We knew from the start that we wanted a wedding planner for at least day-of but most likely month-of. We were planning a wedding with a guest list that was pushing five hundred… yes, nearly 500 potential guests. We were mixing cultures – Vietnamese, Filipino and American. We wanted someone who we got along with well because really, we would trust this person with one of the most important days of our lives, we’ll be spending a substantial amount of time with this person and communicating regularly… we wanted to someone we’d “click” with. Needless to say, we were quite picky. After interviewing 7 wedding planners with various experience levels from the newbie to those who’ve been in the industry (and magazine) for decades… and various price ranges from steal deals to crazy sell your first born prices. Still, no one clicked. We wanted someone charismatic, fun, honest and firm. Someone with fun but realistic ideas. Someone who will tell another vendor that they did something wrong and make them fix it. Someone who would tell me I’m crazy for going DIY overboard or to convince me that I really didn’t need [insert overpriced wedding detail no one else will notice but the bride, here]. Someone real.
We were going to give up until we met with DeShai. Wow. When we met with her we just knew she was “the one”. She’s fun, creative, versatile, open-minded, honest, detailed and most importantly, down to earth. She was the 8th planner we interviewed and well worth the long search. We hired her on the spot and it was one of the best wedding decisions we ever made. I would say that she was worth every penny but honestly, DeShai was invaluable… She was a huge blessing – our Wedding Angel. Her attention to detail is excellent, and her standards of service are high. She is the most professional, organized, and genuine person I’ve ever worked with. She truly turned our modern, whimsical, diy Dream Wedding into a reality.
I can honestly say I was a wreck the weeks leading up to our wedding. I was terrified that our cheesy Chinese restaurant venue would look like a cheesy Chinese restaurant. I was drowning in DIY projects that I thought I *had to* do and too many loose ends to count. DeShai kept me grounded and sane. She convinced me to let go of many of the unnecessary projects I had planned (even though I did some anyway) and she was right, the things I didn’t end up doing, no one even noticed. She wrapped up all our loose ends and kept everyone organized. I’m sure there could have been plenty of mishaps on our wedding day but we didn’t know about any because DeShai managed everything and kept us as stress free as she could. I still remember vividly the minute we walked into our venue. It was far from the cheesy Chinese restaurant it was the previous day. We felt like we were on Platinum Weddings. It truly took our breath away. DeShai transformed our venue and made our dream a reality. Our candy bar was perfectly executed – sure, I bought the jars/vases and candy but DeShai styled it like no other; her attention to detail is flawless. We still get complimented on it and it’s still the talk of the wedding. The tablescapes were flawless. She set up our bird cage, escort cards and calendar guest book prettier than we could have imagined. She has a natural sense of timing; she created our timeline and kept everyone on track. The day went by so quickly, there’s no way we would have been able to keep to the timeline without DeShai. She had us dancing, cutting the cake, tossing the bouquet etc. right on time. She guided our other vendors through the day with a sense of grace and adapted to situations as they arose. In the midst of everything, she still managed to keep me calm, or calm me down. There was a point where I had to change into my reception dress and nearly had a panic attack because my dress went missing. I had the garment bag but it was empty. I was freaking out and DeShai came to the rescue. She calmed me down and found my dress, which wasn’t lost at all, it fell to the bottom of the garment bag and I had bride brain (aka airhead moment) and panicked without looking closely enough. She helped me into my dress, reassured me everything was ok and sent me on my merry way. At the end of the night, we were exhausted – from smiling for the cameras and chatting up our guests. Getting married is really like putting on our show… Broadway ain’t got nothin’ on weddings. DeShai took care of the aftermath without any help from us. She cleaned everything up and kept all of our belongings organized. She sent us on our way and all we had to do was come back and pick up our things the next day. We could have had our bridal party or a family member pick up the things but we wanted to do it ourselves. Everything was packed up in boxes and ready to go – no extra effort from us. I can’t even begin to think of what it would have been like without DeShai. If you’re getting married, hire a planner, you won’t regret it. If DeShai’s available on your date, hire her. Not only will you not regret it, it’ll be the best decision you ever made. She’s truly priceless.

DeShai was a wonderful planner. She handled all the vendors and our wedding day was very very smooth. I was totally taken care of by DeShai and I didn't worry at all before, during or after the wedding. Her attention to the details like remembering to get the cake base so we could return it to the bakery and keeping an eye on our 3 three year olds that kept running to the candy bar. DeShai was a good fit for me and I literally let her take the lead and the choices she made for the wedding day made it even more special. Based on our conversation and meetings DeShai was able to understand my wants and make my vision a reality. I'd hire her again and again.

This review is long overdue!! I should have written it a long time ago, but life gets in the way, but I had to stop and take a minute to write how wonderful Deshai is and for you readers out there and future brides who are debating on hiring a planner, you won't regret hiring Deshai. Trust me! I was a very picky bride who knew what I wanted and having a personality like mine, (outspoken, spontaneous, "diva") I didn't think it would be possible to find someone that would "fit" just perfectly with me. Deshai is not only professional, but she takes the time to really get to know you, your personality, your wants, needs, vision, and isn't afraid to tell you her ideas and thoughts as well. I loved how open she was and how if I was acting a bit crazy, she would tell me. ( I needed that in a planner, and one that wasn't afraid to tell me that I needed to relax and enjoy just being a bride)

I can go on and on about how great Deshai is... but to sum it up... she is truly that one planner that will take care of you not only because it's her job (which you can clearly see that she has so much passion in what she does) but she actually cares about you. When planning my wedding, it was so hectic at times especially meeting certain vendors and businesses who were after just getting as much money from you as possible, meeting and getting to know Deshai was like a breath of fresh air. She wasn't after the money or getting more business, she became a friend. I had been so stressed out, and days before the wedding, my groom and I had just been at each other's throat, I really didn't know whether or not I was able to walk down the aisle. The night before the wedding, I opened my email and found a sweet letter from Deshai. It was so touching, and so heartfelt, it just proved to me how amazing of a person she is and how invested she was in my life and my happiness. She is truly someone that you would want in your corner, and as for me, she has become a great friend.