About this vendor
Turning your visions into a reality.
Harlene Events is a full-service wedding planning and design company based in Fairfield, California. The team services the local bay areas with customized planning and design, where attention to detail is paramount. The planners strive to design an event that reflects each couple’s personality while remaining considerate of differing tastes and budgets.
Founder and creative director Harlene Cayabyab has been in the events industry for over 10 years. A certified wedding planner, Harlene is passionate about design elements that are unconventional yet elegant. They believe that each wedding is unique and should be crafted with that in mind. Harlene always takes a personal approach to planning and will ensure that your wedding is not a typical, run of the mill event.
The team at Harlene Events will look after you every step of the way, from the first consultation to the final goodbye. The staff is available for month-of and day-of preparation as well as providing full and partial planning services. The team will work with you to book and negotiate with vendors, creating realistic timelines, and providing budget assistance, ensuring that the process is as stress-free as possible. The company offers on-site management on the day to look after the small details so that you can relax and enjoy the celebrations.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Budgeting
- Day-Of Coordination
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- RSVP Tracking
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Honeymoon
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bachelor Party
Pricing
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.023 reviews
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If you have a ~~vision~~ you want to execute to a *chefs kiss*, Harlene is the planner for you.
Initially, we picked Harlene because she mentioned in passing an important caveat at another venue we were considering, a detail that no other planners we interviewed mentioned. After touring us through 10 other venues, We ended up going with a venue that she has worked extensively with. She knew exactly what we were looking for, and we are so happy with her recommendation.
She has an amazing sense of style and not only found us the perfect vendors that fit our vision but also helped us make important design decisions as we experimented with our own wedding branding and stationery. All of this tied in cohesively with her design deck that she created just for us.
We had a lot of moving elements on wedding day, and in addition to the normal vendors (rentals, florist, DJ, catering, HMU, photographer) we also had 3 separate fabricator/DIY teams installing at the venue, along with a truckload of personal decor. She took on the challenge and executed it to perfection.
She was worth every penny and much, much more!
If you're searching for wedding planning superheroes, look no further than Harlene! Harlene and her assistant Brittany orchestrated our Napa wedding for 130 guests with seamless precision and unwavering dedication.
From the initial consultation to the final farewell brunch, Harlene and Brittany were our guiding stars. They listened attentively to our vision, translating our wishes into a flawless reality. Their meticulous attention to detail ensured every element, from the ceremony décor to the dessert table, exceeded our expectations.
But their magic extended far beyond meticulous planning. They possessed an uncanny ability to anticipate and solve problems before they even arose. With calm grace, they handled every twist and turn, from unexpected weather changes to last-minute guest requests. Their positive energy and infectious enthusiasm kept us stress-free and focused on enjoying our special day.
Harlene and Brittany's expertise wasn't limited to the big picture. They tackled every detail with meticulous care, from managing vendor coordination to ensuring the smooth flow of the wedding day. They even helped us incorporate personal touches that made the celebration truly unique and meaningful.
Harlene and Brittany are more than just wedding planners; they are artists who weave together dreams and memories. They transformed our Napa wedding into a masterpiece, exceeding every expectation and leaving us with an experience we will cherish forever. We are eternally grateful to these exceptional women for making our wedding day the most magical and unforgettable day of our lives.
I can't even imagine our wedding without Harlene. I consider myself a Type-A personality and pretty organized, but Harlene has me beat — in the best way possible!!
She made our month-out wedding planning go so incredibly smooth, which made our actual wedding day so enjoyable. If anything went wrong, I didn't know about it or even notice. We were actually running early, which I've never heard happen at a wedding before! We got so many compliments about the flow of our wedding and how on-point Harlene and her team were. The venue also complimented us on our choice of coordinator, so if you have any doubts, don't! For example, she wasn't thrilled with how the venue was folding the napkins, so she asked them to refold so our guests could see their names/menus/our gifts on the table placements. And she made sure every one was done right.
Harlene is bubbly, bright, calming, and exactly what you need for your big day. I have zero regrets about hiring her and would 100% do it again. Thank you again, Harlene!
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Simply amazing...I can't think of enough superlatives to describe Harlene's work for my son's wedding...I was in charge of the rehearsal dinner, which I don't think was even in her bailiwick, but she delivered a quick solution to an issue with the venue which in the end contributed to ensure a highly successful event.
