Cole Drake Events

Our daughter recently got married at Chalk Hill Estates Winery in Healdsburg. With Stephanie Cole as the wedding planner, everything went perfectly! It was a large wedding (300 guests) and a venue which required a lot of set up and logistical planning. But Stephanie is very experienced and well connected with all the local vendors! She was able to negotiate great deals for us and often «worked her magic» on our behalf. All her recommendations were first class, and she gave us excellent choices to choose from, so that we had options, but not too many to be overwhelming.
Stephanie’s easy-​going and fun loving personality makes her so easy to work with. Yet at the same time, she has excellent attention to detail and left no stone unturned. Her great experience helped us to stay on track throughout the planning, while never feeling stressed, because things were taken care of and addressed before the deadline. Pretty much all details were covered by the week before the wedding, so that the bride, groom and parents were all able to enjoy the pre-​, during, and post-​wedding festivities without a worry, as Stephanie directed the set-​up, day of events and clean-​up aspects of everything and everyone. Even with a last minute threat of rain necessitating a «Plan B,» everything went smoothly and without a worry.
From Stephanie’s recommended list, we used Park Avenue Caterers, Meredith Law Design florals, Wine Country Entertainment for a string trio and DJ, and Elegant Cheesecakes for the best wedding cake ever! All the guests raved about the delicious food, beautiful florals and signs, and fun entertainment. And of course, the amazing cake!
We cannot recommend Stephanie Cole enough. She helped to make a wonderful celebration for the bride, groom and all family and friends. It was an occasion we will all cherish for years and years.

Stephanie worked with us on our dream Napa wedding. The wedding was a huge success, flawlessly executed, and reflected our personalities effortlessly.
Throughout the planning process she kept us on task and helped us prioritize our to-​do list.
The wedding day went exactly as planned and we stayed right on the timeline that was provided for us. As a couple we didn’t worry about anything except making sure we could say our vows and spending time with our 220 guests.
When we returned to our room after the wedding our gifts were displayed neatly with a few momentos Stephanie knew we would wanted from the wedding, all topped off with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, to help us wind down.
She went beyond what was expected, she paid attention to all the little details, like making sure the bride’s mother ate dinner, all of which made our the wedding spectacular. I am sad that we won’t get to work with her on anything again — unless we throw a huge anniversary party in the future!

My husband and I got to know Stephanie really well during the one-​year planning process for our wine country Sonoma wedding (St. Francis Winery, 10÷18÷14), and she was a wedding-​planner-​dream-​come-​true every step of the way! It’s hard to describe everything that Stephanie did for us in just a few words, but looking back, we wanted to highlight several things that really stood out.
1. Personality. Stephanie has an amazingly calm demeanor. Given how stressful the entire process could be, she made it reassuringly easy every step of the way. She was genuinely on our side. We felt that she was a loyal friend who was watching out for our best interests at every point.
2. Flexibility. We had a specific idea of how we wanted several parts of our wedding to be. Although Stephanie’s initial recommendations for a few vendors were not what we initially had in mind, when we discussed our ideas with her, she was always understanding and offered other options that we loved. For example, we requested a Steinway grand piano to be placed in the tasting room at the winery for our after-​dinner program. It was difficult to locate a piano that met all of our needs, but Stephanie made it happen!
3. Timeliness. Stephanie was quick to do everything for us, starting with the very first phone conversation we had. From her past experience, she had a great sense of when everything needed to be in place, so that we didn’t have any last-​minute worries. For example, for our outdoor courtyard dinner in October, Stephanie arranged to have extra heaters available months in advance, knowing that they may not be available closer to the event date.
4. Detail-​oriented. This speaks to both Stephanie’s personality as well as her extensive experience. There were so many things that we wouldn’t have thought of, and she was always on top of those details. When we talked to her about the placecards for our guests, she even considered whether they would catch in the wind, and recommended ways to stabilize them. On our wedding day, Stephanie was there at all of the important moments: guiding our families before the processional, being there for us immediately after our ceremony, and helping us transition smoothly to the evening events.
5. Connections. Because of how well-​connected Stephanie was, we felt like we had the perfect team. Stephanie had already worked closely with our officiant, florist, caterer, musicians, and more, which made the whole process truly seamless.
If you are looking for a wedding planner for a Sonoma or Napa wedding, calling Stephanie may just be the best decision you will make!

I got married to my husband this past summer at The Carneros Inn. Stephanie from Cole Drake Events, along with Jules from TCI, were our wedding planners. Stephanie stepped in to help the TCI team when their lead wedding staff person went on maternity leave a few months after we signed on to the venue. My mother-​in-​law, with whom I was planning the wedding, and I were understandably a little nervous about having someone we hadn’t met coordinate the day, but she quickly quelled our anxieties with her prompt communication and graceful confidence. She oversaw all aspects of our day, was super collaborative and prompt, and saw no detail as too small.
Her strong organizational skills and just how likable she was again came through when we met with her for tasting. We had a great time with her talking over the day as it was finally coming together, and she balanced helping us make decisions quickly while keeping us relaxed and enjoying ourselves. Not a small task for a type A bride and mother-​in-​law pair just a couple of months before the big day! Her talent shone through the most on my big day.
The real magic of her work is that she makes the day run without ever intruding with her own presence. I felt like there was a genie who was with me all day, appearing just when I needed something or to make a gentle reminder and disappearing just as quickly and gracefully as she came. Her calm and firm energy again helped us stay grounded. More than anything, I knew I didn’t have to worry about anything else other than being present with my family and friends and enjoying the day — the rest was in her very competent hands. With her work, Stephanie helped me be with my day in a way that was was as deep and meaningful as I could ever have hoped, and I’m grateful to have worked with such a wonderful and caring professional!

