Margaret did a great job of pulling everything together my wedding. Being a planner myself, it can be a little hard to release control...but she made me feel very secure to put everything in her hands. It was nice to not worry about timing or other small details as the wedding approached, because I knew Margaret was on it! I definitely recommend her to anyone looking for someone with experience to manage their big day!

Coming from my horrible experience with another venue I wanted to book, it was such a joy to find that true hospitality still exists. The W hotel stopped at nothing to ensure that every dream I wanted for my wedding was fulfilled. Tiffanny was so very helpful with any questions and requests that I had. They definitely lived up to their "Whatever/Whenever" slogan, which is great when you are trying to pull off a super modern affair...and don't want to be tied down with crazy restrictions. There ceremony site needed a simple transformation to it, but all in all the location was absolutely FABULOUS. (I did leave my materials there for any future brides who wish to cover the fire pit up). The guest rooms were wonderful, we were so surprised how many of the family members were dying to stay at the hotel even though they lived close by.

The food was sooooo yummy, I am still drooling over the thought of our appetizers and dinner. Although we had already flown up to do a menu tasting, Tiffanny really wanted us to re-taste the food because they changed chefs. We didn't really think it was necessary (a steak is a steak right?) but the head chef personally delivered our wedding dinner to us the night before the wedding, in our guest room. It was great to speak with him about the slight changes he made and really see an enthusiasm and pride for what they do.

To this day we have many guests raving about the hidden jewel we found by getting married and the W hotel. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something unique and extraordinary!!!

HyStudio was such a pleasure and joy to work with! The entire team worked to create the most beautiful images for our engagment shoot, wedding, and day-after session. Annie is super helpful and responsive to emails, both her and I shared many a late night email sessions. I loved that they worked so hard to capture the images and made them super edgy, but classy. Hiring HyStudio was one of our BEST decisions we made in our wedding planning process. I highly recommend them!!!

I was supposed to have my wedding at the Seascape Resort in Aptos. When I called to get a contract and book the wedding, I was told that I am not allowed to get married at the hotel. According to the Catering Manager (whom I have never met) I am the most "horrible" person to ever set foot in their hotel. She said that when I met with her assistant, I was very rude to her and made her cry. Apparently, I also said that I would be embarrassed to have my wedding there, I thought that the resort was ugly, and some other equally horrible things. I was very taken aback, and told her that she must have me confused with someone else...because WHY would I say all those horrible things, and then turn around and book my wedding there?! I did let her know that her assistant, although very nice when I spoke to her over the phone, was a bit rude and not knowledgeable of the venue when I met with her. She didn't know what year I was getting married, she didn't know the specifics of the wedding package, she couldn't tell me the square footage of the ballroom, and left me with the bellman to show me the room ending our appointment abruptly. The only concerns I discussed with her were: their "required" vendor list, I told her that I had already researched their vendors and they either never responded, or their prices were too high...so I would like to be able to bring my own. Also I was concerned that because I was being forced into the daytime wedding slot, which means they rush you out before the other wedding comes, but I have to pay the same amount per person as the evening wedding. I wanted to see if they could work with me on pricing since my guests would be eating dinner at 3:00pm. She told me "NO, we can't accommodate you on anything; we are completely sold out until Christmas. We are a very busy hotel." I told her that I understand and that my fiancé and I will talk everything over and get back with them when I was ready for contract.

With this, she told her Catering Manager that I was horrible, and was trying to get all these things for free...made up complete lies about me. So when I call to book my wedding (thinking everything was ok) I not only got a flat out NO. The Catering Manager was completely rude to me. When I told her that I think this may be a big misunderstanding, she said no it's not and we have the right to not book your wedding. I was completely devastated! Not only did I LOVE that location, I had been planning on getting married there for over 6 years, even before I met my fiancé.

Even after complaining to their general manager about their behavior and snootiness towards me, he was like “Oh well, apparently you don’t get along with them so maybe it’s best you don’t have your wedding here.”. WHAT!? How about owning up to the fact that just because your hotel does 4 weddings a weekend, doesn’t make you God…I have been to higher end hotels that treat clients better. All I asked for was a little respect that one would normally receive from a venue that I was planning to spend well over $150 pp to have my wedding at. Sad because it’s such a beautiful venue, but the attitudes of their staff make it the ugliest place in the world!

