If I could give Sheila 5 million starts I would…read more Sheila was amazing to work with and so personable. We planned our "destination" wedding in San Diego from Denver and it proved to be way too stressful for me to put together on my own. Sheila saved the day. From the moment I spoke with her over the phone I knew I was in good hands. Sheila made herself available by phone, text, and/or e-mail whenever I had questions, requests, or just needed some advice throughout the entire wedding planning process and I could not have imagined my big day going so smoothly without her. Sheila went above and beyond my own expectations by extending the help of her own family when I needed to drop some things off for our reception the night before. She happily put everything together exactly the way I wanted it even though I just threw almost everything cluttered in boxes. If you are looking for a highly organized, personable, and creative individual to plan your wedding, I highly recommend her services.

I had been planning a San Diego wedding from Texas and it was so stressful at first. Sheila was a…read moreGodsend. She is so sweet and easy to work with. She was attentive and was responded quickly via e-mail and text message. She really listened to what we wanted out of our wedding day and did what she could to make it as stress-free as possible. Since I am not from the area and had not even seen my venue other than the pictures I had seen online, she video chatted with me to show me the venue while also seeing it for herself. She communicated with our vendors to make sure everyone was on the same page and our day was so perfect.

I've never hired a DJ before! This was important! I was planning my own surprise birthday party…read more hahahaha! Checked out reviews on Yelp. Called the three that caught my eye. Talked to a few via tele and selected Events by Design. Mostly because John G. returned my call so quickly and the price was right! I coordinated with the owner John Gillon by phone and email. He couldn't have made it easier! He is an easy going guy. Pleasure doing business with him. He followed through on every promise and every one of my questions. He set me up with a DJ named John! I had a few special requests. Some mellow tunes for dinner then some dancing. Had to include some Persian tunes so I could watch my hubby 'shake it up' on the dance floor. Also, this party was in my backyard so DJ John recommended a visit to scope out the party pad! He stopped by at the time he promised. Hung out with us out back and discussed what we wanted and what he could do for the party. He was so nice! Offered to bring lights for the caterers, too. Plus, dance lights. He said he'd bring them and then he'd have them if we wanted to use them. We did --- it was a fabulous idea. He took the list of my favorite bands and solo artists. Suggested 40's during the mellow times. I loved it! Then dance tunes. He was very receptive to play for kids and adults. He asked if he could take requests from the guests. Absolutely yes. The night of the party. He set up even earlier than he said he would. He taped down the wires. Set-up the speakers. Checked in with me frequently but at the appropriate times (never intrusive). I had wanted a DJ to make it more about atmosphere and music --- rather than focus on the DJ (or even the birthday girl). He did a fabulous job at keeping the tunes rolling. Made the announcements for dinner and dancing. Yes, we did dance! Woop Woop HANDS UP IN THE AIR! Even announced when my daughter lost her first tooth. I cannot say enough nice things about the personal and seamless service! The end of the night. He taught the little girls to scratch. Sweet. He also stuck around and taught me and another mommy a few things about the dj world and music in his computer. I am so happy with the outcome of my surprise birthday party. Really, so much better than just me dj'ing with my Ipod and speakers. THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING MY BIRTHDAY SPECIAL AND MEMORABLE!

My husband and I hired Events by Design to DJ our wedding. We worked specifically with Scott…read moreZimmerman and had a FANTASTIC time working with him! Unlike other DJ's that some friends have worked with, Scott did a great job of playing almost all of our requests, filling in the "blanks" with songs that he knew we'd love based off of our requests, and completely avoiding anything on our do-not-play list. He could not have been a more nice, professional, or fun DJ to work with. Due to a few other "glitches" (not related to anything to do with Scott or EBD), the wedding/reception were running a bit behind schedule and Scott offered to stay and play a bit beyond his ending time so that the reception could wind down properly. We'd met with a few other DJs and were feeling a bit skeptical by the time that we met with Scott, but my husband and I really clicked with him and knew that he'd be perfect for our ceremony/reception as soon as we'd talked with him the first time, and we were right. Scott was awesome, and we highly recommend him.

I can't begin to say enough good things about Elena Donnelly and the staff at Before I Do events…read more Elena was the sweetest person to work with and worked so incredibly hard to make our wedding the day of our dreams and go off without a glitch! She worked so well with all of the vendors and just made the whole experience so much more pleasant. She was like having a little buddy to conquer the world with those last few weeks! I'm so incredibly thankful to her and her staff (who were all total sweethearts too) for making everything perfect!

