A La Francaise Events - San Mateo, California

Heather T.

Linda planned our dream wedding in Carmel Valley this October and was absolutely brilliant to work with throughout the entire process. Bottom line: Linda is passionate, talented, and unbelievably dedicated to her work and I could not possibly recommend her more enthusiastically!

We hired Linda to do both planning and design; I would highly recommend Linda for any of her services/packages, as she shone through every step of the process. (BTW: I literally can’t imagine doing HALF of what Linda did for us over the past year. If you’re like us and had no prior event planning experience...hiring Linda was by far the most worthwhile part of our entire wedding budget!)

I’ll try to sum up what made our experience with Linda so great with three main points:

1. PERSONALITY
Planning a wedding is a long, draining process, and your planner is probably the person you’ll communicate the most with throughout; Linda made us feel cared-for and connected from the very start. I felt that our wedding was as important to her as it was to us; she never made me feel like any question was too small, and was a tireless advocate for us and a true pleasure to work with throughout the year+ of planning. BTW, she has an (amazing!) French accent - but I never had any difficulty understanding her and her email communication was honestly the clearest of anyone we worked with. She also rolled with every punch that COVID threw our way through, frankly, sheer hard work and force of will.

2. DESIGN
Linda’s talent for design was immediately apparent from her portfolio - each of her events has a cohesive yet totally unique-feeling aesthetic. Whatever the concept, she elevates it. We definitely made her job hard by being very picky but also not having any specific vision (I didn’t even have a Pinterest account!) going into the process. Linda listened to our very loose thoughts about how we wanted the wedding to “feel” and turned it all into a clear design vision for the wedding that was beyond anything we could have dreamed of.

3. ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Linda is ridiculously detail-oriented (in the best possible way)! By the time the wedding came, every single detail of the day had been thought out; I felt involved in every decision, but Linda made it all a reality – the best of both worlds!! On the day of, Linda was a true superhero – to the last, tiniest detail, she made sure everything was perfect, so that my husband and I were just able to enjoy the day. I literally got comments from multiple wedding party members on how amazing her timelines/spreadsheets were!! As a testament to her attention to detail: we wanted taper candles but couldn’t have them lit during dinner (fire restrictions); so – as if they didn’t have enough to do with coordinating our million vendors! – she and her team pre-burned the candles so they would still have that melted-wax look. It looked AMAZING, isn’t something I would EVER have thought of myself, and reflects how tirelessly Linda worked, up to the very last minute and then some, to ensure everything was as perfect as humanly possible for us.

Hiring Linda was, without a single doubt, the best investment we made in the entire wedding planning process. She is the single individual most responsible for how wonderfully our wedding turned out, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her.

Kate W.

Linda is incredibly organized, thoughtful, detail-oriented, and attuned to the emotional aspect of weddings. Our wedding was logistically complex (3 different locations across 12 hours), tri-cultural (Chinese, Indian and American components) and there were also sensitive family dynamics - all of which she handled with aplomb. She also was able to navigate my changing thoughts and plans and quickly adjusted to what I liked and didn't like without being pushy, and despite some last minute complications, kept her calm and professionalism. My friends consider me obsessively detail-oriented and outstanding at planning, but I have to say that Linda is one of the few people who puts me to shame - in a good way! It was an absolute pleasure to work with her, and my husband, who is never one to offer praise unless merited by his [very] high standards, was nearly effusive in his praise of Linda. We highly recommend anyone to work with her - you will not regret it.

Michael A.

I highly recommend Linda for any event.

We hired Linda to help with two corporate holiday parties for a total of 650+ expected guests (250 for the first and 400 for the second). Each party had their own planning committees with varying personalities and ideas....and she was able to navigate through them like a champ!

More importantly, we received amazing feedback from all the guests that the event was amazing, far better than prior years, and that they look forward to coming to the event next year.

I could give a long laundry list of all the amazing things she did, but hope the below gives you an idea:

(1) Provided recommendations on design concepts: Holiday parties tend to be similar year after year, so we wanted to get some new ideas to excite our staff to come...and Linda was able to deliver!
(2) Helped with a short list of vendor options and gave some great recommendations
- This was HUGE for me. I am extremely picky with DJs and performers, and she was able to give me some fantastic recommendations that any selection would of been good. We ended up with an amazing DJ that had live music overlay.
- She was able to find some great live performers (e.g stilters, dancers, contortionists, etc).
- Found some good lighting, furniture, photographer and a few other vendors for us
- And stayed within budget!

