Soiree By Simone Lennon

The BEST team ever. Working with Simone for our destination wedding in Yountville was the best decision we made. We hired her for the full wedding planning option and could not have been happier with the entire experience. She has the most incredible creative vision and we had a blast collaborating on all the details and making our dream wedding come to life… I’m not sure how we would have done it without her. We were so overwhelmed at first, as to how to begin the planning process — especially from Chicago! — but she made the whole experience so much fun (trial wedding mockups in advance… yes!!) and she kept us on schedule along the way. We needed that!
She suggested some of the most amazing vendors that we never would have found without her, AND, her own Simone Lennon Events team is phenomenal, too! We worked very closely with both Simone and Rachael the entire time and they made the whole day go off perfectly. I truly loved seeing them both on our wedding day as they would check in with me as they made the entire venue magical. It was perfect.
I didn’t have a worry in the world on the day of our wedding — even when my dress was altered and it was a little too long on the wedding day — Simone came in, as calm as can be, and did emergency surgery by pinning and raising my dress so that I could walk easily and confidently. You couldn’t see a thing — no one knew! — it wasn’t an issue at all thanks to her quick help. Later while I was waiting to walk down the aisle and my nerves were running high she rushed to get me a glass of champagne to take the edge off. Her presence and sense of calm put me at ease on a day that is full of so much emotion and our confidence in both her and her team could not have been higher.
I could go on and on, so many little things that just went above and beyond expectations. Simone, Rachael, and her entire team created the best day of our lives with the ones that we love the most that we will cherish and remember forever.

Simone was the planner for our daughter’s and son-in-law’s wedding at Holman Ranch this month. We found her to be extremely personable, well organized, and directly involved in all aspects of the process. She recommended vendors, participated in selecting the caterer, florist, tableware and linen providers, photographer, and hairdresser, and then made excellent suggestions regarding specific aspects of the rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception.
As the date approached, she increased her oversight, maintaining calm control of all the details. The rehearsal dinner and the wedding iboth went flawlessly, thanks to Simone. She managed to achieve a perfect balance between the country informality of the setting and the elegance of the presentation. We recommend her enthusiastically!

Simone from Simone Lennon Events made our dreams become a reality! Our wedding day was beyond perfect thanks to her. Simone handled everything so that we could focus on enjoying the moment. She did such an amazing job with courtesy and professionalism. Honestly, there are not enough words to describe how incredible she is! Working with Simone has been such an absolute pleasure, and I would highly recommend her to anyone!

Simone Lennon planned my son and daughter-in-law’s rehearsal dinner and wedding in Carmel Valley a week and a half ago. The amount of co-​ordination, negotiation, communication, and stamina it requires to produce events as beautiful, personal, and perfectly executed as the rehearsal dinner and wedding were is beyond my comprehension, but Simone did it.
I and my family hosted the Big Sky Country-​inspired rehearsal dinner and we are so happy with how the evening turned out. Everything felt so true to our family’s vision for what we wanted to share of our family’s traditions with the bride and groom’s nearest and dearest, and with the bride’s family and their friends.
The table settings were a perfect blend of rustic and elegant, the flowers were simply beautiful, the incredible food was spot-​on Montana BBQ, a menu sign board was an incredible touch, and we had huckleberry pies made with Montana huckleberries flown in for the event. Simone even arranged for our favorite cowboy and country music to be played in the background. It was perfection.
I greatly appreciate Simone’s calm demeanor, her beautiful professionalism, her vast experience, and her way of communicating with perfectly organized, concise emails. I will always be grateful to her for the incredible memories she gave my family.

I don’t even know where to begin with my love and praise for Simone. She came highly recommended from our venue in Yountville, CA and just a brief overview of her work convinced me she was who I wanted even before we spoke. Talking to her cemented the fact that she was perfect for our wedding. I was initially on the other side of the country and my fiancé was here, but there was not a second of difficulty the entire time. She had such a full understanding of our vision, I was convinced she was inside my brain the entire time. She knew what we liked and was able to narrow down vendors for us to interview and select from. From there, she handled the contracts and all communication and we were blissfully enjoying the process. I had two last minute issues – printing some survival gift cards since the ones I ordered didn’t make it in time and a last minute surprise guest. Simone didn’t even blink – just made everything happen and ensured that I didn’t stress. The weekend of the wedding, everything was silk smooth. There was zero drama, zero issues (that I was aware of, anyway) and all the vendors she helped us hire made everything look like our wedding was a fairytale or featured in a magazine.
Simone and her crew are detail oriented, perfectionist, creative geniuses and because of that, there is literally NOTHING I would want to go back and change about my wedding. The only thing I wish I had would be to make it last longer that special day.
Most importantly, Simone has become a friend. If you are getting married in the Bay area, there is no one else to call.

