine desire to truly understand our wedding vision and bring it to life. Lindsey and her team were everything we could have asked for and everything we didn't know we would need. To say Lindsey was "on top of things" is a gross understatement. Lindsey is a visionary, a designer, an organizer, a planner, an advocate, a friend. She is beyond talented, skilled, professional, direct, responsive, creative, tolerant, and extremely patient. She is the person you want and need to have in your corner. She is the person who will transform your vision into a reality beyond what you could ever imagine. She is the person who WILL find a way to execute every detail perfectly despite any obstacles that arise. Lindsey has a perfect balance of professionalism and a down to earth supportive nature that makes you feel like your best friend is by your side the entire way through but is also willing to pounce the second something needs to be addressed or confronted. We were NOT always the easiest brides to work with, as we had a difficult time articulating our vision and went back and forth often with our concept ideas. But despite our indecisiveness, Lindsey was able to reign us in and really found a way to help us identify exactly what we wanted. As someone who always needs to be in control and micromanage every detail, it was challenging for me to accept the idea of handing over the reigns and trusting that someone else could execute accordingly .... but I could not be happier that I trusted Lindsey and handed those reins over. It not only made my life SO much easier, but also resulted in an absolute PERFECT event that I would have NEVER been able to pull off half as well on my own! The planning, coordination and design aspects of the process were absolutely effortless on our end. Once our vision was cemented, Lindsey and her team were able to magically bring everything to life beyond our expectations by handling all the tedious backend details that we honestly had no time or patience for! In the very beginning of the planning phase I found myself "checking in" frequently to ensure certain things were going to be handled; however, I quickly realized that my need to "check in" was completely unnecessary as Lindsey was always 10 steps ahead. People warned us about how stressful the actual wedding day can be, so we had mentally prepared ourselves to feel emotionally drained, anxious, overwhelmed, etc. Let me tell you, this could not be farther from the reality of our experience on our day; it could NOT have gone any smoother. The entire day was effortless on our ends, our only responsibility was to show up. My wife and I felt completely and utterly at ease and relaxed. As a direct result of Lindsey and her team's attentiveness, we never had to ask for a thing; they knew exactly what we needed before we even realized we needed it! We also entrusted Lindsey with the responsibility of selecting our photography and videography teams, which both ended up being INCREDIBLE and huge contributors to the success of our event! Having these teams collaborate on our event together felt more like having life-long friends surrounding us as opposed to having a group of strangers in our space who were being compensated to get a job done. In the days following, many people reached out to enthusiastically tell us how "perfect" the event was; many insisted this was the best wedding they had ever attended; many commented on the impeccable timing and spacing from one activity to the next. We even had more than one of our friend's husbands say, "this is how a wedding should be done". My wife and I made an additional vow on our wedding night to NEVER again hold an event WITHOUT the involvement of Lindsey and her team!

Lindsey and the Magnolia Event Design team truly gave me the wedding of my dreams. Before I met…read moreLindsey I was working with another planner and was getting very frustrated with her lack of communication and decided to give Magnolia Event Design a call. From our first talk I knew Lindsey really knew what she was doing and knew I needed to ditch the other wedding planner to work with her. Best decision I made! From the very start Lindsey jumped right in and went to work on making my dream a reality. She was friendly, easy to communicate, and most importantly she got stuff done! 2 months in to working together we had almost all my vendors booked and a big weight was lifted off my shoulders knowing that everything was at last coming together. Magnolia Event Design also uses the Aisle Planner Software which is a brides dream come true! I loved being able to login and see/ manage every wedding detail from being able to pull in images of design I liked to seeing where I was at on our budget. The day of our wedding I was able to relax because I knew Lindsey was going to put it all together perfectly and I can happily say not only did nothing go wrong but our wedding exceeded all of my expectations thanks to MEG. From start to finish Lindsey and her team took care of us and made the planning process easy and fun. I can't say enough how grateful I am that we got work with her and would highly recommend her services to any bride looking for an amazing wedding planner

Santa Barbara Elopement - This was the kinda day that dreams are made of!!

