I Do...Weddings!

Easily the best desicion we mde for our wedding!Melissa Barrad was an amazing and important asset to our wedding day and the months leading up to the day. She was organzed and so professional. She exceeded our expections and helped us to beautifully bring together all our ideas to make our wedding so incredibly special and memorable for us and our friends and family! It was a great relief to have peace of mind and it allowed us to take in everything going on around us and to enjoy and appreciate all that was happening. It was so nice to know Melissa only takes on 1 bride per week, so we knew we had her full undivided attention and best interests at heart leading up to the wedding. She genuinely loves weddings and you can see that through her work ethic and the passion she exudes. I would highly suggest hiring Melissa and I Do...Weddings for your wedding day if you want to truly make sure your day goes off without a hitch!

Melissa is very professional, organized, and calm. She has such a calm and reassuring tone, which really helps with all the wedding planning craziness! She instantly gave us an list of amazing vendors, all of which we were very pleased with. We had a long engagement and Melissa was there every step of the way to answer my questions and never-ending emails. :) We hired her for month-of coordination and it was so nice knowing that she was contacting our vendors the week before and week of making sure that they all had a timeline of events and knew what was going on. Additionally, Melissa is very professional and sweet with family. She definitely keeps things rolling. I had such an amazing time on our wedding day and couldn't have done it without Melissa. She is a gem and I definitely recommend her to all the future brides out there. :)

We hired Rachel Leber from I Do...Weddings to be our month of and day of coordinator for our June wedding at Scripps Seaside Forum this year. She was, by all means, the best decision I made for all the wedding planning. She is SO organized and on top of her game. I've been in a lot of my friends' weddings and have had to deal with a lot of coordinators and no one has measured up to how professional and prepared Rachel was. Even my bridesmaids and our groomsmen were telling us that the day would not have gone as well if it wasn't for Rachel. When we first met, she listened to my vision and for the things I needed help on, she provided very helpful and STYLISH ideas and helped me find the right vendors for our day. She's got great taste and can really help your day come together. Our vendors were really happy to work with her as well because she gave them all the necessary details, did a lot of follow up and kept them inline. I can't rave on enough about how well Rachel did and how smooth our wedding went. I never had to chase her down or follow up because she was ALWAYS one step ahead of me, thinking of everything and preparing the day to perfect for us

I had an intimate family wedding in San Diego and couldn’t have done it without Melissa of I Do Weddings! Not only was the wedding being planned in a very short time frame, I was also out of the country at the time and had left my mom and sister with quite the to-do list. After chatting with Melissa, they instantly felt like Melissa understood the vision for the ceremony and they reported to me frequently how much they enjoyed working with her. Once I had a chance to chat with her myself, I agreed as well!Although I wasn’t able to actually meet Melissa until the day of my wedding, she completely nailed my style based solely on conversations with my family and a few photos I sent her. She respected our wishes to keep things simple and laid back, managing to tie everything together beautifully with tasteful details. She did an incredible job recommending vendors who truly fit the bill, and things ran smoothly thanks to her coordination and suggestions!Melissa was also our florist for the wedding and I was thrilled when I saw my bouquet and the other flowers. Again, working from very little information, Melissa created a stunning arrangement that was just my style! She really paid attention to the details—like integrating a few subtle feathers in my bouquet to match my fascinator—and the result was beautiful. Melissa is professional, personable, stylish and genuine, plus she is a pleasure to be around! Whether the celebration is big or small, I would have absolutely no reservations recommending Melissa and I Do Weddings.

