Planners
A full service wedding planner engagement begins on the first phone call and ends after the last guest leaves. Based on the coast at Santa Cruz and working across the wider Bay Area, this tier suits parties of thirty up to five hundred.
Starting From an Empty Calendar
This is the tier recommended when nothing is booked yet, when you are organizing from another state, or when a long creative project will not fit beside a job. Decisions still belong to you; what moves off your desk is the research behind them, the chasing and the remembering. You approve a plan rather than assemble one.
The Budget Ledger Is Ours to Keep
Budget management is an owned deliverable here, not a spreadsheet you maintain and share. It is reviewed monthly, tracked against actuals, and paired with a reminder cadence so no deposit slips past its due date. Contracts are read and negotiated before signature, and every commission or referral arrangement is disclosed. Payment runs direct from you to each contractor, so nothing is marked up in transit. Hosts comparing wedding planner cost between firms should read that arrangement closely.
Design Carried From Mood Board to Floor
The design service here is a full design vision: mood, palette, paper, florals, rentals, lighting and layout, developed as one language and held consistent while a dozen suppliers each interpret it. Styling, decor coordination and venue sourcing sit in the same scope, which is what lets a look survive a real room.
Guest List, Invitations and the Seating Chart
Three deliverables sit inside this tier's core services: guest list management, invitations with response tracking, and the seating chart. Anyone who has tried to build a seating chart from an incomplete response list knows why those three belong with whoever also holds the floor plan.
Authoring the Production Timeline
The master production timeline is written here from scratch, because at this tier the planner made or advised on most of the decisions it encodes. Venue tour and floor plan come first, then the schedule connecting them. Attendance at vendor meetings across the planning calendar means the document reflects what suppliers agreed to rather than what was assumed of them. Regular check in meetings run monthly through the engagement, email is the main channel, replies arrive within the day, and never more than two events are on the books at once.
Rehearsal, Then the Day
The rehearsal is paced the evening or day before. During the closing week every contractor is re confirmed. On the event day the lead planner is your single point of contact for every vendor, so family and wedding party logistics questions go to the planner rather than to vendors during set up. A stocked event day kit is brought to the wedding for the wardrobe and comfort emergencies that arrive on schedule at every one. Wet weather alternatives and multi day programs are both inside standard scope. The booking covers a service window of four to twelve hours. Hours beyond the booked service window are available at a published rate.
After the Send Off
Closing work covers thank you note coordination, organizing the photo and video files, and a written vendor payment summary. On the day the lead planner works solo rather than with a crew.
Distance, and a Practice on Two Coasts
The practice is based on the central California coast. Home ground is Santa Cruz County, with regular work north through the Bay Area, south along the Monterey Peninsula, and inland to the vineyard corridor. A second arm of the same practice runs out of Jackson, Mississippi, covering the counties around it and the East Coast, which is genuinely useful when relatives are split between coasts or the venue is nowhere near either home. Driving inside the first fifty miles is free of charge; beyond that a per mile rate applies. Travel for destination events outside the standard service area is quoted in the proposal and includes mileage, per diem and lodging where applicable. A destination wedding planner engagement outside those areas is taken case by case. The planner works in English and Spanish, with cultural depth in Latin American celebrations.
Reserving a Date
Most bookings land three to fifteen months out, and rush requests depend on the calendar. Setup and breakdown are covered by the flat rate. A signed planning agreement and a deposit reserve the date, and the payment schedule for the balance is set out in the signed agreement. The planner works to a minimum overall event budget, and that figure is confirmed on inquiry. Final guest count and extras such as another design consultation, longer rehearsal cover or extra staff are confirmed at the four week mark and quoted in writing. The practice carries general and professional liability, holds a current business license, can issue a certificate of insurance for a venue that requires one, and introduces contractors from a preferred list, all insured and licensed, unless you bring your own.