Santa Barbara Elopement

(20 reviews)

Shauna with Santa Barbara Elopement is amazing! We're so glad we hired her as she was totally worth…read moreit! Shauna helped us plan our intimate wedding with only 2 weeks notice, she was always on top of it sending me referrals and keeping in contact. Our wedding day ended up having some crazy weather but Shauna was able to work around it all. We went with our back up location and due to the flash flood that was happening that day our guitarist couldn't make it but she found a last minute replacement that did great! Without her I would've been a stressed out mess but she took care of the problems behind the scenes so that I could enjoy my day. We even provided her with some flowers and she decorated our wedding cake beautifully. Definitely hire Shauna if you want someone reliable, friendly, and that's very knowledgeable in the industry.

Going with Santa Barbara Elopement was the best decision we made (aside from tying the knot of…read morecourse)! Shauna was our coordinator and right from the start, we knew it was the right fit. She was so comprehensive, detailed, and a great resource from the first email communication to first phone consultation to our first meeting. She recommended a variety of first class vendors. Our team - the officiant, photographer, flowers, and hair and makeup - were the A-Team and I wouldn't have had the experience, time, or knowledge to have found these talented people. So thankful for Shauna. I highly recommend the Santa Barbara Elopement Company is you are looking for guidance on your big day. We had an intimate wedding with them and everyone who went and saw from photos had nothing but great praise.

Tonya Szele Events - Hotel Californian Elopement by Willa Kveta

Tonya Szele Events

(25 reviews)

Tonya orchestrated our daughter Lindsey 's wedding at our home, Casa Medio. It was exceptional. I…read moreheartily recommend her.

Tonya is the consummate professional and the wedding planner you want for your big day. From the…read moreinitial consult to after the wedding, I found Tonya and her team at Soigne Productions to be top notch, high-quality, reliable, warm, and supportive. I found her on Yelp after doing extensive searching, and after interviewing a few wedding planners. From the get-go, Tonya was flexible, extremely organized, dependable, proactive, and very familiar with the wedding venues and vendors available in Santa Barbara County. She allowed me to be as hands-on as I wanted, while providing solid advice and providing support whenever I asked. Besides supporting me with logistics, she has a great eye for style, and I took her recommendations several times for items such as floral arrangements, cake design, etc. I was aiming for a wedding that was minimalistic, romantic, with some handmade items, and uniquely us, and Tonya helped us deliver that. She listened carefully to our vision and helped us execute it seamlessly. If there were any gaps in my vision, Tonya filled them in even better than I could have. When my mom wanted to meet my wedding planner, Tonya was gracious enough to set up a meeting with her to make sure my mom felt confident about the wedding planning. It was great having her create a detailing timeline for the bridal party and the vendors, and running through the wedding rehearsal the day before - it saved me from having so much work! On the day of, we hit a few snafus, from late-arriving wedding guests, to almost going over the time we had set for the trolley, but Tonya handled everything calmly and supportively, and knew exactly what to do. She let us enjoy our big day while she took care of all the little details and logistics (all the small things, like paying the restaurant tab at the end of the night, add up but we didn't notice because she was by our side). It was great having someone we trusted look after us and our guests the day of. Because of Tonya and her team, our guests loved our wedding and we were able to enjoy all the little moments of our big day! I'd highly recommend her for your wedding as well. Some of my favorite guest quotes (that were made possible because we had Tonya): "The wedding was so much fun." "Your wedding is the one I wished I had. I'm jealous." "The wedding was perfect; I don't think anything even went wrong!" "This wedding is so you guys. It's so you!" "It's the best wedding I've attended this year. My favorite!"

Wild Heart Events

Wild Heart Events

(35 reviews)

One of the best decisions we made was working with Wild Heart Events as our wedding planner. Jaime…read moreand her incredible team: Jenna, Pasha, Tsahai & Natalie are a pleasure to work with. Their customer service and attention to detail is second to none. Almost all of our friends and family commented how every detail was so fun, perfectly curated and magical! Every single vendor WHE suggested was absolutely A+. Zero complaints. Jaimie's team is incredible - everyone was warm, helpful and professional. We felt so taken care of start to finish (it was a year and a half of planning) If you're still reading this review - don't hesitate - reach out and secure your date... like, now! :)

Working with Jamie and her incredible team was an absolute pleasure. Their communication was…read moreconsistently timely and detailed, and they demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills and creativity. Jamie, Pasha, and Jenna felt like friends throughout the wedding weekend, managing every aspect of the event beautifully and having a good time while doing it. Their attention to detail was remarkable--even our guests noticed and appreciated it! The vendor referrals and relationships they fostered contributed to a flawlessly executed event, surpassing our expectations in every way--from the florals and paper to the band and beyond. The real highlight was collaborating with Jamie to design the wedding events. She is exceptionally talented and brought my unconventional color palettes to life in the most eclectic and elevated way. She's got vision!! Thank you to the WH team for being such amazing partners in creating our unforgettable wedding experience!

