A Touch of Elegance

This review is for Blanca as wedding coordinator for our wedding on 7÷11÷15. Blanca was such a crucial part to putting our dream wedding together, she was truly a godsend! Working with Blanca was a steady, painless process. She took note of all the ideas and wants we had, without ever over-​imposing or disregarding our direction. There were many times where I reached out to her, as the expert, for guidance regarding details for our wedding and Blanca always responded with sincerely objective feedback.
If you want clear and open communication, a plethora of resources/​vendors (without feeling overwhelmed), well-​executed and organized plans, and a person who’s value on integrity is of the utmost importance, Blanca is the person you should be booking for any event planning.
Blamca is very sweet and approachable, and a true professional. She was even able to address a little hiccup we had with the business we hired our officiant from. We had some miscommunication issues, not Blanca’s fault, and she was able to take over for us to help us avoid some awkward conversation with them.
Let me talk about our experience with Blanca’s planning process (I don’t know if this varies by client). I first met with her in September of 2013 and didn’t actually reach out to her to secure her services until January 2014 (this was not because I wasn’t sure I wanted her, this was just due to my procrastinating ways). We moved forward and decided we would be needing her wedding planning services, which she was not pushy about; she actually offered to provide me with an a la carte quote, such as Day of Service and some, to avoid possibly overcharging us. This was very thoughtful of her, but I needed all the help I could get! We talked about ideas that we had for our wedding with her and the planning process began. Blanca started arranging meetings with vendors, this process was fairly simple: you provide Blanca with dates/​times you’re available and a convenient place of meeting then she’ll take care of contacting the vendors. We paced at 1 vendor every few weeks, and on some days we were able to meet with multiple vendors for the same service (3 cake-​tastings in one day, score!). Once you meet with a vendor the selection process is painless, you simply let Blanca know if you liked someone and want to book them, or you let her know you’d like to continue meeting more vendors and she’ll arrange the meetings. I’d like to emphasize that the vendors you will be meeting are top of the line; it is very clear that Blanca does not take her job lightly and realizes that the vendor referrals are a reflection of her work. From what I gathered, her connections are tried and true since she uses people she’s worked with in the past. Now, one thing Blanca makes very clear from the beginning is that she will not handle any of the payment between you and the vendors, which I find to be fair. Once vendors are in place and the time gets closer to your event date, Blanca will start emailing timelines; some of the things she is able to figure out on her own and others are 100% your responsibility. There are some back and forth emails of these timelines but nothing crazy :) and then the walk-​throughs begin, the rehearsal follows, the big day arrives, and everything is perfect!
I can’t imagine being able to have our wedding be as perfect as it was without Blanca’s help. Now a personal note: I have two kids (5 & 7), I did not have any bridesmaids, I have no sisters, and I refused to ask my mom and close relatives for help in the planning process… so, what does this mean? I guess this means I should’ve had a few breakdowns and panic attacks, and maybe even should’ve called the wedding off from all the stresses that come with planning a wedding on your «own». I’m happy to report that none of the aforementioned happened :) up until the day of the wedding, when I was having my makeup and hair done, I did not feel a single ounce of stress. My makeup artist could not believe how calm I was; she shared some horror stories of past brides and mentioned how they made her fear getting married (poor girl).
Because of Blanca’s guiding hand, I am blessed to say I was able to enjoy and cherish every moment of my wedding, from the planning process right to the last second. There aren’t enough nice things I can say about Blanca to thank her for what she did for us. I mean, what do you say to a person who made your dream come true?

