Joie de Vivre Weddings and Events

Words cannot express our gratitude and thanks to Erica and Joie de Vivre Wedding and Events for making our wedding day the best day of our lives! Hiring Erica as our wedding coordinator was the best decision we have ever made (besides getting married of course!)
From the very beginning, she made every second of the planning fun and easy. Not only was she extremely organized, and knowledgable of all things «wedding», after just one meeting she seemed to understand perfectly what my vision was! She found our dream venue for us, and recommended all the BEST vendors. She was always available, and easy to reach and fun to be with. Even though my husband and I live in Manhattan Beach and got married in Malibu she drove up several times to meet with vendors and plan with us. She even went shopping with me to pick out vintage furniture and décor! With Erica by our side, there was never a time that we felt overwhelmed or stressed.
On the day of the wedding, there was a power line down that caused a traffic jam making it nearly impossible to get to our venue. As you can imagine, this could have been a complete disaster as we had a florist, photographer, furniture deliveries and shuttles of guests that were now scheduled to arrive late! But instead, Erica and Lauren somehow pulled it off! They kept calm and professional and made sure that my day was nothing but a dream come true! My friends and family continue to comment that our wedding was the best wedding they have ever attended!
Thanks Joie de Vivre!

My daughter (the bride) and her fiancé decided to have their wedding in La Jolla on the beach, even though they live in Arizona. I’ve never planned a wedding before, let alone a destination wedding. Even though I had a vision of what I would like their wedding to be, I left the entire decision making up to her and her fiancé. And then I immediately hired Joie de Vivre. I can’t even imagine what the wedding day would have been like if I didn’t have Erica coordinating it! From the start, she had time lines, vendor lists, ideas, and was right by our sides throughout the planning. She made great suggestions and we knew she had much experience in wedding planning. From the start, I told Erica «I want the wedding to be in your hands on the wedding day. I just want to enjoy it and the reception.» She came through with that request with a rating of 10+! The attention that paid to every detail and to the bride and groom was amazing. It was a beautiful wedding, a beautiful day and I attribute much of this successful wedding to Joie de Vivre. Do not hesitate to hire them. You will be grateful you did.

I am a photographer in the Santa Barbara area and Erica was the coordinator for the wedding we both were working on. She was so kind from the get go and always had a smile and willingness to jump right in, even when things got tough. She was very professional and coordinated a mass of people into a productive and beautiful wedding. We would love to work with her again!

Simply amazing! I could not have gotten through my wedding process without Lauren. She was on top of everything! My husband and I couldn’t be happier with Lauren’s work. She was always there to answer any question we had, would come to our reception meetings, had day of wedding day emergency kits, had our room set up, followed up with vendors, the list goes on and on, she did it all. Not only was Lauren professional but she was so sweet. Always had a positive attitude and no matter what problem we came across (no photographer a couple weeks before the wedding) she always had a solution or a back up plan. She made our wedding day stress free. Lauren took care of everything the day of. I don’t think I worried about one thing the day of our wedding. Was in communication with the dj, hotel, florist, transportation, hair, make up, fiancé, everything. Not only did we love her but our family and friends loved her as well. There are not enough positive things we could say about Lauren.

Erica, We just wanted to thank you so much for helping us planning our Wedding Day. It was the most perfect day and everything turned out so beautiful! We just keep talking about how we loved how everything went and it and was the best day ever. We were very happy with everything you did for us before, during and after our wedding! You are truly AMAZING and thanks for handling it all for us and for all your hard work. You made us feel relaxed and not stressed out about anything leading up to the wedding and on the day of.
Our honeymoon suite looked awesome when we walked in, including all the special touches you did for us! Alot of our friends and family told us that it was the best wedding they ever been too. You did such a great job with planning and organizing and it was recognized by all our guests as well as the band who even mentioned your name on the stage. Thank You again for everything and for creating the best day of our lives! We will definitely recommend you to everyone we know to help plan their wedding or events. Rachel and Jason Schafer

Absolutely five stars! I had the honor and privilege of working with Lauren Lisker at the Westin Hotel in San Diego. She was so on point and I can honestly say her wedding timeline was one of the most organized and thorough I’ve seen. My bride chatted with me about Lauren during our trial run and she said Lauren was an absolute pleasure to work with, I too now say the same. Leading up to the wedding she was so super organized, so easy to talk to, and so easy to reach. We had a super early call time the day of the wedding and Lauren was full of energy and excitement as if it was the middle of the day. Not only was she having a great time but my bride was never stressed out as Lauren was always making sure everything had been taken care of. :) XO

Erica and Joie De Vivre were amazing! I dreamed of a small beachside wedding that wasn’t super expensive, and Erica helped make that happen. She helped me find the right vendors, from florist to cake to music, and was always available via text or email, even when I had random questions at random times. She was always two steps ahead, and thought of stuff that I would have never thought of when it came to the details of my big day. Her professional but fun attitude make her easy to work with, and I always trusted that my wedding planning was in good hands during the entire process. On the day of, I knew I had nothing to worry about except to enjoy my time with friends, family, and the love of my life. Erica went above and beyond the call of duty. While my reception was winding down, she borrowed our hotel room key, brought some of the flowers and framed photographs back to our hotel suite and decorated the room for us, complete with flower petals on the bed! It was such a nice touch on such a wonderful day in our lives! I would recommend Erica and Joie De Vivre to anyone who is planning a wedding in the San Diego area.

