I’ve been putting off writing this review because it’s so hard to do justice to how INCREDIBLE Linda is. Linda planned our wedding in Carmel Valley this October; it was truly the wedding of our dreams, despite the unique difficulties of planning it during a global pandemic, and Linda is the #1 reason why. I could write volumes, but bottom line: Linda is a true gem; she is passionate, talented, and unbelievably dedicated to her work; and I could not possibly recommend her more enthusiastically!

We knew early on that we wanted to invest in a full-service wedding planner, and after looking through dozens of portfolios and speaking with a few different people, it was obvious Linda was the one. We ended up hiring Linda to do both planning and design for our wedding and couldn’t be happier that we did. I would highly recommend Linda for any of her services/packages, as she truly shone through every step of the process, from high-level design planning to day-of coordination.

(BTW – if you’re currently questioning whether to hire a planner, all I can say is that in retrospect, I literally can’t imagine doing HALF of what Linda did for us over the past year. If you’re like us and had no prior event planning experience, I would say that the money we spent on Linda’s services was – by a long shot - the most worthwhile part of our entire wedding budget.)

I’ll try to sum up what made our experience with Linda so great with three main points:

1. PERSONALITY

From our very first phone call, Linda immediately stood head and shoulders above the rest with her genuine enthusiasm, empathy, and warmth. Planning a wedding is a long and emotionally draining process, and your planner is probably the person you’ll communicate the most with throughout, so it was huge to feel so cared-for and connected from the very start. Linda truly made us feel that our wedding was as important to her as it was to us, and that her #1 priority was for us to have our dream day. She never made me feel like any concern or question was too small and always answered my questions or concerns with even more detail than I expected. She was a tireless advocate for us throughout the year+ of planning and, honestly, a true pleasure to work with.

While I can’t claim that planning was a total breeze, Linda made it as painless as possible so we could focus on the fun parts (like picking décor and cocktails, rather than negotiating contracts). For every major vendor decision (starting with the venue), she gave us a personalized shortlist of options with a breakdown of pricing and other important details. She took care of all of the nitty-gritty of booking, contracts, vendor insurance, etc. and as far as I could tell didn’t miss a beat on any of it. She offered us the exact right amount of feedback/input, based on both her professional experience and her personal experience with her own wedding, without being overly pushy. Her communication was great – she has an (amazing!) French accent but I never had any difficulty understanding her and her email communication was honestly the clearest of anyone we worked with for the wedding. She also rolled with every punch, hiccup, and obstacle that the world/COVID brought our way through, frankly, sheer hard work and force of will. We couldn’t have been in better hands. Linda is unstoppable and will do everything in her power to make your wedding perfect, whatever imperfections life throws at you.

2. DESIGN

I’m very aesthetically particular, but had almost no specific ideas about wedding design (I didn’t even have a Pinterest account before we started planning!). Linda’s talent for design was immediately apparent from her portfolio. Her Parisian “fine art” sensibility and impeccable taste are undeniable. Unlike some websites where I felt like I was looking at the exact same wedding over and over again, each of Linda’s events had a cohesive yet totally unique-feeling aesthetic. I think the word that best sums up her approach is “elevated”: whatever the concept, she can bring it to the next level with unique touches like vintage lounges, chandeliers, or hanging floral arrangements.

We definitely made Linda’s job difficult by simultaneously being very picky and not having any specific vision for the design (flowers, colors, décor…anything) going into the process. Linda listened to our very loose thoughts about how we wanted the wedding to “feel” and helped guide us through figuring out elements that we liked/disliked, then turned it all into a clear design vision for the wedding. It ended up being, somehow, exactly what we were dreaming of all along, yet also a million times better than anything we could have come up with.

3. ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Linda is incredibly, ridiculously detail-oriented, but in a way that decreased my stress rather than increased it, as she knew how not to overwhelm me (an overthinking-prone perfectionist). With each decision, from invitation/stationery design to table settings, she took any initial thoughts we had or examples we liked, helped break everything down into manageable decisions/sets of options or came up with an initial design mockup, then was incredibly receptive to our feedback and went through as many iterations and cycles of feedback as it took to get everything perfect. By the time the wedding came, every single detail of the day had been thought out; I felt involved in every decision, but Linda made it all a reality – the best of both worlds!!

On the day of, Linda was a true superhero – to the last, tiniest detail, she made sure everything was perfect, so that my husband and I were just able to enjoy the day. I literally got comments from my mother and multiple wedding party members on how amazing her organizational timelines/spreadsheets were!! As one testament to her absolutely unreal attention to detail: we wanted taper candles on the tables, but we couldn’t actually have them lit during dinner because of fire restrictions; so – as if they didn’t have enough to do with coordinating our enormous team of vendors! – she and her team PRE-BURNED THE CANDLES so they would still have that melted-wax look. It looked AMAZING, isn’t something I would have thought of myself in a million years, and just reflects how truly tirelessly Linda worked, up to the very last minute and then some, to ensure everything was as perfect as humanly possible for us.

Hiring Linda was, without a single doubt, the best investment we made throughout the entire wedding planning process. The amount of work Linda put in over the 12+ months that we worked with her was insane, and the double expertise she brought to the table – in both event planning and event design – was invaluable. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth it, all I can say is that Linda is the single individual most responsible for how wonderfully our wedding turned out, and we are honestly so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her.

No better person to stand with you. She’s detail oriented with flawless execution.

The only downside to going with Linda is that you will miss her when it’s over! Where can I even begin to explain how amazing Linda is?! Our wedding was a little over 2 weeks ago and friends/family are still raving about how beautiful of an event it was. From the moment I first spoke to Linda about a year ago I could tell that she had an eye for design, organization, and beauty, which is exactly what I was looking for as I booked her around the time of the planning stage when you realize that you can’t do it alone. I was looking for a partner and that’s exactly what she was! She helped me choose key vendors based on my vision, including coming with me to meetings and always using her honesty when maybe something wasn’t right for me or what we were looking for. Throughout the planning Linda was always responsive to anything I needed, from important details to maybe a random idea I needed consulting on, she was available no questions asked. Communication is essential through this process and it is a strong suit for her. We even had some hiccups with a vendor I had booked prior to meeting Linda, but she was still able to take over and navigate the situation whatever came her way. Linda thought of every detail you can think of and somehow manages to keep track of all of them while communicating them with anybody who needs to know. She handled everything day-of (which I’m sure was a separate event in itself) all while maintaining her grace and charm. This is not her first rodeo!

But most importantly, aside from her professionalism and ability to plan a great wedding, what really makes Linda a joy to work with is her personality. She is not stuffy nor does she try to push anything onto you (like a lot of people in the wedding industry can do), but instead she just genuinely wants you to give you the wedding you want and treats it like her own. Anytime I hear about how great the wedding was, I think of Linda. I truly could not have done it without her!