My Daughter just got married in Carmel Valley last weekend. The best thing we did was hire Simone and her staff for the wedding. Not only was her expertise invaluable her coaching ability was also much appreciated. On the day before the wedding, I threw simone a curve and asked for a special request involving the band. Simone handled my request as a personal challenge. To my amazement, not only did Simone contact the band but handled the details of my request without a hitch. Simone wanted to make sure my daughter’s wedding was exactly what we wanted and more. Simone when the time comes for my son to marry, you will be our first call. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Father of the bride.

If you are getting married in the SF/​NoCal/​Napa area, there is only one person you should consider to plan your wedding and that is Simone. I can’t imagine a wedding planner more buttoned up, inspiring, enthusiastic, professional and invested in you. Simone has amazing relationships with all of the pertinent vendors in the area and will customize for you a game plan that will fit all of your needs. She is a velvet hammer– there will be no wedding day drama b/​c no detail will be overlooked.

We recently worked with Simone for our October 2014 wedding in Yountville, CA and used her for the full planning of the wedding. Words can’t properly describe what an overall amazing job Simone did with our wedding from start to finish. She is truly a professional, she will not only ensure your wedding day goes off without an issue but makes the whole process truly an enjoyable experience for you as a couple as well. Not one detail of our day was over looked. She is honest, detailed oriented, with a great creative mind. She has strong relationships with all of the vendors she uses and each vendor chosen was just as professional and wonderful to work with as she is. My husband and I could not have been happier with Simone and every possible aspect of our experience with her and our wedding, it truly was a dream!

When I was in the early stages of wedding planning, I contemplated on whether I should hire a wedding coordinator for the day or month of. For anyone who knows me, I am a control freak and typically prefer to take things into my own hands. However, after speaking with several friends, they said it was almost an absolute necessary to hire someone.
I had interviewed several planners and while everyone was nice and professional — there was something different about Simone that made her stand out. I felt an instant connection with her on the phone and I knew right away that I found the perfect person.
Although I only hired Simone for the month of coordination — she reached out every month from the day I hired her. She provided great vendor recommendations throughout, was quick to provide helpful responses on random wedding questions and she was always readily available. She was a true professional.
On the wedding weekend, Simone and Megan were AMAZING! They took care of everything and ensured that the wedding was executed as perfectly as possible. They did such a great job that on the actual day of the wedding, I didn’t stress about a single thing.
Simone is extremely detail oriented, sharp, and energetic. Her passion for this industry is very apparent and she is incredibly talented in what she does. She made my dream wedding come to life and for that, I will always be grateful and appreciative.

I wanted to write about my personal experience with Simone. I had the good fortune of performing at an event where Simone was working. I was very impressed with her abilities and demeanor. In addition to being super detail oriented; a true task master, she conducts herself with such ease and placidity which helps to put everyone at ease, including those working along side her. There were a many last minute type of changes that came up that afternoon and Simone handled them swiftly and with ease. This helped out a lot and I am very grateful to have had Simone running the show that day. Highly recommended…

I interviewed three planners for our wedding down in Carmel Valley and when I interviewed Simone it was a no-​brainer for me. Simone and her team are extremely buttoned up, responsive, well-connected…i could go on and on. Working with Simone actually made the wedding planning process fun because she and her team seamlessly took care of all the logistical details and I could focus on the fun stuff (décor, vendor selections, etc.). I would recommend Simone in a heartbeat!

We interviewed about 5 or 6 planners from the list of preferred vendors provided to us by our wedding venue. We felt an instant connection with Simone. My husband and I immediately whispered, «she’s the one» to each other. We loved her professionalism and energy and could tell that she means it when she says that she pours all of her heart and energy into her job. She is really passionate about what she does in ensuring that the big day is very streamlined and stress-​free for the couple and their families. Her objective is to make sure that the couple and their families focus on the special moments and not have to deal with all of the details that come with the day. This is what every bride and groom must see as important when hiring a wedding planner. It’s not just about «planning» for the big day… your wedding coordinator must be your most reliable source on that day.
We initially hired Simone for month-​of coordination but quickly realized that it isn’t easy to plan a destination wedding. It proved to be a full-​time job for us in researching and coordinating with potential vendors. I think Simone knew we were struggling to get all of our vendors in place; she stepped in and went above and beyond to help us. I was impressed by her rolodex of some of the top vendors in the industry. If it weren’t for Simone, we wouldn’t of had what ended up being a team of leading vendors that delivered a magical wedding beyond our wildest dreams! We immediately decided soon after to bring Simone on board for full coordination and design. Her design aesthetic is impeccable and it was truly a joy and such a memorable experience to work with her in making our vision a reality. Once we had her on board, all of the stress just dwindled away. We could not have asked for a more perfect wedding planner. She is deeply and genuinely committed, well organized, detail oriented, and all around, such a joy to work with. She always made herself available to talk with us and made the entire planning process very smooth, very fun and enjoyable. We consider ourselves very fortunate and lucky to have had such an amazing and talented planner for our wedding. She is someone we will always cherish and keep in touch with forever!

