Ampersand Weddings & Events

Working with Karen & Nikki was such a breath of fresh air amidst the crazy and unexpected journey of wedding planning. From the start, Karen was very responsive and professional - making it easy to schedule calls, meetings, and responding to texts any time we needed. They were able to guide us through several challenges and help give us different perspectives, which I appreciated as it is helpful to consider all options before making big decisions. Our guests all raved about the wedding and said everything was flawless and seamless. Going into wedding planning can be inundating and Karen & Nikki made it feel less so- they handle everything with grace, ease, and reassurance and make you feel like you are working with family. Thank you both for everything!

From the very start, I had a very clear vision as to how I wanted my wedding to look and feel. From beginning to end, Karen and her team carried out every single detail and more! Every vendor and artist that she recommended was top notch! Her list of vendors is long and gave me the chance to really choose who I loved the most! Every person Karen introduced me to who worked on my wedding definitely knew what they were doing which made my special day more than I could’ve imagined because I didn’t worry one bit! To have confidence in your planner is everything because it allows you to fully be present in every moment. The wedding was my dream come true, down to every little detail and I would highly recommend her and her team to anyone! Lulu Johnson Krupa

We are absolutely thrilled with the incredible service provided by Ampersand! They truly went above and beyond to make our special day unforgettable. From the moment we started working with them, they made us feel completely comfortable and supported. They joined our meetings with all of our vendors and even traveled to Palm Springs to meet us at our in person appointments, ensuring we asked the right questions and made informed decisions. Their guidance was invaluable. On the day of the wedding, the venue was transformed into a glamorous, beautiful space that surpassed our wildest dreams. The attention to detail and the seamless execution were nothing short of magical. Everything went off without a hitch, allowing us to fully enjoy every moment of our celebration. All of our guests can’t stop talking about how perfect the wedding was & how they had the best time. We were a little picky choosing some of our vendors but Karen and Nikki patiently helped us find the perfect vendors for all of our services. Ampersand is a very family oriented team. Karen even met with both of our mothers and families to listen to their needs and make them feel heard and included. We couldn't have asked for a better team to help us plan our wedding. Their professionalism, dedication, and creativity made all the difference. We wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for exceptional wedding planners! Thank you for making our day perfect!

Karen and Nikki are the BEST!! From start to finish the level of professionalism and excellence were top notch! They listened to what our daughter’s vision for her wedding was, recommended a fabulous variety of vendors, arranged meetings, walked us step by step through the details offering good insight and support, all from a great distance. The bride and groom live in NYC, my husband and I are in the process of relocating and remodeling a property in Florida, and the wedding was in Santa Barbara, so their role in the wedding was absolutely vital to creating a successful and stress free wedding! Cannot recommend them enough, highest praise possible. They are lovely humans, and you could feel the love and respect they held for us throughout this process. For me, as MOB, the highest compliment I can give is to say that I didn’t have to worry about ANYTHING all day, and could be fully present and enjoy every second with peace of mind. Karen and Nikki are excellent at what they do, they love their jobs and it is obvious!

We hired Ampersand Entertainment to do our son’s wedding earlier this year. It was truly a fairytale wedding! Karen found us the most perfect estate in Malibu with a beautiful ocean view! She made the process so easy for us by giving us numerous vendor choices that she hand selected and we just picked our favorites! She was extremely organized and is very detailed in her work. As the day approached, the weather turned! What was supposed to be a gorgeous sunny day in CA turned into a very wet week! As the wedding got closer, the forecast was 100% rain! It was a complete downpour the entire time and where I would have completely panicked, Karen had it all under control was quick to book a tent in anticipation of inclement weather. Our Plan B was even more beautiful than we had imagined, with a clear tent and simple stunning lighting! The room was so romantic filled with the candles, crystal chandeliers, incredible food and great music, as the rain fell overhead. The entire staff and crew worked so hard to keep everything running smoothly. Thank goodness! We had 4 reveals for our guests from the ceremony tent, to the cocktail tent, onto a lovely dinner in a 100 foot clear tent and late night was in a cozy stone house on the property. All of the guests are still talking about the wedding months later! This was more than we dreamed for our son Dylan and beautiful daughter in law Raquel. So grateful to the Ampersand Team. Can’t recommend them enough! If I could, 1000 stars!!” – Cindy Bond

