Occasions at Laguna Village

had my wedding here at the end of July 2012 and everything was AMAZING! Dayna was my coordinator. She was very helpful and responded to all of my emails, texts and phone calls right away. The day of, everything ran smoothly. I could not have asked for a better wedding day! It turned out exactly how I planned it in my head. Everything was beautiful and my guests said it was best, most beautiful wedding they had ever been too!

The food from the Cliff Restaurant was fantastic. We also did an open bar with a Sangria station and a ice scuplture martini fountain. Since we had the open bar, the extras were included.

We were able to chose all of our own linens, table wear, china, chairs, etc... I heard that one other company can book this site as well. Occasions works with a rental company so you can choose from any colors you want. We even went to them to pick out everything and see it all in person. Some things you have to pay extra for and it can get a little pricey but I am only getting married once and I wanted to do it right!

Andrew the manager at the Cliff Restaurant was also so wonderful to work with. He was very responsive and went above and beyond to make our day great! We had a 3 hour tasting and he boxed up all the leftover food and we ate for days aftewards. He had microbrew beer flown in from Idaho just for my husband and stocked the bar with my favorite wine. The Prime Rib with the peppercorn sauce is my new favorite food.

Honestly, I could go on and on about how wonderful everything was. I have no complaints. I read some people were complaining about parking but I asked my guests and they had no problems. I didn't have children at my wedding so that wasn't a problem either. Overall, I would highly recommend Occasions!

"June 22, 2012 was the best day of my life and I owe it to the incredible team at Occasions at Laguna Village. Everything from the food to the florist ...to AWESOME DJ DAVE....all the little detailed touches were PERFECTION. Dayna Lewis truly is an amazing Wedding Coordinator and I dont know how she does it! I had so many people tell me it was the "BEST WEDDING" they had ever been to....and I know for myself...it was a dream come true wedding. If I could give 10 stars I would!" My husband and I still talk about how wonderful that day was...and I am sooooooo happy we chose Occasions:)

"My husband and I just recently got married on Cinco De Mayo 2012 at the cliffs. We could not have asked for a better location! The staff was amazing and helped make everything perfect! The view was amazing and made all the pictures extra special. Dayna our wedding planner helped us every step of the way and made for a stress free day!! She even took some photos for us for a perfect view. We used DJ Dave who they offer through their package. Let me just say he was THE BEST DJ ever!!!! Not only did he do everything we asked but he went above and beyond our expectations! After the ceremony when we were sitting down at our table for dinner he had prepared a photo album for us of the ceremony. Andrew was in charge of our food and bar and exceeded our expectations! For our tasting he let us box up and take home all the leftovers. The food is amazing I recommend sticking with the Cliffs restaurant for your food. Andrew worked with us up to the big day to make sure everything was perfect. We even worked out a special drink for the bar where we kept part of the proceeds. Everyone that came had a blast and loved our location. Kim from Tulipe Florists did amazing with our flowers and center pieces! It was beautiful! I am not sure if we were just super busy dancing and didn't notice but the only thing I would have changed was we never got a piece of our cake. But everything else made up for it. We love this place and highly recommend it!!!! Especially DJ Dave! Thank you to everyone for giving us a day to remember forever!!!"

The memories I have of my Wedding day in August 2011 are memories I will cherish for a lifetime.
The memories begin with a venue which overlooks a beautiful beach in Laguna Beach, CA. I knew this would be the perfect back drop to an anticipated proposal for marriage. I contacted Dayna with Occasions at Laguna Village to discuss the details. Dayna took care of everything. The proposal was an unforgettable and emotional event with every detail taken care in a profession manner with a personal attention to detail.

My Fiancée and I considered several venues for our upcoming wedding however we always compared them to the proposal and the venue at Occasions at Laguna Village. Based on our emotions and experience we did could not consider another venue for our wedding. Dayna handled all of the coordinating of the event and without her experience and professionalism the day would not have been as successful. My fiancée provided Dayna the contact information for our flowers, music and associated vendors and Dayna coordinated all of the details. This attention to detail provided me and my fiancée the opportunity to share our wedding day with each other and avoid external distractions.

