Maria Sent on 07/19/2025

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A Seamless, Magical Wedding Weekend—Thanks to Coastside Couture

Coastside Couture was an extraordinary partner in planning and executing my son and daughter-in-law’s recent wedding in Carmel. From the very beginning, the bride-to-be felt completely supported and in great hands. Their planning window turned out to be shorter than expected after they secured a venue with earlier availability - but thanks to Heidi and her incredible team, the process remained calm, organized, and joyful throughout.

Heidi’s deep knowledge of the area, the venue, and her thoughtful planning process made all the difference. Coastside Couture eliminated the usual stress of wedding planning by handling countless details behind the scenes and keeping everything moving forward smoothly and efficiently. Their calm confidence allowed the couple to truly enjoy the lead-up to their day.

As someone who has spent my entire career producing high-level corporate events, I can say with certainty that this was a top-notch production. From the rehearsal dinner and welcome party, to the wedding day itself, every element was beautifully curated and flawlessly executed. The team arranged and managed everything - from hair and makeup for the bridal party, to getting-ready spaces for the groomsmen, complete with dress steaming and on-site vendor support. Every moment was covered with care and expertise.

The photographer Coastside Couture recommended was one of the best I’ve ever seen - efficient, fun, and somehow everywhere at once, capturing the magic in real time. The ceremony and reception were simply breathtaking, with elegant decor, seamless coordination, and exquisite catering.

The entire weekend - from the first toast to the last dance - was deeply memorable, elegantly stylish, and full of heart. It perfectly reflected the couple’s spirit and made every guest feel part of something truly special. Coastside Couture created a celebration that none of us will ever forget.

Meg S. Sent on 11/13/2024

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Dream Wedding!!!

The Coastside Couture team really went above and beyond to ensure that we had our dream wedding. They were immensely helpful when it came to negotiation with vendors and keeping us within budget and they also have so many amazing local connections that made the planning process so much easier. I felt like they really understood my husband and I as people as well as our vision for our wedding and we also had so much fun planning with them! They were SO incredible the weekend of the wedding too - I was not stressed at all, everything went according to plan, and everyone at the wedding kept telling me how awesome and helpful our planners were! I really recommend working with Heidi and her team!!!

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Deanna Sent on 10/17/2024

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Texas in California

The idea of planning a wedding in Carmel Valley, CA, while living in Texas seemed like an impossible task until I met Heidi at Coastside Couture. They really took my vision to the next level and the day went on without a problem. Wheter you're in California, Texas or New York City the planning process will go smoothly with Heidi and her team at Coastside Couture.

Amy S. Sent on 10/17/2024

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Heidi and Team are Amazing!

We had a wonderful experience with Coastside Couture and my daughter's wedding was perfect. We loved working with Heidi and her team. Heidi met with us weekly and each call was productive, useful and fun. Heidi was responsive when we had questions and helped us negotiate with vendors. We wouldn't change a thing!

User6595419 Sent on 11/13/2022

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What more could you ask for?

Heidi, Sonja and Harley were great to work with for our wedding. We started working with Heidi 9 months before our wedding in Carmel Valley and she immediately started reserving/confirming vendors that we absolutely loved. She is experienced, and really knows the area and the best vendors to work with. She managed to reserve one highly in-demand vendor before we had even finalized our contract with her, anticipating that it would be the best option for us (which it was). That is how forward-thinking and proactive Heidi is - a true godsend for two people with busy schedules and very little time to plan a wedding. Without Heidi, our wedding would be an absolute shadow of the wonderful event that it turned out to be with her at the helm.

We recommend Heidi for any event in and around Carmel, particularly for those individuals with tight schedules, busy lives or far reaching visions of what you want out of your event. She really focuses on personalizing your wedding day to reflect the couple's tastes and vision. Heidi and her incredible team will move heaven and earth to make sure that you have the event that you want.

We hope that we will have many opportunities to work with Heidi and her team in the future. To Heidi and her team - thank you for everything.

Chloe Sent on 09/05/2022

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Best Wedding Planning Decision to Date

Heidi and our team planned our August 2022 wedding and did not disappoint! We live in Texas and wanted to get married in CA but weren't sure where. After hours of googling, I found Coastside Couture and was lucky enough to find an equally type A and detail oriented planning team. It is admittedly very hard for me to relinquish control in any instance. I am a perfectionist who knows exactly what I want and often do not trust others (especially someone that I do not know) to do anything for me that I feel I could do on my own. The Coastside Couture team makes that an easy choice. I felt comfortable enough to entrust them with the most important day of my life and could not have made a better choice. Heidi advocated for us when necessary and communicated clearly and often. She is THE standard. Her team is no less friendly, kind or professional than she is. They are indeed, the best in the business and are well respected for a reason. You see this when roaming about town with her and you hear it when talking to other vendors and industry professionals about her. If you are lucky enough to work with the CC team, consider yourself blessed. They think of and prepare for every single detail. Their events are professional and likely more perfect than you can imagine. All of our guests were impressed with Heidi and her team and they only saw the fruit of all of their labor, not the entire 10 month planning process. If you're looking to plan an outdoor wedding, I know that there are other very good planners out there but I can assure you that you will only regret not choosing Coastside Couture.

Allegra Sent on 02/16/2022

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Wedding Dream Team

If you want to have a wedding in the Carmel/Big Sur area, look no further than Heidi and her team at Coastside Couture. We hired them to plan a complex, outdoor, cliffside wedding in Big Sur on a private property, and they not only made our dream wedding come to life, but they worked with us to create something better than we could have ever imagined. Heidi is both visionary and practical, experienced and well-connected, creative and playful, extremely organized and on top of it, generous and fun - in short, she is just SO good at her job and everything you would want in a wedding planner. For our wedding, she did everything perfectly - from coordinating generators being brought in so that we could play music in a field with no power, to working with me on designing the most gorgeous tables and florals. Everyone on her team brings this same energy, professionalism, sense of joy, and total "get it done" attitudes as well. I miss working with Coastside Couture and am so deeply grateful for all they did for us. I also want to note that they navigated the complexities of the pandemic with us with the utmost optimism, creativity, generosity, grace, and kindness. I really cannot imagine going through the experience of a postponed 2020 wedding, which was held a year later, with any other team. These are your people if you want your Carmel or Big Sur dream wedding!!! Cannot recommend these rockstar women highly enough.

Alexandra Sent on 01/28/2019

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Efficient, strong wedding planners!

These ladies are absolute BOSSES when it comes to wedding planning. We chose them because we liked how direct and honest they were with us about everything from our budget to our vendor choices to the actual day-of execution. Our venue presented some tough logistical challenges and the Coastside ladies handled it with grace and skill.

Sara Sent on 09/09/2018

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My husband and I cannot say enough good things about Karissa, Heidi, Liz and the whole Coastside team! They completely took the stress out of planning a wedding from across the country, and were extremely enjoyable to work with throughout the entire planning process! Friends and family are still talking about our big day even months later… and it definitely would not have been possible without Coastside Couture. They helped us pick an AMAZING vendor team, were always responsive, and very low stress. We were in amazing hands with them, and did not have to think about a thing the day of - they had everything handled, and the wedding weekend went off without a hitch! We absolutely loved working with them and would hands down recommend them to anyone looking for an awesome wedding planner in the area.

Fallon Sent on 09/04/2018

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Gals were great to work with for our event. I highly recommend them. All events went smoothly.

Carolyn Sent on 08/24/2018

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The Coastside Couture team is simply the best! They were so creative yet highly organized. They listened to our wants and needs and transformed our thoughts into reality. We were planning a destination wedding and there were alot of moving parts to come together--Heidi, Karissa, and Elizabeth executed to perfection! The greatest compliment I can give is what my daughter said to me as she was leaving--"we (meaning the entire team) nailed it!" A happy bride says it all!

Suzy Sent on 08/21/2018

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If you are looking for Central Coast wedding planners - look no further. We were planning a wedding cross country near where I grew up, and wanted a team on the ground locally who knew how to manage the locals, knew the best vendors, and had experience in the area. We loved working with Coastside - They had the best vendor recommendations (I want to grow up to be our florist, Amanda), gave us constant reassurance or support if we ever had questions or issues, and were generally all around fun people. We did the mini - we only needed them the day of the wedding and the planning support, but had family and friends help with things like gift bags. So worth it. They fixed problems for us (like getting us an exemption from the mandatory tent policy at our venue), gave us great ideas (like table linens, because I do not understand table linens) and made our wedding day spectacular by managing all the moving pieces, large families, and even fixing the bustle on my dress during the dance party. This team was everything we had hoped for and more. I miss working with them already!