Being a Project Manager in my every day life, I very much handled my wedding in the same manner. A…read moreproject. However, even good project managers know good delegation skills... Since I already had my vendors and most major details sorted out, I was strictly looking for a coordinator to help me the week/day of our wedding to make it all come together and to relieve any internal stress/anxiety I was surely about to have (note: we had recently moved cross-country from San Diego to FL months before we came back to SD for the wedding...thank you, U.S. Navy.) I was recommended Before I Do Events from a fellow friend and was lucky enough to meet Elena Donnelly. To echo a lot of the other reviews, I cannot say enough great things of Elena and her team for what they did for us that special day. While I'm sure we were not their most complicated, I'd like to think our traditional Catholic and Military wedding put some curve balls into the mix. Elena and her team did an exceptional job from prepping the church, to working hand in hand with each venue coordinator, to making sure the vendors and guests had seamless access to the military base (where our reception was held) to dealing with a difficult reception room layout/setup, transporting/setting every table center piece since I shipped most of it and had it staged in our hotel room (and yes, I did my own flower arrangements because I'm insane!) down to the littlest details of making sure we and the bridal party had sandwiches for lunch on the trolley as we ran around SD taking pictures in between the ceremony and reception. The timing of the day was tight and it went in a blink of an eye but it was flawless and for the first time ever (it's hard for me to not be in control of everything) I handed over command to someone that I truly trusted and felt confident would excel in executing every last task of our big day. Elena, you handled everything with ease and you did it with class...thank you again to you and your Before I Do Events team for making it memorable!

Best investment we made was in my wedding designer because the dreams and vision that I thought…read morecould only happen in my mind Jerri made real life and not just life... The wedding of my dreams! I have heard many women say what their wildest dreams are for their wedding yet only Jerri would be able to deliver exactly what each women's individual vision is. Jerri has a way of communicating your love and admiration for your new life together and create the fairytale start of it all. Finding, interviewing, contracting and working with all of the vendors individually on my own would have been impossible! There were several major things going on in my career and personal life right at the same time we got engaged the least of which was moving all the way across the country to be with my new husband. To be very honest our wedding could not have happened if it wasn't for Jerri and her vision. It is amazing when I think about the heart connection we had immediately and how God used her to answer my prayers. We can't Thank Jerri enough for all of her hard work, we are truly honored to have worked with her! Jerri is such a blessing to so many people and most importantly to US! We love the person Jerri is too, she's is like family to us now! Jerri's vision is wrapped in love and has inspired me to want to impact someone else's life the way she has impacted ours. The wedding of my dreams followed by the husband of my dreams and I owe it to Jerri!

Jerri is amazing at what she does. I was getting married and I was so lost with what I wanted to do…read moreabout the reception space for my wedding day. My fear was that it would be too plain. I told Jerri my colors and we discussed fabrics. I gave Jerri total control over the reception room. My first time seeing the result was when my Husband and I made our grand entrance. When I walked into that reception room, I was blown away. It exceeded my expectations and was so gorgeous. The ideas she had were out of the box and brought everything together. Jerri made my wedding day so much more memorable and special

Heather Keith is the reason you hire a coordinator - period…read more We hired *Heather Keith Events* to plan our son's Bar Mitzvah (and she was there throughout running the show), and working with Heather was for the lack of a better was to say it just a fantastic experience from start to finish. She was well worth it (and candidly wasn't too expensive to hire either). Heather managed everything--from coordinating numerous vendors and rentals to handling multiple food options, designing thoughtful centerpieces (without breaking the bank), and bringing in an outstanding DJ who kept guests of all ages fully engaged (which is crucial). One of the things we appreciated most was Heather's transparency and smart budgeting advice. She helped us identify where it made sense to handle certain items ourselves ahead of time--saving us from unnecessary vendor markups--and advised on where to invest for the best impact. Thanks to her, we not only stayed on budget, we saved money in several areas we wouldn't have considered on our own. But maybe most importantly, Heather took the stress off of my wife. Instead of worrying about logistics or last-minute details, she was able to fully enjoy the evening and be completely present throughout the celebration. That peace of mind alone made working with Heather more than worth it. Heather Keith brought "calm" to the whole planning process. We'll absolutely be working with Heather again for our daughter's Bat Mitzvah--there's no question who we'll be calling. If you're planning a major event and want someone who's organized, clearly in charge of the vendors, and truly committed to making the experience smooth and enjoyable, Heather is who you need! Thank you Heather!

Heather was a wonderful coordinator for our wedding in January 2024! She made sure our day ran…read moresmoothly. We felt confident that everything would be set-up just as we wanted, and we also trusted her fully to make any last minute decor decisions or adjustments as needed. We were able to sneak into the reception area through a back entrance before the guests to see everything all set-up perfectly (we highly recommend doing this!) and were blown away by how gorgeous the entire set-up was. She truly executed on our vision and brought our reception space to life. She was flexible and always supported our decisions for decor. Heather was extremely knowledgeable and she asked us all of the right questions to make sure she had the information she needed. Thank you!