Im writing this review as the mother of the bride. This was my first wedding and it was a destination wedding for 46 people at Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley. While the wedding was small, there was nothing simple about it. My daughter had a vision in her heart that she could not always articulate so we knew it was imperative that we find a planner that somehow «got her.» The minute my daughter connected with Simone, she felt at ease; the moment I met Simone, I knew we had nothing to worry about.
Simone always listened, was always honest, completely reassuring. She never over-​promised and certainly never under-​delivered! Simone was able to take Olivia’s vision and elevate it and offer ideas that personalized it in such a way that the wedding was an event of a lifetime. What was so amazing about Simone was that not only was the wedding a wonderful experience but the planning of it was also.
Simone was a rare combination of absolute professionalism and warmth; sophistication and the feel of family: timely excellence and complete calm.
I have 4 other daughters and I would love if every one of them chose a destination wedding in order to work with Simone.
Some of our guests best summed up the wedding from their viewpoint…
” I only thought weddings like this were on TLC”
” This was the most beautiful AND most fun thing I’ve ever been to”
«Anyone who missed out on this will be kicking their own butts!!»
” When is the next weeding we get to come to.“
But the best comment came from my daughter about her dream day…
” I hoped today would be incredible, I dreamed today would be amazing but every detail and every moment exceeded my hopes and dreams!!“
Thanks to Simone, my baby girl got a wedding that was better than her dream
Maureen Gray

This review is long over due, but I owe it to the fabulous Simone to write one. My husband and I were married September 14 of this year in Napa. More specifically, Yountville, at the beautiful Vintage Inn. We live in Chicago and were trying to create our perfect wedding from afar. With some hiccups at the venue we knew we needed a set of professional eyes closer! We found Simore and after our first conversation knew she was going to do an amazing job for us, and that she did. We had a small, intimate wedding, but she made us feel like we were hosting the seasons top event. Every detail, question, suggestion, anything we needed was addressed and answered. We hired her for the «last month» needs but she was kind enough to always answer questions before that month as needed, which was so appreciated. The best part was how amazing the flow of our day went. It was a dream. She and her team made the day so stress free that I almost felt like I needed something to be stressed about! (I mean aren’t all brides suppose to be a little stressed?!) Simone helped create the feeling of a fantastic dinner party that went all night, and that it did. The guests could not have had a more fantastic time and you could see that by all of the laughter, conversations, and dancing taking place. Simone, thank you for you expertise and professionalism in making our wedding a day that we will never forget!
If you are looking for wedding planner that you want to feel like a friend at the end of your event go with Simone. She understands her clients and it shows through with her amazing work on the events
Thank you for everything Simone!
Xoxo
Tristan, Mike, and Gabi

As a 40-​something, first-​time bride and a working mom of a 3 year old, I didn’t have a lot of spare time and energy to plan a wedding. My fiancé and I had already been living together and co-​parenting 3 kids for over 2 years. Initially I didn’t really perceive planning our would be wedding a big deal.
From our first meeting I quickly learned Simone has a solid background in event planning. She is professional, warm and someone I enjoyed spending time with. Even though we just met, Simone was determined to make my wedding night one of the best nights of my life. From this moment I knew I didn’t need to interview other planners.
Simone was very generous with her insights as my fiancé and I considered varied venues. She provided a solid framework to be able to evaluate the venues side-​by-​side. I felt very informed as I considered venues in the Napa Valley or ballrooms in San Francisco or along the Peninsula. I quickly understood the value I would get from retaining her to assist with booking all my vendors. There is no shortage of information on the Internet. But what Simone provided was first hand experience from working with quality, talented vendors. Her work doesn’t stop once the contract with vendors is signed. At the day of the event Simone ensures her clients receive value from each vendor retained.
From our first meeting I knew I wanted a cohesive, modern, classic design. Her design aesthetic is impeccable. Simone, her team and the vendors we hired executed a stunning design in our venue. Every singe guest at our wedding commented the venue was stunning and a well executed event.
My husband and I hope someone we know retains Simone for an event soon so we can attend as a guest.