Seth Sent on 08/20/2018

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Okay, so after our wedding, my wife and I are basically ready to move to California and try to become best friends with Karissa. She and her team (Liz was the one we worked with most) were just amazing, from start to finish. First off, they are exceptionally responsive and on top of things, which is not very common for Santa Cruz. Second, they completely got what we were going for, and all of their vendor suggestions were perfect. We literally did not have to talk to a second option for any vendor, and every single one delivered exactly what we had hoped for. Our wedding was absolutely amazing.

I could not more highly recommend Karissa, Liz, and the team at Coastside Couture. Our only regret is that we don't get to keep working with them.

Lauren Sent on 08/20/2018

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We had a great experience with Coastside Couture. This was the first wedding in my family so my mom and I didn't know what to expect. Even during the times that we didn't know what they were working on, they were always on top of even the smallest details. They made my job very easy and laid out options clearly and concisely. I loved the Aisle Planner website. It was incredibly helpful and kept us all on task. The only area I would note is I wish we had a weekly or even bi-weekly recap email of what they were working on and what we needed to tackle the following week. It would have helped me keep my to-do list better organized and I would have known what was more time sensitive. Overall, amazing experience and the wedding far surpassed our expectations. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a wedding coordinator.

Phil Sent on 08/20/2018

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Although I was reluctant to use a planner, it turned out to be a life saver. Karissa and her staff attended every detail in a professional yet personal manner and I couldn't have been more pleased with their service!

Roy Sent on 12/09/2016

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This has taken longer to write than expected. We have both been challenged to put into words how important Coastside Couture and Karissa were to our wedding.

TL;DR version - amazing company. amazing person. highly recommended

Longer version - We very early on decided that we didn’t want to have friends coordinate any of the “day of” portion of the wedding, our idea was that it was a day of celebration and fun for us and all of our family and friends. That started us on our path to find a wedding planner. What sealed the deal was realizing that neither of us had any idea who to call for table linens. Also, people start asking you “what are your colors” really soon after the engagement. Really soon.

To the internet! And yep, it was a random cold email that led us to Coastside Couture. It was instantly like talking to someone we’d known for a long time, laughing, joking and having fun. So we dove in and went with a wedding planner, and it was one of the best decisions we made.

Karissa was there to answer our questions. She was there when we had no idea what was going on. She was there when we knew exactly what we wanted to do, even if it made no sense. And she would make us think through our nonsense to make sure it was what we wanted. She pointed us to people we never would have found on our own. Vendors who matched both our personality and our aesthetic.

Everyone we encountered at Coastside made sure that every detail was paid attention to. And those details were noticed. Maybe not by everyone but by the people that they mattered to, they were noticed and appreciated.

I told you this was the long version, but I’ll wrap it up. Working with Coastside Couture, working with Karissa...made planning our wedding fun. We had a blast. The wedding itself, couldn’t have been more perfect for us. It was exactly what we had envisioned. Except, we ended up having one of our friends coordinating after all. She is the best.

Hillary Sent on 12/05/2016

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Coastide Couture saved my butt! I am not a very organized person, so the wedding planning became very overwhelming for me. My sister asked her friends on Facebook for coordinator reccomendations for me, and someone highly suggested Coastside Couture to us.
Aside from being a little unorganized, I'm incredibly shy and awkward! Somehow, the wedding gods were watching and they knew that I needed an incredible coordinator...like Karissa! She. Is. AMAZING!!!!! She has an awesome energy, makes you feel like you don't have anything to worry about, is so good at what she does, and it is clear she loves to do it! She even makes a few appearances in my wedding video, it's so special! She made my September wedding at Rancho Don Bosco, in Santa Cruz, play out beautifully. She cleaned my dress, fixed my train (over and over), and fixed an issue that occurred with another vendor. Literally blew my mind, and my husband's. We will be forever grateful for her efforts before and during (and after!) the wedding. Heidi, the other owner and Karissa are seriously good at what they do. Book them now!!!

Sheree Sent on 11/29/2016

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My husband and I used Heidi and the Coastside Couture team to help plan our Holman Ranch, Carmel Valley wedding this past June. We live in the SF Bay Area so Carmel Valley still felt like a mini-destination wedding for us. Heidi and her team gave us vendor recommendations as well as secured all of our vendor contracts. I never had to worry about overpaying or overspending since Heidi always kept a close eye on our budget. Every vendor Heidi recommended felt like we were building a Dream Team.

During our first design meeting, Heidi proved how quickly she understood our vision for the big day. Even with my very involved and opinionated parents, Heidi and her team found a way to really satisfy all of our wishes. After our first meeting, I knew I never had to worry about the details. Heidi and her team are total experts and proved how detail oriented and organized they are throughout the entire process.

It is hard to express in words how much I appreciate all of the work Heidi and the entire Coastside Couture team did to make our wedding absolutely perfect. Not only did the entire planning process feel seamless with this team, but any time I felt even a morsel of stress Heidi was quick to calm me down and take the reigns. By the time our wedding day came around, this team of women had become part of our family. I cannot thank them enough for creating and managing such a special day. These women are experts and carry out their work with personality, love, and class every step of the way.

Anne Sent on 10/07/2016

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I was so happy to have Coastside Couture/Lucky U as my planning team for my wedding. My mom and I had done a lot of work leading up to point when they came on board for the month of, but I was so grateful for all that they took over in those last few weeks. I had such piece of mind knowing that every contract was double checked and that they would correspond with all of the vendors from then on out. Additionally there were some final tweaks and adjustments that we were able to make to the decor because of their expertise (even saved some money as a result!). Katie was our day of gal and I couldn't have asked for anyone better!! Not only is she so fun to be around (SO important on that day!) but she pulled off getting the last minute tent that we needed due to rain. She took on a lot in those final days and was always extremely calm and reassuring that it would all work out. It was truly like having a friend taking care of everything which made the entire day so enjoyable! I just wish I had a reason to work with her again!

Stephanie Sent on 08/25/2016

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Heidi at Coastside Couture was the planner for our wedding in August 2016 at Gardener Ranch (Carmel Valley, CA). We hired Coastside under the "Petite Planning" option. Simply put, we had the most incredible experience planning our wedding with Heidi and the Coastside team. At the end of the day, Heidi and the whole Coastside team did an absolutely wonderful job helping us plan our wedding and lending their expertise and strong reputation in the wedding business around the Monterey / Carmel / Santa Cruz-regions. Heidi listened to our vision for our wedding and helped it become a reality. Our wedding day was executed flawlessly thanks to Coastside working tirelessly behind the scenes.

After our wedding we even felt a tinge of sadness because it marked the end of our time working with Heidi and the Coastside team. Planning a wedding with Coastside was one of the most fun and memorable experiences my then-fiancé and I had ever had. With so much focus on making our wedding the most memorable day of our lives, we hadn't even realized that Heidi, Kayla, and Coastside had also made the wedding planning process the most memorable year-and-a-half in our lives.

For more details on our awesome experience with Heidi & the ladies of Coastside, see our full review here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/coastside-couture-santa-cruz-2?hrid=iGV9UMZ7NRTRkEFS5fDAfA

User2541850 Sent on 02/24/2016

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The ladies of Coastside are so amazing. I found working with Karissa to be so much fun. Not only was she professional, but she’s extremely detail orientated and truly listens to you. I worked long hours leading up to my wedding, and trusted her opinion and decisions to help add little last minute details to what we needed to our big day, and to pick up the slack in items I was lacking. She gave great recommendations on how to make every little detail pop and ensure our guests had a great time. Throughout the wedding day and night, the entire Coastside team was there to help my family and were so supportive in whatever request was asked upon them. Heidi and Karissa are true wedding designers and take your vision and help make it come true. They work diligently and don't finish until every guest and vendor has left and every present has been stashed away. Our day wouldn’t have been half as special without the ladies of Coastside and I absolutely appreciate all their help.

User2507277 Sent on 01/15/2016

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Heidi and Kayla at Coastside Couture truly made my entire wedding possible! They work with amazing vendors and offer all kinds of options for anything you're looking for. They are also great at finding little ways to save money that really add up! When I had inevitable issues in the planning process, Heidi swooped in and saved the day every time. I will always be thankful for the amazing day we had thanks to this team!