Hiring the help of Ampersand Entertainment to help us with our event was well worth every penny spent. The team was extremely attentive to all of our wishes and executed our vision impeccably. They were extremely communicative and relieved a lot of the overwhelm I would have otherwise had. Nikki was especially kind and went above and beyond at every turn. We appreciate professionalism and great customer service, and the AE team exemplified both. Highly HIGHLY recommend utilizing their services, you will be left with a day to remember forever.

Our wedding planner was nothing short of incredible! From the moment we met her, she put us at ease with her expertise and attention to detail. She guided us through every step of the planning process, from choosing the perfect venue to selecting the most exquisite flowers. What truly stood out was her ability to turn our vision into reality. She took our ideas and transformed them into a stunning, personalized wedding that exceeded our wildest dreams. Every aspect, from the decor to the timeline, was executed flawlessly. She was there for us every step of the way, offering support and reassurance during the inevitable moments of stress that come with wedding planning. If you're looking for an amazing wedding planner who will go above and beyond to make your day perfect, look no further. We are forever grateful to her for making our wedding a truly unforgettable experience.

Karen and Nikki made our wedding dreams come true - and then some! I knew as soon as we had our intro call that Karen was the event planner I needed. We talked about my vision and budget and she made me confident in moving forward, knowing I’d have the most amazing wedding while still staying within my budget. She is knowledgeable, experienced, thoughtful, and so caring - I could tell Karen wanted my day to be perfect even as much as I did! Karen went above and beyond - scheduling and attending my appointments, sharing pictures and examples so I could visualize as I made decisions (with her expert help!), and drawing on her endless connections to ensure I would have everything I could want. She took away all of my stress and anxiety about making my special weekend happen. She went out of her way to deliver gorgeous bouquet centerpieces to my rehearsal dinner (and getting us the best table in the place!), stayed at the venue all day on my wedding day from 8am for setup until late into the night when we moved the party inside. Nikki and Karen quickly felt like part of the family, all while professionally keeping everything flowing on time, and making sure every detail was taken care of and perfect. The whole experience with Ampersand was special, exciting, and professional, never transactional. My husband and I had the best weekend of our lives thanks to Ampersand, and I cannot wait to work with them again on our next event.

LA area brides & grooms look no further, if you're in need of a planner Ampersand entertainment is the way to go! From my initial zoom meeting with Karen we immediately connected & through our year and a half of planning she became like family. Wedding planning can be tiring, stressful, and downright difficult. Karen helped with every detail along the way, any time we felt unsure or needed an opinion on anything we had confidence and trust in her and her recommendations. Karens knowledge, hustle, creative eye, & amazing energy made hiring her as a planner worth EVERY penny (although after realizing how much effort, expertise, and love she puts into her work I'm not sure she and her team get paid even nearly what they deserve) I could go on and on about how amazing she was/is BUT the bottom line is if you and your future husband/wife want to actually sit back and ENJOY your wedding day I suggest hiring Karen. All of our guests & family members are still raving about how stunning & special our wedding ceremony & reception were, we continue to respond with "thank you, but we truly couldn't have done it without Karen as our planner" She is an absolute GEM of a human & beyond talented! My husband and I are forever in debt to Ampersand Entertainment for seamlessly executing the wedding day of our dreams and for allowing us to be as worry free as humanly possible & soak in all the beauty and love that we were surrounded by on the most unforgettable day of our lives! If you're looking for a passionate, professional, organized, have your back kind of planner -- Ampersand Entertainment is the one!!

