Special Event Genie®
From Santa Barbara to San Diego, From the Ocean to Riverside
About This Vendor
Love Never Goes Out of Style
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Special Event Genie provides professional wedding coordination and planning services for engaged couples. Ricki Lewis, the owner, and partner of this diverse company is truly committed to her clients and always strives to organize your dream wedding. These planners have a natural flair for the details, planning their clients’ special days so that it authentically reflects their values and beliefs. Inspired by their clients’ unique love stories, Special Event Genie will flawlessly bring your visions to life, leaving you and your guests with memories to cherish. Special Event Genie has more than 20 years of experience within the wedding planning industry. They are fully licensed, certified, and insured up to two-million-dollar liability. These planners find joy and happiness when helping their clients celebrate their love for one another, viewing their coordination role as an honor. These planner’s values include the development of a meaningful connection with every soon-to-be newlywed. They aim to build an understanding of their clients’ preferred styles and tastes. When you choose Special Event Genie as your coordinator, their team will listen to your themes and color ideas, ensuring your vision is achieved. Through consultations, these planners can help you find the ideal venue and vendors who will serve your wedding with the utmost professionalism and care. Before the big day arrives, this team visualizes your magical day with full-color site plans to make sure there are no last-minute surprises. On the day of your wedding, these planners oversee the complete coordination of your celebrations so all runs smoothly. What’s more, throughout the entire process, this detail-oriented team pride themselves on their responsiveness, unlimited communication, precise timelines, and more. What’s more, this company also has its own app. Their clients can see site plans for each scene of their wedding so they know everything will run without a hitch. Taking wedding requests & orders for June 2023 and beyond!
Details
Business Attributes
Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
Budgeting, Day-Of Coordination, Destination Wedding Planning, Full Service Wedding Planning, RSVP Tracking, Se Habla Español, Wedding Design
Wedding Activities
Getting Engaged, Engagement Party, Rehearsals & Parties, After Party, Bachelor Party, Bachelorette Party, Bridal Luncheon, Bridal Shower, Couples Shower, Rehearsal Dinner, Welcome Party, Wedding, Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, Day After Brunch, Reception, Rehearsal
Awards and Affiliations
Pricing for Special Event Genie®
Browse Special Event Genie®'s pricing PDF for sample services and estimates.
Curious to learn more?
Special Event Genie® Reviews
4.9 out of 5.0
24 reviews
5 Star
92%
4 Star
8%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
The best wedding planner! Ricki of Special Event Genie is not only an amazing talented professional, she’s also such a kind person. She went above and beyond to make our wedding special, especially considering we were planning from out of state...
! She helped us find an incredible venue and all of our vendors (who were also super talented and professional) within our budget and aligned with our style. We are so grateful to Ricki for helping us plan an incredible wedding!
Just words of gratitude, honestly you and your team did an outstanding job.
We were so happy with the outcome of our wedding, it was a smashing success.
Hope to see you soon and thank you personally.
God bless you guys.
Marcela G.
From my heart I want to thank you for your time, dedication and work. Excellent work. I appreciated the effort you had to speak to me in Spanish and design everything in a way that I could understand it. An optimal person to recommen...
d. You are very good at what you do. I hope that in the future we can meet again. Blessings and many successes in everything you do. I have a lot of love for you. Kisses.
Response from the Vendor on 12/20/2022
Hola Marcela!
It was my absolute pleasure to assist you and be part of your wedding! Thank goodness I could speak to you in Spanish and be understood! You were always a pleasure and so sweet to work with from start to finish! Also, I am so gla...
d I was able to assist you with finding the perfect wedding gown! I know you are happy and married life agrees with you! Cheers! El gusto es mîo!
Any questions?
We were looking forward to hiring Ricki for the Full Wedding Planning Package as soon as we got engaged. She put in a lot of time and special attention, doing her very best to make our wedding fun, stress-free and so very memorable. She arriv...
ed early with her assistants to make sure all the tables and chairs were set up exactly the way I wanted, directed all the vendors including the DJ, florist and bridal shop. She also set up our very pretty and fun multi-cake dessert table. We were impressed at how knowledgeable she is with all the facets that go into a wedding. Ricki also assisted our guests. It took a lot of worry off my mind, knowing that she was there taking care of all the details… and just plain being our eyes and ears so we could relax and enjoy our own wedding. She made sure we were well taken care of every step of the way with our planning process! Thank you, Ricki! - Nicole & Charles, Los Angeles, CA
Response from the Vendor on 09/29/2022
Dear Nicole & Charles!