Alison Bryan Destinations - Fall tablescape in a conservatory. Design by Alison | Bryan, photo by Jess + Nate Studios.

Alison Bryan Destinations

(10 reviews)

Alison and Bryan are the dream team! And they help put together an even bigger dream team! My…read morehusband and I started planning over a year out from our wedding date. We nailed down a venue, and then found Alison and Bryan. They made the process so easy and the timeline was clear! They definitely kept us on track despite the fact that we were out of towners! (Skype/Facetime - technology really has changed wedding planning!) VLD helped us track down the best florist, photographer, bakery, and linens. Who knew how many linen options there are?! And chairs? Invitations? The list goes on. We saved so much time being able to reap the benefits of their experience and expertise. Seeing photos of what they'd done in the past, I knew we were in the right hands. They've been featured in all the wedding magazines I've read, and I know one day I'll be able to say "you guys...those are the awesome people who also did OUR wedding!!!" Not only were they amazing planners, but they are just wonderful people. We enjoyed our meetings beyond the wedding planning, and we were sad when the process came to and end. Luckily, we can follow their lives and successes over social media, and we are excited to see what they do in the future. We highly recommend Alison and Brian for your wedding needs, and hope you are just as happy on your special day when you walk in and see how it all comes together as we were!

My husband Ryan and I cannot say enough about Alison and Bryan. Not only did they flawlessly…read moreexecute our vision and create our dream wedding, but they also are truly the most wonderful people and we are lucky to call them friends for life :) We were so fortunate that A+B moved to Santa Barbara right before we got engaged. A friend introduced us and we knew immediately that they were the right fit. They are so easygoing, creative and fun, yet also the most detail oriented and organized people you will ever meet. We live in San Francisco and could only visit our venue (Belmond El Encanto) a few times but A+B made it so easy and kept us on track from afar with video chats, shared schedules and budgets. With the design, I had likes and dislikes but Alison really helped me hone in on my vision and bring it to life in a way that we never could have imagined. She helped us create a cohesive and personal "brand" that carried from the invitations, florals and menus to the cocktail napkins, photo booth backdrop and welcome boxes. They liaised with our other vendors leading up to the big day and everything was seamless. A+B created the dreamiest coastal garden dinner party for us and designed a dramatic canopy of twinkling lights that illuminated our two long dinner tables around the lily pond - truly magical! We would trust Alison and Bryan with any event and want to plan a vow renewal just so we can work with them again. The worst part about our wedding being over was not getting to chat with A+B everyday!

Dulce Dia Events - The vision brought to life.

Dulce Dia Events

(50 reviews)

Shawna of Dulce Dia Events, came highly recommended to me. And let me tell you, it's no surprise…read morewhy - she's absolutely amazing! From our very first call, I knew she was the one I wanted to work with in planning our wedding. Shawna is not only incredibly personable and welcoming but also highly professional. Most importantly, she genuinely wants to understand your vision for your big day and is dedicated to bringing it to life. Throughout our planning process, communication with Shawna was seamless, whether through email, text, or calls. She consistently provided guidance and support, making planning our wedding from the Bay Area a breeze. As the wedding day approached, Shawna scheduled calls to touch base, not just about the wedding details but also to check in on me personally - a gesture that meant so much to me! Thank you so much Shawna Having Shawna as our wedding planner and coordinator was one of the best decisions we made. I had no worries at all, knowing that she was coordinating and communicating with all our vendors to ensure everyone was informed and on the same page. Our wedding day turned out beyond perfect, thanks to Shawna and Celia. They both went above and beyond to make our day memorable and unforgettable. Thank you, Shawna and Celia! You are both truly amazing, and we are forever grateful for everything you did to make our wedding day so special. And for your heartfelt gift that meant so much to us!!