From my first conversation with her, Matika was an absolute doll to work with! I actually didn't even meet her until my wedding day, but our phone conversations made me very comfortable with the direction she was taking with our wedding flowers. She was also very conscious of my budget and made suggestions in areas if she knew that something may throw me over my budget.

On the day of the wedding I was completely blown away by the spectacular creations she did for me. She was able to pull together the ultra cool and minimalistic style that I wanted...but also making my colors "pop" by finding my very unique blue colored flowers. When I walked in my ballroom for the "sneak-peek" of the setup all I could think was "WOW"!

There are no words to describe how much I LOVE Pamplemousse Cakes. Kelli was absolutely fabulous to work with! She took my idea of wanting a simple "strawberry shortcake" and turned it into an elegant piece of art that was on display during my reception. Guests were commenting all night about how yummy the cake was and that they actually thought it was a fake cake because it was so perfect looking. The taste was so unbelievably good that I am drooling as I type this. I wish I lived in the Bay Area so I could go to Pamplemousse and try some more of her yummy creations!

I hired Chic Wedding Designs to design my monogram and ended up hiring them to design and print my wedding cd favors as well. They were so helpful and understood the vision that I wanted for my designs...and carried my minimalistic modern style into my monogram and cd. I saved so much time and money by going with them, and my favors were a huge hit at the wedding!

Stephanie custom designed my wedding necklace, earrings, and bracelet. She also created a brooch for the bustle on my gown. I must have compared 10 other crystal jewelry designers before I decided on Stephanie. Her pricing was really resonable, and she knew exactly what I wanted. When I received my jewelry, I was completely blown away! I plan to use her in the future for other crystal pieces.

I was supposed to have my wedding at the Seascape Resort in Aptos. When I called to get a contract and book the wedding, I was told that I am not allowed to get married at the hotel. According to the Catering Manager (whom I have never met) I am the most "horrible" person to ever set foot in their hotel. She said that when I met with her assistant, I was very rude to her and made her cry. Apparently, I also said that I would be embarrassed to have my wedding there, I thought that the resort was ugly, and some other equally horrible things. I was very taken aback, and told her that she must have me confused with someone else...because WHY would I say all those horrible things, and then turn around and book my wedding there?! I did let her know that her assistant, although very nice when I spoke to her over the phone, was a bit rude and not knowledgeable of the venue when I met with her. She didn't know what year I was getting married, she didn't know the specifics of the wedding package, she couldn't tell me the square footage of the ballroom, and left me with the bellman to show me the room ending our appointment abruptly. The only concerns I discussed with her were: their "required" vendor list, I told her that I had already researched their vendors and they either never responded, or their prices were too high...so I would like to be able to bring my own. Also I was concerned that because I was being forced into the daytime wedding slot, which means they rush you out before the other wedding comes, but I have to pay the same amount per person as the evening wedding. I wanted to see if they could work with me on pricing since my guests would be eating dinner at 3:00pm. She told me "NO, we can't accommodate you on anything; we are completely sold out until Christmas. We are a very busy hotel." I told her that I understand and that my fiancé and I will talk everything over and get back with them when I was ready for contract.

With this, she told her Catering Manager that I was horrible, and was trying to get all these things for free...made up complete lies about me. So when I call to book my wedding (thinking everything was ok) I not only got a flat out NO. The Catering Manager was completely rude to me. When I told her that I think this may be a big misunderstanding, she said no it's not and we have the right to not book your wedding. I was completely devastated! Not only did I LOVE that location, I had been planning on getting married there for over 6 years, even before I met my fiancé.

Even after complaining to their general manager about their behavior and snootiness towards me, he was like “Oh well, apparently you don’t get along with them so maybe it’s best you don’t have your wedding here.”. WHAT!? How about owning up to the fact that just because your hotel does 4 weddings a weekend, doesn’t make you God…I have been to higher end hotels that treat clients better. All I asked for was a little respect that one would normally receive from a venue that I was planning to spend well over $150 pp to have my wedding at. Sad because it’s such a beautiful venue, but the attitudes of their staff make it the ugliest place in the world!