Before I Do Events

I couldn't be happier about our decision to go with Before I Do events for our wedding coordination. I am a very resourceful, organized and creative person, and I planned my whole wedding myself, with no intention of having a coordinator. But after a friends wedding which was a few months before mine, the bride told me the smartest decision she made was having a day of coordinator. So I decided to look into it and I have to say the money spent on the coordination services was probably the most well spent money for the whole wedding. You can have a beautiful venue and amazing decor but without someone else there who is running the show you have the potential for a complete disaster. Tammi was so professional, so organized and had so much wisdom about little things here and there that I would have had no clue about. She literally ran the show, the rehearsal, the setting up of decorations, coordinating with all the other vendors, emailing with them the week prior so I could have some quality time with all the friends and family in town. Her expertise far surpassed my expectations, I especially loved that she was bold enough to question the reception layout, which led to re-arranging. In hindsight if we had not changed the floor plan the vibe would have been totally different and not as ideal for dancing and mingling. A detail that would have completely changed the intimate feeling the guests couldn't stop raving about. All in all Tammi and Before I Do events allowed us to actually enjoy the day we spent so much time and money planning and be present for the most important day of our lives!

Before I Do Events were amazing. I have already recommended them to my friends. Michele and Tammi worked closely with my family, fiancé and I as we planned an elegant and intimate backyard wedding. I had all kinds of ideas that I wanted to include to make the day personal and unique. The girls at Before I Do events helped make these ideas a reality. With a full time job and short engagement I didn't have time to do it all. These girls made me feel so great through the whole process. They were prompt at responding to texts, calls, and emails. They were able to really understand the look and feel I was going for and help me get there. They are the best!

The coordinator was a disappointment, and dealing with her was the most stressful part of wedding planning. She was dishonest, unorganized, unprofessional, and rude.

We originally agreed to an all inclusive package, but a few months into the planning, my parents and I realized that we were handling almost every detail. We found our venue and all but one of our vendors. And every vendor, except the one, complained to us about the coordinator's naivety and lack of professionalism. The hotel found that Michele did not have insurance or a business license. She lost our file and told the hotel, but then tried to hide it from us. After asking for an update on our budget (keeping a budget was her responsibility under the contract), after two weeks, her "proposed" budget was more than twice the amount we had originally stated. Based on the mounting frustration of paying someone (with little regard for the money we were spending) for a job we were doing ourselves, we amended the contract for just day of services.

Even after that, this coordinator was the worst part of the wedding. She arrived late and disappeared for long stretches. During the event it appeared she was talking to guests more than it seemed that she was coordinating. I barely saw her the entire day and she did not attempt to keep us on schedule. She interrupted while I was having my hair done to ask me to get a bicycle pump for her from my parents' room across the lawn, tried to set the table with just chargers, no plates, lied about misplacing place cards, and left before completing her job. We are missing personal items that she was responsible for collecting and returning, but her only response when my mom asked her about the missing items was that she just got tired and left. I've spoken to another couple who had a similarly disappointing experience a month before us. Sadly, this was a very bad experience and I cannot recommend this company.

Before I Do Events made my wedding planning so much more stress free and enjoyable than I ever imagined!!! Tammi and Michele both helped to make my creative vision a reality. They worked with all my vendors to get everything organized and ready for the big day. Don't know what I would have done without them!!! I plan on using them for other major events in the future - ie. baby showers, bridal showers and private parties!!!

I can't say enough amazing things about Michele - not only did she plan our wedding in Tahoe while she was in San Diego and I was in NYC, but she did it while she was having a baby!!

Every single detail of our wedding (and rehearsal dinner which she also planned, soup to nuts) was to die for - family and friends still remember and talk about the details one year later! The theme boards she sent me were so helpful - I was incredibly indecisive and couldn't narrow down a look and feel until she created those boards for me. And she was SO responsive to my often neurotic questions/additions to the details.