Chelsea Sent on 01/04/2016

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Karissa at Coastside Couture was an absolute DREAM come true. From the second she showed up until the very last post wedding detail, she put me at ease. Her bubbly spirit and kind personality was the perfect ingredient to making my wedding day absolutely perfect! She organized timelines with all of my vendors and her team even fixed a guest's ripped pants during the reception! The professionalism I observed did not go unnoticed. Best of all, I could tell that Karissa truly loves what she does and it showed, it shined even! I don't know what I would have done had Karissa and team not been there. I hope to have the pleasure of working with Coastside Couture again in the future.

Kristen Sent on 09/05/2015

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When we decided to have our wedding in Big Sur, CA, we thought we should look into hiring a wedding planner, since we live in San Francisco and weren't familiar with any vendors in the Big Sur area.

I did a bunch of research and reached out to Coastside Couture. After my first call with Karissa I was sold, but I still had to convince my husband...

He quickly realized the importance of a wedding planner as we started to deal with hundreds of tiny wedding details. Such as selecting and hiring vendors (Coastside has a wonderful list of awesome vendors), picking out rentals, coordinating the wedding weekend timeline, and countless communication with our vendors, some of which were not the most responsive.

Karissa and her team were always very professional and handled everything and everyone perfectly. She has a wonderful ability of really getting to know the couple and feels more like a friend and mentor than just another wedding vendor.

The day of the wedding, Karissa and Sonia outdid themselves and I was stunned when I walked into the reception venue after the ceremony. The transformation they achieved was beyond anything I had imagined and was absolutely beautiful. We received so many compliments throughout the evening about how it was the best wedding our guests had been to, and I think that is all due to the hard work and dedication of our friends at Coastside Couture. They took my vague, eclectic vision and turned it into something beautiful and unforgettable.

If you are on the fence about hiring a planner, I would 100% recommend doing it, because it was the best hiring decision we made for our wedding.

Francesca Sent on 05/25/2015

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Even the most organized brides need some level of outside wedding coordination. I hired Coastside Couture for month-of coordination and it was worth every penny. If you didn't budget for wedding coordination, you need to now! Having the Coastside Couture team on my wedding day allowed me to relax and enjoy the day without worrying about vendors, timelines, etc. You should book Coastside Couture before someone else takes your wedding date!

Frank Sent on 12/01/2014

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Words cannot begin to express how much we appreciate everything that Karissa, Kayla, and the rest of the Coastside Couture team have done to make our wedding so special. We wanted an intimate, coastside, rustic chic wedding at a private estate. Karissa carried out our vision from finding our dream venue to helping us assemble a group of wonderful vendors. We were so moved by how she poured her heart and soul into every detail of our wedding day. I have so many wonderful memories of not only our wedding day, but also the journey that lead up to the day with her that I’ll treasure for a lifetime. She is an amazingly gifted planner and even more incredible person. We cannot recommend Karissa highly enough!

User1941565 Sent on 11/18/2014

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We had Sonia as our "month-of coordinator" and she did a wonderful job. We are so grateful for all that she did for us leading up to and on our wedding day. She and her assistant Kayla took care of everything on the day and we didn't have to worry about anything -- and if they hadn't been there, I would have been a mess! (Wondering if the setup details were right, if vendors had arrived and had what they needed, obsessing about the timing of everything, and worrying about a million other little details.) It really made it so we could enjoy the day and really soak in every moment of our wedding and reception. Plus, she had the most calming, lovely presence on the day. My family loved her. Our wedding was truly perfect and we can't thank her enough.

Sonia helped us so much during the month of our wedding as well -- she provided layout suggestions for our rather untraditional venue (which was SO helpful, because she knew what would work) and made excellent diagrams and a comprehensive timeline for all our vendors. She coordinated everything and was always super responsive to emails and phone calls.

Hiring Coastside Couture was definitely one of the best decisions we made throughout the wedding planning process -- they are absolutely worth every penny, and the peace of mind they provide you on such an important day (and the weeks leading up to it) is just priceless. Highly recommend!!

Kristin Sent on 04/18/2014

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Heidi and her team are absolutely amazing! Honestly, I can not say enough great things about them! When my fiance and I started planning our wedding we really weren't sure what we were looking for or how we were going to pull off such a big event. Hiring Heidi and Coastside Couture was the best decision we made. From our very first meeting to the actual wedding day, she was by our side-- answering any questions, providing advice, offering suggestions, helping us get creative-- she made sure everything was smooth and flawless. On the actual wedding day, she was with us the entire time- everything was set up more perfectly than I ever could have imagined-- I truly was able to relax and enjoy my day because of Heidi! She made sure our vendors were in the right places at the right time, she made sure our families were taken care of, my fiance and I were taken care of, and that the guests knew where to go and when to go! If you are thinking about hiring a wedding planner, I say it is an absolutely must and Heidi is your gal! I can't thank Heidi enough for everything she has done for us!!
Best,
Kristin and Jason

Chelsea Sent on 01/22/2014

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There were many reasons why we initially chose Karissa. Firstly, she had great energy. Secondly, she has great resources & a can-do attitude about everything. She will make things happen. She will embrace your vision & be realistic about how to make it all work. Because of that, I felt I could trust her. It was obvious to me from the get-go that she knew her stuff. She also knows her vendors & has great relationships with them. That part is huge, & will matter down the road. When questions come up (& there will be so many questions as you go), she either can easily access these people to discuss the details with them, or can answer them herself, because she knows these people very well. And the last initial reason we chose her was because she is very flexible when it comes to budget. She can plan a high-end wedding to perfection (I know because I've seen photos), or take a middle of the road budget like my own & make it look like a million bucks. Even her smaller budget weddings look amazing. She can work with any budget and will listen to what's of utmost importance & produce a flawless wedding. Now that it's all said and done, I am so grateful we had her. Not only did she stick to her word, & prove to be all the things I believed she was upon first impression, she did it all while going into a very early labor. She remained the same high-energy person, even emailing me from the hospital. That’s dedication. I honestly couldn't recommend her more. Most important, is the wedding day itself. I am still impressed by the way she handled everything. She had everything covered & didn’t miss a single beat. Not only did she make things happen seamlessly, she was calm about it all. This set the tone for all of us. I was so surprisingly calm the day-of, as was my groom and family. I credit Karissa for that. She was more than I expected in a planner & best decision we made throughout the process.

Sara Sent on 11/27/2013

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Jessica was amazing! I swear she worked overtime to reassure me of all my worries, and she always kept a positive attitude. She took care of the little things that I never even thought of! The day went perfectly smoothly. I would hire her again in a heartbeat!

Kristin Sent on 10/29/2013

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We are so grateful for all that Karissa and her team did to make such an important day so perfect! From the planning, organizing and decorations we could not have asked for more! Not to mention keeping everyone sain the day of! I would highly recommend Coastside Couture, Karissa, Heidi and thier team!
Words straight from the father of the bride..."Karissa was worth every penny!"

Cheryl Sent on 10/23/2013

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Karissa, Heidi and Kayla from Coastside Couture are the kind of business professionals that gives wedding planners a good name. Living in Australia and getting married in Monterey CA, was always going to be a challenge. The ladies at Coastside did a wonderful job in ensuring we had the most amazing wedding day. They were relaxed, supportive and ever-helpful with ideas and suggestions, sourcing several excellent, well-priced suppliers. I'd highly recommend them to anyone considering a little extra help on their special day. Thank you Coastside for making our day as special as it was.

Kaitlyn Sent on 10/21/2013

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We LOVED working with Karissa for our wedding - she made planning easy and we were able to enjoy our big day without worry. We originally hadn't wanted a wedding planner - I'm very organized and we booked our venue and caterer on our own - but our families encouraged us to look and we are SO GLAD that we did! Karissa worked with us to create a custom package and we feel like she went above and beyond for us. Leading up to the wedding she was easy to get in touch with, helped us with logistics, and had some great design ideas. She took care of any snags on the day of, and I was a happy bride knowing that I didn't have to worry at all. We joked that she was like a "security blanket," spotting her at work made us feel instantly at ease. Not only is Karissa a great planner, but she is so fun to work with. We still try to find excuses to chat with her! Even for brides that feel like they have things pretty well under control, I can't emphasize enough how valuable having Karissa on your team is. I would recommend Coastside Couture in heartbeat. Thanks, we love you guys!!

