First Pick Planning Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
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![Siena]()
Siena Sent on 09/29/2025Ashley is a godsend
We absolutely loved working with Ashley! She made planning our Tahoe wedding easy and stress-free from start to finish. She’s incredibly organized, thoughtful, and handled tricky family dynamics and a challenging venue planner with total grace. Thanks to her, our wedding day was seamless and absolutely perfect. Couldn’t recommend her more! -
![Alanna]()
Alanna Sent on 09/22/2025Thank you Ashley and First Pick Planning!
We could not be happier with how everything went with Ashley as our day of coordinator for our Tahoe wedding. She was invaluable in helping us prep ahead of time, and her timeline was the key to our wedding being as smooth as it was. Even when little issues popped up, she was flexible and already had a solution in mind even before we knew something was up. I can't recommend her and First Pick Planning enough! -
![Patty]()
Patty Sent on 08/23/2025First Pick should be yout only pick
Aside from marrying my husband, choosing Ashley and The First Pick Planning team was the best decision I made for our wedding day. It took me a while to write this review because I (very weirdly) teared up every time thinking about how clutch Ashley was on our big day. She did everything I knew needed to be done (I was long ago sold on the idea of a month-to-day of coordinator) but I cannot overstate and oversell the feeling of ease and confidence she let me have on our wedding day, knowing that all the details were in super competent (and delightful) hands. Weddings are crazy and amazing and joyful and overwhelming – all the prep and planning for months coming to a condensed celebration. They are all those things even before you add a crazy set of logistics. I was able to hand all those logistics over to Ashley and then some! At its simplest, she executed so I could party and really let myself be in the joy of the day. For the practical minded out there – here are some highlights of her work – she organized our timeline with all of our vendors’ timelines and made sure everyone had the same timeline, she picked up the bouquets and boutonnieres day of, she brought our décor from our room to the venue and set it all up, she made our ceremony flawless with a quick yet thorough rehearsal, she liaised with the venue and us on what went back to our room (cake, décor, etc), she packed it out at the end of the night and brought it all back to our room. She thought of everything from speaker set up to who is driving whom to the pre-ceremony photos and even took a few things off out plate like the easel she keeps in her car for seating charts. Again, I truly can’t recommend Ashley and First Pick Planning enough! -
![Ali]()
Ali Sent on 08/07/2025Ashley is a planner extraordinaire!
From the very first interaction with Ashley, we knew we were in the best hands to bring our dream wedding to life! Planning a destination wedding poses additional hurdles and Ashley made the process feel fun, focused, and productive! Her natural ability to build relationships is so evident and she truly listens to you. She wasn't just our wedding planner, she became our friend and guided us to make decisions that felt like "us". We truly could not have had the wedding we did without her! We're so immensely grateful for her! -
![Lauren]()
Lauren Sent on 07/22/2025Ashley is the best!!!
I truly can’t say enough positive things about Ashley. She made the entire wedding process easy, fun, and exciting from start to finish. She kept us on schedule without ever being pushy, supported our creative ideas while helping us work through the details, and made the actual wedding day feel effortless.
Our bridal party couldn’t stop talking about how incredible she was and how seamlessly the whole weekend flowed because of her. My entire family agrees—hiring Ashley was hands down the best decision we made during the wedding planning process.
If there’s one piece of advice I give to any friend planning a wedding, it’s this: hire Ashley! -
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![Juhi]()
Juhi Sent on 06/02/2025Ashley is wonderful!
Ashley was our wedding planner for a pretty complicated Indo-Western fusion wedding. She always made us feel seen, heard, and supported - adapted to changing weather situations with grace and ease - and ALWAYS had a smile on her face to cheer us on and make our wedding day feel that much more special and wonderful. If you want a wedding executed by someone who truly LISTENS to what you want and adapts the plan accordingly, Ashley is your person. Thank you Ashley! -
![Kelly]()
Kelly Sent on 05/20/2025Wonderful Experience with Ashley
Ashley was fantastic! We hired her 2 1/2 months before our wedding. Even with so little time, she was still able to keep us on track with planning, making decisions, and finalizing every detail. Everything came together beautifully on our wedding day thanks to Ashley! -
![Molly]()
Molly Sent on 04/01/2025Ashley kept us sane and stress-free through the wedding planning process!
Ashley was the best decision we made during our entire wedding planning process. I promise you won’t find anyone more capable, friendly, organized, and efficient than her.
When it came to planning, Ashley took a big weight off our shoulders. We were able to rely on her recommendations and expertise given her experience with Lake Tahoe weddings, which saved us hours of research and probably thousands of dollars. She listened to our needs and dreams and recommended multiple vendors that suited our style and budget. We wouldn’t have been able to select such a strong team of vendors without her input.
