DEFY Events

Catherine and Christine helped us with day of coordination (DOC) of our wedding this past September. They were wonderful to work with and played a key role in making our wedding day perfect!
We were referred to DEFY events by a friend who said they would «get my style.» And she was right. Upon first meeting with Catherine and Christine we knew we didn’t need to look further for a DOC. They were clearly very organized, presented us with great example scenarios and how they’d dealt with them, listened to our wedding visions, and showed a genuine interest in making our visions a reality. In meeting with them to discuss our wedding logistics they took careful notes and asked pertinent questions which made us think about details we hadn’t thought of — clearly they have planned more weddings than we have, lol!
Some aspects of DEFY that I was grateful for:
— A month out they took over all of your vendor contacts, this included coordinating when the vendors would arrive to our venue, reading through all the contracts and making sure our agreements were fair — this helped significantly reduce the work on us as Bride and Groom
— Dropping off our wedding materials a week before the wedding — this greatly reduced our stress levels as they transported all the material to our venue the day of our wedding, arranged our items, and after it all packed everything up for us
— Details — DEFY got my visions and showed attention to detail in ways that I would. Sometimes it hard for someone like me to let go, but I trusted Catherine and Christine and they were able to execute my vision as I had planned (tablescapes, namecards, and other wedding details were great!)
— They’ll fight for you — our cocktail hour was originally planned for an outdoor spot which DEFY thought was awful upon our walkthrough with them. We agreed and they were able to get us a superior cocktail hour space for no additional cost that we were originally told was off limits to us.
— Behind the scenes — on our wedding day DEFY clearly wanted us to be as relaxed as possible and enjoy our wedding day and we can say we definitely were and definitely did. In wrap-​up meeting with DEFY we learned about all the issues they dealt with our on wedding day including a rain contingency plan, toppled over arbor and having to fix the flowers themselves, a weird wedding cake, no lights on deck, and wind. The whole time all these situations were happening DEFY was working to resolve all the issues and we were oblivious to them and just enjoying our wedding. It is clear that DEFY is willing to go above and beyond to make sure plans are executed well and can be trusted to handle any problems that may arise.
— I appreciated that they cared so much about making our wedding day great
Because of DEFY we were able to enjoy our wedding without the stress of trying to do it all. We are very thankful for their hard work in making our day perfect — THANK YOU Catherine and Christine :)

These two ladies are simply amazing at what they do. My wife and I were married only a few weeks ago and DEFY Events helped with every aspect of our big day. We were worried about fitting our 250 guests into the place we rented but DEFY came up with the perfect floor plan that fit all of our guests comfortably with room for a dance floor. The plan that they set In place and stuck to was logistically perfect. They broke down every minute of the wedding day and made sure that each portion ran on schedule. At any given moment throughout our day, these ladies knew were each of our vendors were and what they were doing. Not only is this duo well timed and calculating, they actually care about every detail. They took the time to talk to each of our families to get to know them and really connect with them. They worked incredibly hard to make our wedding beautiful, run smoothly, and reflect what we cared about most. I enthusiastically recommend DEFY Events to ANYONE who is getting married.

This review is LONG overdue. I got married in early 2014 and at first was not going to hire a same day coordinator because like most brides I thought I was going to have everything planned out and was determined not to need one so that I could save some money. Little did I know my then fiancé and I found out we were pregnant! We were too far in the planning and decided to not reschedule and to continue with our wedding as planned (I was 7 months pregnant by the time we got married).
Christine and Catherine were awesome! I really only needed same day coordinators so that I wouldn’t worry about ANYTHING on the day of but they were so much more than that. We met with them a few months before the wedding and they took care of everything as far as finalizing all our vendors and making sure all the last minute details were in place. I can’t imagine what would have happened if we didn’t hire them. Looking back. even if I hadn’t gotten pregnant it’s just so much less stressful having coordinators so that the bride can just enjoy her day. It goes by so fast that you really just want to take it all in an enjoy every minute.
Because we hadn’t originally planned for a coordinator they were willing to work with our budget and were sooo worth it.
Thanks DEFY for making our day so memorable. =)