Shelby Sent on 10/15/2013

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Karissa Paxton of Coastside Couture was the wedding planner for our amazing wedding in Carmel Valley, CA. And what, you ask, made our wedding so amazing? KARISSA!! I don't think I know enough positive adjectives to describe everything that Karissa is to us. She planned the most amazing wedding experience.

I am an admitted control freak, but Karissa was amazing at both listening to/incorporating my ideas and visions but also taking control when she needed to and making the decisions that made our wedding flawless and spectacular. She made me feel so comfortable and relaxed in the weeks leading up to my wedding because I knew she had everything under control!

In the beginning when I was over-enthusiastic and probably trying to do too much too early, she was always just as enthusiastic as I was and was incredibly supportive. As certain deadlines came up to book different vendors, she made sure we were on top of it and we booked every single one of my/her top vendor choices. Karissa knows ALL of the best vendors in the Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur/ Santa Cruz area. She has amazing relationships with them and gets discounts! yay!

Though Karissa is amazing at juggling the details of a wedding and the vendors, she does so much more. She has an amazing eye for design and has exquisite taste. She respected my ideas but edited them and added to them to make them truly classic and beautiful. If not for her, my wedding would have been a mismatched mash-up of Pinterest ideas. Karissa is able to see what you like and turn it in to one, cohesive event that flows so seamlessly.

I cannot even count the number of people that told us that our wedding was the best wedding that they had ever attended, or the most beautiful, or the most perfect and fairy-tale like. I tell them all that I owe it to my amazing wedding planner and new friend, Karissa Paxton.

If you want a perfect, swoon-worthy wedding- hire Karissa and the Coastside Couture team!! :)

User1333735 Sent on 09/17/2013

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I can not say enough about how wonderful Heidi and her team at Coastside Couture were leading up to and on the day/s (rehearsal too!) of our wedding. We contracted Coastside Couture as "Day-of" -- which they accurately refer to as "Month-Of" coordination. I am not a planner, DIY-er, crafter or detail-er, nor am I good with time-management, but despite all this, I had a very strong vision (thanks to StyleMePretty, pinterest and too many wedding blogs) of how I wanted our wedding to be, and Heidi made it happen and executed it absolutely perfectly - even with my fumbling descriptions, inexperience with event-planning and only a few pinterest boards to go on! The day of the wedding was the most magical my now-husband and I have ever experienced, and everything flowed beautifully and seamlessly - I never felt rushed or frantic, and everything just seemed to pop up where I'd wanted it and flowed perfectly. And thanks to her and her team, my groom and I also always had water or drink of choice in-hand, and they were always one step ahead of anything we needed or wanted. I'm happy to share pictures and more detailed description of how amazing she and here team are - absolutely the best budget spend and best decision made on our wedding!

Vanessa Sent on 08/15/2013

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To say we could not have pulled off such an amazing wedding without the help of Heidi and her team is an understatement. We only used them as a “day of” coordinator but they went far above and beyond what we had expected. They helped to coordinate the important/tedious details prior to the wedding as well as an entire walk through, and all vendor coordination right before. This alone was helpful but the day of service was a MUST. There was nothing that they did not oversee. From making sure that my new husband and I were feed and refreshed, to keeping an eye on rowdy guests, they had it all covered. From the beginning of the day I was at ease knowing that they were there to trouble shoot and make sure nothing went wrong. She even sewed my moms dress when it ripped during the day! I would absolutely recommend them to anyone and stress how important their services are! Thank you again! You made our day!

User1237529 Sent on 07/11/2013

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As we contemplated a house wedding in beautiful Carmel Valley we felt lucky to have such an incredible location for my daughters wedding. However when we began to contemplate the many details and challenges ahead in order to have the wedding my daughter and her fiance dreamed of in six short months, we knew we needed help.

From the first phone call to the last moments of the wedding, Karissa and the Coastside Couture team were reassuring, creative and resourceful, in short we couldn't have done it without them. They helped with vendor suggestions and contract help, location layout and site design and invaluable on-site hands-on help the day of the wedding. Every detail was thought through and taken care of.
The result was a wedding that fulfilled everyone's dream.

Denise Sent on 02/22/2013

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We hired Coastside Couture to be the month of wedding planner for our August 24th wedding in Monterey. We were having a destination wedding and didn't know the area very well. Heidi and her team went above and beyond to assist us with our planning. From rehearsal dinner recommendations to dealing with communication with all my vendors to providing us with valuable advice on how to incorporate our personal touches, Coastside Couture was there for us 100%. On the day of the event Heidi and Karissa were a god send. We had a huge wedding party and they did a fantastic job wrangling everyone in and keeping us on time. We got to enjoy our day and I didn't have to worry once if something was going to be taken care of because Heidi and Karissa had already done it. To top it off when we got up to our honeymoon suite they had decorated it with rose petals and we found a plate of desserts from our dessert table and a bottle of champagne waiting for us. If you're getting married in the Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel area I highly recommend Coastside Couture. The only thing I would change about my experience with them is that I wish I would have hired them for a full wedding planning package instead of month of. Having them assist us in finding a venue and picking the best vendors for our wedding would have saved us so much time!

Megan Sent on 01/13/2013

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We were so happy to have Coastside Couture for our day of coordination at Marie's Garden in Watsonville, California. They provided wonderful support to us on our big day, including the months, weeks, and days leading up to the wedding. We loved working with Heidi and her team. I highly recommend Coastside Couture!

Andrea Sent on 12/20/2012

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Outside of choosing my husbend, choosing Heidi at Coastside was - by far - the very best decision I made in planning my wedding. She and her staff were amazing, and addressed every possible detail. My event was unique, authentic, and went perfectly in every way. Every guest felt pampered, and every element was thoughtful. I am a designer, so I had a lot of opinions about how I wanted my wedding to feel, but also am very busy, so I was unable to carry off all the details myself. I wanted something thoughtful and authentic, with a rustic, local feel, with an absolute minimum of kitsch and waste. I wanted all food and floral to be local and sustainable, too (which meant dealing with smaller vendors). Heidi got aligned with my vibe early on, and was my right-hand in every way. Also, she saved us a ton of money by working directly with our vendors, suggesting where we could trim, and personally making decorations for us. My husband and I - and our families - are incredibly grateful to Coastside for helping us manage and thoroughly enjoy our gorgeous and deeply special wedding day.

Kristen Sent on 11/17/2012

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Karissa and the Coastside team are amazing and I highly recommend them! I knew that hiring the right planner was one of the most important decisions I would make, and during the entire process I never regretted my decision. From the beginning of the process Karissa provided me with excellent vendor recommendations, and I appreciated her honesty on who to use. With her guidance I was able to create such a wonderful group of vendors and on our wedding day I was so glad that I was surrounded by such a talented group of people. Karissa is thoughtful, organized, extremely creative, and she just knows how to coordinate and plan an event! My mother and I had very picky thoughts on design elements for the wedding and Karissa was so incredibly patient and thoughtful. Karissa listened to our ideas, provided excellent feedback, and made sure that we kept the process moving along. In the few weeks leading up to the wedding Karissa and her team were on it! I couldn't imagine trying to coordinate with all my vendors without Coastside, and they pulled it all together without a hitch. Then came our wedding day... it was perfect. Karissa and her team were absolutely incredible. They were literally there at every moment I needed help with something, and they made sure everything went smoothly. I'm so grateful for using Karissa and Coastside!

Jen Sent on 10/06/2012

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Soliciting Karissa from Coastside Couture's help was hands-down the best decision I made for our wedding. We made some tough choices since our budget was on the lower end, but her team really demonstrated their value.

Rachel Sent on 06/25/2012

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If you're reading these reviews because you can't decide, don't even hesitate: Coastside Couture was hands down the best decision we made.

We were trying to figure out if we needed a day-of coordinator because we were doing a lot of the planning ourselves. Having never planned a wedding before, we didn't realize that day-of it would be a no-brainer. YES we needed a day-of coordinator and YES Heidi of Coastside Couture was the most top-notch planner we could have ever imagined.

I just can't gush enough about her. I am not exaggerating when I say that the day was PERFECT and we can thank Heidi and her team for that. They were there at every moment: when a clasp popped off my dress right before the ceremony, they were there to sew it back on. When my mom's dress split down the seam, exposing her derriere, the Coastside Couture team was there to sew it up. (haha, my mom and I were obviously enjoying the food too much or something!)