The catering for our wedding ceremony was provided by The Cliff Restaurant located onsite. The hand passed drinks and appetizers were hand selected by my fiancée and me during an onsite tasting which was prearranged by Andrew the manager of the restaurant. My fiancée and I sampled almost everything on the menu and fell in love with several dishes in including the bacon wrapped shrimp.

On the day of the event the professionalism of the restaurant staff was impeccable. The staff was very attentive to the needs of the guests and provided an enjoyable experience for all of our guests to share.

I would like to thank Dayna, Andrew and the entire staff at Occasions at Laguna Village and the Cliff Restaurant for fulfilling a dream and making it a reality.

We had our ceremony at Occasions last December and worked with Dayna, the coordinator. She was very thorough with the timeline and offered great ideas at our initial meeting; however, she appeared a bit stressed out at the rehearsal and on the day of. Everything went smoothly except the parking situation. The extremely rude parking "manager" told us that she cannot allow our limo to park in the parking lot, which was a part of the ceremony package, since Dayna did not make an arrangement with her in advance. Our poor limo driver had to drop us off in the middle of PCH with cars honking behind us then drive up and down the PCH until our ceremony was over. The beautiful scenery made up for it.

Such a beautiful venue. So many people had such great things to say about our wedding venue. Occassions is great to work with and provide a great foundation for a beautiful wedding site.

If you are looking for a beautiful wedding with an amazing backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, this is the place. We had a wedding here on Sept. 26th and it was nothing short of fabulous! The coordinators are wonderful and provided help with everything we needed. The DJ made the party! DJ Dave knows how to get the party up and going. When we left for the evening tired and happy nothing was left behind because the staff had gathered all of our things and put them in our car. It was a dream come true for all of us. I highly recommend this venue. My daughter-in-law lives in Los Angeles and had very little time to plan a wedding so having a venue that provides so many services was invaluable.

Dayna, Heather & DJ Dave,
Thank you soooo very much for the most beautiful day of our lives. We had so much fun that I was ready to do it again the next day. We are still getting phone calls from our guests telling us that was the best wedding they'd been to in a long time. The food was delicious, as evidenced by every morsel that was eaten, as was the cake. Occassions has their cakes in their catering package from Rossmoor Bakeries in Long Beach. Cheers for Rossmoor, there was only the top and one piece of each layer for my hubs and I to take home. Everyone loved it. It was stunning and the gazebo that it was displayed in was custom decorated by my sister and Dayna. Heather was an assistant coordinator to Dayna, so we had two that day. The flowers were beautiful and recommeded by Occasions, though my bouquet and the boutonnieres wilted fairly quick. But no one noticed and the venue was beautifully decorated with flowers exactly the way I asked them to do it. If something went wrong or there was a problem, the groom and I never heard one word or were bothered because of it. And again, no one noticed because they were all having such a good time. Our head count was short by 10 rude guests who RSVP'd and did not show. So there was one elegantly decorated table that sat empty, just like their mail boxes will be at Christmas! Whatever! Laguna Beach is really a dream location for your day. After the ceremony, your guests are moved into the garden area where the cocktails begin while you and your wedding party are escorted to the beach for photos. We had been concerned that the timeline was too tight and we wouldn't have enough time to dance, but because we chose to do away with the bouquet and garter belt toss and the money dance, we had time to greet each table (there were 8) and thank them and still get our dancing in. I think even if we kept those things in our reception, we still would have had time, they just weren't something that we were interested in doing at our wedding. Our sweetheart table was gorgeous. We met with Dayna 2 weeks prior to the wedding and she had some great ideas for the table linen colors to add to my ideas that added that extra touch that you need for an evening wedding. We had candles everywhere and a Unity Candle that Dayna carefully packed up for us at the end. Afterwards, we paid a little extra and had about 1/3 of our guests come upstairs to the bar at the Cliff restarant for our die hard partying guests to dance til 1am.