Somebody once gave me a piece of terrible advice for my wedding day. They said «make your wedding party your generals. If you need something, they should be ready to help you.» The instant I heard that, I knew I wanted to do things a little differently. I wanted a really badass wedding planner so that my guests would be guests, (not servants for a day), and I would leave the tricky stuff to the professionals.
I met with 3 or 4 other planners who were a bad fit for one reason or another, before I stumbled on Soirée by Simone. Simone instantly felt like the right planner for me. She is endlessly enthusiastic about all the details of your wedding, which comes in handy when you’re like me and you tire easily from all the ins and outs of meticulous wedding planning. Whenever I had decision fatigue, she revived me. She’s warm but somehow manages to be incredibly professional. She really listens to you and helps your wedding dreams become a reality. She also helped me stay focused because sometimes everything looks so great and you want it all, but you just have to adhere to one path and be decisive. She and my florist (Yasmin at Floral Theory) even went so far as to create two table set-​ups with different tables, linens, glasses, floral arrangements, the works, so that I could make a decision on which direction to go for our décor. How sweet is that?
One small recommendation: hire her for the full length of time that you can leading up to your wedding. Let her be involved from the get-​go because it will save you so much time and stress. Since she knew what we liked and didn’t like, she was able to connect us with vendors who were a perfect match for us. In many cases we hired the very first vendor we interviewed. We also booked our wedding site the very day we went went looking at spots. The whole processes was expedited because of her recommendations and knowledge. (And to boot, her prices for the bigger packages are a thousand times more reasonable than those of some other planners I researched. She charges about ½ the cost of others in the bay area, just to give you an idea.)
We hired her about a year and a half before our wedding, and she responded to me like I was her only client (I assure you, I wasn’t). She even got back to me within 24 hours while she was on vacation in HAWAII! If that isn’t a testament to her dedication, I don’t know what is. Every wedding she plans, and every couple she works with, is given just as much attention and care as the last. Every wedding is her favorite wedding. The woman is the energizer bunny. By the end of our planning stages, I had so much faith in her that I let her create our menus and programs and last minute table décor without even consulting me. I really didn’t care anymore and I knew she would do an incredible job. But she did more than that, because she knocked it out of the park.
On the actual day, it was nothing but smooth sailing. Need a steamer that you left in your hotel room? We’re on it. Want a quick 10 minute dancing lesson? Done. Forgot your flats somewhere? They’ll be here in about five seconds. There were so many helpful ladies on this team running around like ninjas making everything run smoothly that my family nicknamed them «the secret service of wedding planners.» The execution of flowers and décor on the site were so beautiful I burst into tears the minute the chapel doors opened and I walked down the isle. I’ve described it to people as the best moment of my entire life. It was nothing short of heaven.
There was one slip up with our youngish DJ who played a song on my «do not play» list and Simone made a B-​line for his table before I could even get there. She cracked the whip so I didn’t have to! How wonderful. She also handed me a plate of all three flavors of cake while a conga line emerged (started by my mother. Thanks for that, Mom.) because she knew tasting the cake was really important to me. And finally, by the end of the night, I asked one of the girls to put as many of the flowers in our hotel room as possible so they wouldn’t be thrown away. What they did was incredible. A heart shaped wreath of orchids on our bed, glasses everywhere of single flower bouquets, and candles lighting the way to the top of our cake. Wow! Such a wonderful and romantic ending to a beautiful day that we won’t ever forget.
Soirée by Simone is a well-​oiled machine. Of all the vendors I worked with, I know without a doubt that our wedding would not have been the tremendous success that it was without our girl. She really is amazing. Whether she likes it or not, she’s going to be our friend for life. Best wedding decision ever, besides saying «I do.»

Father-​of-​the-​Bride says Trust in Simone
Planning and Problem Solving personified.
It takes a special skill and a reassuring personality to calm the concerns of a Father-​of-​the-​Bride. Let’s face it, the old man is used to being in total control, especially in matters of money and his daughter’s happiness.
Put yourself at ease and enjoy the singular moment in your life. Simone is there to orchestrate the wedding to perfection. Let her do her magic, and perfection is guaranteed.
Here is a personal example. Due to unforeseen circumstances, my daughter lost the caterer with just 5 weeks to go, and the menu had already been printed. Guests were arriving from all over the country and indeed the world. Leave it to Simone: within 48 hours the new caterer was in place and at the same price point. According to the guests it was the most delicious wedding meal they had ever had.
Flowers, Photography, Band, Wedding location, Cake… It was all fabulous and flowed seamlessly. Five Stars for Simone and her staff.