(3) Negotiated with the vendors to give us a better price & some additional service offerings
(4) Mocked up a floor plan
(5) Dealt with a difficult venue to coordinate load in/load out, and preparations...despite constant delays by the venue (e.g. they wouldn't respond to emails, calls)
(6) Day of coordination was amazing and she was able to solve unexpected issues the day of event caused by the venue

She did all of this for not just one, but for TWO parties for us that are within a week of each other. Putting all the time saving aside, the event would not have been a success with her!

Thank you Linda! We really appreciate everything you did and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Cindy L.

Linda, where do I even begin! From the moment we had our wedding consultation we connected. She is extremely bright, knowledgeable, caring and has exquisite taste. Based on her gallery alone I knew I wanted to work with her but after talking to her I knew it was the right fit. Linda was an incredible wedding planner especially during the unpredictable times of covid-19. We managed to plan the wedding of my dreams and Linda was there every set of the way. For every question I asked Linda was attentive and always available to go over anything I was unsure of. Linda gave her honest opinion and also would let me have creative freedom to decide what I like as well. Linda is extremely organized and detail oriented, I could trust her and she worked so hard behind the scenes to alleviate 'planning' stress from my plate. We spent a solid year and a half planning and Linda was patient and confident we would pull off a fabulous event and WE DID. My wedding absolutely exceeded my expectations! Linda didn't just treat me like a client; she was a true partner, friend, and someone I could really depend on throughout the whole process. Linda really cares about you as a person and cares about how every detail of the wedding ties together to make a beautiful event. Linda has extensive industry knowledge and pulls from trusted vendor lists. Linda created a detailed schedule of my to-do's every month and would periodically check-in how I was doing. She also created a day of timeline for my wedding that made sure everything went off without a hitch. There are so many details that would be easy to overlook for a wedding but Linda thought of everything that really made my event special! Linda was reliable, and has an incredible eye for design, you will not regret working with her!

Adrienne B.

If I could give 10 stars to Linda I would! Linda planned two wedding events for us as we are a mixed couple, an Indian morning ceremony and an American style wedding in the evening. We felt so secure and confident in Linda and she did not disappoint. She had everything covered even to the tiniest details and all our guests noticed her fine touches. Linda is an expert in her field and here are the reasons:
- Vendor Selection: Linda has formed exquisite relationships with photographers, floral designers, caterers, etc. As a bride, I never had to second guess her selection and the end result was even more amazing than my highest expectations.
-Second by Second Coordination: On the day of our wedding every second, every detail was planned and accounted for. Linda had complete control over the day’s events and our high end clientele guests noticed her hard work, dedication, and her commitment to perfectionism. Everyone asks if there were any hiccups along the way, and I can honestly tell you of none. My wedding day was planned perfectly.
- Support/Advice/Patience: Linda was an amazing friend throughout my whole wedding process. She supported me 100% and was always happy to take the extra time to meet and discuss wedding plans. She was extremely patient through my indecisiveness and second thoughts. With Linda I had my dream wedding and I also found an amazing friend!

Sophia G.

Where do I even begin! From our first phone interview to the very end, Linda was warm, genuine, passionate, and truly invested in us and our wedding. She’s a rare gem and I feel so lucky to have worked with her. I can be obsessively detail oriented and sometimes unsure about what decision to make, but despite this, Linda was patient and took the time needed to ensure I was happy with things every step of the way. She has a great eye and her creative choices were always the right ones. Her relationships with some of the best vendors in the city made me feel like I was in great hands too.

I truly enjoyed the process of working with her over the course of a year, and on the day of our wedding, seeing all the hard work, attention to detail, and creative collaboration come to life was really something beautiful. Everything ran smoothly and I felt calm and content throughout the ceremony and reception knowing that Linda was taking care of things. My family and friends loved her as well and sang her praises.

It’s been a few days since my wedding and people are still telling me that my wedding was perfection, down to every little last detail. I feel so grateful to have worked with someone so talented, and my husband and I are truly going to miss her now that the wedding is over!

Nyara C.