Thank you so much for the glowing review! We are so proud of our work so clients such as yourselves are happily enjoying fond memories of your big day!
All our best for a lifetime of love and happiness!
And a special toas...
t for the two of you!
Ricki from Special Event Genie!
We were pleased with Ricki's services, particularly the day of our wedding. Leading up to the big day, Ricki had excellent vendor recommendations and we used everyone she suggested (including a jeweler, photographer, and florist) and had great ...
ideas on decor for the venue. She is also very communicative, quickly answering texts, e-mails, and phone calls. The day of, Ricki and her team were very organized and efficient and did a truly beautiful job decorating our sweetheart table and guests tables, welcome table, and memorial table, and kept everything running smoothly. Thanks Ricki!
Response from the Vendor on 09/01/2022
Hi Cassandra! It was such a pleasure planning your wedding! I'm so glad you're happy with our services. We love making sure our clients are happy! We are proud of our work, especially setting up your decor just how you want it and adding tha...
t most pleasant surprise and personal touch for your wedding! We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
Ricki and her team were very professional and punctual on the day of the event. Ricki is very easy to communicate with and had a good set of vendor list/contacts within each category. She is very understanding, sweet, and caring and is always e...
qually excited for your big day! Will recommend her team for future events to anyone!
Response from the Vendor on 06/20/2022
Hi Divya!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review! Kind words like yours help other couples get to know us better and get excited about reaching out—We hope you know just how much your review is appreciated.
We look forward ...
to keeping in touch and celebrating more of life’s milestones with you. Until we chat again!
Ricki has made my experience so easy and seamless. From helping me find the perfect dress to invitations and knowing what questions to ask other vendors she’s been so helpful! I still have a few months until my wedding but I know I’ll have noth...
ing to worry about once my big day comes! I absolutely recommend Special Event Genie!
Response from the Vendor on 12/31/2021
Hi Nicole!
Thank you so much for this glowing interim review! Our job is to share your vision and bring your wedding to life seamlessly. This has been a great pleasure sharing your dreams for a most unqiue and colorful day!
Ricki was a great last minute addition to our planning needs. She acclimated quickly to our style and was a pleasure to work with. Her roll up the sleeves mentality, quick response time and extremely positive attitude made our wedding memorabl...
e and stress free!
Response from the Vendor on 12/31/2021
Weston, thanks so much for this review. We pride ourselves in understanding the wedding traditions of every culture in this beautiful, diverse world we live in! So glad to make your special day stress-free. We appreciate you choosing us to ma...
ke your day memorable.
Hiring Ricki saved us so much headache on our wedding day! She specializes in South Asian weddings and understands the customs and important details. We had a two day event and both days she went above and beyond to try to help us with any of o...
ur needs. We spent about 8 months planning with her and she was very organized with everything and very prompt with her communication. Highly recommend her to anyone looking to host an event!
Response from the Vendor on 12/31/2021
Hi Sabiha,
This has been one of the most rewarding weddings for our company to produce. Yes, we take great pride in knowing all the details of South Asian weddings as well as all other cultures and traditions! Thank you for this review and our...
wish for the both of you is a lifetime of love and happiness!
Rickie is very professional, yet very friendly and easy to work with. Our wedding was a huge success with tons of compliment on our wedding decorations. Thank you Rickie for all of your hard work and all of the personalized efforts you made to ...
make all of our guests and some of our difficult family members happy.
Response from the Vendor on 12/05/2021
Sadia, thank you for this great review. Your daughter’s wedding was beautiful. So glad we were able to create all the details of your special two-day wedding. Best wishes!
Ricki was an amazing wedding coordinator. She helped me stay on track with my event planning and she helped me find my bakery, hair and makeup artist, and videographer. She was so helpful with planning out the timeline for the day and helped cr...
eate beautiful table settings. The signs that her team created worked so well with the design theme of the wedding. I was so grateful for her help throughout the process.
Response from the Vendor on 12/05/2021
Sarah, so glad that we could make sure your wedding vision came to fruition. Keeping track of the timeline is why we am here, to make sure that your special day goes off without a hitch. Thank you for your amazing review.
