Tara was exactly the perfect wedding coordinator for us! In addition to her attention to detail, her calm presence, and her ability to anticipate our needs before we even knew them, she was an awesome person to spend our wedding day with. When starting the wedding planning process, we were looking for a day-of wedding planner. We knew we wanted to choose our venue, caterer, and DJ on our own, but since we were planning our Sonoma wedding (Viansa Sonoma) from across the country, we knew we needed someone to help us with the small details. Little did we know after hiring Tara that we would be getting so much more than that! From our first meeting, you could tell that she was incredibly professional but also an easy person to talk to. She set down the expectations from a "month-of wedding planner," but let us know that we could email her with any questions or help with decisions like which of two florists we were deciding between. She was always prompt to her responses and had check in's just to make sure we were on track. She was one of the best decisions we made for planning our wedding, and the day wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly without her! read more

As a May 2025 bride, I was in search of a month of coordinator who was also familiar with our Napa venue. After speaking with several planners, we landed on Heather at Ybarra Events. Although she was technically only "month of", she provided open communication and vendor recommendations straight away in addition to conducting a venue walkthrough and formal menu tasting with the event and catering coordinator. Additionally, we had a few longer meetings in the last couple months leading up to the wedding which made sure every detail was in place and all questions were answered. Heather was fantastic on the day and was very hands on with setup/breakdown, ceremony pacing, and late night details that are often forgotten. She was so sweet throughout the entire process and I'm grateful we were able to work together for this very important occasion that went off without a hitch. Thank you! read more

Ybarra Events - Wedding Planning Near Me

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We worked with Heather for our wedding. SHE IS INCREDIBLE! She was so on top of everything and so calm with everything that the day of was so enjoyable and relaxed. She was so enjoyable to work with that we wish we could have another wedding just to team up again. You cannot go wrong with Heather and I cannot reccomend her enough. ​ read more

May 31, 2025 I was hired by the groom's parents as an attendant for the groom's brother who has Down Syndrome. My job was to get him dressed in his suit, keep his face clean for photos, tend to his dietary restrictions and stay with him as he tends to wander. Until dinner was served. After the salad, Tara Ybarra (I didn't know who she was until I called the winery). I was told I was a vender and I could come to the kitchen for my meal. My name was on the seating chart and I had a Place card at my seating next to my client with the wedding party. I spoke to his parents and they informed her that I was to stay with him at all times. I had requested the fish for my meal and was told they ran out of fish and brought me chicken. It was so humiliating to be questioned in front of the wedding party. As if I didn't belong!! I was treated with complete disrespect as if I was an indigent wedding crasher trying to get a free meal. By this point I had completely lost my appetite!! read more

I am the DJ for A-1 Pro Entertainment DJ/MC Services. I had the pleasure of working with James had a wedding in Kenwood on October 4th, 2025. James is amongst one of the best coordinators I've worked with . He is on top of it from start to finish. I highly recommend him. read more

I cannot thank or recommend Tara from Ybarra Events enough for bringing to life the wedding of our dreams! She brings with her a wealth of experience, genuine compassion, patience, and an infectious calmness, which I personally feel is crucial to wedding planning! She is a true wedding visionary. I didn't know where to start with the whole planning process, but she helped us every step of the way! We hired her for the "month-of" coordination, but she gives you the tools you need upfront (in our case about a year in advance), as well as is readily available and checks in with you to make sure you're where you need to be. We chatted with her many (probably too many! haha) times the year leading up to our wedding. She additionally provided a very helpful list of vendors after getting a feel for what we were going for. I think this review is doing her a disservice as I can't sing her praises enough. Tara is a true gem through and through! Do not hesitate to work with her for your future event planning needs. read more

We're wedding florists (Flowers Valley), and for us, working with Tara was an excellent experience. Her coordination and creativity are outstanding, making every event memorable. She is a true professional in her field! read more