Our first meeting with Blanca went really well. When I was initially looking for a coordinator, I didn’t want anyone who would try to add too much of «their touch» to my wedding, but I also wanted someone who had some input to contribute. During my wedding planning, I didn’t know what I was doing and my fiancé at the time knew that I needed to hire someone to help with the day-​of so I wouldn’t worry about anything on the day of the wedding. I am extremely happy that I did.
We clicked with Blanca right away, but we did notice that her approach was fast and meetings were short. We thought she was rushing meetings, but we realized that it was just the way she operated — very efficient and to the point. I liked that because I am that way myself. My husband, on the other hand, likes to take his time and analyze everything. In the end, we both agreed that she was the right fit.
Blanca is very good with emails, which is the best form of communication for me since I am always busy. She is very detail-​oriented and makes sure that we feel comfortable and all of our questions were answered after every meeting. It was the very last meeting when I knew that she would take care of business and I knew that our wedding was a lot to handle. We had a 260-​guest wedding, many fine details and a demanding father.
On the day of the wedding, Blanca took care of every little twist, turn and minor hiccup. She made sure that the bride, groom, and our parents were taken care of. She checked up on me throughout the day through my matron of honor and right before the ceremony, I was so nervous, she made sure that I was OK.
Right before the reception entrance, I couldn’t find my bustle and we had a choreographed dance planned out, and I needed to find my bustle. She was there the whole time, during my mini panic attack, along with my husband and bridesmaids.
During the reception, she kept checking up on me and I was having the time of my life. She made sure everything was packed and ready to go by the time I exited the door and all was finalized. She even offered us a ride back to our hotel, but we had that taken care of.
Everything went perfect and I applaud Blanca and her assistant for contributing to a seamless wedding day. I would highly recommend A Touch of Elegance to any couple. She is professional, pleasant, easy-​going and a sweetheart. Thank you for ensuring that our wedding went smooth and that our guests and we were taken care of!

What an awesome wedding! Everything went so smooth! You will be in good hands with Blanca!

Blanca was the best! She made my wedding go so smoothly. She took care of all the things
that I would have never thought. Little things as like what song to walk down the aisle with. She took care of the time line. She did all my chair covers and she did the runners on the tables. everything looked so beautiful. I would highly recommend her for the job!!! She was the bomb!

Blanca is a GOD SEND. Hands down BEST decision I have ever made for my wedding! She is the sweetest person and shares my obsession of getting all the details absolutely perfect (she surveyed the reception venue constantly to make sure that if things were moved around, they were moved back in place!). Originally, I thought that I could do everything myself and didn’t need a coordinator. Boy, was I wrong. There were so many small, time-​consuming details that my head started spinning. As soon as we hired Blanca (the ONLY wedding coordinator we interviewed because the decision was obvious as soon as we met her), my husband and I felt almost a literal weight lifted from our shoulders. Blanca is extremely thorough and helped me with EVERYTHING! In fact, she came to pick up all my wedding décor the day before the wedding and delivered it to the venue herself (a feat in itself considering how tiny she is!). So many of my family members approached me after the wedding and asked about «the woman who made magic.» She really is the best of the best, and I cannot recommend anyone more highly!

Best decision I made for my wedding. Working with Blanca was amazing! She is responsive, professional, and really cares about you and your big day. She went above and beyond on many occasions, taking the lead on managing the vendors and making sure all the small details were right, as well as creating a minute-​by-​minute timeline of all the events so everything went smoothly.
What she did: consultation, reviewed vendor contracts, contacted all the vendors before the wedding to make sure everything was on track and managed payments, managed the rehearsal the day before, was available over phone and email for all random questions, created an event timeline and venue diagram as well as a detailed schedule, handled final payment distribution, finalized major details before the wedding, oversaw the ceremony and reception set up as well as helped set up the gifts, tables numbers, table arrangements (chargers, décor, floral, etc.) and reception area: gift area, escort cards, set up our pictures and guest book, etc., and was just there for us for whatever we needed on the actual day.
We also had an awesome wedding coordinator from our venue but at the end of the day, you want someone to look out for your interests (not the venue). Blanca did just that– she was hired to make sure they day went off without a hitch and it was just great knowing that someone had your back, no matter what. Thankfully, there were no major issues, but I felt happy and secure knowing that if anything came up, Blanca would have handled it!
More so than anything else, Blanca is there for you so you and your spouse can enjoy the day and not worry about the details and random issues that come up. That peace of mind was well worth it more than anything else. We’d highly recommend hiring Blanca for your event!