Hiring Dulce Dia Events was hands-down one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. From the…read moremoment we booked, Shawna was incredibly available, responsive, and full of amazing vendor recommendations. The minute we met her, we knew she could handle anything that came her way--her experience shines through in every detail! At our very first planning session, Shawna brought up things we never would've thought of on our own and gave us thoughtful, unique ideas that added such a special touch to the day. As the date got closer, she took over communication with all of our vendors, made sure everyone had a clear, flawless timeline, and even ran a ceremony rehearsal for our entire bridal party to help things go smoothly. Of course, wedding days come with surprises--like forgotten flower girl petals, vendor delays, and parking issues--but Shawna handled EVERYTHING with total grace and control. She was calm, focused, and had it all locked in without ever making us feel the stress. Her associate Kim was equally amazing. She kept me grounded and calm throughout the day, always made sure we had a fresh drink in hand (literally as we stepped foot off the aisle), and even had our plates ready while guests were still being served. It's the kind of thoughtful care that makes all the difference. You can truly tell Shawna and Kim love what they do--their energy, professionalism, and attention to detail made our day unforgettable. We are so thankful for everything they did to make it perfect. Thank you both from the bottom of our hearts!

Onyx And Redwood

Onyx And Redwood

(34 reviews)

We couldn't be more thankful for Jess & her team. From start to finish, she made the entire…read moreplanning process so smooth, fun, and personal. Her planning software kept us organized and on track and she took the time to really get to know us, making sure every detail of the day reflected our personalities. From the thoughtful little touches to the overall creative vision, she truly knows how to deliver an amazing guest (and couple) experience. On the day of our wedding, she was on top of everything so we didn't have to think or worry about a thing. Beyond her organization and talent, what stood out most was how deeply she cared about us, our families and our day. We're endlessly grateful for her and couldn't recommend her more!

My husband and I were deeply disappointed by the communication and service with Jessica that we…read morecould no longer move forward with her. We reached out to her in March 2020 to have her coordinate our wedding and had put down a deposit. Due to the pandemic we immediately had to shift plans and we asked her, the venue and our DJ if they could shift to a 5 year credit which they all agreed to. Anticipating our 5 year, we reached out to her December 7th 2023 to let her know our intentions of planning our 5 year in 2025. We were able to confirm our venue and our DJ at this time so we felt we should reach out to her as well. With no response, I reached out a week and a half later to check in. She said she was available but had increased her prices. We reached back out same day and didn't hear back a week and a half later and checked in. She had an auto-response that she would be out of office until January 9th. Weird since she never followed up with us beforehand. We reached back out on the 9th and she responded saying she got the dates wrong and thought it was 2024 and if she was available in 2025 she would be there but otherwise it would be her staff to take over. "If I do not book a wedding on that date, then I would continue as your day-of coordinator." Basically saying if another wedding of higher value doesn't come up she would serve us. This left a bad taste in our mouths. We responded back the next day, no response. A week later, no response and an auto-message. 2 weeks later and no response until the 26th even though she was actively posting on social media and going out to cocktails on her stories. Her response was that since our event was over a year out, she was spending more time on other large-scale event clients. She then explained that her socials were run by her husband and 14 year old daughter. The only reason I feel that she finally responded was because we told her that if we didn't have some type of response and resolution by 6pm that day that we would share our experience, which she still didn't respond to until 10pm. Her last response was "I'm really sorry you feel that way. I would hope our previous working relationship would have shown my attention to detail and demand for great service for my clients. You unfortunately caught me at a very busy time during, and just after, the holidays." We had no previous working relationship, and if she was referring to our earlier emails that still didn't show her work ethic. Also if she's charging more, wouldn't she have a higher attention to detail now? I can appreciate being busy, but I would never leave my client hanging and put out an auto-responder message without finishing up a conversation with a client. I would at least send a quick personal email saying, I had got theirs and would respond back as soon as possible. Every luxury planner and vendor we reached out to got back to us within 72 hours, which I find odd she could not manage as we had to wait 16 days+ for responses. We really wanted to work with someone who was excited to work with us on our special day but it seemed that from the time we booked her until we reached back out for our anniversary event, that our event did not seem aligned with her luxury business values since her contact form is looking at booking events that are $100K plus. She never apologized other than 'I'm sorry you feel that way'. She didn't even refund our deposit even if it was partial. It was a nightmare trying to get answers from her. She might market herself as luxury, but her service and standard are far from it in our experience. There are far better planners out there and we recommend looking elsewhere.

Once In A Lifetime - eventplanning - Updated May 2026

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