Hiring Harlene was the smartest decision my husband and I made during our wedding planning process. When we first got engaged, we knew that we wanted to enjoy planning a wedding but not let it run our lives. Since I didn't want my entire life to revolve around planning a wedding, I knew I needed to hire a professional. Harlene had helped my friend with her wedding and I saw how she went above and beyond for her brides. Harlene kept me on track during the whole wedding planning process. She was available whenever I had a question and always had a confident answer, which was so helpful since I was an indecisive bride. Whenever I would get overwhelmed by shades of orange, she was able to see the bigger picture and have an answer for which one to choose. Harlene understands what is worth spending money on and what I should skip to stay within budget. She was able to keep me on track with our timeline, sending me emails reminding me to complete checklists or that it was time to schedule another meeting.
I immediately struggled with overall design for my wedding. I felt like our venue was very traditional and dark and I was drawn to more bright and modern decor. Harlene took charge and was able to take my vision and make it appropriate for our venue. When I sat at our reception and looked around, I couldn't stop saying, “I can't believe I have this beautiful of a wedding.”
The day of our wedding went flawlessly. I don't think anything went wrong, and if it did Harlene handled it without letting me know. She handled organizing all our vendors the weeks leading up to our wedding. The day of, she was in touch with my MOH and photographer to keep us on time, set up our decorations, and remembered my priorities for my wedding day, so she did things like intervening when photos were taking too long so I could attend cocktail hour. All our decorations were set up perfectly, we stuck to the timeline so I never needed to look at a clock. I was able to fully be present during my wedding, all thanks to Harlene and her team. She even packed up all our decorations and made sure my bouquet was in water so I could save it. Thanks to Harlene, my husband and I are lucky enough to say we were actually able to enjoy wedding planning and our special day.
We can't say enough great things about Harlene! We had (what we thought was going to be) a simpler wedding in two locations - ceremony at a chapel and reception at my parents' backyard. Boy were we wrong! Harlene was so helpful making sure that everything went according to plan on our big day. She was organized, on time, kind, and understanding of all of the stress that weddings especially at private homes can bring - she even went an hour + out of her way the morning of the wedding to pick up cushions that weren't included on our rental order the day before. She's wonderful and you will never regret hiring her!
Harlene is the reason why my wedding was so beautiful and special. We started our planning process in 2019 for a 2020 wedding which was replanned not once, twice, but six times! And Harlene flawlessly adapted each time. She was so responsive, detail-oriented, thoughtful, calm, and helped me execute my vision perfectly. My husband and I are quite strongly opinionated as well as demanding with our expectations, and Harlene rose to the occasion every time. From managing vendors to executing the design for our invites and florals, she was amazing! I will also give her credit for pushing back/reigning me in when I started going rogue by reminding me gently of the plans we agreed on earlier, which as my husband can attest, isn't easy.
For the sixth version of our wedding, my husband and I had to plan the whole thing in 12 days from out of state because we learned a family member had just been diagnosed with cancer. Harlene and Ama (her AMAZING right hand) had no problem rising to the challenge and helped us make our wedding dream (really fantasy at that point) a reality. I strongly discourage anyone from planning a wedding in 12 days; but if you must, make sure you have Harlene with you. You won't regret it.
I was beyond impressed with the amount of talent Harlene has to juggle the madness of what Covid brought to the event industry. I always knew I could let her steer the wheel and everything would fall into place. She made me feel I was very important and she would always have my back! I would recommend her to anyone planning wedding or any special event. Our wedding was a destination with a large guest count, we live out of state and it really came together exactly how we imagined our wedding day to be. From making sure we always had our drink of choice in our hands to coordinating our rehearsal dinner, welcome event and wedding…hands down best decision I made when it came to our wedding planing. I’ll miss talking with her all the time!
Yet another Covid wedding review! That's how you KNOW that Harlene DEFINITELY knows what she's doing.
When my partner and I decided to get married, we had only 6 months to plan and NO idea where to start. We contacted other coordinators but heard back from Harlene right away. After hopping on a call, we knew we had to hire her.