DJ Dave is part of the Occasions package and team, if you so desire, and an option that is priceless. Dave went beyound our expectations and videotaped the ceremony and our guests greetings. He got our first dance, played the track for the song that our teens wrote and sang for us, kept the crowd dancing and played every single song from the song list that i requested at the right time. Then he went as far as to burn a copy of the procession music, the ceremony music, the cocktail hour music and the dance music and gave me the CDs. That was more than we expected. I hope the groom tipped him accordingly ;-)

Occasions does provide you with your own coordinator for your day. But just like any coordinator, the bride and groom have to choose their colors, theme, music, food, cake, dress, photographer and guest list themselves. Dayna and the Occasions team put all that into play and keep you on schedule and make sure that any last minuted changes are implemented. The coordinators are not there to come with you to pick flowers or your gown, if you want that, hire a private one. If you can do that with your Maid of Honor and family members then you dont need to hire some overly booked busy coordinator that is going to charge you $5,000 for just showing up. Dayna and Heather were there the entire time from the early afternoon before the wedding started til midnight. They were professional and courteous to my guests. We got married in the middle of the wedding season and Dayna was calm, cool and collected and did her job beautifully.

We could not have had a better day anywhere else - we are convinced. It was worth every penny and was more then we ever imagined. Every couple expects something to go wrong on their big day, but we honestly did not have any problems that we were aware of or have any complaints. Our first date was at the Cliff Restaraunt, so that location will always be special to us, and when my husband found out that we could be married there, and that July 25th was still open, we were sold. We'll be back again for our 10th anniversary party and our kids get engaged (some day), we'll know where to send them.

All our love,
Lisa & John Dunham

My daughter was married at An Occasion at Laguna Village in July. It was just beautiful. Kelly was our wedding coordinator, and despite the negative comments made about her, we found her to be very professional, courteous, and easy to work with. She was always on time, and returned email/phone calls promptly. The wedding started right on time, and she went out of her way to make the day run smoothly. Everything was perfect. I supplied all of the flowers/centerpieces/candles for all of the tables and aisle. Kelly put everything out the day of the wedding, which I'm sure took her hours to do. I expected to be charged extra because of the time she spent decorating. It was very detailed, and something I assume the florist usually does. But she displayed eveything perfectly, and I was not charged extra. I found her to be very sweet, and she even made a plate of food for me at the reception. Dayna was also very easy to work with, and I appreciate her going out of her way to make the venue as beautiful as possible for my daugher's wedding. The food was excellent. Everyone was commenting on how good it was. The cake from Roosmours was also very good, which I was concerned about because of some negative comments made. But it too was excellent, and looked beautiful. The pictures turned out absolutely amazing. We used Steve Hoffman, which was recommended by Occasions. The dj was great, and video tapped the ceremony at no extra charge. I would recommend this location highly if you want to get married at the beach.

We were married on June 26, 2009 at Occasions and let me tell you, it was the dream wedding. It completely exceeded my all of my extremely high expectations. The location and services provided are what dreams are made of, they made everything so easy.

It's hard for me to believe the negitive reviews posted on this site, we had the complete opposite experience with Occasions. Dayna was our on-site coordinator, and not only was she extremely professional and helpful but she allowed me to enjoy every aspect of my rehearsal and wedding day because I felt so secure in her hands. And this is comming from a type-A personality, I want things done perfectly. And what I appreciated most about Dayna was she listened to me, she was able to see my vision and then she perfected it. I couldn't have asked for a better location or a better group of people to work with, I highly reccomend Occasions, and I hope you have the same beautiful experience I did.

Great service! Dayna, my coordinator, was wonderful!

We were married at Occasions at Laguna Village and despite our experience, I wouldn't take it back. We would have hired an outside wedding coordinator. It was really gorgeous and guests have commented that it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever been to.

I fell in love with the site the first time I saw it online - and in person. The site is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we couldn't have asked for a more AMAZING place to get married. We could have, however, had better service. When I look back on the day, the only thing that I think negatively about was how we were treated by our horrendous "wedding coordinator."

She NEVER returned phone calls within 24 hours - in fact, we were lucky if she returned them at all. When I did speak with her, she was pushy, and acted like I was inconveniencing her. While she wasn't outright nasty, I would definitely say that she had an attitude and was VERY into herself.

She was over 45 minutes late to our rehearsal because she was "assisting" another bride who had yet to book with the location. When I knocked on the door to the office (which has windows) she just kept talking to her prospective clients. Then, when I went back a second time about 20 minutes later, she said that she would be a few more minutes. Not the case. Then she had the nerve to tell me, "You wouldn't want me to leave the other bride now, would you?" Meanwhile, our bridal party and close family members were waiting around for HER. She didn't even apologize.