We have worked with Zohreh and Shohreh for about a year! When my fiancée (now wife) brought them up…read moreI was a little skeptical given our budget. They are worth 10x the investment we made with them on planning our wedding. Their skill and expertise were invaluable to making everything go off without any issues! We are truly blessed to have had them by our side planning everything as our wedding was a destination wedding. You truly will walk away from the experience missing them as they become family through the experience than two ladies planning a destination wedding! Work with them and you will not be disappointed!

Wedding planning has been enjoyable, stress free and we're so excited for our big day. These ladies…read moremake the planning a breeze; they work with several fantastic vendors who have extended special discounts for us. They are very quick to respond, and stay on top of all the details of your day for you. My makeup artist dropped the ball last minute, they recommended me to a new artist, set up the appointment, and went to my trial with me. I couldn't be happier with this new artist. They both have gorgeous taste, and bonus, you get two opinions !! We're planning a destination wedding in SD, and its been seamless. Do not plan a socal wedding without this fantasist duo. Thank you for everything ladies, Ellie

We used Michelle for our wedding last year, that turned into a micro wedding due to covid. She did…read morean amazing job and was always there when we had questions or concerns, she helped decorate and managed our special day perfectly. I would highly recommend her. Thanks again Michelle.

I was appalled to learn after my wedding was over that Michelle was rude and yelled at multiple…read morepeople and guests at my wedding. I will review both the good and bad about having Michelle as my partial day of coordinator. I met up with Michelle months before the wedding to talk to her about hiring her for a 4 hour shift during my wedding. She seemed nice and courteous. I needed her for 2 hours to set up some DIY items I had made for the ceremony and 2 hours for reception. I had made all the things for the wedding and she didn't have to provide anything. The good was that she was responsive to phone calls and texts. She came to our rehearsal but had to leave early for a concert which I didn't mind very much bc since she was a partial coordinator and also came early so I could show here where I wanted things to go. I did notice that her attitude towards my other vendors was not pleasant on the wedding day. I saw her be snappy to at least two of my other vendors who were really patient and nice but I was too busy as a bride to really think anything of it at the time. Later on I found out that she snapped directions at my bridesmaids and groomsmen to do tasks that I had paid her to do. They said at one point she was just sitting at a bench and not doing anything. She complained that she didn't know where things were suppose to go so my groomsmen took the blueprint that I had printed out for her and did the set up themselves. Several of my bridesmaids complained that she was rude and just didn't do her job. Michelle also complained that I didn't tell her what to do with our centerpieces even though I did multiple times. Overall, I would say my bridal party did at least 80% of the set up of our ceremony (they transported and set up the arch, the flowers in the aisle way) and finished setting up some reception tables like the dessert table. Michelle had to do the rest and set up some signs at the ceremony, put up some reserve seats signs for family, help us with procession, set up the dessert and check in table and centerpieces at the reception but she did not do it with grace and was rude to my friends and the other wedding vendors. We had a lot of mishaps as all wedding do, some vendors were really late but the only vendor complaint I got was that Michelle was rude. I was very overwhelmed that day but even I was not rude to my vendors and my guests and bridal party. For someone that is paid almost $90 a hour just to be at my wedding and set up some items, she didn't do a good job by any means. I wanted Michelle there to help take the load and burden off my bridal party but it sounds like she made it worse for them. I hope she will be able to be more courteous to her future bridal parties because as a bride, hearing that your 4-hour coordinator was rude and snappy to your friends and vendors is not pleasant. My friends had to jump in and help us despite dealing with her attitude. I can not recommend her and I'm sorry to say that if I could redo the wedding, I would go with a different coordinator or none at all.

I was recently an MOH for a dear friend who hired Catherine as her wedding planner, and after…read morewatching and helping along the way over the last year I have nothing but positive things to say. The bride and groom were planning their wedding from across the country, while moving (not to the location of the wedding) and the bride was starting graduate school. Catherine managed everything, did an excellent job working with all the vendors, found a way to incorporate both the bride and grooms personalities, and actually designed and made the most unique decorations you have ever seen. The bride and groom were relaxed and actually got to enjoy the wedding process from beginning to end and it was the most beautiful wedding. Also, the bride and groom were on a budget, and Catherine managed to give them everything they wanted and more within a tight budget. I always thought that wedding planners were too costly, but she has proven to be just the opposite. I am so thankful that the bride and groom had Catherine to make their wedding planning a great experience. I wish she would have been in business back when I was getting married.

Hard to beat Carlsbad. Staff is very accommodating and adaptive. They could not have been more…read morehelpful.