Heather is not the planner to work with. I first spoke to Tara when I reached out for wedding planning. She seemed great. She wasn't available on our date, so she assigned us to her best friend who apparently also works with her. I wanted to trust that this would be a good experience, but the fact that she is Tara's friend does not automatically make her a good planner. While Heather seemed nice and was friendly, there were a lot of questions I had about what a wedding planner does and does not do- it wasn't at all clear. I felt I should be able to ask questions about this as much as possible. I was busy and I wasn't going to remember every detail, and should be able to follow up with any questions I had. When I asked about certain things that seemed to be part of a planner's job (decor? set up? who does what?) she would either say "no" to the basics I thought were part of the package despite the cost, or give a more complex answer that wasn't clear, or say I needed to hire someone else to do those things, and sort of offered to find someone- then later put it back on me to use family or friends, etc. I went through a few emails where I asked clarifying questions since I was confused. She got annoyed and dropped us because of those questions, complaining there were too many questions and there must be"hiccups" in the communication. We found a great person to work with after this, who calls this style of planning "turn and burn"- they want to get in and out and get their money, no questions asked. So accurate in this cutthroat wedding industry! If answering basic questions at the outset is too much for a wedding planner that costs thousands, they're probably not a good person to trust for the whole process. I got the impression that once I signed the contract, this planner would be MIA and not interested in doing any work beyond the basics of the actual wedding day and the vendor coordination in the weeks before. For thousands, a planner should be willing to answer all questions so clients can understand how they work and have peace of mind. Not turn and burn! Finally, and possibly the worst part- she had sent recommendations for vendors including DJ's, and stated that one of them was Jewish and familiar with Jewish music, which we wanted. When I spoke with him, I was both upset for him and embarrassed, as he isn't Jewish at all, he's Armenian- and he was annoyed that Heather apparently made assumptions about his ethnicity based on either his name or his skin. This is totally inappropriate and unprofessional. Terrible. You can find a better planner! read more

Heather Bair, from Ybarra Events, was wonderful to work with on my husband's 60th birthday celebration and I highly recommend her. We had approximately 75 guests and it was held at our home in the wine country. Heather helped me from beginning to end. I had never held a large event at our property and was stressed about having to bring in everything. Heather kept me calm and made the process fun. She helped with the layout, the vendors and the setup. The day of the event she made certain everything ran smoothly from start to finish. I received many compliments from our guests on how well the event was organized. I have never enjoyed myself more at a party that I have thrown. When Heather showed up the morning of the event, she told me to go and relax. I had time to unwind and get ready for the event. She set up the entire venue with her assistant and made sure all the other vendors knew their responsibilities. Once the event began, she kept me on schedule with speeches and transitions from cocktails to dinner etc. I got to spend time with our guests and truly enjoy the day. I would highly recommend Heather to anyone planning a large or small event. Heather is very organized and calm. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and I will be hiring her again for any future events. Thank you Heather!! read more

Tara is great and so is her staff. She has done multiple events at our venue and we have seen enough happy brides and grooms to put her on our recommended list. She is calm and cool which is a hidden talent among the best planners, all while making sure the day goes perfect. read more

If you are a bride on the fence about whether or not you need a wedding coordinator or who you should get, just stop what you are doing and call Tara! She is absolutely incredible! I had been unsure of if I needed a coordinator or not, but looking back, I could not have done it without her! I did not know it was possible to love a complete stranger this much after working with them for one event! She literally did everything (and more) possible to make me and my now husband feel like VIP guests at our own wedding reception instead of worrying about hosting logistics and problems that inevitably come up. And this is how it should be! Our wedding day was perfect and looking back over the blur of happiness, everything for our 250 people reception happened seamlessly. All thanks to Tara! It was such an amazing feeling to be able to trust the event - one of the most important events my husband and I will ever put on - in Tara's capable hands. She went above and beyond on everything. She is extremely quick to communicate with, extremely organized, makes sure she completely understands what you want and then executes it perfectly. Brides - do yourself a favor and get Tara and her husband James to oversee your wedding day. I hope your day will be as perfect as ours was thanks to Tara! read more

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We got married almost a couple months ago and have been waiting for things to settle down a bit so we could be sure to give Tara a great review. Although we hired her as our "month of" planner, she was more than helpful since the day we met her on our zoom call a year prior. She worked with us on ways we could save money, alternative ideas to the standard traditional wedding and offered advice whenever it was needed. We never felt like we were a bother when reaching out and she was always so prompt in her responses. In the days leading up to the wedding, she made sure everyone was on the same page between us, family, vendors, wedding party etc. On wedding day, we had multiple people come up to us and praise how well the timeline was put together and how everything flowed together so well. We highly recommend Tara if you are looking for a planner and we promise you won't be disappointed! Thank you Tara :) read more