In the months leading up to the wedding weekend, Ashley kept us on track with helpful nudges, check-ins, and milestones. She guided us on priorities, which made us feel less overwhelmed by the whole process.
Then during the wedding weekend, we didn’t worry at all because we knew Ashley had it handled. As a Type A person, this is unusual for me, but it speaks to the trust that Ashley built up over the months of planning. She was so organized and smooth that even though I had a pile of miscellaneous goodies (like restroom amenity kits which we had never talked about) to take to the venue on the wedding morning with no directions on where they’d go or what they were all for, she figured it all out and put them in the right places. And when a table centerpiece bouquet went missing, I learned the next day that Ashley had craftily made a new impromptu bouquet by reusing flowers from our ceremony arch. I’m sure there were more incidents that we never heard about that she fixed for us so we could fully enjoy the moment.
We were lucky to be able to work with Ashley. She was a dream and such a positive influence on our wedding planning. 11/10 we would recommend her! -
![Eric]()
Eric Sent on 08/10/2024A wedding must!
Highly recommend Ashely! She helped us with planning and all the last minute to do list! She took a lot of stress and concerns off of us which allowed us to enjoy the special day together. Ashely even let my wife borrow her sunglasses during are dinner! Extremely helpful and knowledgeable with weddings! Thank you Ashely! -
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![Savannah]()
Savannah Sent on 06/28/2024Amazing Experience with Ashley and First Pick
We had Ashley do our planning for our summer wedding in Petaluma CA. The whole process was smooth and seamless. Contracting with First Pick was easy and they answered all of my questions quickly. They were flexible to find a plan that worked with our budget. Once we were placed with Ashley, she was on top of every single detail. She’s organized and professional. She was reassuring and checked in very often to make sure we were on track. The wedding day went smoothly and I knew Ashley and her assistant were on top of everything so that my husband and I could sit back and relax.
I would absolutely recommend Ashley and First Pick for an amazing planning experience! They make your life so much easier so that you can truly enjoy this special time! -
![Carol]()
Carol Sent on 06/14/2024In the Moment and Enjoying It!
We can’t thank Ashley at First Pick enough! We were able to just enjoy one of the most special days of our lives because she was behind the scenes making everything happen. And whenever she interacted with us, it was a joy to see her calm and smiling face and receive her helpful instructions. -
![Elle]()
Elle Sent on 03/13/2024Best decision we made for our wedding, hands down
We hosted our wedding at Palisades Tahoe in November. I decided to work with Ashley because I knew she had worked at this venue multiple times before and knew how to handle its complexities (1. all vendors have to load in and out on a gondola, and 2. if the weather changes, the gondola can't safely operate and your wedding will be at another venue at the base.)
From the first conversation, I felt like I was in solid hands with Ashley, who prepared me for all possible outcomes because she has worked this venue so many times before. We were about a month out from the wedding when I first engaged Ashley, and she quickly took over all vendor communications and made everyone feel totally prepared and comfortable with the venue & plan.
24 hours before the wedding day, we got the news that an incoming storm meant we had to change venues. Ashley stepped in and went above and beyond -- she replanned our whole wedding to be in the new venue at the base, and when I showed up at the venue I couldn't believe how she had worked with the vendors to make it all more beautiful than I could have imagined. Our day was perfect and seamless, and we got to be completely present because all the details and chaos were handled by Ashley.
Throughout the whole process, Ashley handled everything with a total "let's make it happen", positive attitude, was so organized and helped make the chaos of wedding planning feel so much easier. Ashley is also very well connected -- she was able to get a local vendor to the new venue last minute for pipe & drape, and was able to make last minute changes to linens because she has such good relationships up here in Tahoe.
Ashley was literally our wedding's fairy godmother, we couldn't have done it without her and I couldn't recommend her more highly for your wedding!! -
![Samantha]()
Samantha Sent on 07/17/2023Above and Beyond Planning + Coordination!
We hired Ashley as our wedding day coordinator for our wedding in Lake Tahoe (at Everline Resort and Spa FKA Resort at Squaw Creek) this past June and we were absolutely blown away by the quality of service that we received. We started working with Ashley about a month out from our wedding day, and from that point, she not only took over all the communication with our vendors but also helped us create to a flawless timeline that both met our desires (to enjoy our cocktail hour, actually eat dinner, etc.) and logistically worked out with the elements we wanted in our day. Throughout this month of planning process, Ashley was incredibly responsive and helpful with last minute decision-making. When it came to the day-of, I cannot praise Ashley and the team enough. Our event went off without a hitch and I did not have a worry in my mind the whole day. We had some complicated music asks for our ceremony and a TON of personal decor to setup, and Ashley and her team executed it all without hesitation. She even went above and beyond to bring us appetizers & drinks throughout the event, helped my mom bustle my dress, went up to our room to get us things that we forgot during the reception, packed all of our decor back into my parents hotel room at the end of the night, and countless other remarkable acts that were completely above and beyond what we expected. We also just had the best time working with her day of, as she was so positive, so fun to be around, and had the most can-do attitude ever. We can't praise Ashley and her team enough for the phenomenal day she helped create for us. Thank you FPP! -
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![Carmelina]()
Carmelina Sent on 07/06/2023Ashley was wonderful!