Ricki and her team helped us plan our perfect wedding in Santa Barbara. She was there every step of the way during the 15 months of planning. We could call or text her anytime day or night. She kept us on track and assisted with every step of t...
he process including guest-lists, vendor management and timelines. She even made multiple trips to Santa Barbara with us to help find the perfect venue and vendors. Ricki goes above and beyond and we really couldn’t have had such a perfect wedding without her. Thank you so much Ricki!
Response from the Vendor on 12/05/2021
Christy, thank you so much for this lovely review. You deserve to have this be the wedding day of your dreams! So, no venue is too far. We wish you all the happiness in your new marriage!
My wife and I would like to thank Ricki for all of her incredible work and assistance coordinating our wedding. We had to postpone our date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every step of the way, she was there making suggestions and assisting us ...
seamlessly with the change of plans. We decided we did not want to postpone a second time so Ricki showed us a way we could have our wedding outdoors and socially distant to keep us and our guests safe. She came up with new ideas, suggestions and advice on the spot to help make our wedding an exceptional and unique event. Ricki truly went the extra mile seeing to it that all the arrangements were completed in a timely fashion. Ricki was a gem to work with, generous with her time, and graciously understood our needs. Our beautiful wedding went off without a hitch thanks to the creativity and organizational skills of our fully prepared wedding planner, Ricki Lewis and her partner, Robin. We couldn’t have done it without her. Thank you so very much Ricki for wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. – Richard E.
Response from the Vendor on 12/05/2021
Richard, thank you for this marvelous review. Knowing the up-to-date happenings is part of how we create your special day going as planned. Glad that your vision was met even with having to jump unexpected hurdles. All the best for a lifetime...
of love and happiness!
Ricki is amazing! She went above and beyond for my wedding. Her app of the layout is incredible. We have a tricky location and having her app made it all make sense! We unfortunately had to postpone and even during that process she was so helpf...
ul. We can’t wait to have our wedding and see how special Ricki will make it!
Response from the Vendor on 10/17/2020
Thank you so much, Ashley!
Clients such as you make my business all worthwhile!
I so appreciate your notice of our Planning Genie App that shows you ahead of time exactly what your wedding will look like so there are no last-minute surprises! ...
Thanks also for your observation of our flexibility with postponements during this most unprecedented time.
We look forward to making all your dreams come true for your BIG day!
Ricki was so wonderful! She was very prompt with answering calls, texts, and emails. Anytime I needed help with any questions she was quick to assist me. She accompanied me to some of my appointments and helped me with my dress fitting problems...
. She also developed a timeline for our wedding and incorporated each vendor’s role within the timeline. We loved the diagrams she provided us with, which ultimately painted a picture of how everything would go. There were items I forgot to bring, but this was not a problem because Ricki happened to have everything we needed in her wedding planning tool belt!! The rental company vendor did not set-up our sweetheart backdrop like they were supposed to, so she sprung into action and arranged to have them come all the way back and set it up. I will say that I was VERY particular with the wedding decorations and this was the part I was most concerned with....Well Ricki exceeded our expectations and made everything look even BETTER than we had imagined it. Our wedding day went smoothly thanks to Ricki and her team, and this what made everything so much more enjoyable and special for us.
Response from the Vendor on 09/19/2020
Hi Taryn,
Thank you for the glowing review! It was such a pleasure to share your vision for your wedding day, especially in terms of the decor. So glad we noticed that the rental company did not set up as you wanted so I called them immediate...
ly to come back in the nick of time to fix it! Since you are the bride, you deserve to look and feel the very best on your wedding day. Since I am professionally trained as to the proper fit for wedding gowns, I always make myself available to stop by the bridal shop when you are trying on your gown. So glad you enjoyed our diagrams, allowing you to envision your wedding day before it happens! All our best for a lifetime of love & happiness!
Our wedding was the best day of our lives. Everything was perfect and we have Ricki to thank. She gave us expert advice from the first moment we sat down with her. Guided us through the process of putting our wedding together and was with us ev...
ery step of the way. Her wealth of knowledge helped us get some deals in which we otherwise would not have had. She has an extended network of trusted vendors that ensures you get quality service at the best price.
Response from the Vendor on 09/04/2020
Thank you so much for this most thoughtful review, Mike! We take great pride in our membership as certified wedding planners (and negotiation skills) to bring you the best value on every vendor. Between the Venue, DJ, wedding gown, photographer...
, and videographer you saved at least a total of $2,500! Also, so glad to see your recognition for the knowledge and expertise we bring to each and every couple who are our clients. Glad we still maintain contact and enjoy your happy home!