My Wedding planner was Heather and she was so amazing! she was so kind and professional. She was super attentive leading up to our wedding and especially on our wedding day! Her attention to detain is amazing and all the things I forgot to thing about she took care of and I couldn't imagine our wedding going so smooth without her and her team! 10000/10 would recommend you use Ybarra events for your wedding! read more

Tara and her team at Ybarra Events were simply wonderful. She provided just the right mix of encouragement, suggestions, and direction over a planning process that stretched over 16 months. The result was the ceremony and reception that we had both dreamed of. My husband and I were able to enjoy every minute of the day, as Tara seamlessly took care of any last minute issues. Of particular note for same-sex couples is how affirming and celebratory Tara and her team were of us and our process. We would not hesitate to provide the highest recommendation of Tara and Ybarra Events! read more

We cannot praise Heather Bair and Ybarra enough. Heather made what would have been a stressful experience a lot of fun. She went above and beyond by providing references and recommendations throughout our time together without ever imposing her view (though we asked for it repeatedly!). Heather is organized, knowledgeable, patient, positive, genuine, friendly, and always a professional. She loves what she does, and her energy is infectious! We had a perfect event thanks to Heather and the team she helped assemble. We are very grateful to Heather for giving us a wonderful experience and timeless memories. read more

Tara was so incredible to work with. We came in knowing little about wedding planning and Tara's expertise and patience and calm were a lifesaver through the whole process. We hired her as a partial planner, and she helped us through finding vendors that would fit our vision for our wedding and keep to our budget, communication with our families, communication and coordination with other vendors, decor, and so much else. She was so responsive for all of our questions (and even our parents' questions). For the day of, we were able to just focus on seeing our friends and family and having fun, knowing that Tara was coordinating with vendors and handling all the decor and making sure everything was happening on schedule. We really couldn't have done it without her, and we absolutely recommend working with Ybarra Events. She made our wedding day perfect!! read more

Tara is wonderful to work with. I have worked on several weddings with her as a coordinator. She is sweet, creative and very innovative with her ideas. She makes the process fun and I always feel like she has everything under control. She brings a certain sort of sparkle to everything she works on. I hired her for an event of my own and was so impressed with her organization and energy. I would recommend her to anyone who needs help with the coordination of an event, wedding, bat mitzvah or party! Jade Turgel read more

Oh my goodness, where to start? Our wedding was a wonderful 3 -day event that we couldn't have possibly pulled off without the amazing Tara Ybarra! We chose Tara as our wedding planner because of her terrific competence, because of the care that she so clearly gives to all of her projects, and because it seemed that she would just "get" what we wanted and needed. It had come down to a choice between 2 excellent planners, but we made the right choice. Tara's personal attention, love and creativity went way above and beyond what we imagined. First of all, Tara works really hard. She was there for us, no matter when we called, or what we asked, and was never too busy to talk with us. Second of all, Tara knows a lot about weddings, and she directed us to the most attentive, available vendors (e.g., caterers, florists, etc.) in the area, and a number of them give her discounts which we wouldn't have had access to otherwise. Third of all, she helped us create whatever we thought of, such as a novel seating arrangement at the ceremony, or working with our family who helped plan our rehearsal dinner picnic, and then she brought her husband and daughters to join us to help, and purchased flowers and great lighting for Friday night's fabulous evening of pre wedding festivities. Fourth of all, she was so calm and well organized about the whole planning process, even when we were getting frazzled. I tried to wrap most calls by asking her, "Tara, where are we getting behind?" And she would calmly tell us what needed to get done, and by when, and then compliment us that we were doing great. Fifth of all, she was so fabulous to work with. I don't think we had even a whisper of a cross word with each other in the almost year of planning the events. And finally, on the day of the wedding, she had it so together. She was the first one at the venue and the last one to leave. Through a lot of hard work and some good fortune, the events we planned came off almost without a hitch, but there is always something unexpected that happens, and when they did, Tara took care of them without even telling us. We actually feel like Tara is family and miss her already, 3 weeks after our wedding, and hope to connect soon to recap and remember the great weekend. read more