Because it was a destination wedding and I was coming from across the country, I relied on Michele to get everything to the wedding and assembled. She spent hours making the most gorgeous ribbon backdrop for our dessert table and tying every since place card - I was blown away when I walked into the room ... it was so much more incredible than I expected.

If you're getting married in San Diego, Tahoe or anywhere in the WORLD, I would recommend Michele in a heartbeat. She's creative, kind, attentive, responsive and genuinely a really really good person.

For more photos of our wedding, here's a blog post on 100 Layer Cake and Tahoe...

Michele provided full-service planning for my wedding. Right from the start what impressed me most is how much she genuinely seemed to care about making my wedding day the most special day. You can tell how much she loves weddings and finds joy in finding ways to create a dream wedding for her clients. I was very rushed trying to plan my wedding in a relatively short period of time on a budget. Michele was always there when I needed her. She helped me find my dream venue and create a vibe and feel for the day that exceeded what I ever expected especially given our budget! She was there to help during every step of the planning process, and always went the extra mile. Michele has a ton of relationships with great vendors (who all love her by the way). She was able to save me so much time by referring me to great vendors that offered prices within my budget. I was overwhelmed in the months leading up to my wedding due to school and work and Michele handled so many of the planning details which honestly saved me! During meetings with our caterer/venue etc. she always knew what questions to ask which is incredibly helpful for someone going through the planning process for the first time.

The day of the wedding I was able to relax with my family and bridesmaids and enjoy the day. Michele handled every detail so that I could just be a bride and enjoy every minute. Even with everything going on she made time to come see me before the ceremony started to give me a hug and help calm me down! Also, between the ceremony and reception during the cocktail hour, she brought some of our signature drinks to me and my husband. She really made my wedding vision a reality! All of our guests have raved about our wedding...some even have told us it was the most beautiful wedding they have ever attended. I give the credit to Michele and will always be incredibly grateful for all she did for us. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a wedding planner!

I can't say enough good things about Michele and the team at Before I Do Events. They helped me plan my dream wedding in Lake Tahoe on September 19th, 2011. I am a bit of a control freak, so it took a lot for me to step back and let go. I knew I was in great hands, so I let myself actually enjoy the months leading up to my wedding!! BID provided guidance through every single step of the process and handled all negotiations with vendors. I never knew about the little issues (vendors not leaving when they're supposed to and sticking around for the party - what?!) going on behind the scenes because BID handled it like true professionals. Instead of ruining our night with something like that, they handled it and brought it to our attention when we returned from our honeymoon. It's the little things like this that are truly priceless when picking your wedding planner. Aside from being on top of every little detail, the crew at BID are some of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. I couldn't believe how easy it was for them to take the ideas floating around in my head and bring them to life. They have impeccable taste, while having fun and unique ideas to make the day feel 100% like us.

And all the reasons above are why I find myself here, reviewing them after 3 years. They were so amazing, that I hired them to help plan my best friend's baby shower this past Fall. Again, everything went by without a hitch and it was another INCREDIBLE day. The momma to be was blown away. They have a way of working with your budget and STILL making it feel over the top. Love love love this crew and have referred them to many friends who've also had great experiences. Can't wait to have a reason to work with you fabulous ladies again :)

Michelle is so sweet! She started this business a few years back after having great success with her own wedding. She is so talented. I am OCD when it comes to my planning, and she has been right there, holding my hand the entire way. She is the only planner/coordinator that my photographer (www.studiocastillero.com) was willing to recommened, and visa versa. Michelle is the entire package: Day of, Month of and even all around, and a la carte'; but when it comes down to it, she provides way more in her day of package than most DOC's do in their month of. Pricing was more than reasonable once you got into the details of what she does for you. She also is able to do your flowers (just check out her sight, they are all done by her), invites, even planning your honeymoon, (of course for additional fees). Michelle is flexible, easy to get along with (even become great friends with), professionable, knowledgable, talented, prompt, I could go on and on. Great find!