My husband and I interviewed about 6 planners when we first got engaged. We chose Simone after talking with her because she was so easy going, professional, organized, and passionate about weddings. I felt like she knew what we wanted for our wedding and understood our vision. One of my main concerns with the whole process was that we were living in Texas while our wedding was going to be in California, but she put all my anxiety to ease and reassured me that the planning process would go smoothly, I could still be very hands on and involved in the decision making, and that the day of would be perfect.
Simone and her team were absolutely amazing. Throughout the entire planning process (~18 months), Simone was on top of it! She responded quickly to my emails, picked up almost all my phone calls (and if not, would call me back promptly!), and we would schedule phone calls weekly to go over things. She definitely kept me in the loop about everything that was going on. Not only was she a great planner, but she introduced us to all of our vendors who were wonderful as well. We couldn’t have asked for a better vendor team that worked so perfectly together.
The day of the wedding was beautiful. Simone and her team made everything happen seamlessly. We had nothing to worry about, and putting our trust in Simone and her team was incredibly easy since I knew she would be able to handle anything that came up. Simone understood our style so well and when I saw everything come together on the day of our wedding so perfectly, I couldn’t have been happier. I can’t say how many times our families commented how great Simone and her team were, even weeks after the wedding.
Simone is really just a great person to work with. Over the year and a half we worked together, I felt as though not only did she act professionally and got down to business when things needed get done and advocated for us as her clients, but she also took the time to get to know my husband and I as individuals and as a couple. Some people may not see this as something that’s important in a planner, but I truly appreciated this about her. And I also think that getting to know us better as people, and not just as her clients, really helped her create our perfect wedding.
So if you’re getting married/​planning your wedding, definitely contact Simone! After talking to her you’ll see why she’s so great. It was seriously the best decision my husband and I made during this whole crazy wedding process :)

As a preface: Our wedding was 6÷3÷2012 in Carmel Valley and we began working with Soirée by Simone in ⁸⁄₂₀₁₁.
Simone and her team are extremely organized and efficient. For every bit that they are efficient, they are equally creative and supportive! For several years I’ve known I wanted to use the expertise of a wedding planner/​event planner to help plan my wedding day. Through a couple serendipitous events we learned about Simone. I knew she was probably going to be the one we went with — just from the raving reviews we heard from Carmel locals — when we met we with her a few weeks later, we were sold. Why? Because she is flexible, enthusiastic, inventive, strict-​to-​budget, down-​to-​earth, steady and cool-​headed = everything I had hoped for in someone I am trusting my wedding day with.
My husband and I are in grad school for MD/​PhD, needless to say this past year was pretty hellish on the academic front. We had little time over the course of a year to actually plan the wedding — having Simone’s talent and drive kept us on track and accomplishing what we needed to for the wedding, and it kept it all fun (as it is supposed to be!). Each of our family’s were very impressed with her and her team — on a strictly business front — they are worth EVERY penny, but on the human side, you will just really like sharing the special planning with somebody that really cares! Simone does an excellent job at making you, as the client, feel listened to and that she has your best interest in mind — as it IS your big day!
Our families and my husband and I truly enjoyed our wedding day and every guest we talk with mentions how «perfect» the wedding was, or that it was the «best wedding they have ever been to.»
In short, you would be foolish to go with any other wedding/​event planner than Soirée by Simone. I call her a «wedding goddess» and that is for damn good reason: D Get prepared for the wedding of your dreams!

It’s all in the details, every bride knows this simple fact and on the day of your wedding you want someone as detail oriented as you to be handling your coordination. I had spent over a year planning my wedding down to a tee and with four months left to go I realized i was going to be a stress muffin if i didn’t enlist help. Luckily Christine Cater recommended Simone to me. From the first meeting i knew I had made the right choice. Simone has a wealth of knowledge and a vast amount of fresh ideas to make your wedding truly unique. Do your groom and yourself a favor and use Simone she will ensure that your wedding is perfect and all you will have to do on the day is be happy that you are getting married.
I could not thank Simone enough for always being so responsive to my calls and emails. For adding those special touches to my wedding that made our day so special, and for making our wedding day so stress free!