My initial meeting with Tara went great! She impressed my fiancé and I very much with all her promises of me not having to worry about anything. We hired Tara for our day of wedding coordinator. Everything was fabulous until the day of the rehearsal. At rehearsal, she didn't really seem to be able to manage my bridal party and they all stated that they were confused by the way she was explaining things. It seemed disorganized. Due to the fire in Santa Rosa, I had to change my rehearsal dinner venue. Tara volunteered to find a place for us, which was great! She even ensured me that I didn't need to worry about cancelling the reservation at the previous restaurant because she would do it herself. She scheduled a new restaurant and it was fabulous with great food and service. However while I was getting dressed at my rental home, I got a call from a restaurant confirming my 5:00pm reservation, not knowing Tara forgot to call that restaurant to cancel, I confirmed. It turns out that it was the restaurant she ensured me she canceled and so needless to say, they thought I was coming and I didn't receive my refund for the deposit. Both situations were bad,but the actual wedding day was worse. We left all our boxes with Tara and somehow things seemed to go missing or were not placed where we had discussed. It was almost like she didn't take notes and forgot things I told her. My cake topper was not put on the cake until hours after the wedding started. I told Tara I has two memory books, explained them to her in detail and neither one of them were put out for guests to sign. One of the books was completely lost and the other was not put out until almost the end of the night because she forgot I told her it was my guestbook and "thought" it was a photo. I bought 100$ worth of biodegradable confetti for my guests to throw and only 1/4 of the bags I brought were actually used. Needless to say I wasted that money. She arranged our tables incorrectly and put our parents' table in a far corner with a bad view. When I confronted Tara about this she LIED to me and blamed it on me saying I gave her the incorrect table chart. Luckily I had sent it in a text message, so when I looked it up I saw it was HER error not mine!! Also shortly after my wedding, my mother in law said that when she asked Tara for help with the wedding favors, Tara responded to her that she was not a priority!!! My mother in law is important and was doing the favors for me so of course she was a priority!! Unprofessional and forgetful. I loved all my vendors but if I could go back, I would not have hired Tara. read more

Tara is an absolute gem! She was by far the best decision we made throughout the whole planning process. We hired her for the day of/2 week package, but she started helping us far earlier in the process. She is extremely organized, communicative, friendly, flexible, and creative. She really thought of every detail and went above and beyond what was expected. Our venue was not the easiest to work with, and Tara helped alleviate a lot of stress related to that. She also let us borrow some of her own personal decor which we very much appreciated. The day of the wedding, James checked in with us throughout the night making sure we were good on water, drinks and food. Thank you Tara and James for everything! read more

I got married April of 2017, and was lucky enough to win a discount on Tara's services at a wedding expo. Before then I wasn't planning on hiring a planner, as I'm a fairly planny person, but I am so happy that I hired her! Tara helped me stay within my teeny budget, when my venue was closed she helped me find a replacement venue within a few days. Tara helped me manage all the wedding drama by answering late night phone calls and emails and helping me navigate all the craziness. Tara helped me find an amazing venue for my rehearsal dinner that would feed all those coming and fit within my dietary needs. She kept my vendors and bridal party on schedule the day of the wedding, she kept my photographer on schedule and assisted in getting things setup and taken down. Tara coordinated the paying of my vendors to the point where all I needed to do was shove the payments in correctly labeled envelopes and hand them to her. Meetings with Tara during the planning process were lovely, we'd meet (I work 12 hour shifts, she'd work with my insane schedule and meet me whenever I had the time) and often our planning sessions would turn into hours of just talking. I was so lucky to have hired Tara, and am so fortunate to get to keep her as a friend now that I no longer have a wedding to plan! In fact when I returned from my honeymoon Tara and I both realized we'd no longer have set dates to meet up and were both very sad! I'd hire Tara again in a heartbeat, and I suggest anyone considering a planner to hire her, she is a gem and will bend over backward to make your wedding seamless! read more

Tara made our day perfect. I didn't think I needed a coordinator but the venue my husband and I were married at required a day-of coordinator. Enter Tara. Tara is a significant reason why our wedding day was so amazing. She is organized, incredibly responsive, knows the business and was dedicated to making sure our day was exactly what we wanted. Not only did she keep everything organized and running, her demeanor kept me calm throughout the day. I cannot tell you if anything went wrong at our wedding, if any guests caused problems or if there were any glitches during the set-up. What I can tell you, though, is that Tara is amazing. read more

Tara is amazing - so organized and dedicated to her clients. Nothing goes unnoticed and she stays connected to the other vendors as needed and on the day is so on point. I love how friendly and professional she is at the same time! So amazing working with her! Can't recommend her enough! read more

