About this vendor
Distinctively Made Event Planning & Design is a meticulous coordination business situated in the heart of Solvang, CA. Specializing in several weddings, from destinations to elopements, this dedicated duo can create a seamless planning experience. They can design the day of your dreams by reflecting your desired theme and love story.
Distinctively Made Event Planning & Design is led by happily married couple Dan and Michele. With over two decades of experience between Dan and Michele, they have found ways to design, plan, and manage celebrations with plenty of time to spare. By listening to your needs and focusing on being flexible, they can help your wedding day be as relaxing as it can be.
Distinctively Made Event Planning & Design strives to provide a comfortable environment to share decor details, venue ideas, and more. If you have arrangements in place, Dan and Michele will be pleased to offer Day-of-Coordination services. This service will ensure that you, your wedding party, and your vendors are ready for an event of a lifetime.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Budgeting
- Day-Of Coordination
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- Wedding Design
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bridal Luncheon
- Bridal Shower
Awards and Affiliations
2-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2025.2023.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
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Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.021 reviews
Review photos
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Michele was our full wedding planner. Our wedding went perfect without a single hitch and it was all thanks to Michele. We had the caterer for our rehearsal dinner drop out one wee...
k before the event and Michele found us a replacement within an hour; and the replacement caterer was a slam dunk. Everyone loved the food. On the day of the wedding and rehearsal dinner Michele and Dan did everything. And I mean everything. She set up tables, positioned flowers and welcome signs and seating charts. She ironed over disagreements with vendors and never once did we have to lift a finger. It is a common saying that the bride and groom never enjoy their own wedding but we thoroughly had a blast at ours thanks to Michele. She is forever our go-to recommendation to all our friends getting married. If she has availability to plan your wedding, book her.
Michele and her husband were an absolute delight to work with, and made our wedding day go off without a hitch! I was initially unsure about whether we would need a wedding coordin...
ator, but I can honestly say it was the best money we spent! From the timeline to coordination to making sure we just got to participate with our guests, Michele made it happen! Can't recommend her services enough. :)
To try and express just how grateful I am to Michele from Distinctively Made Event Planning and Design is a daunting task. I do not think there are enough words to do it justice. M...
y husband and I planned our wedding in a little under 6 months and agreed that we needed help. From the get-go, Michele was one text message or phone call away from answering any question. And trust me, we had a loooot! The best part was that each question would be met with questions of her own to help her (and in the end, us) narrow down exactly what we were looking for. Once that was figured out, boom! We would receive an email with links of people or companies she recommended and had worked with in the past. She was hands on, understanding, personable, and a gift of a person to work with. My husband and I would not have survived without her help. That is not a joke. The day of the wedding, Michele was there from the start to the finish. She handled everything from the timing of us walking down the aisle to the packing up of the gifts and wedding cake. She was everyone’s main point of contact and, because of that, I got to enjoy my wedding and take everything in. I am beyond grateful to Michele. From Wes and I, thank you a thousand times over. Whether you are looking for wedding coordinator or a day of coordinator, Michele and her team are your people. You will not regret it.
Michael and I could not recommend Michele highly enough. From start to finish, she helped make our wedding a success. We, and many of our guests, feel that it went perfectly. When ...
it came to the big day itself, Michele was on site ready to handle every last minute problem we threw at her. We can't imagine having gone through this process without her.
I would have been lost without Michele and her team from Distinctively Made Events. She walked me through every step of the way. Offered great advice and suggestions when needed. I...
always felt at ease after our phone calls. And on the wedding day, she took care of every last detail. She truly allows you the chance to enjoy your own wedding because she's on top of things. Its a sigh of relief knowing that someone has your back and will make sure your wedding is executed the way you envisioned.
We had an out of state wedding, and wedding planning across the country is very difficult! It became apparent very early that we would need a coordinator who lived in California. I...
t was worth every penny! Michele and Dan had answers for every question, had incredible attention to detail, and were invaluable to our wedding day. Whether you are getting married in your home town or far away, they are experts in their field! Definitely recommend!!
I feel badly writing this review because Michele is a great person but my experience with Michele and DME was quite bad and my wedding suffered greatly. We hired Michele as a plann...
er about a year before my wedding. Michele did not support contracting and ultimately all of the burden fell on me. As the wedding got closer I would have to text her multiple times asking if to could go through contracts or reminding her it was the last date for us to make changes. This led to a lot of mistakes. For example, we had to spend a couple of thousand dollars (not in the budget) on transportation because Michele did not correctly calculate the number of people that would fit on our booked transportation given a raised guest count. Even two weeks before the wedding we did not have a timeline, or seating charts. When my in-laws came to visit from the East Coast to do a walk-through, she failed to call the venues and notify them we needed to do a tasting which led to a lot of last-minute stress and disappointment. Ultimately, after getting calls from vendors saying they had not heard from her, I let Michele go and she did not give us a refund although she had not done anything to support the planning process.
Michele is amazing. From our very first conversation she made us feel at ease that everything was going to be ok. It was such a weight off of our shoulders to know that no matter...
what the situation, it would be handled in both a classy and cost efficient manner. DME was constantly available to us no matter what the day or hour and there were constant check ins to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks.