While I felt like they were always there to take care of us, I also felt like they were always there to take care of our guests, as well. The whole day was seamless. And at the end of the night, my husband and I walked into our room to find that they had made a pathway of petals leading to the bed, on which they had left a huge heart of flowers and petals. It was a dreamy end to a dreamy day that would not have been perfect without them.

A thousand thanks to Heidi and Coastside Couture for making our wedding the most perfect day imaginable!

Lauren Sent on 02/29/2012

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In short, we adore Heidi and can't stop talking about how grateful we are to her. She's amazing (so much so that even our guests and family still talk about her). It's taken me a long time to write this review because I haven't known where to start.

Heidi was absolutely incredible to work with and was the best decision we made with respect to our wedding. Our wedding was hands down the best, most joyful day of our lives (and the best party I have ever been to!), but I wouldn't have enjoyed a minute of it (and it wouldn't have been a fraction as great) if it weren't for Heidi. Starting 3 days before the wedding, I didn't do anything - and I mean anything - but hang out with my friends and family and really enjoy that amazing time. I felt so totally confident in Heidi's ability to handle it all that I was able to completely relax and leave it in her hands.

We were floored by how talented Heidi is -- she has a fabulous eye for decor, and saved me many hours of research and worrying because she's so experienced and knowledgeable. Even after months of trying plan every last detail on my own (I'm a compulsive researcher and perfectionist), we wound up taking Heidi's advice on nearly everything… she would offer suggestions in a few minutes that were better than other options that I'd spent hours agonizing over! In the end, I was stunned by how beautiful and flawless everything was. You can see photos on Coastside's blog - http://blog.coastsidecouture.com/2012/01/june-private-estate-wedding-in-carmel.html

For those who are considering independent planners (who generally have less experience and overhead, and can be less expensive as a result) - we considered this route until we met Heidi and Coastside Couture, and are SO glad that we went with Heidi's team. There are a number of reasons why going with Coastside wound up canceling out any incremental up-front cost (and that's not even considering differences in quality). Heidi had 3 people (including herself) working at our wedding (and working hard, I was absolutely floored by all the things they did, though I'll get to that later), which made a big difference. There was always someone in her office whom I could call, we shipped packages there (critical for a destination wedding!), and we also got discounted rates with our caterer and rentals (which added up to over $1000) because of her relationships and reputation. One caterer literally gave us a discount because she felt comfortable that Heidi would handle everything so it took a lot of anxiety off her plate. Heidi also helped us to find vendors that were fantastic and far less expensive than the options we found on our own (saving even more!). This is just the start, beyond obvious benefits of Heidi's company having full liability insurance, the amount of training and expertise that her team shares, etc.

I didn't appreciate this until the night of our wedding, but there is SO much that Heidi took care of that a simple list can't even begin to describe it. Just to give a sense of the things that Heidi did for us: As an add-on to our package, we hired her (and a few staff) to set up and take down our rehearsal dinner on a bluff overlooking the ocean (http://blog.coastsidecouture.com/2012/01/rehearsal-dinner-on-beach-in-carmel.html). We kept things very very basic for this, and Heidi turned it into something spectacular. You can see the way it looked from the photos on our photographer's blog, but we basically just rented a food truck, my mom put together some basic flowers from Whole Foods, we reused the same rentals we used for the wedding (a deal Heidi negotiated, though I know we were the last ones to get that loophole before they changed their contracts), and we ordered a ton of wholesale blankets in case it got cold. Heidi made it look absolutely magical - and all we had to do was show up (and then just leave it there to go have s'mores on the beach). I'm mentioning the rehearsal dinner in particular because I felt like this was an example of how Heidi's eye really made our dollars stretch - she let us use her burlap runners, made table arrangements with our wine/beer and some lanterns we were using for the wedding, and thought to put the blankets on the chairs to add color (something I never would have thought to do).

For the wedding, Heidi gave us - outstanding - vendor recommendations, and steered us away from some folks that I realize now that we would've regretted hiring. We had a musician bail on us a couple weeks out and Heidi found a wonderful replacement, negotiated his rates, and completely took care of the situation while I was on vacation. We dearly loved everyone that worked on the event for us, especially our caterers (Classic Catering), which we hadn't considered initially - but Heidi encouraged us to do a tasting with them anyway, and they blew us away. She helped us a TON with decor (we did this as an add-on to our package), and while my husband and I certainly had the vision of what we wanted in general, Heidi managed everything from recommending linen and giving advice on accents, to re-doing our rental order countless times as we changed our mind in those last couple weeks, to setting everything up day-of (including tying ribbons on all the chairs, her suggestion that I'd never thought of, but a great, cost-effective way to add color during the ceremony). I didn't communicate with a single vendor during the two weeks before the wedding, knowing I could trust Heidi to handle everything - and everything was flawless, from timing (she made the schedule and kept everyone on time), to presentation (during our "walk through" a couple weeks before, she figured out the seating chart, how everything would fit, where to put the bar vs. DJ station, etc. etc.), to making sure everyone showed up on time, got fed, stuck to their contracts, and the like. I can only imagine that that's an overwhelming amount of work, but I couldn't even tell you the details of everything she did because I never had to think about it. I do know that she sent around a very impressive, meticulously organized event packet (including every last detail of what needed to be done, who should arrive when, seating charts, where decor would go, names and contact info of all vendors, etc.) that she distributed to everyone involved. Despite the fact that we held our event at a private home (and had to bring in EVERYTHING - food, alcohol, chairs, sound systems, tables, decor, you name it - complete logistical nightmare), I don't know of a single glitch in the whole day.

Once the festivities were over and everyone had headed home on their shuttle buses, we looked around and the house was spotless. We went to our bridal suite, and found that the bed was made and covered in flower petals (despite our flower girl having watched Blues Clues in there during dinner). Heidi's team had even left a sweet note and a bottle of their favorite champagne on the nightstand. And then I discovered that they saved me a half bottle of my favorite wine from our tasting bar (the Amarone) and hid it on the other nightstand with a couple glasses. We've been brimming with gratitude for wonderful, thoughtful Heidi and her magic workers ever since.

Ellie Sent on 02/14/2012

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Coastside Couture provided excellent service from the initial planning stages to the day of our wedding. We originally thought we could manage the wedding on our own, but choosing Karissa and her assistant to be there the day of was the best decision we made. Everything fell into place perfectly. There were no snafus. The vendors were all well taken care of and we could fully enjoy our day. Karissa has a wonderful upbeat personality that kept us smiling the entire time we worked together. We would sign up with Coastside Couture again in a heartbeat!

Susan Sent on 12/07/2011

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Coastside Couture was the single most important service that we contracted for my daughter LIndsay's wedding. They made the whole wedding experience so much easier and enjoyable for us that I would tell any bride or mother of the bride to not hesitate to hire them. Heidi and Karissa are professional, personable, efficient, trustworthy and fun! Their value is immeasurable!!

D Sent on 11/19/2011

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Karissa was amazing -- I truly can't say enough wonderful things about her. She's everything you want in a wedding planner: responsive, thoughtful, organized (which is of the utmost importance!), creative, and just SO on top of it. I cringe when I think of all the work she did on our gift bags alone (think running all over Carmel and Carmel Valley delivering these ridiculous bags!). But I never once heard anything other than her being 100,000% positive.

And the day of: I honestly couldn't have imagined a more perfect scenario. She was so on it! Everything from the time table to reminding me to change dresses, to fixing my hair during pictures ... I have never seen something as well executed as the hours leading up to, and during, our ceremony/reception. She didn't miss on anything. She is a total star!

Stacy Sent on 11/16/2011

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Karissa is amazing. I highly recommend her services for any wedding. She made EVERYTHING happen in a professional manner. She saved the day for sure!!

Justin Sent on 11/12/2011

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Karissa and Coastside Couture made our wedding day incredibly memorable. Being a groom, I was reluctant to hire a wedding planner. However, after the whole experience I think it was the best investment we made. Karissa made our destination wedding everything that we wanted. I had a specific vision in mind and Karissa searched for the perfect venue to create this. She was on top of every decision and made the wedding day stress free. We had numerous guests comment about how well run the day went. I would highly recommend CC to anyone looking to have an amazing and stress-free wedding!!!!