Despite our small guest count, one of the most stressful things about a wedding IS the guests: will they have a good time? Will they know where to go? Will they be comfortable? And ESPECIALLY during Covid, will they be safe? We expressed all of these concerns to Harlene and she constantly reassured us that she would keep them in check. I remember that she kept repeating, "I have no problem being the bad guy," and with that, we were sold. (Thankfully, all of our guests followed protocol, but guests can often be unpredicatable!)
Planning was a crazy, turbulent whirlwind. Harlene made sure to keep us on track with a detailed checklist (and timeline on the day of). She also was extremely helpful in connecting us to other vendors. The next stressful thing about planning a wedding: the vendors! We ran into a few hiccups with some of them–we ended up cancelling a reception venue one month before the wedding(!!) and had some minor issues with our ceremony venue the weekend before the wedding (!!!) But Harlene served as the liaison between us and them, taking some of the stress off our plate. She was professional even while we were freaking out. She also made several trips with us to see venues and carefully walked us through the vision/plan for the day.
As a result of working together for 6 months, we pulled off the most beautiful wedding that checked off all of mine and my partner's wishlist. I wish we could get married again just to hire Harlene again! Hopefully, we'll be able to work with her in the future for other events and I'll definitely recommend her to anyone else for their planning/design needs.
We could not have asked for a better wedding coordinator! As soon as we got connected with Harlene, she immediately leapt into action, helping us choose vendors and plan out all the details of our special day. Organized, professional, friendly, and honest are just a few of the words that come to mind right away when I think about our experience with Harlene. She was always on top of things, despite a very short timeline and so many moving parts. She was also very direct and candid in offering advice and guidance for certain parts of the wedding, which we greatly appreciated when our perfect day came together! We cannot thank her enough for making our wedding simply amazing. Thank you!
"Thank god for Harlene." That phrase was said multiple times during my covid-wedding planning.
I had a small wedding at a VRBO in California and was in over my head with the planning and the details and so I hired Harlene for the month-of planning. She saved my rear-end multiple times. Just a couple examples: My baker wasn't responding to my messages, so she helped me find a new one. My caterer cancelled on me with less than 2 weeks notice and Harlene not only found me a new caterer, but set up the tasting for the following day (the caterer was also FANTASTIC - better than the person I originally picked on my own). She also went through all the rentals and caught all the little things that I forgot (which there were a lot). Then, on the day of, everything went incredibly smoothly and I didn't have to worry about a thing.
Harlene was extremely organized and very on-point. She had me on a schedule and would send me bright red bullet point emails. At times it seemed like overkill, but I'm glad she held me to getting everything done and she managed organizing the vendors and timelines, etc.
I was hesitant about hiring a wedding coordinator because I thought that for a small 20 person wedding that I could manage it all. I'm very glad that I listened to others advice!
My wife and I started planning our wedding earlier this year, before the Pandemic hit. We had no idea what was in store for us. With my wife and I living in two different states across the country and our wedding being in another, we knew we needed someone that would be patient and be an expert with there communication skills. Harlene was just that and more!! Eventually we ended up cancelling our formal wedding, but if we had it to do all over again Harlene would be our choice again and again. She navigated through time differences and various work schedules. She is detail oriented and will surely be your voice with all of your vendors. For this to be our first AND ONLY wedding, she got us off to a good start! We hope to always keep in touch with her
The best decision I made was hiring Harlene for our wedding. She was super organized, has an amazing attention to details, professional, and the key to making my day go seamlessly, picture perfect and stress free. She has amazing referrals in the Napa area, will guide you through planning hiccups and her assistant day of was fabulous. We had our wedding at my parents working vineyard, so there were lots of moving parts and she did it all, plus! She kept us on schedule, worked closely with our vendors and made sure we had the best day. She did it all; fluffed my dress, styled the tables, made sure my family was taken care of, dealt with crazy bus drivers and even got our blind and deaf old puppy down the aisle with me and my dad. If you need the best wedding planner in Napa, hire Harlene! Best money you will spend.
Harlene is incredibly receptive, kind and is just a fabulous coordinator. She is incredibly organized, punctual and knowledgeable. Our wedding was beautiful and went very smoothly thanks to her very detailed timeline and structured approach to everything. Thanks Harlene!