We were so pleased with her service. Caron has great contacts and resources. We will definitely be using her again. An absolute pleasure to work with the final out come was perfect.

We were referred to Karen through the original venue we had booked. However, the venue cancelled on us and Karen helped us find a beautiful venue for our wedding. Everything on the day of the wedding was executed seamlessly and Karen was very professional and courteous to our guests and overall in the process.

If you are looking to have a Malibu wedding, Karen is THE subject matter expert! It's not a straightforward process with septic issues, parking, and permits, and I was so grateful to have Karen making sure our wedding day was a success.

Karen was phenomenal to work with in planning our wedding. She was great about creating and making recommendations to our timeline and details that would make sense logistically and exceed our vision. Karen was our lifesaver for the wedding. She was very professional, caring, energetic, and extremely creative! She was super easy to work with, and we always felt calm after we discussed the many questions we had about planning our event. She was the best coordinator that we could have asked for. Karen covered every detail, and took full responsibility for the organization of our vendors. Prior to the wedding, a full agenda breakdown of the day was provided to us that explained in great detail who needed to be where and when. During the day itself, we didn’t have to worry about anything, as Karen coordinated the entire day. We cannot thank Karen enough for everything she did to make our special day perfect.

Karen was the most incredible wedding planner we could have ever asked for. She is so experienced and knowledgeable and connected to all the best vendors, I don’t know what we would have done without her. Our wedding ended up being perfect in every way and I know it could not have been possible without her amazing attention to detail and genuine care about providing me and my husband with everything we wanted for our special day. Karen, we could never thank you enough.

Karen was an absolutely amazing wedding planner and helped make our wedding a flawless day to remember. Her professionalism and responsiveness made the planning process very low stress and she was able to deal with any surprise situation that came up. We greatly appreciate the large number of connections she has; one of our favorite parts of the day was the amazing food served by Bruce’ Catering. We never would have even known to use them, but Karen was able to connect us with Anthony and a team of his best chefs, and they blew us away with their quality and kindness. Overall we owe Karen a massive amount of gratitude, and would recommend her to anyone!

Hire Karen if you want to work with a genuinely good person and caring planner who will listen to all your wedding visions, dreams and worries at any hour of any given day, and magically make everything be alright no matter what. Karen is always available, goes above and beyond and executes like the highly experienced event planner she is. Her vendor recommendations were spot on, she handled all communication and coordination for both our welcome event and wedding day in Malibu, and one can easily tell that she has earned the respect and friendship of many top notch event professionals in the area. Due to some major road blocks, we almost called off our wedding twice - and we surely wouldn't have had our special day if it wasn't for Karen. She made sure we kept going, spent hours and hours finding alternatives and back-up plans all while moving forward with our original vision. We ended up having the most wonderful wedding and everything came together beautifully. Karen has become a real friend and I even cried when we parted ways the next day! Post event she even got us a partial refund from a vendor who wasn't up to her high standards for her clients. Karen is a real sweetheart and I recommend you hire her too for your wedding or event!

We had just the most wonderful experience with Ampersand Entertainment EVERYTHING went off like clockwork. Working with Karen wan nothing but pure joy!!! We came in on budget, she was creative, had amazing suggestions and was a great listener!!!! We highly recommend her!!!!

Our entire wedding came together seamlessly, thanks to Karen! Three months prior to our wedding, when save the dates had already been sent, our wedding venue cancelled. Karen jumped to the rescue, helping us find the most magical Malibu estate, which was 10 times better than our original spot. She is thorough, organized, has great taste, and knows how to handle it all. I was relaxed and fully present on my wedding day, knowing that Karen had already taken care of all the details! She and her team were there every step of the way and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Ampersand Entertainment did both my gender reveal and baby shower! I cannot recommend Karen and her team’s services enough! They made me feel comfortable and heard while bringing my vision to life. Each step of the process was handled with kindness and care. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better team of professionals to make my special days even better. Karen is so sweet, down to earth and personable. I recommend her highly!