Janet Sent on 10/27/2011

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Words cannot begin to describe how fantastic our experience was with Karissa at Coastside Couture. As anyone knows who is planning a large wedding (250 ppl), these times can be stressful. Karissa managed to navigate us through the process all the while remaining confident, organized, focused, and even incredibly friendly, supportive, and FUN! The wedding day itself ran completely smoothly with Karissa at the helm, while I could simply enjoy myself and be a guest. I was the mother of the bride, am a very organized and fastidious person with high standards, and can unequivocally recommend Karissa at Coastside Couture.

Marty Sent on 09/05/2011

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Karissa was a joy to work with! She is professional and organized and she was there to handle all the details. She also saved me money because she could direct me towards the best deals for my money. Karissa handled the wedding with calm leadership. She even dealt with my drunken brother-in-law crashing the wedding! Ahh..family. I highly recommend hiring Karissa as your wedding planner.

User594583 Sent on 08/04/2011

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Even the most organized of brides will find weddings challenging because there's just so much in the mix, emotionally and logistically! Investing in wedding coordination was SO worth every penny spent. I worked with Karissa on an off-the-shelf "day of" coordinator package, which is more like "month-of" in terms of their involvement before the wedding. I felt like the first priority throughout the process and can genuinely say that I enjoyed every moment of my wedding in part because I knew Karissa was taking care of everything! I highly, HIGHLY recommend working with Coastside Couture!!

Dani Sent on 06/28/2011

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Hiring Karissa was one of the best decisions we made. She is so charismatic and fun - she always kept us smiling and at ease throughout our wedding weekend. We really valued her professionalism and strong ties with our vendor team - her ongoing collaboration and communication with us and our team and recommendations for last minute needs kept everything running smoothly. She listened to all of our ideas, gave us great advice, and handled every last detail exactly as we had envisioned. Our wedding party and family loved Karissa - she was so personal, respectful, responsive, and always ready to handle business. I can't imagine working with anyone else - she truly is the best.

Katie Sent on 01/06/2011

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I hired Heidi about 2 months before my wedding once I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pull everything off on my own. It was hands down one of the best decisions I made regarding the wedding. She made sure that every little detail was perfectly executed (not easy at our venue) and I didn't have to worry about a thing. She is a master at her craft, and worth every penny.

Samantha Sent on 12/14/2010

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Karissa and her team are the best. She helped us with every step along the way, from helping us to find a reception venue, to recommended awesome vendors for the cake and DJ given our tight budget and strange day for a ceremony (a Tuesday). She went as far as stalking the owners to get our deposit back after the first reception venue went bankrupt. Her team made everything run smoothly on our day so we did not have to worry about a thing. We would not hesitate in recommending her to anyone.

Elizabeth Sent on 10/05/2010

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Heidi ( and Karissa) are some of the most amazing Women I have ever met! Coastside Couture made our wedding more than we could have ever imagined! The planning process was very smooth and we knew we had nothing to worry about! On our weddind day Heidi made sure that its was about us and we could not have asked for anything more. Coastside couture and all the women associated with is were more than professional and always made sure that we knew what was going on throughout the entire planning process. We have not a single negative thing to say about them and they are 100% worth every penny we paid ( if they came back now and told us it would be more we would happily pay it)

Steve Sent on 09/22/2010

5 out of 5 rating

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Karissa is an ANGEL in our opinion! We held our ceremony and reception at a private residence that had just once held a wedding (there son's). As you can imagine, the homeowners needed reassurance that things would be handled smoothly. Once they met Karissa, all systems were go! We hired Karissa to coordinate the day of the wedding. Her services went well beyond that!!! We called her for advice on everything from portable toilets to djs, and she advised us on all venues we dreamed up. Her honesty was much appreciated when our vision was too far-fetched or out of our budget. We were in San Diego for most of the planning, so Karissa was our eyes and ears for everything. She remained in constant contact with us, and was always reliable.

The day of our wedding was absolutely perfect, and there was no way it could have been possible without Karissa. She had a timeline for our review well in advance. She put all of our wedding worries on her back, and EVERYTHING was taken care of. She made sure everyone was where they needed to be, kept my groomsmen in check :), made sure we got something in our stomachs as we took pictures, coordinated our departure, was the go-to person for all vendors, etc. Mind you, I am not doing justice to how much she did behind the scenes. The amazing part is that we never really noticed all she was doing because before we even could fathom a request, it was already taken care of by Karissa.

Our guests were struck by how perfectly everything went that day. I can honestly say Karissa was the reason. We were so lucky to have Karissa, and I would recommend, no insist, my closest friends and family to use her services!

Jennifer Sent on 08/03/2010

5 out of 5 rating

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Heidi Hughett of Coastside Couture was amazing. She is very friendly and helpful. Heidi and her staff made our day stress free. We couldn't have pulled off a better day without her help. Everything was perfect. She made sure everything went were it should go and my vison turned out fantastic. Good with Coastside Couture :)

Helena Sent on 07/19/2010

5 out of 5 rating

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Coastside Couture is the BEST wedding planning business out there. My wedding was perfect because of the support, love, and hardwork of my coordinators. Everyone, including my bridemaids and mother, noticed how well cared for everything was and that we were in great hands with Coastisde Couture. I honestly could not have done it without them!!! Hiring them was the smartest decision I made during my wedding planning!

Candace Sent on 12/06/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

What can we say - Heidi was a "rock start"! She had fabulous ideas and helped us bring a vision to life. The vendors she recommended were great and very responsive. Whatever we asked about, she made happen and the actual wedding day was completely seamless - nothing went wrong and we credit Heidi with that. we can't thank her enough.

Michele Sent on 11/18/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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Heidi Hughett of Courture Celebrations is wonderful. Having her work with my daughter and I made the wedding so stressfree!!! Everyone needs Heidi as their wedding planner!!!

Shanna Sent on 08/20/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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Karissa was a smart and friendly resource when planning my wedding. Her calm, confident manner were a huge plus during the stressful final weeks. From finding a location to picking a favor and finding a calligrapher.....Karissa can do everything. Best of all, she was always prompt in responding to my panicky emails!

Terry Sent on 08/17/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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Karissa was great to work with. Her knowledge provided the support we needed to plan our wedding and make it a success.

Rachel Sent on 08/14/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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Coastside Concierge's quality of service was exceptional. I would recommend them and Karissa Paxton to anyone in need of a wedding planner. They took all the worry away from me and took care of all the details that made my wedding amazing and stress free. By using Coastside Concierge I was able to enjoy my wedding day because I knew they would take care of all the details. Karissa went above and beyond what I expected of her which made the cost of their services very reasonable and money well spent. She was always very professional while still fun and friendly to all my wedding party, vendors and guests. In planning my wedding she was very flexible with my ideas and provided amazing suggestions and recommendations that she pulled from her many years of experience in the wedding industry. I really enjoyed working with Karissa and Coastside Concierge and my wedding could not have happened without them.

Cristina Sent on 08/13/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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Heidi and her team were fantastic to work with! They made my wedding day stress free and so wonderful. They pay attention to every detail and make sure everything runs smoothly but without being intrusive. They were friendly and helpful to my family, friends and the venue and vendors as well. I would highly recommend Couture Celebrations for any bride, it literally made my life so much easier to know that Heidi would be there to have everything ready and make sure the day ran successfully.

Jenn Sent on 07/29/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

Hiring Heidi was the best money we spent on our "low budget" wedding. We hired Heidi for "day of coordination" and she was a blessing. I didn 't worry about a thing. The main thing we wanted to hire her for was to set up the location (my families house) and decorate. Heidi and Lea made our wedding STUNNINGLY beautiful. They were AMAZING.

Beth Sent on 07/09/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

Hiring Coastside Concierge was the best decision we made in our wedding planning. The great success of our event was a direct reflection of not only the professionalism but care that goes into the service they provide. Every detail was taken care of, we worried about nothing and had the time of our lives at our wedding!