Harlene is amazzzzing! Nick and I just had our wedding yesterday and I couldn’t wait to give Harlene the best best review. All of our friends and family appreciated how easy she made our wedding go so smoothly. When we needed safety pins, she had the safety pins! She also has such a beautiful vision in the design and decor of our wedding. She added extra touches and details to our wedding and it was turned out to be more wonderful than I can imagine. It was so sweet of her. She literally made our wedding day . We had the best time and made the best memories. She has connections to the best vendors. It made the process of finding vendors so much easier. We cannot say this enough, but Harlene is truly the best! Thank you thank you!
Harlene and her team coordinated my wife and I's dream wedding this past May in South San Francisco and San Mateo. We selected the "Month-Of Coordination" Package about 1.5 years prior to the big day. This included several consultation calls from the signing of the contract through the rehearsal dinner where Harlene worked with us to examine details such as wedding supplies, vendors, floor plans, and timelines. She also oversaw 2 walkthroughs of our reception venue and the wedding rehearsal.
My wife and I work in the hospitality field and are very familiar with events; however, there were many occasions where Harlene asked us questions we had not thought of and gave suggestions to help us better prepare for our wedding. She is extremely knowledgeable and a great support. After each meeting/conference call, Harlene would share her detailed notes including a timeline of events as well as action items that needed attention.
Leading up to the wedding day and on the day itself, Harlene and her team were on top of communicating with all of our vendors to ensure all preparations for day ran according to plan. Harlene, Ronelle, and Shana were phenomenal. The team oversaw ceremony set-up at our church in South San Francisco in addition to the reception set-up at the venue in San Mateo. During the wedding ceremony, Ronelle and Shana ensured all of our guests knew where to sit and had a program in their hand. During the reception, they made sure we were on track with our timeline frequently checking in with the MCs, DJ, best man and maid of honor. Most importantly, Ronelle and Shana would check in with my wife and I to make sure we always had a drink. (It was a long day so we were drinking red bulls and our specialty cocktails to party up!) At the end of the night, Harlene's team made sure the venue was cleaned and cleared out. They collected all of our personal items and gifts for us to pick up the following day.
Planning a wedding can be a very stressful time for some, but Harlene and her team made the entire experience a joy from start to finish. Our wedding day is a day we will never forget, and that is largely due to Harlene, Ronelle and Shana. We cannot thank you enough!
Not enough words could describe how lucky we were to have found Harlene. From the very first conversation we had with her, she asked questions and offered suggestions that showed her genuine interest in our vision and commitment to make it possible. We hired her for day-of wedding coordination, but I was so appreciative of her responsiveness leading up to our wedding. She even pointed out small, but important details we had neglected to think about prior to the event.
On the day of our wedding, Harlene was very organized, helping to set up our tables, coordinating with our vendors, and even checking in to see how we were doing. We had a several unexpected glitches, but Harlene handled them like a professional, making quick adjustments without us even knowing there was even any issue at all. By the end of our wedding day, my husband and I were sad to say goodbye. Harlene helped us make our most special day a reality and for that we always be grateful.
Harlene is a not only an amazing wedding coordinator but a wonderful human being. She will take the time to listen to your vision, offer suggestions to think about, provide open communication, and do everything she can to make your day the most beautiful day. She is kind, trustworthy and sacrificial. We will never stop recommending Harlene to our friends!
I will make a long story short and start off by saying, you need to hire Harlene for your event! I planned my entire wedding myself, but I needed a day-of coordinator to ensure my vision would be executed flawlessly. Also, I was planning my wedding from out of state and was not confident that my venue would do everything as directed, so having a coordinator oversee tasks was extremely helpful. Harlene and her assistant were ON TOP OF IT the entire day; they came early and stayed late, handled all of the decoration setup and cleanup, and most importantly made sure we stuck to the timeline perfectly. I didn’t need to check on anything or lift a finger on my wedding day, it was amazing! As an extra plus, Harlene was there to clean spilled red wine out of my wedding dress, it didn’t even leave a stain! If you’re looking to have 100% peace of mind on your wedding day, I highly recommend Harlene Events.
I had the pleasure of having Harlene coordinate my Napa wedding on October 14th, and I could not have chosen a better person for the job! From the moment I first spoke with Harlene in January, I knew that she was the ideal coordinator. She is so professional and her sharp attention to detail, eye for design, and overall caring demeanor was exactly what I needed to stay stress free and organized. While I am organized, I am also quite forgetful! Harlene made sure to connect with me on many occasions before the wedding and check in on my planning process, which really helped me stay on track and on top of things. When I was talking to my husband the next day, one of the first things he said was how glad he was that she was there, because we never could of done it on our own.