I cannot begin to praise Tara Ybarra enough for all she did for me and my family during my daughter's recent wedding in Geyserville, California. Tara is incredibly organized, responsible, responsive, tactful and kind all at the same time. Everything she promised she'd do, she delivered on! She was the first one to get to the church and the last person to leave the reception. Her quiet efficiency impressed not only me at the wedding reception but also several of our guests that commented to me on her competency. Every time in the 8 months of planning this wedding that I reached out to Tara, she answered quickly and knowledgeably. Planning this wedding from a distance turned out not to be a chore with Tara's help. She gave us a heads up on a problem vendor we had hired and quickly recommended another saving us some major frustration and not to mention, money. I cannot think of one thing negative about Tara. You absolutely cannot go wrong hiring her. My daughter and I both are missing her. She had become one of the family!! With deep appreciation, thank you Tara! read more

Tara was AMAZING. The best ever! She was so easy to work with and so fast at responding to my many emails. She calmed my nerves many times throughout the planning process. Day of wedding was the smoothest run event I've ever been to, she did an awesome job and I can't thank her enough. She went above and beyond! Would highly recommend her to everyone! read more

Tara is absolutely amazing! I reached out to Tara less than 4 months before our August 2017 wedding in Piedmont for day-of coordination services and she was an absolute life saver. She was super organized and responsive and was there to told my hand, answer all my questions and reassure me from the day I booked with her through the wedding day. She worked with me on the timeline, the decorations and all the logistics details and much much more. She visited the venue with me a month in advance and planned the rehearsal run through the day before the wedding. She was also prompt and on time. Her husband also helped out as her assistant on the wedding day and he is also great; super reliable and very friendly! Everything went smoothly and all my guests loved the seamless transition of the wedding events. I would definitely recommend Tara and her services and I already have. read more

I got married on June 24, 2016 (just writing the review now due to the honeymoon). Tara and James were absolutely wonderful! They were professional, detail oriented, knowledagable, dedicated, and fun to be around! I would recommend Ybarra events to anyone. I had a destination wedding in Yosemite and they were willing to make the journey out there. Throughout the planning process Tara answered all the questions I asked her in an extremely timely manner. The two weeks before the wedding Tara took over and organized the day with the venue and the vendors. The day of her and James worked together as a perfect team to ensure that both me and my now husband were stress free and enjoying the day. A little before our wedding there was a car accident and it blocked many of our guests from arriving on time. Tara and James informed the guests who were already there and made sure they comfortable during the wait. They helped to keep me and my now husband calm about this. After the ceremony we got multiple compliments on how wonderful the potentially negative circumstances were handled. We also received many compliments about how Tara and James were in general throughout the day/night. Thank you both for everything. You two helped make the day run smother than we thought possible and you were both really fun to be around. I wish I could say I'll hire you next time but I'm hoping for just one the wedding haha! I would recommend Ybarra events to anyone looking to have a well organized and less stressful wedding :) -Dani and Anthony read more

I just used Tara and Ybarra Events for day of services for my wedding last week and she was amazing. Tara was hired for only day of service but I felt like I had a full wedding planner. Tara was so responsive and helpful through our whole wedding planning, she always answered email's in a prompt fashion and provided so much insight and suggestions on any question I had. As the week of the wedding came around Tara was in constant contact with me, she made multiple trips too and from our venue throughout the week. I had a huge fiasco with our florist i.e. all our flowers showing up died or dyeing and Tara stepped right in and solved the issue. I felt 100% confident that my wedding would run smoothly with Tara running the show, throughout our reception Tara was there to help with any vendor questions and I could truly enjoy my day knowing everything was handled. Tara and her husband are both profession, kind, and knowledgeable wedding planners I would absolutely recommend them to anyone. Truly a great experience with Tara and Ybarra Evens. read more

Tara and Ybarra Events are absolutely amazing! I hired Tara to be our day of coordinator after realizing all of the planning and details were too much for us to take on alone. Tara to the rescue! From the day we met to the end of our wedding Tara was there for us. On the day of our rehearsal, Tara helped organize the ceremony and made sure everyone was right where they needed to be. She also created a beautiful weekend timeline that we were able to share with all of our family. When it came to the day of the wedding I had no question Tara would execute our vision just the way we wanted. She checked on me throughout the day to make sure I was staying fed and hydrated! When I finally walked into the venue everything was absolutely perfect. There were so many little things that needed to get done and everything was just so amazing. She came extremely prepared for anything unexpected that could have come up. The day ran so smoothly and I know that is because of Tara. I can't recommend her services enough! Thank you so much Tara!!!!! read more