If I could… I would rate these ladies BEYOND 5 stars! It’s a shame they don’t have more reviews on here because that’s the least they deserve from their clients. Christine and Catherine are genuinely hard-​working and caring people and it shows in their work and even when you get to know them on a personal level. My husband and I got married just two days ago and their help was so INVALUABLE to us for our special day that I wanted to write a review for them now. And by «special» day… those two know what we mean by «special». LOL! We definitely had a lot going on for our reception especially. We had lots of activities, games and performances we were planning for the night to really make our night not just enjoyable but memorable for us and for our guests. And it truly was all of that.
We found out about DEFY through my husband’s old nursing classmate that had recently had her wedding. We are SO thankful for that. But when we first met these ladies… we got along so swimmingly… it’s like we knew each other for a long time. That already sold me alone. But to also see how they work hard even from their own homes… they had their own room in their home dedicated to their business showing how serious and fun they are. They told us they had been doing coordinating for around 8 years? It was definitely a relief hearing how experienced they are and especially hearing how they both were married. Nothing says experience if you haven’t been a client yourself and know what it’s like firsthand to gain an understanding of what your clients’ needs are from you. But to also hear that they are SISTERS?! That was awesome and touching to hear. Family means a lot to us and to see how these sisters can do something like this together, it amazed me and my husband. They are THE BEST team.
First of all, I want to explain how stressful this must have been for them to coordinate. One, my aunt, who is not a professional florist/​event designer, created ALL and I mean ALL of the decorations (floral arrangements for centerpieces, altar pieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, pew arrangements, centerpieces for the reception, guestbooks, escort cards, ring and coin pillows, the list goes on and on that I wish I could write a review on Unilocal just for my aunt alone). So, imagine working with someone like my aunt, knowing fully well that she does not do this professionally, and helping her set up and keeping her organized for the entire wedding day?! Christine and Catherine were truly wonderful in working with and helping my aunt out. It’s touching. And even just thinking about it makes me tear up. Lol! Second, our hotel was not so cooperative with us in making our setting up of the reception easy. With the numerous changes they made in their Catering Coordinator at the hotel, it was difficult for us to be on the same page with the hotel’s events throughout the day. But DEFY reassured us that everything was going to be fine. If there were any hiccups in working with the hotel’s messed up schedule, Christian and I hadn’t noticed. It was also great to see how well they worked with our other vendors that they took a photo booth pic with all of them! That was EPIC to see.
These ladies were so on point with organization… it’s mind-​boggling. Yes I said mind-​boggling. I am not the most organized person you’ll ever meet, but who is? Organization is definitely an essential part of coordination and they had it down so well. Communication (e-​mails, texts, phone calls, Google Drive which is the best invention ever) and availability to us was more than we expected. Any questions that we had were answered and in a timely fashion. They are also creative and helpful in working around the crazy ideas and thoughts we had for our big day. They gave lots of tips and their valuable opinions to us which is obviously needed when we have no experience whatsoever in how the wedding planning process works. To think that we almost thought we could handle all of this on our own?! I would’ve gone back in time to that time I had that thought that I was invincible and could handle anything involving this wedding and slap myself across the face… HARD. And then i would have drove myself to DEFY’s front door and begged for their help… on my knees. That’s how amazing these two are. And every chance I could throughout the day when I would see them… I told them how thankful I was for everything they had done. At one point during the reception when my husband and I (finally) got to sit down and eat… we looked at each other and said… this day would have been a DISASTER if Christine and Catherine weren’t our coordinators.
SO DO YOURSELF A FAVOR… AND GET THESE LADIES ON YOUR TEAM. RIGHT NOW. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!
Christine and Catherine… THANK YOU. October 18, 2014 was the biggest and best day of our lives. And it was because of you two that it was truly the biggest and BEST day… EVER. WE LOVE YOU LADIES!!!

These ladies know how to run the show! We hired DEFY as day of planners and just for clarification (b/​c I didn’t know any better), they were very much involved throughout the entire planning process, not just the day of. We had a few consultations in the beginning, which slowly helped to funnel our thoughts and wishes. They reviewed all of our contracts, advising and recommending. Towards the last stretch, DEFY started to really shine as they basically took charge of everything. My wife and I couldn’t have possibly anticipated and handled all of the logistical problems without their help. One of a few occasions that really stood out to me was when they were trying to track down our band. Due to the band not returning calls/​emails, DEFY actually went to a local bar that the band plays at and tracked them down in order to finalize a revised contract! Awesome!
The sisters are amazing to work with. They always had a positive, can-​do attitude. We sincerely appreciate all of their hard work. Our wedding wouldn’t have been as memorable and enjoyable without their attention to detail and excellent organizational skills!
Thanks DEFY!

My husband and I got married at the St. Regis SF in June 2010. Thankfully we had Christine and Catherine, who went way above and beyond in every aspect of coordination. Without them we would have been an absolute mess!
First of all, everyone should have a wedding coordinator — because on the day of, as a bride, you can’t be the one running around and figuring out all the last minute details. And even beyond the day of, that last month leading up to the event, things get really crazy with vendors, last minute changes, contracts, etc.
Christine and Catherine were always very responsive, courteous, professional, and positive (which is hard when dealing w/​a crazy bride!). They were able to listen to our ideas and help us make decisions about décor, design, colors, and all those little details that really make up a wedding (What color chairs? What color linens? Augh!) They made our itinerary (super detailed), talked to the vendors on our behalf, reviewed contracts, helped make our floor plan design, and even texted all our bridal party members where to be and at what time.
They had us turn in all our last minute projects at least a week ahead of the wedding, to prevent us from stressing all the way until the night before. Overall, you could tell that they knew what they were doing, and handled all situations seamlessly. They never let on when anything went wrong (and something always pops up last minute), so we were never stressed on the day of.
I can’t say enough good things about DEFY. I would recommend them hands down. You can NOT depend on your venue’s coordinator alone (they won’t do anything!) If you want a wedding to remember (remembered for being a GOOD wedding), then you definitely need Catherine and Christine there!