Also, the wedding started 20 minutes late. All of the bridal party and things on our end were perfect (we were all actually early) but for whatever reason, she didn't have her you-know-what together. She then told my husband that she would let the wedding go 30 minutes longer due to the delay. Not the case. The last song played at 8:55 and we all felt like we were pushed out of there. When we booked with the location, we were told by Stacey (who was very nice) to book 5-9 and that they usually let the weddings go longer - if we booked from 6-10, there was nothing they could do because the music has to go off at 10 due to the noise ordinance. Well, that didn't happen. 8:55 we were out of there.

On top of that, our wedding coordinator shoved all of our items that belonged to us at my husband's aunt.... like all of our candles, etc. She was reportedly very rude (not surprised).... and instead of informing Andrew's aunt that OUR CENTERPIECES & VASES belonged to us as well... she didn't. In fact, she was actually seen leaving the site with one of our centerpieces herself and had given the rest away to staff onsite. It was in our contract that things left onsite could be given away, but the fact that she didn't inform Andrew's aunt that they belonged to us (How would she have known???) she decided to leave that out, and then left with one. When we phoned her after the wedding to discuss this, she told us that it wasn't her responsibility. Literally, she has no sense of customer service whatsoever.

To make matters worse, we paid to have a shuttle pick up guests at a nearby parking lot and drop them off to the location... but when guests asked to be directed to that parking lot, the attendents told them "Oh, no... you park here... " thereby charging them for valet parking. We were also supposed to get two free spots on site for Andrew's parents (who were taking all the gifts home) and his grandparents. Well, guess what? They were charged $50 for parking, anyway. It was very upsetting to learn that our guests had been ripped off like this, and that we too, had paid for a service that was not even utilized due to the greedy parking attendants. (The parking lot is apparantly owned by a separate company, but they maintain the same SEEDY business practices.)

In addtion, our wedding coordinator did not direct our greeter to stand at the top of the stairs where the sign-in book and placecard table was located. She actually told him to stay at the bottom of the stairs. Half of our guests didn't even seen the placecard table (which by the way, were arranged incorrectly.) My husband was actually passing them out as the wedding coordinator was doing whatever it was that made our wedding start late.

Because we had such a BEAUTIFUL wedding minus our HORRIBLE wedding coordinator, it is hard for me to say, do not get married here... but if you're looking for impecable service, this is NOT the place to receive it....nor is our wedding coordinator the person you want to work with.

I would like to say that when we initially booked the location - the service was wonderful - Michael, who was the catering manager at the time, was AWESOME...and Stacey was patient and friendly. Michael I believe still works there, but under his own catering company - I'd look into that if you're considering Occassions.)

My advice would be to hire your own outside wedding coordinator - someone who you trust and who comes highly recommended. You'd think that because our coordinator was on-site, she'd totally rock - but she was disinterested and rude.

Also, somehow my salad order got screwed up and when I informed the wedding coordinator, she of course, acted bothered. I remember her taking away my plate, at the same time spilling my champagne. Then she said, "I'm not a server." SERIOUSLY... I COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB. This woman also runs her own outside "coordinating" business. Do your research and stay away from her. Please.

I have waited to write this review because I didn't want to put a sour note on our wedding, but it is important for other couples who are considering booking with Occasions to consider our experience and what they can do to make sure they don't encounter the same problems we did. Good Luck!!! :)

So beautiful and luxurious. I am so pleased with everything, and couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. I felt like a princess, and the scenery was breathtaking.

I got married here in September and I couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out. The sun was shining, the sunset was filled with orange, blue, pink hues, the food was better than the samples we tasted, the cake was gorgeous, everything was perfect. Dj Dave was an amazing DJ, he didn't go into the cheezy music, our coordinator, Dayna, was the single reason I didn't go insane the week before the wedding. She was so calm, organized, and professional, with the whole "you don't worry about a thing attitude" with me. And I know I can be a pain to work with. Things got very stressful but she made it all okay with her laid back, get-the-job-done attitude. A few minor details were missed, but they were not a big deal at all. She really was awesome and I can't thank her enough.

