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Alison Events
Categories: Event Planning & Services Party & Event Planning Hotels & Travel Travel Services Party & Event Planning, Travel Services [Edit]
185 Arkansas StStudio B
(between 17th St & Mariposa St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
(415) 567-7605
- Hours:
Tue-Fri 10 am - 6 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
Audra E. said: "I totally spaced on Sunday and realized my passport expired a month before, when I was supposed to fly the next day to Prague. I freaked out and kept hitting my head against the wall (like how-can-you-be-so-stupid? !?) Once I calmed…" read more »
9 reviews for Alison Events
9 reviews in English
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Review from Laura M.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
I just realized that I never actually posted my Yelp review of Alison Events after our wonderful June 2011 wedding!
We ended up working primarily with Kelsey (with Alyssa's support) over the course of more than 18 months - and during that time, my husband and I were actually traveling out of the country for a full year, which meant we did a lot of our planning with them remotely. Our wedding weekend was a 4-day affair at a venue in the Russian River Valley -- rehearsal dinner on Thurs; welcome BBQ on Friday; Saturday wedding ceremony & reception; Sunday farewell brunch. Between the long-distance wedding planning and the number of events (and logistics) we needed to plan at at our venue, there's NO way we could've pulled off the amazing weekend we did without the ladies at Alison Events.
As others have noted here, they are super fun to work with and ended up feeling more like friends than planners by the end of our year and a half together. That said, they're also very much what my husband and I call GSD -- "get shit done". :) They were very good at keeping us on task with decisions that needed to be made, bills that needed to be paid, etc. They tend to work frequently with the same vendors (Brown Paper Design, Hello Lucky, etc) and will nudge you in that direction, but those vendors were all excellent, and honestly, it saved us so many hours of having to do our own research by just being able to go with their trusted vendors. And the few times we wanted to use someone they hadn't worked with before (as we did for our invitations and our band), they were totally supportive.
Since our budget ended up higher than we originally planned, we pushed them to look for ways to cut costs and they were quite sensitive to that. Kelsey did some hardball negotiating with our venue over some of the items on the contract, and she managed to keep our rental costs lower by finding clever ways to re-use our rental items over the course of the weekend. Those things didn't make a huge dent in our overall budget, but I appreciated how they were always looking for ways to try to keep our costs lower. Their planning fee is admittedly pretty high, but it's important to remember that once you hire them, they will work their butts off for you. (I can't tell you how many hundreds [thousands?] of emails I exchanged with Kelsey... she is seemingly always online.)
They're design aesthetic is excellent, and for me, that was also a great help. (I'm not the type of woman who has spent her whole life looking at bridal magazines, so I didn't come into wedding planning with a specific "look" in mind - it helped to get their great suggestions for design.) Kelsey is awesome about brainstorming new ideas on the spot... and once you get to a point where you're ready to start making decisions about table settings, etc, they'll have you come into the office and literally have different table settings laid out for you to choose from. So easy!
The other great thing I'll say about them - and I'm not sure I would've recognized the importance of this early on - but they are super relaxed. Every bride encounters stressful moments in wedding planning, but Kelsey and Alyssa have this amazing ability to calm you down with their zen vibe. It seems nothing ruffles their feathers. That's a huge help when you're in the thick of things - you want someone who will keep you calm, not up your stress and anxiety level.
The last thing I'll say is that we ended up having a very logistically complicated wedding. Lighting, furniture, heat lamps - all of that stuff had to be brought in, and Kelsey and her team had the whole system down pat. Not once during our entire wedding weekend did I have to worry about things getting moved to where they were supposed to go or being set up at the right time. I trusted that Kelsey and her team were on it, which freed me up to spend time with our guests and really be present in the weekend. I think that is single greatest gift a good wedding planner can give you, and Alison Events were superstars there. They were on it, and everything flowed perfectly. In the end, that's what it's all about, right? -
Review from Serene M.