I hired Melissa for day-of coordination for a wedding at a private estate in Palm Springs with a reception at a nearby hotel to follow. Melissa met with my fiance' and I in person in San Diego & Palm Springs before the wedding, and was very prompt to answer the many emails I sent her in between. She provided very reasonable pricing for travel expenses and did not "double-dip" on those when I used her services for florals as well. I was very pleased with her availability given the limited package I purchased.I independently sourced all vendors and required a very detailed and hands-on coordinator to manage all confirmations, directions, and payments so I could enjoy my wedding day. I am a type-A project manager by profession, and Melissa's communication & promptness kept me at ease through the entire process. She always reached out to me before I had a chance to begin worrying out things, providing updates on what tasks needed to be completed with each vendor. Melissa pulled together a detailed checklist of all items to be completed on the day of the wedding. A few very minor items weren't used on the day of, but setting them up was not on the checklist (that I reviewed), so my advice is just make sure everything is there :). Every last thing on the checklist was completed perfectly.Throughout the reception, there were a few minor incidents (ex: the keg of imported beer didn't have the right tap) and she worked directly with the appropriate vendors to get a solution in place without impacting the service at the wedding (or bothering me). She was polite to all my guests, dressed well for the event, and made herself available to answer questions from our parents and others keeping an eye on activities. Once the wedding began, I probably spoke with her for roughly 5-10 minutes... which also directly equates to the amount of time my fiance and I had to spend thinking about wedding logistics that day! It was absolutely wonderful.Melissa helped plan the layout of the reception space and extended her party rentals discount on to us. She coordinated all flowers and clean-up/pick-up of reception equipment & decor. Last but not least, she moved most of the flowers to our room which was beautifully decorated upon our return after hours of happy dancing on our wedding night.Bottom Line: I would use Melissa again in a heart beat for another event and highly recommend her for your wedding planning needs.

Melissa is amazing! Her professionalism, expertise, attention to intricate details, and ability to calm an anxious bride are unsurpassed! From the beginning planning stages to our wedding day, I was confident that Melissa would ensure that my vision for our wedding would be everything we wanted and more—she exceeded my expectations! When my husband and I saw our venue for the first time, we were blown away by the beautiful and magical atmosphere Melissa created. The floral arrangements she crafted were the perfect tropical colors and textures I had hoped for and everything was absolutely beautiful. Our wedding day was incredibly fun and we did not have a thing to worry about, knowing that Melissa would attend to all details. Even after the wedding, Melissa continued to follow up with us to make sure that our wedding certificate was complete and to see if she could assist us with anything else. We are so thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Melissa and recommend her to anyone planning their dream wedding!

Words can't begin to express how easy the wedding planning process was because of Melissa and I Do...Weddings! They truly make the process very easy. My husband and I had a destination wedding in San Diego, CA and it was everything we had hoped for and more. Our wedding day was magical. Melissa was a true professional answering all of our questions and helping us plan a wedding from the opposite coast. Melissa also provided us with our flowers. They were beautiful. Melissa truly made the wedding planning process stress free! We highly recommend Melissa and I Do...Weddings!

I am a pretty organized bride for the most part, I do television production for a living and am familiar with planning large events. However, my wedding day was the one event where I did not want to worry about details, stresses, or the inevitable hiccups that occur along the way. Also, my mom did not want to have to worry about being the wedding coordinator during the wedding, she wanted to enjoy the party too, so we decided to hire Melissa to take-over.From the moment I called Melissa, wedding planning became less of a chore and more fun. She was my "go-to" girl with my ZILLION questions both large and small. She responded quickly, professionally and had an answer for every question you could imagine.The actual day of my wedding was seamless, it literally could not have gone any better and I know it's due to Melissa being there and taking care of things "behind the scenes."I can honestly say, she was the best investment of the wedding. Thank you Melissa!

I was not worried about my wedding day because of Melissa and her assistant Rachel took care of everything!Melissa is so wonderful! I can't say enough how much I appreciate her. Everything went smoothly and on time!! Melissa made me feel like I was the only bride she was helping, but in reality she has a wedding/event just about every week. She truly is a best, and that's not from just my point of view but also from my other vendors as well.

Kasey was amazing! I got her month-of package, which was VERY competitively priced compared to other coordinators we interviewed. She made herself available to me via email and phone throughout the whole planning process, and then took over a month before - she did a perfect job. She's very professional and sweet and really knows what she's doing... I can't say enough good things about her. She even lent me vases & candles to use for reception decor to help us save money. Loved her!!!!! I really encourage anyone looking for a coordinator to consider her.

I was 110% pleased with Melissa Barrad's services for my wedding late last year. Not only did she help me every single step of the way as my full-service planner, she assisted with design, ettiquette, helped with logistics and even repaired my mother's heel the day of. She was caring, flexible and always had a smile on her face. What truly makes Melissa stand out is her heart and her responsiveness! Melissa, I will refer you again and again!