Sarika Sent on 06/15/2009

5 out of 5 rating

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I hired Heidi of Couture Celebrations to do my "day of" coordination. She and her assistant, Leah, were amazing! I had a very complex multi-cultural Indian-Jewish wedding (with 2 ceremonies) and Heidi handled it all beautifully. I did not have to worry about a single detail on our special day - Heidi made sure all vendors were set up and functional, the ceremony items were in place, she got people together for pictures, and took care of all the little details from tying tassels around napkins to hanging colored lanterns in a tree, to making sure the DJ knew what music to play when, to making sure family members and special guests were taken care of. The flow of the event was wonderful and my whole family agreed that hiring a day-of coordinator was a fantastic idea, as everyone was able to simply enjoy themselves. Heidi is incredibly organized and put together vendor packets as well as a detailed time line prior to the event. I highly recommend Heidi to anyone looking to make their wedding an amazing experience.

Karla Sent on 11/04/2008

5 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

We live in New York and decided to have a west coast California wedding. At first we were a little overwhelmed on how we would approach the whole wedding planning considering we weren't physically there. Once we hired Heidi from Couture Celebration; she immediatly made everything stress free and exciting. She was very knowledable with all the vendors we contracted and must say she saved us a lot of money considering we had no clue what we were doing at times. She was always a phone call away when we needed her and she truly made our wedding day go so smooth and fun. My Husband and I honestly believe hiring Heidi was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding.

Michelle Sent on 11/29/2016

4.9 out of 5 rating

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4.5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating

I had the pleasure of working with Heidi and Kayla from Coastside for our wedding at Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley, CA. We hired them for their petite planning services. I had a general idea of what I wanted, but it was mostly a destination wedding for my family and friends. We hired Coastside to mostly help with vendor selection and minimize stress for the final weeks leading up to the wedding. They absolutely knocked it out of the park. We had received so many compliments on all of the vendors they recommended in addition to the raving reviews on how smoothly everything went. A week before our wedding, a wildfire broke out in Big Sur, mere miles away from the ceremony and reception site. This is when having an awesome wedding planner was critical. She called me up the Tuesday before my Saturday wedding and said that depending on the wind, it could either be beautiful and clear or smoky with raining ash. She reassured me that Carmel Valley was not in danger of catching fire, but did recommend we go with a tent just in case and that she would make it work and comfortable for our guests no matter what. The fire burned the day of our wedding and ash fell down like snow throughout the evening. Heidi was there to the rescue. She was able to book a last minute clear top tent with cafe lights and was constantly keeping me up to date on the smoke conditions. At no point did I worry about it because I knew she would take care of me and my guests no matter what. My mom, bridesmaids, and now husband unanimously agree that Heidi and team were worth every penny and we would happily recommend them to anyone who asks!

Ki Sent on 09/14/2013

4.9 out of 5 rating

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4.5 out of 5 rating

Karissa and Coastside Couture made our daughter's wedding an amazing experience. I'm still getting rave reviews from all who attended. It's an overused phrase but we, literally, could not have done it without her and the Coastside Couture staff. There were all sorts of opportunities for failure--we had a remote wedding site and a bride with an exacting playbook--but she navigated us past all of them. From the beginning, Karissa was easygoing and helpful, with good advice about vendors and protocol. She reviewed our contracts and kept us on task with our timeline. I know that there were times that she just might have been too busy with another wedding to answer our questions but she never let on. And somehow her upbeat, sparkling personality always came through. The day of the wedding there were the usual, small emergencies that came up but she handled them all stealthily. The day was left for the bride and groom and all of our guests to enjoy to the fullest. Bravo, Karissa!
Whatever your budget, I would recommend making wedding planning one of your highest priorities. You'll save money along the way and you will end up with an event that just could not be put together without the years of knowledge and experience that Coastside Couture has to offer.

Maureen Sent on 11/07/2011

4.9 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating

As a destination bride with little to no knowledge of the Central Coast, hiring a planner was a must. Even as a very organized couple, there were so many overwhelming details in planning a wedding that we would have been completely LOST without Heidi.
The first meeting with Heidi sealed the deal – she was professional, energetic and to-the-point which my husband and I loved. Outside of that first meeting, Heidi was able to point us to the right vendors after only a few emails and phone calls. Prefaced by Heidi’s preparation and expertise, the two “planning weekends” made the process very fun especially since my husband and I knew that she had everything under control and knew exactly what we wanted. Without Heidi, we wouldn’t have had the vendor “dream team” that created our dream wedding that guests are still talking about!
Heidi and Becca worked tirelessly on our “set-up intensive” event and because of their meticulous execution, I can say without reservation that my husband and I truly enjoyed every moment of the day. Like any complex event, our wedding had a few inevitable hiccups: It was a testament to Heidi’s talents that we were blissfully unaware of any issues, due to Heidi’s immediate responses and masterful damage control. Investing in CC was worth every penny and we would hire them again in a heartbeat!

Laura Sent on 10/23/2011

4.9 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating

We are so happy we hired Coastside Couture as our wedding coordinators. We were engaged for about 8 months and had no luck finding a venue, so we decided to hire CC to help us. Within 2 weeks of working with Heidi, we had our location selected and we could not have been happier. She has it down to a science! =) Heidi is extremely professional, knowledgeable, resourceful, and has great attention to detail. She saved us a lot of money on our venue and on other expenses (like delivery fees, as she picked up our wedding flowers, pies, and linens on the day of). The services from CC were worth every penny... ESPECIALLY on the day of the wedding. I consider myself a pretty organized person, but I think we would have been pretty lost without Heidi. The only teeny-tiny critique I have is that the email response time was sometimes a little slower than I would have liked toward the middle of our planning. This was a pretty minor concern of mine though--after sending a follow up email I would generally get a quick reply back. It seems like a few of my emails may have gotten lost in the shuffle. This was not the case when we got closer to our wedding day though--we got nothing but immediate attention/support from her and the team. It is important to mention, too, that so many guests noticed how "on top of it" Heidi was on our wedding day and commented on how great she was. A couple of my newly engaged friends said they were going to look into services from CC after seeing what she did that evening.

Heidi and her team made it look easy although I know it was nothing but!!! We are very appreciative for everything she did to help us create our dream wedding. We would hire CC again in a heartbeat!

Ann Sent on 01/03/2011

4.9 out of 5 rating

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Heidi, We could not have done it without you. The wedding was a tremendous success. Everyone said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Thanks so much and when the next two daughters get married, I will call you.

Thanks so much,

Ann

Jessica Sent on 12/01/2016

4.8 out of 5 rating

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Hiring Karissa at Coastside was one of the easiest decisions we made - she was so down to earth and real, from the first phone call, it was an obvious choice! They are one of the few planners in the region that had the perfect 'in-between' planning package. I needed more than month-of, but less than full service (I wanted to be pretty involved in the decisions, big and small, throughout the process). The Petite Planning package was perfect - Karissa was responsive and helpful through the months leading up to the wedding, especially with vendor recommendations and her insight on our venue, Holman Ranch. It was great that she had professional relationships with most of the venue employees and vendors we worked with, as she took a ton of the administrative not-so-fun tasks off our plate. And she helped reassure me on design/decor/color scheme decisions when I needed the confidence to pull the trigger on something and I wasn't sure if it would work.

Karissa is a straight shooter, which I appreciated. She has her sh*t together. And she is great at being a support system when needed. I constantly joked that I was being a micro-managey 'bridezilla', and she reassured me that I wasn't, and whether or not that was true (hah!), I appreciated her friendship and sense of humor throughout the entire journey!

The entire Coastside team was invaluable in the weeks leading up to the special day, and the day of. I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Emily Sent on 01/15/2016

4.8 out of 5 rating

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Karissa was always willing to roll with the punches and deal with our very non-traditional approach to a wedding, as well as extreme last-minute planning (we only set the date 1 month in advance). She never pushed us into anything, but was always ready with helpful suggestions on vendors and decorations that fit our taste and budget. I felt like I had a lot of control over the details that I cared about, but Karissa didn't let me make any big mistakes or forget anything critical. Kayla was great with all the details and leg work throughout. On the actual day of the wedding Karissa kept everything running smoothly so that I could enjoy myself, which was hugely appreciated! If you want to do something a little different, you couldn't find a better group to help you with planning than Coastside Couture!