San Francisco, CA
5/2/2011
I've had the pleasure of working with the ladies at Alison Events on a several different projects over the last few years. They are a couple of the most hard-working, attentive, patient, talented and creative people I've met in the event planning world, and my job has me interfacing with a lot of them. Its a stressful and frazzled atmosphere dealing with lots of conflicting personalities, demands and setbacks, and they are masters at cultivating a 'got things under control' vibe mixed with a fun-loving, rational, and cheerful attitude. They take such personal pride in each of their events and are truly vested in all they do without any sense of being jaded or annoyed- its SO refreshing to see that.
I've worked mostly with Kelsey who is incredible- she's consulted on some of my corporate and nonprofit projects in the past and is always my go-to when I need event related advice and help with logistics. I kind of wish I could have her in the delivery room for my first born child- she's super collected and professional. I'm already married but If I wasn't I'd hire Alison Events in a heartbeat and have consistently recommended them. They have a spectacular eye for design and a voracious spirit to do find new and inspired looks tailored to their clients- their is definitely a reason they always end up in Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty and other major wedding publications. But I have to say, if you're a bride-to-be into satin table spreads and lots of bling, they're probably not your cup of tea.
They only allow a couple weddings a month, so they do get booked up pretty quick since most of the times when they are not at a wedding, they are away on site visits, client meetings, vendor coordination and all the rest of the behind-the-scenes work, and are girls on the go. So I suggest contacting them really early! They've got really strong vendor relationships that result in the best collaborations- after all, event planning is like being in a band- you have to trust your partners and they always pull off amazingly unique creations each time.
More than anything, I appreciate their straightforward and honest communication style- if something wont work, Kelsey is the first to give it to me straight and constructively and always has problem-solving alternatives- she's a true advocate. In the event world $&^t happens all the time and they always seem to pull it off without a hitch.
Did I mention they're a blast to hang out with as well? It's a win win. -
Review from alex k.
San Francisco, CA
12/6/2007
Let me start off by saying that, I was absolutely thrilled with the way my wedding turned out (see the pics in my profile) -- due in large part to the hard work Stacy McCain put into planning and organizing. We chose the "little more than the day of" package because we had a limited budget and a vision that we wanted to carry out. (Hey, I married an architect.) Stacy went above and beyond the month before the wedding to painstakingly ensure that everything would be planned and executed according to our vision.
Alison Events definitely understood the "look and feel" we were trying to achieve. We didn't want someone to simply coordinate. Stacy's suggestions and advice were critical. It was nice having her there to answer questions, coordinate with vendors, look over contracts, and help us with all of the little details that made our day so special -- she even added some little touches we hadn't thought about, like putting nice candles, soap, and lotion in the bathroom.
The most helpful thing Stacy did on the day of the wedding was to be calm. Her calmness helped reinforce that she had taken care of everything. Which she had! It was great that Stacy was so on top of things: she anticipated what we would need, in some cases, before we even knew we needed it. When we got to the venue, she had a kit for me that included needle and thread, deodorant, and a bunch of other little items. Thank God for the deodorant because with all my beautification throughout the day, I had forgotten to apply my pit stick. And the last thing a bride wants is to smell like BO!
Stacy didn't hyperventilate when we ran out of red wine at 8:30 and still had three hours of reception left. She just came over and softly said, "We're almost out of red wine, shall I get more?" We said yes and she waved her magic wand and made it happen. At the end of the night, she even helped get some drunken guests get home safely (thanks to all the extra wine!), running outside and waving down a cab for one super wasted lady.
Seriously, I was dubious about the whole wedding planner thing and whether we should pay for one, but it was well worth the money. My advice would be to find a good one you trust, even if you don't use Alison Events. You don't want to be worrying about little details (or smelling like body odor) on your wedding day. -
Review from Jean W.