I recently got engaged to the man of my dreams, and soon after, accepted a job in a totally new industry. I knew my new job was going to be demanding, and I was going to need all the help I could get. We were really fortunate to find Ricki thr...
ough a friend’s referral. Ricki was great from the very beginning. During our initial consultation, she took detailed notes of what we envision our wedding to be and helped us plan every step of the way. Even in the midst of a pandemic, Ricki has been proactive at scheduling and coordinating all of our appointments. We live in Santa Monica, and our wedding will be in Santa Barbara, Ricki has taken the time to drive with us to Santa Barbara to visit several venues multiple times. Most recently, Ricki and my best friends, including my mom, went wedding dress shopping together. Ricki took me to a fantastic place where I found the most beautiful dress. She is passionate about her job and delivers beyond expectations. She has made our lives a lot easier, I can easily recommend her to all my friends and family, she has been a great wedding planner, and we can’t wait to see all came together next year!
Response from the Vendor on 08/31/2020
Hi Christy,
Thanks, so much for this amazing review! It's been such a pleasure to assist both of you with all your wedding details. Yes, we are on top of the planning schedule every step of the way! I love happy clients who trust our experie...
nce and coveted wedding advice. So glad we found the dress of your dreams, on the way to memories for a lifetime of love and wedded bliss!
Ricki is so nice and fun to work with. My fiancé and I are currently living in Arizona but decided to have the wedding in California. Ricki has been a blessing in helping us set everything up. Best wedding decision I’ve made yet! She truly has ...
relieved all the stress that comes along with planning a wedding. She helps set everything up and I give her the final “OK” on all decisions. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to help with our special day!
Response from the Vendor on 07/04/2020
Thanks for the glowing review, Megan! It's been a pleasure assisting you and your fiancé with your wedding. I look forward to transforming your dad's tennis court into the most beautiful reception space!
My wife and I would like to thank Ricki for all of her incredible work coordinating our wedding. We hired her quite late in our planning process and she still completely orchestrated everything we desired. There were a lot of last-minute chan...
ges, especially with our guest list and she fluidly rolled with it and had everything done on time for us! Every step of the way, she was there offering ideas, suggestions and advice to help make our wedding an exceptional and unique event. Ricki truly went the extra mile seeing so that all the arrangements were completed in a timely fashion—even thinking ahead to the unexpected with a Plan B and C! Rain was predicted and yet, we were still able to have an outdoor ceremony! Well, we didn’t worry knowing that Ricki was on board, planning for every contingency. When I called her in a panic the afternoon before, she had already arranged for the canopy to cover the grounds, for our ceremony and guest seating areas. Ricki was a gem to work with, generous with her time, and had a keen understanding of our religious customs. Our beautiful wedding went off without a hitch thanks to the creativity and organizational skills of our fully prepared “Special Event Genie®,” Ricki Lewis. We couldn’t have done it without her. We would love to work with her again in the future (anniversary, baby shower and birthday parties, God willing!). – Thank you, Brian F.
Response from the Vendor on 08/31/2020
Hi Brian!
So glad our team was there for the two of you on your BIG day. We watched the weather forecast minute by minute to make sure the rain would not be an issue. Our canopy rental company was there on the spot. Thank you for showing appr...
eciation for our attention to every detail. It's the little things that can mean quite a lot for you and your guests. It's always a pleasure to have happy, satisfied clients like you. We wish you the best in love and togetherness always.
When we began planning our wedding we knew it was going to be a big job; we knew we would need a wedding planner to advise us and keep us on track. A friend used Special Events Genie for her wedding, and we were impressed by the work they did a...
nd how smoothly everything went. When we contacted them, the proprietor, Ricki Lewis, was very pleasant on the phone; she was prompt for our initial meeting and proved to be very knowledgeable. She gave us wonderful and helpful information and we hired her soon after that.
She has been an absolute treasure in helping us craft the wedding we want. This year has presented many challenges that nobody could have foreseen, with many businesses and vendors having to suspend operations because of a world wide pandemic. Ricki helped us navigate these obstacles, and has come up with extraordinary solutions to problems that don't usually occur in planning a wedding. Thank you Ricki!
Response from the Vendor on 06/09/2020
Hi Glen
Thanks so much for the glowing review! Your articulate account of how we are running our business especially today in the current climate really does summit it up perfectly! I could not have said it better myself. Thank you again and lo...
oking forward to all the good things life has to offer for your future together!