Erica with Joie de Vivre is an expert in her field! I work for an event venue and she booked a 50^th birthday party with us for 60 people. She is a true professional with an amazing gift for spacial design and style. I watched her go above and beyond the needs and expectations of her client, and I will absolutely recommend her to all of my clients.

I was the best man in a wedding that Erica and Lauren coordinated a few weeks ago. I had to write a review about my experience. I have been in a lot of weddings over the years… but I have to say… this was by far the most organized and seamless wedding I have ever been in or even attended. I dont know how they did it. They were professional, organized, kept everything on track… and on top of all of that they smiled the entire way through the night until the very end. Good work girls. I am not married, but when I do plan my wedding, I am for sure going to use this team.

Best investment we made for our wedding was hiring Erica at Joie de Vivre to help us coordinate. We wanted our friends and family to be able to relax and enjoy the day, rather than frantically set up or ask us what to do about problems with vendors.
Erica was very flexible meeting our budget, and truly went above and beyond. She has lots of experience in event management and it shows — she knows all the right questions to ask you and to ask vendors to ensure the day has the right flow and that all the logistics are figured out. She also has the right eye for detail and she set up all of our décor at our venue just as I had pictured it looking. I don’t know how she could be in so many places at once, I think she might be magic when I think about everything she put together on that day!
As many others have said, she was confident, very easy to work with, so receptive to any questions, and instilled in us a calm when problems would arise beforehand (if there were any problems the day of, I didn’t know about them which was awesome :). She also helped us figure out what was realistic and if we were stretched too thin, which was very valuable.
Overall, I recommend her with no reservations. SO worth it to call her, no matter your budget! Thank you Erica!

I cannot say enough good things about Lauren and Joie de Vivre. I was married July 6^th, 2013 and Lauren was the coordinator. I happened to meet her as I was passing by the venue several months ago and she was setting up for another event.
She was extremely attentive to my calls, texts, and emails throughout the planning process. She had great recommendations for various vendors and is very professional in her communications with everyone involved. On the day of the wedding, I was completely at ease because I felt confident in Lauren’s ability to oversee the details of the event. Everything went smoothly, and I attribute that to Lauren’s attention to detail and organization.
On top of that, she is very friendly and approachable. I would highly recommend working with her and Joie de Vivre for any major event.

Keep in mind, I’m writing this as a freshly minted groom as of July 6, 2013…
I’m nothing more than an average male. For some reason, my now beautiful wife agreed to marry me. Before she said yes to my proposal, I never dreamed of how my wedding would look or what food would be served to our wedding guests or what I’d wear. I assumed we be visiting a justice of the peace.
When the now wife said she wanted a fairly traditional wedding, I tried to encourage her to try a DIY wedding. We’d book a venue, we’d book a caterer, a DJ, a bartender, buy the booze, find someone for decorations, find a florist, etc. I didn’t want to hire a wedding planner… probably because I disliked that J-​Lo movie.
After writing down all of the things we needed to arrange for to pull off a proper yet contemporary wedding that would satisfy my Chaldean family and her American family, we both felt overwhelmed. Even though my better half is very organized (me, not so much), we still were feeling extremely insecure. We were drowning under «what ifs» and «should wes» and «do you thinks.» Frankly, as time ticked closer to summer, we became more lost. Our only accomplishment was booking a ceremony and reception venue on the date we wanted.
The then fiancée happened to walk past an event being held at our reception venue about four months before our date. We were both still reeling under the chest pressure of trying to create, plan and pull off our day. When she looked inside, she was floored by the look, smell, sound and feel of the venue. With some pushy prying and some happenstance, she met the event planner, Lauren Lisker, that night.
Later that night, I was told tales of Lauren’s talent and we met with Lauren and her Joie de Vivre parter, Erica, for an interview.
Both women instantly struck me as being confident, experienced, classy and completely organized. More importantly, neither of the two women gave off any vibe like they were running a for profit business. They both were sincere about wanting to make our wedding day special. They were patient with us, which was important, as we didn’t have a large budget. And even though we told them our below average budget, they didn’t laugh at us, flinch or find a way to leave the meeting early. They never made us feel ashamed. They said they would find a way. We hired them and Lauren sure did find the way!
Lauren is probably the most thorough, most organized and most wedding industry connected person I will ever have the chance to meet. She ushered us calmly and creatively out of our self induced wedding pressure chamber onto an organized pathway to the perfect party.
She was so calm that I wanted to check her for a pulse or add her as a closer on my fantasy baseball team.
She responded promptly to emails and phone calls and made us feel like she was working only for us even though we knew she had other clients at the same time. Lauren always had options for us. She never told us we couldn’t do something. She always found a way to make it work, within our budget, and to our liking.
Most importantly, Lauren was always gracefully glowing, happy, positive and encouraging. So much so, that after it was done, our bridesmaids told me my bride showed no signs of pre-​wedding stress at all. I owe that to Lauren being there and being ready for anything.
I can’t write enough good things about Lauren Lisker and Joie de Vivre without sounding like I’m on their payroll, which I’m not!
From the groom’s perspective, if you’re thinking about a DIY wedding that’s more than a simple backyard affair, don’t. Hire Joie de Vivre. They kicked ass! They did such a good job that I may have cried a couple of times at my wedding and my buddies from work probably won’t let me forget about it for the rest of my career.
Thank you, Lauren! You are great at what you do and you are an incredible person!