We hired Melissa as our coordinator & we have no regrets about it. I was looking forward to a day full of stress & madness, but she really helped take a huge load off my shoulders. I didn't notice a thing & enjoyed the whole day while she took care of everything. She is always on her toes & makes sure that everything works out well.

We used Kasey Shephard as our Day of Coordinator for our April wedding. We booked Kasey last summer and she was available to my questions from the start. She was so supportive and creative and sweet and so easy to work with. She was such a great source of inspiration before the wedding and was so knowledgeable of all the logistics of wedding planning. The week right before the wedding, she confirmed our vendors and made certain they were all aware of their responsibilities and timelines. We were worry free day of and she did a great job keeping the wedding on schedule as well as beautiful. She did an amazing job with our set up and really made our wedding so beautiful and classic. Amazing to work with! Highly recommend!

I can't even begin to explain how terrible my experience was. I had literally planned every little detail, down to giving instructions and images on how to complete the task and yet, on our wedding day, everything went wrong. Tables were messed up, she hadn't guided our timing at all (we were an HOUR late to the reception), head table was messed up, she was allowing charges I had never agreed to, and to top it all off, I had asked that our marriage license be given to us and she mailed it...only to later find it was "lost." I have planned events in the past with complete success but working with Melissa was a nightmare!! Our wedding had a lot of details and I guess she just could not handle them.

I hired Melissa for full service at my January wedding. She was there for me every step of the way! Whenever I needed someone to bounce ideas off of, complain about my mother (kidding!) or have mini-freak outs...Melissa was always there to talk me down. I could not have done my wedding without her! On the day of, she was there the entire time, taking care of issues so I wouldn't have to. A wedding coordinator is a MUST-HAVE and Melissa is the best!!

I used IDo Weddings newest consultant, Kasey. I truly wish it were possible to rate her a 10 out of 5, she was that good. Words cannot even begin to do her justice. Kasey is incredibly attentive, acomodating, flexible, easy to work with etc etc etc. She went over and above what we expected of her. Our day would never have been the same without her. We found out after we were back from the honeymoon that she completely averted a huge fiasco with the rental company and had everything taken care of without us even noticing a thing. I would have never had any idea anything went wrong had I not asked her. She is FANTASTIC!!!

Melissa was a pleasure to work with. She made sure that I didn't forget anything, and kept me up to date with everything that was happening during the wedding. Any request I had she would take care immediately. Working with her I knew I could be at ease during the wedding day because she was in contact with all of the vendors. During the rehearsal she was patient and took control of the wedding party and made sure everyone knew their part. I knew I was in good hands working with her.

Melissa was AWESOME! She made sure every detail was done to the point. I did have a little issue with the fact that my cake was 4 tiers vs the 3 tier I wanted. However, Melissa immediately showed me how beautiful the cake was done and that everything will be great! This put me at ease immediately and realized that one little detail "oops" cannot damp our special day!We hired Melissa to help us with the wedding day. Even though I planned everything myself, she was always there to help me make "wedding" decisions with my vision. I could not have asked for a better person to work with!

Melissa was amazing! My husband and I couldn't have been happier! If there were ever any problems or uncertainties, she always found a solution. She kept me sane throughout the process...especially with my future in-laws. She also made sure my wedding was traditional, and elegant, and most of all FUN! Melissa truly made our special day unforgettable!

Melissa is wonderful! She was right there every step of the way with our planning, and we had only hired her for day-of coordinating! She was prompt, had all of her details in line, and was really pleasant to work with. I couldn't imagine carrying off my wedding day without her. For those brides that don't think they need a coordinator, I HIGHLY recommend working with one. It's really worth a little bit of extra money to put all of your worries with someone else on your special day. You don't want to be the one dealing with little things that might come up that day!The only very minor thing that we were surprised with was that we were never cued to walk around to all of the tables to say hello to everyone. We never requested her to do this, but just assumed it was S.O.P. So, everyone was sitting at the tables for a long time just talking while my husband and I waited to be cued. For future brides, I would recommend asking to be cued for this if you want to do it, instead of just assuming it will be done.