I recently got married in September 2014 in Sonoma Valley at the Kunde Family Estate winery. We are from Chicago, and working with Stephanie Cole to plan a destination wedding was a wonderful experience. I highly recommend Cole Drake if you’re having a Napa wedding or a Sonoma wedding. Our day far surpassed my expectations, and our guests continue to rave that it was one of the best weddings they’ve every been to.
We utilized the full wedding planning services, and Stephanie recommended excellent vendors, and was able to listen to us, and make our visions come to life, all without ever meeting us. The wedding was planned in about 10 months. We never visited the wedding/​reception location, and weren’t able to look at the setup, taste the cake, meet the officiant, do trial hair and makeup, etc. However, Stephanie never skipped a beat, and made me feel very confident that she understood what we wanted. She kept us on track in the months leading up to the big day. Her attention to detail was very impressive, and while it was a lot to organize and think ahead for, I felt really good on our wedding day that there would be no surprises, and that every detail would be attended to. I was virtually stress-​free throughout the months leading up to the wedding, and I know I owe that to Stephanie. She kept us on track with regular emails and phone calls, and was very good at setting expectations for the process up front.
The timeline on the wedding day was pretty packed, as I’m sure most wedding days are, but Stephanie ensured we moved from one event to the next without any hiccups. She was also diligent in ensuring we stayed on budget, which was important to us. She also helped us utilize our budget to ensure we spent money in the areas that were most important to us. She helped us save and/​or get the most bang for our buck, and I really feel like this helped us maximize our ability to pull off a «luxury wedding». My husband and I had not really thought about our wedding prior to becoming engaged, so we were a little indecisive on some items. Stephanie is a real pro, and helped us realize and bring to life a truly magical day that neither we nor our friends and family will ever forget. I recommend getting a wedding planner to any couple getting married, especially for destination weddings, but if you’re having a wine country wedding, you need to call Cole Drake.
Vendors:
Location: Kunde Family Estate
Cake: Elegant Cheesecakes
Photography: Shannon Stellmacher
Catering: Park Avenue
Florals: Meredith Law Design
Music Trio + DJ: Wine Country Entertainment
Officiant: Kimberly Thompson
Transportation: Pure Luxury
Hair/​Makeup: It’s a Date at the Powder Room

I highly recommend Chaz Crosier for wedding planning services. Chaz is a talented expert in wedding and event planning, as well as a genuinely kind person who is absolutely wonderful to work with. His professional involvement in planning our wedding gave us peace of mind throughout the entire process and we agree with all of the positive testimonials found in his many online reviews. We live in Honolulu and our friends and family are scattered throughout the country, so this was a destination wedding in Geyserville for all of us. We first connected with Chaz by phone and were instantly drawn to his positive energy and level of professionalism. His passion for his work is very apparent and it only took one phone conversation for us to realize he was the right fit for us.
We selected the partial planning package and venue selection after considering we only wanted to make one trip to California prior to the wedding. Knowing Chaz was in the area gave us assurance and saved us from having to make multiple trips to the area. The venue selection was invaluable as Chaz planned the agenda prior to our trip based on the type of location we were looking for and the budget we were working with. Not being familiar with the area, it also allowed us to maximize our time there. Since Chaz has over 20 years in the event planning industry, we gratefully relied on his vendor recommendations which were equally invaluable as he referred us to only the best. Another wonderful benefit to working with Chaz is that he was always mindful and respectful of our budget, and because of his great reputation in the industry, he was able to save us money with discounts provided by some of his recommended vendors. The savings definitely helped and it meant a lot to hear the positive feedback about Chaz from all of the vendors we worked with.
In total, we had about 5 months to complete the planning. During that time, Chaz kept us on track with regular emails and a detailed schedule that made it easy for us to manage the various tasks. He is clearly a hard worker who has perfected the art of time management and efficiency as he always made us feel like our wedding was his priority. Considering the amount of other events he was simultaneously planning, especially during peak wedding season, we were amazed by the level of attentiveness he dedicated to planning our wedding and the fact he was always available to respond to our emails within a day. The event itself was visually stunning and I was able to relax knowing that Chaz was taking care of the details. He even stepped in last minute to help us with the MC duties. Without exaggeration, we owe our perfect wedding day to Chaz who completely took care of us, our family and our friends. It was everything we hoped for and wanted and we would highly recommend him for your next event.

As a Boston-​based couple planning a wedding in St. Helena, we worked with Chaz Crosier who was confident, fun, and wonderful to work with — always keeping our budget conscious style in mind yet delivering a wedding that was so beautiful and much more elegant than anything we could ever dream of. Chaz easily gained our confidence by making us feel like we were his most important clients, taking the time to understand what we were trying to accomplish, asking us questions about things we would have never thought of but needed to consider, and running meetings confidently by providing us with ideas and helping us make key decisions. He responded to our emails promptly. When we asked for advice, he always impressed us with his expertise such as helping us craft a menu that was better than what the venue offered us or coming up with the idea of a vineyard tasting as an event for our guests during the «Catholic gap.» He prepared us well and as a result, our wedding day was perfect and stress free. Working with Chaz was a wonderful experience. That feeling of having a trustworthy friend who will make you laugh, keep you calm and relaxed, run back and forth between the bride’s and groom’s rooms, keep the vendors on the timeline, all while sporting a warm genuine smile was invaluable. Chaz was instrumental in making the best day of our lives everything we could have hoped for. You are in good hands with Chaz. We highly recommend him.