Ricki and her team were an absolute dream to have! We told her what we envisioned and she went above and beyond to make that happen for the wedding of our dreams. Ricki not only put in the extra hours to help us stick with our wedding theme she...
was great with connections and has great taste. On top of all this, she worked so well within our budget which was highly important to us as a young couple. Highly Recommended!
Response from the Vendor on 07/11/2019
There is nothing like satisfied customers, Sara!
Thank you so much for having us create all the details of your beautiful vintage travel theme wedding celebration! It was so much fun to put this all together for you. Glad you are happy bride s...
o you will remember your big day and all the years to come.
We hired Ricki Lewis of Special Event Genie for our wedding.
We really did not want to wait the usual 9 to 12 months of planning.
Once we were granted permission to have our wedding USC, we called Ricki.
This was only six weeks before our weddi...
ng date!
Ricki totally shared our vision of the look and feel of our wedding decor.
She designed our invitations and RSVP management!
She even went out of her way to walk the entire University to make sure all departments had the required permits approved and all money was paid.
Ricki and her team stayed the entire day, to make sure everything went smoothly from start to finish.
We cannot say enough about her attention to detail and to our individual needs.
She has a can-do attitude and never gives up.
We could not have done this without her guidance and assistance every step of the way.
We are so appreciative! Thank you Ricki!
Shauna & Rik
Response from the Vendor on 03/06/2019
Thanks for your review Shauna & Rik!
It was such a pleasure assisting you with all your wedding needs.
This was a challenge and I'm glad you were happy with the outcome.
All my best for a lifetime of love and happiness!
Ricki gave us a great event and made sure things ran smoothly even with problems with the venue.
Response from the Vendor on 07/12/2019
Thank you so much Marina for this five star review!
Its unfortunate you had some problems with the venue you selected but we are very pleased to have been part of your wedding and making it a memorable event for you & your guests. We wish you ...
a lifetime of love and happiness!
Ricki at Special Event Genie helped make our wedding a huge success! It was beautiful yet budget-conscious. Her scope of services was far broader than the other planners we met, yet she was affordable. She negotiated with our vendors and many g...
ave us discounts due to her relationships with them. With one exception, we were pleased with her vendors. She ran countless errands for us, joining me at dress appointments, visiting several venues on our behalf, and making many trips to our chosen venue to check on things. She advocated for us when things weren’t going well with our vendors or venue. She made frequent trips to the flower mart, even picking me up from work on her way (when I couldn’t join her she video chat or sent pics). As an architect I loved that she could communicate the layout of the event spaces thanks to her proprietary software that generated to-scale floor plans of each area; not only did these plans help us visualize the space but they also gave us comfort knowing the rental people would know exactly how we wanted things. Being a perfectionist/DIYer I was a very hands-on bride but Ricki was always available when needed; from the day we signed with her we were in constant communication by phone/text/email. Over the months we worked with her she ensured we hit milestones on time, warning us when invites should go out and following up to ensure we were meeting deadlines. She had to act as both planner and decorator as we had no florist (all the décor was DIYed). She sent her van to my house to get loaded up with décor the night before the wedding; the next morning she and her team got to the venue early to set everything up. The room looked as though a real florist had decorated it! Another planner we interviewed wanted an extra $1k to set up the DIY décor! My critiques of Ricki are 1) the way she timed the processional was too slow and 2) she missed the mark when it came to gathering our relatives for the family portraits, so the portrait session was chaotic and took too long. But once the party began everything went great. Six months later people are still telling us what fun it was and how much they enjoyed all the custom touches. We couldn’t have pulled off our vision without Ricki!
Contact Info for Special Event Genie®
From Santa Barbara to San Diego, From the Ocean to Riverside
Meet the Team
Ricki Lewis
Owner
Our passion is planning weddings, perfecting details & creating your extraordinary day! We’re well versed in all cultures & traditions! You will feel confident knowing we bring a wealth of experience to your special day. We are Certified Wedding Planners with a designer’s eye & top-notch organizational skills. Our clients depend on us to make their process stress-free & their day uniquely special. Our team is highly creative in planning & on-the-spot problem-solving. On a personal note, My mom was a wedding planner & my mentor. I am a skier, gourmet dessert chef and was brought up on a farm!
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Special Event Genie®