The only downside to going with Linda is that you will miss her when it’s over! Where can I even begin to explain how amazing Linda is?! Our wedding was a little over 2 weeks ago and friends/family are still raving about how beautiful of an event it was. From the moment I first spoke to Linda about a year ago I could tell that she had an eye for design, organization, and beauty, which is exactly what I was looking for as I booked her around the time of the planning stage when you realize that you can’t do it alone. I was looking for a partner and that’s exactly what she was! She helped me choose key vendors based on my vision, including coming with me to meetings and always using her honesty when maybe something wasn’t right for me or what we were looking for. She always accommodated my corporate work schedule even if it meant a meeting on a lunch break, no problem for her!

Throughout the planning Linda was always responsive to anything I needed, from important details to maybe a random idea I needed consulting on, she was available no questions asked. Communication is essential through this process and it is a strong suit for her. We even had some hiccups with a vendor I had booked prior to meeting Linda, but she was still able to take over and navigate the situation whatever came her way. Linda thought of every detail you can think of and somehow manages to keep track of all of them while communicating them with anybody who needs to know. She handled everything day-of (which I’m sure was a separate event in itself) all while maintaining her grace and charm. This is not her first rodeo!

But most importantly, aside from her professionalism and ability to plan a great wedding, what really makes Linda a joy to work with is her personality. She is not stuffy nor does she try to push anything onto you (like a lot of people in the wedding industry can do), but instead she just genuinely wants you to give you the wedding you want and treats it like her own. Anytime I hear about how great the wedding was, I think of Linda. I truly could not have done it without her. If you’re lucky enough to have Linda plan your wedding, you will not be disappointed!

Lia D.

Any wedding planner can make phone calls and schedule vendors. But there is no person, no woman, no wedding-planner, like Linda and her team. She truly can take your wedding vision out of your brain and make it your reality. A genuine and incredible gift that most wedding planners don’t have. The first time Linda and I met to discuss my wedding vision, we chatted for three hours. Her friendly and kind personality was emitted through her genuine interest in helping me bring my wedding vision to life. Our family is largely Italian, and although I did want an Italian influence, I also have a strong passion for French culture. I was concerned that bringing Italian and French design together would be a challenge. And it proved to be a challenge Linda so effortlessly conquered. Linda has an incredible vendor list that reaches far beyond the Bay Area. She has ties with vendors around the world who will help make your wedding memorable. A good vendor list is so valuable. For example, the dining chairs we rented from a company fell through less than a month before our wedding. Fortunately, Linda was able to find the same exact chairs the same-day. Linda also used her expertise to enhance certain aspects of my wedding that I otherwise thought were less important. I am grateful she guided me in the right direction, and never once did I feel as if she were pushing me to do anything I didn’t want. For example, at the beginning stages of our planning I did not feel that the photographer was as important as the videographer. Linda understood our desire to have a very good wedding video, but also reminded me that the photos were truly an (if not the) most important part of our wedding. She helped secure a very good wedding photographer at a cost that fit our budget. Linda also understood the family pressure I was facing to do things a certain way. I am grateful she acted as a professional liaison between my wants and my family’s needs. I felt that she served as a back-bone when I needed it the most. On top of naturally being a very stylish and trendy person, Linda is a no-BS type of woman. She is skilled in professionalism and execution. For example, our catering company was uncertain with our desire to have an extra dinner plate set on our tables. Although this did create more work for the catering company, Linda new that I wanted my table to have a certain degree of formality and explained to the caterer this circumstance. Had Linda not been as supporting, I probably would have ended up with a different table setting to ‘make things easy’ for everyone. Her communication skills are very strong and organized. Endless emails, texts and phone calls left me knowing that she did have my best interest at heart, and that she was on top of everything throughout the entire process. Linda uses a day-of-timeline that is like none-other! This timeline was the icing on the cake. Having such an organized document made me feel like I was as complete as I could possibly be. I can’t even do justice the peace of mind Linda’s timeline gave me. It’s definitely one of her best kept secrets! I would write about the day-of help she gave me, but she truly was a ninja that day. Although I saw her of course, she was owning the back-stage crew. So effortlessly executing the production we spent months planning. I didn’t really have to worry about a single thing on the wedding day, because she and her whole A La Francaise crew were taking care of everything.