On the weekend of the event, Michele was a constant rock, managing a host of personalties and effortlessly adapting to keep our families happy throughout.
THANK YOU for making our wedding such a special day. You’re in very capable hands with DME and can’t go wrong.
Michele Coombs and her entire team at Distinctively Made were instrumental in making our dream wedding day possible! Our venue had 3 weddings on the same day, and my wedding had 2 ...
brides. Needless to say, we did things a little differently and Michele was always supportive, helpful, and organized.
Even though we hired her as a Day-Of Coordinator, Michele made sure to get to know us and check in with us monthly leading up to our event. We never worried about forgetting a detail thanks to her! On our wedding day, Michele and her husband went above and beyond for us - managing our timeline, checking in with our other vendors, getting everyone what they needed, and even plating food for my wife and I during the busy reception. We provided the decor, and her team followed my instructions perfectly, while fitting everything to the space beautifully.
All of that expert advice and organization plus a warm personality and special care to every detail. Their rates are refreshingly fair and their work is priceless!
All photos by Michelle Roller Photography
Our wedding day was an absolute dream come true, and we owe it all to Michele & Dan at Distinctively Made Events. From the moment we hired her, Michele demonstrated her expertise a...
nd dedication, particularly in managing contracts and ensuring our big day went off without a hitch.
Negotiating contracts can be a scary part of the wedding planning process, but Michele took all our worries away. We ran into some trouble with a few of the contracts that might have resulted in extremely stressful situations, but she smoothed everything over for us and navigated the potentially awkward conversations with grace, ultimately saving us both time and money.
DME’s attention to detail is remarkable - they really listened to our ideas and turned them into a reality. On the day of the wedding, Michele & Dan were true miracle workers. If there were any troubles, we didn’t know about them - they kept us stress-free and allowed us to fully enjoy every moment of our special day.
Distinctively Made Events goes above and beyond to ensure their clients' happiness and peace of mind. If you're looking for a wedding planner who can turn your dreams into reality and guarantee a flawless wedding day, look no further than DME. We are forever grateful for their hard work and dedication in making our wedding day the best day of our lives. Thank you, Michele & Dan!
We hired Michelle to be our day of coordinator for our wedding at the Madonna Inn. Her and her husband were so important in making sure the day went smoothly, while allowing us to ...
fully enjoy the day because we knew they had it taken care of. Michelle hired additional people to help set up our reception space in the short 1.5 hour time slot allotted for setup. She found a way to make sure our room was stocked with in-n-out burgers for the after party. She convinced the venue to let us dance for an extra half hour, and much more. We are so glad we had her there to make sure everything went well behind the scenes.
Michelle at Distinctivley Made Events was wonderful! She eliminated any stress I had about the wedding. She was calm and she always went with the flow of thing. Even as things chan...
ged Michelle was always willing to ride the waves and she always had a plan! She saved us money becuase she was familiar with the vendors in the area. The day of our wedding ended up being a huge rain storm! Literally! Our original plan of having an outdoor wedding had to change only a few days before the wedding! She offered to move to wedding to a new venue or we get a very big tent. We got the tent. The tent was beautifully decorated with lighting, drapes and a chandelier. It had a heater! It was a perfect day. Thank you, Michelle!
I loved working with Michelle from Distinctively Made Event Planning! She was dream to work with, focused, and assertive, but calm and collected, as a DJ everything you would want ...
for a successful event. Plus she is super fun to be around! Can not recommend her enough!
Michele is truly amazing! She came in 3 weeks before my wedding, due to another company not holding up their end of the deal. Michele completely saved the event and made it even be...
tter than it would have been before. She’s very organized and kept in contact with me the whole time. I could call or text her with any questions I had and she always had the answer. She knows her stuff and thought of things I never would have thought about! My wedding was everything I wanted and more thanks to her! You cannot go wrong by choosing her!! I can’t express this enough!
Had a wonderful time at our wedding my husband couldn't believe how perfect everything went.
My future daughter in-law was in tears when her wedding planner quit the company 2 weeks before the wedding! Along came Michelle from Distinctively Made Event Planning to the rescu...
e!! She truly is everything you would hope a wedding planner would be. Her attention to details and management made it a truly magical wedding! Thank you!!
The DME team saved the day in planning my wedding. They had everything under control and were so communicative. I couldn’t have asked for a better team!
As a vendor, working with distinctively made has been a wonderful experience. Michele and Anika are extremely easy to work with and very professional from start to finish. Coordina...
tion was never an issue and everyone was clear on what needed to happen. I would highly recommend working with distinctively made!
The DME team made the wedding process great. I was never in the dark about anything. They are very professional, accessible and resourceful. They brought ideas to the table I had ...
not even thought about. My wedding day flowed seamlessly.
We had such a great experience with Michele and her team! They were attentive, easy to work with and professional. They provided anything and everything we needed although we chose...
to keep it simple. They handled my family and friends perfectly and gave my husband everything he asked. We recommend them highly!
The best wedding planner! Michele is not only an amazing talented professional, she’s also such a cool person. She made the whole process of planning my wedding fun and stress free...
. From every vendor she recommended to every small detail, everything was so amazing. I can’t get over of how perfect was my wedding day was!
Contact
1610 Oak Street Suite 202, Solvang, CA | California
Distinctively Made Event Planning & Design