My only regret was not bringing Ashley into our planning process sooner! She worked with us as our day of coordinator at a complicated venue (accessible only by a tram on a mountain) and made sure the day ran seamlessly. Not only did she keep everyone (vendors & guests) on track on the day of, she even bustled my dress and fixed my hair at one point and brought one of her own stools from her house for our officiant as a last minute request. Ashley was also full of good ideas and solutions whenever I had any questions or concerns and anticipated problems before I even thought of them. Can't recommend Ashley enough! -
![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 01/13/2023My dream planning experience from start to finish
Working with Ashley and First Pick Planning was without a doubt the best decision we made in the entire wedding process. Planning an Indian wedding can be complicated with multiple days of events -- but planning a destination Indian wedding in Tahoe brought all kinds of unique benefits and challenges. In addition to being professional, positive, responsive, enthusiastic, talented and everything else, Ashley's biggest strength above all is her incredible flexibility. Our wedding changed in scope and size significantly over the course of 20 months and Ashley took everything in stride. Her ability to make the best and find the best in every single situation was not only so reassuring throughout the process, but enabled us to pivot on all kinds of last-minute changes during the week and weekend of the actual wedding. Both my husband's family and mine absolutely adored and fully trusted her, which made it possible for all of us to fully unplug and just be in the moment. We couldn't be more grateful to have found Ashley and cannot recommend her more, especially for destination and/or cultural weddings! -
![Ian]()
Ian B. Sent on 12/08/2022Ashley is the Best!
We can not say enough good things about working with Ashley and First Pick Planning. We had Ashley has a our wedding planner, who helped us plan our everything from finding a venue, to booking our band, florist, deciding on decor, and photographers, while walking us through everything we need leading up to our wedding and during the day of. Ashley and First Pick made the process of planning very easy and help keep us on track with timelines and deadlines, while helping give us both vendors they have worked with as well as vendors they hadn’t worked with to give us options that we would be happy with. Having Ashley as our wedding planning was amazing and the best decision we made as she is very detailed oriented and was on top of coordinating everything with our venue and vendors leading up to and day of our wedding. Ashley was always willing to provide more options for us whether it was venues, florist, photographers or any other vendors and we couldn’t be more appreciative of her dedication and hard work. Again, we highly recommend choosing First Pick if you are thinking about hiring a wedding planner and would recommend you request Ashley as she helped make a year of planning and the day of our wedding go so smooth. -
![Austin]()
Austin Sent on 11/18/2022We loved working with Ashley!
Wedding planning can be intimidating with plenty of large plans that can be difficult to fathom and plenty of small details that pop up along the way. But Ashley made the whole wedding planning process not only comfortable, but exciting. Ashley came recommended by our band, and we couldn't be more grateful!
She was great as our communicator between different parties and vendors; she made all of the information, the timeline, and our own schedule easily accessible. Furthermore, weddings can be high-pressure environments but never once did Ashley lose her cool- not even when our wedding cake took a small spill! She greets each challenge with confidence and lets you know you’re in good hands. When we felt we needed more guidance, Ashley readily made herself available to guide us through our final walkthrough allowing us to breathe a little and actually feel excited for the big day. -
![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 11/18/2022Ashley is your girl!
I really can't say enough great things about working with Ashley at First Pick. In a time when there are more weddings than ever, a pandemic, and a million other things going on – she made this process as easy and stress-free as possible. Not only did she go above and beyond with her communication and organization, I felt like she really took the time to "get" us as a couple and that was clearly reflected in the end result of our wedding. The big day went off without a hitch and we left feeling like everything went perfectly, not a single note. What a dream! Stop looking and just book Ashley already! -
![Mark]()
Mark Sent on 11/15/2022Literally Perfect!
I had the extreme pleasure of hiring Ashley Brantner with First Pick Planning for my recent wedding, and I must say it was the best decision i could have made for the wedding as a whole!
For some background, I have worked for over 20 years in live event production, and in a former career was in the wedding industry as well! Ashley's attention to detail, guidance, proactive approach to planning, and expertise all coincide to create an incredible experience for anyone that may need help planning their event. Ashley provided detailed timelines, a workback schedule, ensured we were on track for all of our deliverables, and was always ready at a moment's notice to jump in and ensure we didn't let anything fall through the cracks.