Wow. We loved our venue and so desperately want to give it a rave review but unfortunately, one flaw can leave such a lasting impression!
To start on a positive note...the location cannot be beat. If you are looking for a beachside wedding in Southern California you must check out Occasions. It's the perfect combination of beauty and charm all set in a casual, relaxed environment. If you're looking for a ballroom style wedding this is not the venue for you but if you're more laid back and looking for a great outdoor space to dance the night away, go to Occasions.
It's an all-inclusive package and we can't say enough wonderful things about the catering (Michael at the Cliff Restaurant is awesome!) and the DJ (DJ Dave made it a truly special night!). Even the Salesperson who initially showed us the location (Stacy) was so warm and professional we wished she could've worked with us throughout the entire process.
Sadly, the Wedding Coordinator assigned to our event was absolutely horrible. From our first meeting with her two weeks before the wedding, she couldn't have been ruder or more inflexible. Considering how much we spent to have our wedding at Occasions, we expected our Coordinator to at least fake enthusiasm when she met us. Instead, she made it blatantly obvious that she had better things to do than discuss our upcoming nuptials. Simple questions like, "Can we move these potted plants?" were answered with a curt "no." To make matters worse, she had the audacity to tell us how we should run our wedding and to actually criticize the work we'd done for 12 months leading up to our one and only meeting with her.
After an email to her manager, she made a mild attempt to improve her attitude and was overly-attentive to us (the bride and groom) on the wedding night while maintaining her rude and unhelpful disposition to our outside Coordinator, Photographers and guests. In fact, she was no where to be scene prior to the ceremony and the Father of the Bride actually had to direct guests as they arrived.
I would still recommend this location under the pretense that you do not have to work with Kelly. Dayna, the other Coordinator is, from our experience, incredibly professional, polite and supportive. Before you sign a contract, insist that you she is assigned to your event. This is one of the most memorable days in your life and it's a shame to let one unprofessional individual ruin it for you especially when you are paying for top-notch service!

We had an amazing wedding and the cost of this venue was well worth it. Everyone had an amazing time and the venue was beautiful.

Everything was great!

This place is so beautiful! We had our wedding and reception here. Everyone was extremely helpful and very organized. It is a private place overlooking the ocean. You can here the waves crashing. Everyone tells me that was the best wedding they have ever been too. Breathtaking!!

Laguna Village is beautiful. It is a great venue for your special event and having worked with them many times, we know how great their service is!

For any Bride and Groom reading this endorsement: I am Rev. Michael and I Officiate at all locations in Orange County. And one of my top five favorite locations to Officiate at is Ocassions at Laguna Village. Dayna and her staff are, without a doubt, the best, the most flexible, the most organized and the nicest coordinators to work with. I receive so many rave reviews from my couples not only regarding the way they handle the Ceremony but the reception. I would be remiss in not telling you to at least call Ocassions at Laguna Village and investigate their venue. I also must add that DJ Dave, their staff disk jockey, is one of, if not, the best in Orange County. If you wish to know more, feel free to contact me at ReverendMichael@ReverendMichael.com http://www.ReverendMichael.com. Rev. Michael

The view speaks for itself and the customer service they provide is top notch. Occasions makes wedding planning look easy. They not only have a breathtaking ocean view but they customize packages that include the best vendors in South Orange County.

This is such a beautiful location ... literally right over the Laguna shoreline. I've photographed many weddings at Occasions and, with a backdrop like this, the images turn out wonderfully! There are also many great 'photo op' spots within just a few feet of the driveway. The view is divine, the coordination perfect, and the food yummy. You can't go wrong with a wedding here! If you would like to see some images from weddings I've shot at Occasions, just let me know.

Leslie :: Click Chicks...

I love the team at this venue. Dayna, Dave, Andrew, etc. They are all great and professional. I have worked at this venue as a photographer on over 30 different events. It is always smooth sailing.

Occasions is a lovely beach side venue for your wedding and reception. It's open air setting right off the beach allows guests to enjoy the benefits of the beach without the distraction of the sand. Occasions is a wonderful wedding choice.

Being on site with Occasions has lead me to provide the flowers at many events and weddings, i have found them to be extremely professional, courteous and friendly, their beautiful Ocean Front location is second to none, Their expertise with wedding planning, functions and Party's has always made it a pleasure to work with them, Stacy especially has an incredible rapport with clients wishing to book Occasions nothing is too much trouble for her!