User1518289 Sent on 01/25/2014

4.8 out of 5 rating

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I would absolutely recommend Coastside Couture as a wedding planner with no hesitation. Karissa is wonderful- she did such an amazing job at understanding the vision my husband and I had and the type of wedding we wanted, and translated everything beautifully into an unforgettable celebration that represented us perfectly. If you are not sure whether to hire a planner but have room for it in your budget I would definitely recommend it (unless you don't work and have nothing to do but plan a wedding), especially to have on the day of your wedding. I used Coastside Couture's complete package because it was the best option for my personal situation, so they helped me with everything- invitations, all vendors (venue, caterer, floral, linens, music, etc), guest accommodations, website, budget, and pretty much anything else I had questions about, even the marriage license and officiant. Vendors were selected to work well with your personality and complement the entire vibe of your wedding day. One of the most helpful aspects for me personally was Karissa's ability to listen to what I said I wanted (which was pretty vague and I can be very indecisive) and turn it into something tangible that represented exactly what I envisioned. I would hire Coastide Couture again in a heartbeat if I had the chance!

Charles Sent on 09/04/2013

4.8 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

Karissa did a fabulous job! She is a true professional, helped with almost all aspects of the wedding, and dealt with any last minute issues that came up.

Julie Sent on 12/09/2010

4.8 out of 5 rating

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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating

In the weeks that followed our wedding, I had several guests ask me who the fairy-like woman with blond curls floating around the wedding party fixing misplaced dress straps, perfecting lighting, and generally alleviating any stress, mishaps, confusion, and otherwise bothersome item issues was.

That was my fabulous wedding planner, Karissa.

Thank you, magic wedding fairy, for helping to keep our backyard party intact.

Love, Julie and Seth

Cameron Sent on 09/22/2010

4.8 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful, personal service. Karissa worked with us on a number of things and went above and beyond the "month of" package. And on the day of, there is no one I would have rather had running the show. She was very hands on, not afraid to let us know what she thought, but also totally fine going with decisions we made. She was easy to work with and seemed to take a personal interest in us and our wedding.

Heather Sent on 09/21/2010

4.8 out of 5 rating

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4 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating

Karissa was amazing to work with. She went above and beyond in helping us find the perfect vendors and working her connections to get great vendors that fit in with our budget. She understood exactly what we wanted for the wedding and made it absolutely perfect. During the wedding, I was amazing at her attention to detail and just how beautiful she made the whole thing. It was great to be able to tell her what I wanted and then come up to the reception and see that everything (and more) was taken care of without me worrying about a thing.

Karissa is so sweet and caring and we are going to miss working with her.

Thanks for all your hardwork and making our wedding a truly unforgettable event!

Amber Sent on 06/06/2009

4.8 out of 5 rating

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5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating

Heidi was a fabulous wedding planner!! We hired her to coordinate the "Day of" our wedding, and she did an awesome job! From the very beginning, Heidi was full of imaginative ideas and helped us make our Wedding truly unique, special, and unforgettable. She also recommended some amazing vendors to do our catering, photography, cake, flowers, & invitations. Her help was invaluable, and she made the whole journey of our wedding planning experience very fun and heartfelt!!
I got lots of compliments from our Wedding guests about how Heidi was really "on it" with making sure the Wedding day ran smoothly; and so many people said that it was the best Wedding they had ever gone to--Wow!, I think that says it all.. I highly recommend Heidi & Lea at Couture Celebrations, they are great!!

Larkin Sent on 05/12/2017

4.4 out of 5 rating

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4.5 out of 5 rating
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4 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating

Coastside Couture was wonderful to work with. Living in Texas, I knew I was not going to be able to plan a whole California wedding weekend on my own but still wanted to be involved. That being said, Coastside Couture made that happen! I was exactly as involved as I wanted to be, and together we were able to plan a weekend I'll surely never forget. They were supportive of our decisions and were always ready with options when we couldn't decide. Their experience was apparent, and they didn't miss a single detail. We will forever be grateful for Heidi, Karissa, and Kayla for their work and dedication to make our day perfect.

User2145947 Sent on 05/25/2015

3.9 out of 5 rating

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3.5 out of 5 rating
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4.5 out of 5 rating
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5 out of 5 rating
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3 out of 5 rating
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3.5 out of 5 rating

Coastside Couture came highly recommended to me, so I was surprised when, at times, they fell short of their raving reviews. Day of, the planners failed to get the booster seats from our hired babysitter, despite the sitter's attempt to hand them off to them. I'm pretty sure my guests with small children weren't happy with the lack of proper seating for their kids. Also, Coastside did not make it clear what they would take care of day-of, so I ended up assigning bridesmaids tasks that Coastside would later relinquish (saying that was their job); I guess I couldn't be sure that Coastside would take care of it. :(
However, Coastside doesn't deserve too much guff. They were lovely people, and I especially appreciate Sonia's diplomacy skills when handling a particularly sticky situation with one of our vendors. They helped us plan a truly beautiful and amazing wedding, so overall, I'm happy with their services. Thank you, Coastside!

Erica Sent on 07/14/2009

3.7 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
4 out of 5 rating
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3 out of 5 rating
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3.5 out of 5 rating
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4 out of 5 rating
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4 out of 5 rating

I could not have planned my wedding without Karissa's help from Coastside Concierge. I did not have to worry about anything on my wedding day leaving it stress free so all I had to worry about was getting married and having a good time!

Lucia Sent on 01/02/2016

1.8 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2 out of 5 rating
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1 out of 5 rating
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2 out of 5 rating
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1 out of 5 rating
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3 out of 5 rating

DONT. CALL. THIS. COMPANY!!!! My fiancee and I were planning a destination wedding in Big Sur for September 2016. Heidi and Karissa promised us the sun, moon and the stars and unfortunately delivered close to none of that. After woking with them for three months and being strung along without a signed contract for our wedding venue or any other contract for that matter they dropped the ball after constantly assuring us everything was fine! The venue wanted an additional 15,000 and the owner expected us to house them at the post ranch inn for the four nights we stayed at the property. I thought we were the ones getting the honeymoon!!!!
Forget about unlimited "emails/phone calls" which is what they claim you are entitled to if you sign a contract because you AINT gettin it. You will deal with their assistant the majority of the time and it takes her on average three days to respond.
Oh, and I ended up doing research for my own vendors because they took too long to send me any information. One of the trips I flew out there for a cake tasting with my fiancee and the night we land they tell me they couldn't get the appointment!!!! WTF!!!!
They like to take you out on site visits separately, Heidi is more well versed in Carmel Valley and is actually the more professional of the two. Then you have Karissa - She claims to know Big Sur which I at this point thing she can probably count on two hands the amount of times she has actually been there. She will take you on site visits and talk so poorly about every site you see until you could not possibly envision yourself getting married there. We went to a goat farm and she was ripping on a bride who she considered prissy. I hate to think what she was saying about me.
I highly suggest not wasting your time - this really is not the way you want to start your wedding planning. I did not like writing this review but I don't want anyone going through what we did. Try Allison Weddings or A Sparkling Affair. Good Luck!

User1247818 Sent on 07/18/2013

1.8 out of 5 rating

Quality of service
2 out of 5 rating
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2 out of 5 rating
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2 out of 5 rating
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1 out of 5 rating
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2 out of 5 rating

I had a very disappointing full service package experience with Karissa at Coastside Couture. If I'd booked the partial planning service, or if they refunded the difference I probably would have given them a much higher rating. However, for "full service" it was subpar.

The pre-wedding 5 months planning was all over the place and even though it was specified as Coastside doing these items in my contract, I had to end up doing them myself. This included my own master planning list, budget creation, vendor contract documentation, guest management, etc and she led us way over the budget we'd stated.

Not only was that incredibly stressful, but on my wedding weekend, a bunch of the personal details I'd collected over months and was excited about did not even make it out of the boxes I handed over to Karissa for the wedding.This included a cute cake topper I bought on etsy, a bunch of great props for the photo booth, the lavender sprigs between photos in a hanging display, etc etc. Also a huge component of my requested mediterranean theme was completely missing! I'd wanted olive branches framing everything on the tables for our guest book and old family wedding photos, and the tables ended up looking really bare and embarrassing. Also, the coordination with the shuttles was lacking, since they ended up coming late and many of our guests ended up having to drive.

Overall the experience working with them was hugely disappointing since they came so highly recommended from my other vendors and review sites, which is why I think it's so important to post for everyone else's benefit. I would have been okay with the huge amount of stress and planning work I'd ended up doing myself if on the day of everything had turned out perfectly. Yes, I'm probably more detail oriented than the average bride, but no one wants to look at photos from their wedding and wonder why they spent a year + planning if the decor items did not get executed as you wanted. :(

Coastside Couture Reviews

Reviews

Coastside Couture