San Francisco, CA
11/22/2010
Alison Events (A.K.A. Alison, Kelsey and Alyssa) helped us plan our wedding about a year ago and i have nothing but great things to say about them -- so if you don't want to read a bunch of positive stuff, you should probably move it along now.
i never really thought about my own wedding before we got engaged, so it was very overwhelming to come up with a plan. (secretly, i had kind of hoped we'd just do the City Hall thing but that was out of the question, according to our parents.)
my aversion to planning and my love of procrastination would probably have stifled the entire process had we not enlisted Alison Events for their help. it was honestly the sheer will, vision and stick-to-it-iveness of the women at Alison Events that made our wedding happen.
and what a wedding. the best thing about it was that it felt like Ours, and yet surpassed what we'd ever imagined it could be. not to be overly shmaltzy, but they took our ideas and turned them into poetry. or something else that's much more intricate than just an idea.
also, they appreciated that we were from a creative industry and protected us from the cookie cutter, boring stuff that some weddings can become. they upheld our high standards.
plus, they're just nice, funny, down to earth, normal, cool women who bring their senses of humor and enthusiasm to every meeting, right along with their professionalism.
anyway, they're great. honest. i would totally, totally use them for my next wedding. KIDDING, honey. kidding. -
Review from Stephanie W.
Oakland, CA
11/13/2007
I just got finished with a wedding that was a joint venture between Alison Events and Sillapere (the designer). I produced the event for Sillapere and got to know the ladies at Alison Events intimately to say the least.
I worked mainly with Stacy McCain, who is in my book one of the sweetest, most prepared, accommodating, understanding planners out there. I would work with her (personally) in a heartbeat.
Stacy was the lead planner on this event and was a big help in coordinating all our production efforts leading up to the big day.
She is great with the clients and with vendors alike. She put out many a fire before it got out of hand and helped me stay on good terms with the site (hopefully they'll have us back again, after all the craziness...eek!).
I personally can't comment on the fees they charge. However, as with all planners there is a sizeable expense I'm sure. But you can't beat the level of service and coordination that they can provide. If you can swing it, it's more than worth it.
I've worked with a variety of the top wedding planners in the Bay Area and love that Alison and her team have a cool, casual demeanor that relaxes everyone from the bride & groom to the workers putting together the tents on site.
It was a pleasure working with them and I'm looking forward to our next project together! -
Review from April M.
San Francisco, CA
5/2/2005
I've heard mixed reviews about wedding planners in general but pretty good things about Alison. She's relatively expensive but two different sets of friends said they'd recommend her, if not for the full-out planning of an event, then for the day-of logistics. The one negative that both parties said was that she seemed to be over-booked at times, and therefore not attentive.
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Review from Mollie J.
San Francisco, CA
8/26/2010
When Alison Events isn't traveling the globe planning amazing weddings, I get to work with them in San Francisco where they also plan beautiful weddings and events. It is great to find a company that thinks of every detail for your wedding but also is easy going and fun to be with. I love working with AE!
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Review from amy s.
Menlo Park, CA
1/31/2009
One word - fabulous! This review is LONG overdue...
Kelsey was our coordinator for our wedding, and she is absolutely fantastic! Wildly creative, she helped take my vision and make it a reality, while at the same time staying very mindful of our budget. She was there every step of the way - without her we would have drowned in all the planning!
But Kelsey's best quality, and the reason you MUST choose Alison Events for your wedding/event, is that she actually cares about you - it's not just a job, she genuinely wants to make your day as amazing as possible. -
Review from Matthew K.
San Francisco, CA
11/3/2010
Honk Honk for AE!
LOVE these very talented women.
Yelp, can I get a 6th star for AE please?
My wifie and I recently worked with AE to plan our wedding. It was out of town and they made it all happen...
The AE team is:
* CREATIVE - great eyes, vision, artistic capabilities and all done very tastefully. Great at listening, following the bride and groom's lead, taste prefs, etc. and incorporating our requests into the event. They were AMAZING.
* HARD WORKING - when it is your turn to meet, greet, travel and come the weekend of, the AE team is there and kicks arse. They worked long hours (can you say a 16 hour day on the day of)? They execute very well and work their butts off!
* FUN - they have a fun time while working and you will have fun hanging out and collaborating with them.
* COOL - These chicas are IT. 'Nuff said!
In addition, they served us great hors d'oeuvres (apricots 'n nuts yo!) during our office visits.
We worked with Alison, Kelsey, Alyssa and all were fab. They also hired some helpers where the event took place and they too were filled with complete and utter awesomeness.
DO IT.
AE, I DO!