There are so many wonderful things I can say about Harlene’s work ethic and attention to detail, but nothing can even hold a light to how wonderful a person she is. The Napa and Sonoma fires broke out five days before my wedding, and while my venue was 100% safe and functional, some location changes had to be made the day before. I was blown away at how quickly Harlene sprung into action to create a “Plan-B “, which by the way, exceeded ALL of my hopes and expectations. That whole week she consistently checked in with me, my vendors, and venue to ensure that everything was still running smoothly in light of everything that was happening. She truly cared about Joe and I, and it was the best feeling knowing that we weren’t just another client. Our wedding was the closest thing to perfection that I have ever experienced, and it was a day I will never forget. Joe and I THANK YOU so much, Harlene. You truly are one in a million!
Harlene and her team made our wedding weekend perfect! We hired Harlene for her month of coordination services, and found this extremely valuable. She met with us and our vendors at the venue, and really helped us to develop an organized (and realistic!) timeline for our weekend celebrations. Harlene and her team are professional, hard working, and very detail oriented. Knowing that we had a solid team in place to oversee the events and to make sure everything was running smoothly really lessened the stress, and allowed us to fully enjoy our wedding!! We definitely recommend Harlene Events!
We hired Harlene for the day of coordination of our San Francisco City Hall Wedding. Given that we were planning our wedding from nearly 3,000 miles away in Toronto, Canada it was invaluable to have a local wedding expert as a point of contact. Harlene immediately got ‘the vision’ that we had in mind, and shared with us her list of trusted vendors.
In the weeks leading up to our wedding Harlene worked with us to ensure every possible logistics aspect was covered, and reminded us of important details we may have otherwise overlooked.
The day of she was a calming force, with precision attention to detail. We were completely stress free and got to enjoy our wedding without worry knowing that Harlene had everything well in hand.
My wife and I went back and forth on whether or not to get a Day-Of Coordinator for our wedding but we are so happy that we did and that we selected Harlene! She was absolutely amazing throughout the entire process and played a HUGE role in our big day being so perfect. From the phone consults prior to our wedding day to the actual coordination on the day of, she was amazingly organized and ensured that our big day would go off without a hitch. We planned our wedding from out of state, which added a number of extra difficulties, but Harlene made the entire process as smooth as possible. On the day of the wedding Harlene and her team were there very early, walking the grounds of the venue and coordinating with all of the vendors and staff to make sure that everything was setup exactly as we envisioned. Also throughout the entire wedding day she made sure that everything was following the time line we had laid out, but she did it in such a professional and courteous way that never made us or any of the vendors feel like we were being pressured or rushed. She also discretely and quietly helped diffuse an uncomfortable situation (drunk friends + angry Uber driver = bad situation), ensuring that our good time wasn’t interrupted! Thank you again Harlene for helping us have an awesome night and we highly recommend her for any wedding planning/coordinating services!
I hired Harlene for my June 4th wedding at Grand Island Mansion. I spoke with her for about an hour before I decided I wanted to hire her. I could tell from that initial conversation that she was organized and knew what she was doing. By the time I met with Harlene, I had already secured my vendors so, I was looking for someone to help with last minute details. Harlene attended my details appointment at my venue. She reminded me of the details I wasn't thinking about. On the day of the wedding, Harlene made sure everything went smoothly. She decorated the tables and guest book just the way I had imagined. I really enjoyed Harlene's positive energy, work ethic, and attention detail. I work definitely recommend her.
Contact
San Francisco Bay Area | Napa | Sonoma | Monterey
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Meet the team
Harlene Cayabyab
Owner
Being in the Event Industry for about 10 years, I had the privilege to know and work with the most talented individuals that gave me the inspiration to pursue my passion of planning and designing events. I am a Certified Wedding Plannner that obtained my certification through the Association of Bridal Consultants and continue to be an active Member in the community. I enjoy designing elements that are unconventional and elegant and not your typical cookie-cutter wedding. Designing weddings for the adventurous and free souls, looking for something new and unique for their big day!
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