On the day of, I really just had to show up. From there, Ashley had everything in hand, and the day went as perfect as possible. No detail, large or small, was left unaccounted for. Not only did Ashley ensure that everything went off without a hitch, Ashley ensured that when we had any questions, issues, or needed literally anything, she had it covered and that it would not impact our enjoyment of our once in a lifetime event.
Overall, I cannot recommend Ashley's services enough. I have been an event producer for over a decade now and can say with some authority that Ashely is not just good, but absolutely incredible at what she does - and will absolutely call her again for any future event planning needs! -
![Molly]()
Molly Sent on 11/14/2022Plan your wedding and have fun doing it!!
Ashley was so great to work with as we were planning our wedding. She made a normally stressful process easy and fun. She not only was incredibly responsive through the year of planning but worked seamlessly with our vision for a mountain wedding! Ashley provided professional opinions on budgeting, decor, vendors, etc. From phone calls, google docs, timeline and emails, Ashley was on it and kept our planning on track and never felt overwhelming. Our wedding day and planning was truly perfect and it wouldn’t have been the same without her! Honestly, if I could, I would want Ashley to plan other parts of my life :) -
![Isabelle]()
Isabelle Sent on 01/13/2022Saved my wedding!
Ashley went above and beyond on my wedding day!!! She basically made my wedding happen. After having to postpone for a year due to COVID, my wedding was almost canceled due to the smoke in Tahoe. When I found out I would no longer be able to get married at my original venue at the top of Northstar, she and Jen pulled out all the stops to make the new location still the wedding of my dreams. They spent all day redecorating and calling everyone in the area to help them out. Even before the craziness of the big day, Ashley helped keep me at ease during the entire planning process. Knowing that during my big day someone else would be dealing with the vendors, clean up, and any other drama really helped keep me calm and focused on just enjoying myself! I am so thankful I had a wedding planner and even more thankful I had First Pick Planning! -
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![Won]()
Won H. Sent on 10/04/2021Ashley is an incredible wedding planner!
Ashley is an incredible wedding planner! She was our day-of-coordinator for our wedding day. She was very experienced, responsive and caring! She helped us to plan all the details for the wedding day and took care of the timeline and managed all vendors to make our wedding as we planned. We had different places for the ceremony (UC Botanical Garden) and reception (Berkeley City Club). There were a lot of ups and downs leading up to the wedding day but she was such a great help in the process, and especially for the wedding day! We could have easily hired her for the full-wedding planning. We highly recommend her if you are getting married in the Bay Area.
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![Robin]()
Robin Sent on 01/01/2020Tamara went above and beyond
We are so happy that Tamara with first pick planning helped us plan our wedding. We couldn’t have done it with out her. She made everything so easy. Tamara is fun, outgoing, professional and has a great eye for details. She really took all the stress out of planning our wedding. She went above and beyond to help us make our special day perfect. We would absolutely recommend Tamara and first pick planning -
![Heather]()
Heather Sent on 11/09/2019Best experience
I am so beyond happy that Jen was our wedding planner. From the start she was so organized and professional. I knew within minutes of talking to her that she would make the whole wedding process easy and fun! She is so easy to talk to that it is like talking to a sister! Our wedding went off without a hitch and we have Jen to thank for that!! -
![Amy]()
Amy Sent on 01/17/2016Jen was absolutely phenomenal. She is so organized, professional, and very knowledgeable. She helped me with my destination wedding in Cabo, and without her, I don't know if I would have been able to have anything close to my dream wedding. Thanks to her, my husband and I enjoyed our year of engagement, and had a wedding better than we ever expected. She gave me the best wedding gift of all - peace of mind and zero stress. I will forever be grateful for her!!! -
![Candice]()
Candice Sent on 03/21/2014Jen was my personal cheerleader and brain (Wedding Brain is a real thing!) for the entire wedding experience. Just saying that she is amazing isn't enough. The day wouldn't have happened or have been as smooth or beautiful if it wasn't for her. My husband and I picked a location a good deal away from the city, and she was there buying Hay, organizing vendors, driving the mountain roads, responding to emails/phone calls AND helping me with DIY projects the night before the wedding...all with a huge smile on her face. Our entire family LOVED her and wanted to instantly adopt her into the family. I would recommend Jen to everyone and anyone. Hiring her was the best decision we made for our wedding, and as a Professional Wedding Photographer myself, I know how important it is to have a coordinator there to make things run smoothly. Also, just being able to hand off all of your planning and designs to someone else two weeks before the wedding and knowing they are going to get it done is like heaven in wedding-land.
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