Karen was incredible! She helped us put together our dream wedding and it was a dream come true in every way. We loved every moment of it from start to finish. Karen is kind, caring and very creative. She has an eye for beauty. She thinks super fast and in the moment and has a solution for everything! Couldn't have done it without her support, creative touch and love that she put into making our day super smooth and full of joy!

Karen cares! You can feel her heart is for her clients and in her business. She gives great ideas, and more importantly she has a fabulous sense of style and sophisticated taste. She is a pleasure to work with because she is gentle, kind, and truly wants to understand her client(s) to bring his/her vision to execution! She’s organized and has great connections too. I really enjoyed working with her because she had a great balance of patience and drive. She was also very helpful to me throughout my wedding day. I highly recommend Karen for any type of event!

Great professionalism and attention to detail meant that there were no last minute surprises. The wedding was flawless and beautifully executed, a fairy tale wedding.

From the very beginning of our planning process, Karen was fantastic! She was on top of every little detail, gave great suggestions and was always just an email or call away when we had any questions. Karen carried out our vision of the perfect wedding, beautifully. I highly recommend Ampersand Entertainment!"

I used Ampersand for my event for 40 guests with reception and formal luncheon. Included floral arrangements catering services on site, music, valet parking and invitations. Karen was a complete pro from the beginning to the end of the planning and actual event. She manages your expectations on costs and keeps all vendors in line with what was expected. The decorations were exceptional and Karens attention to detail made it a very smooth process. She also dealt with stressful disruptions like malfunctioning stove that was replaced within 45 minutes. All my guests commented on the "perfect event" and I could not be happier how it turned out. Through out the process Karing remained calm, friendly and always professional. I highly recommend her services. Hans Saeby

Karen and her team are nothing short of incredible––if you are looking for an experienced, connected team, someone that will help bring your dreams and visions to life, and someone to share in the often-chaotic season that is engagement, look no further. My husband and I are both detail-oriented, intentional creatives so naturally, our wedding day reflected that. Karen was a dream to work with. After an initial venue fell through, she worked with us to secure what became our dream wedding location, and worked tirelessly to produce a wedding that was entirely "us". Her relationships with vendors speak volumes of her experience and reputation in the industry and made the business-like aspects of planning a wedding so manageable. She sat with us through our dreams, concerns, ideas, and emotions, fought for us, kept our best interest in mind, and became a dear friend. Wedding days are not meant to be perfect, but they are indeed meant to be extraordinary. Because of Ampersand Entertainment, our day was just that. I cannot thank or give praise to her and her team enough: they're experts in their field, and more than that, they're incredibly kind and wonderful to work with.

Ampersand Entertainment did our over the top elegant engagement party themed "take me anywhere". My fiancé and I love to travel so they took special care in this progressive dinner party where each course and location was themed in food and decor. Every detail is pristine and charming. Our party was covered by C Weddings because it was just that beautiful and timeless! They will take your vision and stage it so it sparkles under the stars. What a night to remember. 10/10

Karen made my dream wedding a reality. Not only is she one of the most organized people and meticulous note takers I've ever met, she has a wonderful design aesthetic and will go above and beyond to make your wedding magical. She managed all 20+ of our vendors seamlessly (a handful of whom she recommended personally, her rolodex is full of wonderful recommendations) and executed our special day without a hitch. Throughout the entire planning process (and *especially* on the days leading up to the wedding), I never felt out of control and rarely felt overwhelmed -- Karen was always there to find a solution, ask the right question, or just offer advice. She really cares about her clients, and it shows in every late-night email, early morning appointment, and thoughtfully-placed piece of decor that you didn't even know you needed. I can't say enough about how lucky I feel to have stumbled upon Karen to plan my wedding; she is someone whom I will always recommend and hope to be a life-long contact and friend for all of my future celebrations.