I was fortunate enough to work with Erica and her team from Joie de Vivre at a recent event in Palm Springs. An exceptional wedding that was built on tons of details, a long list of vendors and a really unique venue. Erica brought the whole event together and didn’t miss a beat. Very impressive. Great communication throughout. Highly recommend.

She has style and grace and can set the tone for any event. She will make you feel comfortable through the whole process. Don’t miss out on working with the best!!!

Erica and the entire Joie de Vivre team are absolutely incredible. I was on a very tight budget when planning my wedding and initially didn’t think I would have the budget to allow for a wedding coordinator, plus, I was an event coordinator at one point so I thought I’d have it covered. But as the big day approached, I knew I needed someone there to take care of everything day-​of so that I could actually enjoy my wedding day. I met with several coordinators and not a single one compared to the dedication, creativity and professionalism that Erica brought to the table. She did everything she could to create a plan that would work for me and my budget and, let me tell you, it was the best money I have ever spent in my entire life! Worth every single penny! Erica made sure every single detail was covered and ensured that I was calm, confident and ready to go on my wedding day! On the morning of my wedding, my bridesmaids kept asking me how and why I was so incredibly calm and it was because I knew everything was going to be perfect because Erica was at the helm. Every bride deserves that experience. Make the call, find the room in your budget, make it happen! She is the absolute best!

We looked for a «day of» wedding planner for our daughter’s wedding in September. What we got instead was Erica Hinshaw and much, much more. Erica went far beyond our expectations and worked with us for several weeks before the wedding. The days leading up to «The Day», Erica negotiated strongly on our behalf with the caterer, the reception venue and the hotel for our out of town guests.
The day and night before Erica worked tirelessly to make sure every small detail was attended to. She even recruited a friend of hers to help tie ribbons the morning of the wedding.
The wedding and the reception went off without a hitch as Erica hurried about behind the scene to make positive that everything continued to go smoothly. Thank you Erica for making our daughter’s day so special. «Special» is a good word that describes you as well.

«Wow! Erica went above and beyond in planning our beautiful wedding. I did not know if I was going to use a wedding planner, but now I can’t imagine not using Erica when planning a wedding! Erica thought of things that I never would have known about, plus she is extremely detail oriented which is a must in the wedding business. Erica also helped with all vendor coordination and communication. This was a huge help because I learned that vendors tend to forget all the details you decided on, but Erica is there to remind them and make sure it gets done. Erica also helped in event design as she has an amazing eye for this! She made sure set up was perfect and added details that I am so thankful for. Erica also helped me save money by knowing which vendors to use and how much we should be paying for different portions of the wedding. She was involved in every detail of the wedding from the major decisions to even helping me find/​buy items to stuffing gift bags and more. I seriously could not have done this without her. I ended up moving in the middle of wedding planning and Erica made sure everything was as smooth as possible. If you are in the San Diego area or even an out of town bride like me, Erica will make your event a success and a beautiful memory that you will cherish forever. Thank you, Erica!

If there were more stars available, Erica deserves them! Erica is not only an amazing event planner, she is an amazing person. She brings her positive attitude with her in everything that she does. Her energy helps put a bride at ease. She kept me on track with timelines and remembering what was really important. Her outstanding organization and take charge (when needed) attitude kept me sane and made my wedding weekend completely stress free! Her negotiating with the Hotel kept us out of having to deal with it ourselves; she handled everything with great professionalism and care; as if it were her own wedding.
I had the time of my life. I didnt worry about one thing all night. I danced the night away knowing Erica had it all under control. She was the needed calm for our storms!!! She is one of a kind and was a major contributor in making our wedding weekend all that we wanted.

Erica, is helping my fiancé and I plan our wedding right now! She has been amazing thus far. She is willing to go the extra mile. We are getting married in Santa Barbara and she is traveling with us a few times before the wedding to visit with vendors and make sure everything goes to plan. She is also keeping us sane and is our go to! I worry she will be sick of me when we are finished planning, but I am grateful 100%!

Erica and I worked together at the Hardrock Hotel in San Diego. She put together a fantastic event, that was tasteful, elegant, and fun. I couldn’t have been any more satisfied with the way the event went, and all the positive reviews from the guests.
On top of the event being a success, she was a pleasure to work with. Her experience, time management, and personality makes Erica the complete package for any event planner. I would definitely work with her again, and I hope that it is sooner than later.