I couldn’t be happier to write this review! My wedding was may 17, 2014 and I had hired Blanca as my day if coordinator. I can honestly say this was the best decision I could have ever made, she was referred to me by my sister-​in-​law who had had her and raved nothing but good things about her.
I had contacted her via email first and she was prompt to respond. I had already been having issues with some of my vendors and Blanca was a breathe of fresh air. She was detail oriented, 2 steps ahead when I would ask her questions and Would have great suggestions I did use some if her suggestions throughout my wedding. She made sure everything ran smoothly, this is someone who not only did a great job but her and her team went above and beyond to make sure I had a great wedding, there are no words to express how grateful I and my new husband are that we hired A touch of Elegance. There are those people who have jobs and do an okay job at them and then there are people like Blanca who do things with passion and heart and that makes this experience even more memorable. If you are a stressed out bride like I was search no more you have found the wedding coordinator of your dreams!
Thank you Blanca and A touch of Elegance!:)

Blanca is the sweetest and the best! I had her as my day of wedding coordinator for my 9÷7÷13 wedding.
I was referred to Blanca by my friend who used her for her wedding and had great things to say about her. I set up a consultation with Blanca and it went smoothly. I knew I had to go with her!
Throughout the whole time, Blanca answered any and all the questions I had and as we neared the wedding date, I started putting together a timeline for her and she had her questionnaire of day-​of-​wedding items that needed to be answered. She was very patient with me for questions I couldn’t answer immediately.
She came with us to the dress rehearsal and held onto all the items that was needed for the day of the wedding. She made sure everything ran smoothly and she worked very well with the rest of my vendors.
I could not have asked for a better coordinator and am so honored to have worked with her. THANK YOU Blanca for helping make my wedding perfect and making sure everything was set in place. You are a blessing!
Wishing you continued success in many years to come :)

AMAZING! Blanca and her staff have been a pleasure to work with. I got married last month and I need to find someone to help out the day of my wedding. I am a super detailed person and I wanted my vision to come to life. After receiving a referral from another bride about Blanca (and a touch of elegance) I decided to give her a call. I could tell I was talking to a professional from our first conversation. She answered all my questions and was truly passionate about making my vision come to life. We worked on a timeline (many drafts) until it was perfect. Blanca even allowed me to drop off 5 large bins of decorations at her home (a week before the wedding) because I was afraid to leave them with the reception site. She went above and beyond my expectations. I went up to her a few times during our wedding with questions and she made things happen. I ask her to keep an eye out for our dessert bar table because we were afraid guests would get sticky fingers and start dessert without us. She made sure to have her assistant stand by the dessert tables until we cut the cake, I mean, come on! That’s amazing! Blanca was a pleasure to work with and I can hands down say that her services made our wedding a success! I could recommend her to future brides in a heart beat!

Blanca was a blessing the day of my wedding, she worked her wedding coordination miracles from the first day I hired her. She is on top of everything, she’s quick to respond back to you via-​email or via-​telephone, either or she was always available. I highly recommend Blanca as a wedding coordinator, she relieves much stress off of you during the entire wedding planning, I think I would have lost it if I didn’t hire a great wedding coordinator such as Blanca. My husband and I can’t thank her enough for all that she did for us, 5 stars all the way for her professional services.

We had hired Blanca for chair covers and sashes for our wedding. She did an amazing job! She frequently communicated via texts. Very helpful and accommodating.

Blanca is awesome very professional. i used her for linens for my wedding (table cloth/​napkins/​chair covers & says). i was very happy using her services. i highly recommend her.

Blanca Samano was my fairy god mother on my wedding day — she just didnt know it. =)
My wedding took place on July 15, 2012 at a winery in Pleasanton, Ca.
First off, let me just say that there’s no such thing as a perfect wedding… but Blanca and her team sure made my wedding look flawless. Everything went according to schedule and I am so happy that we hired «A Touch of Elegance .»
I admit that at first I didn’t want to hire a planner because of budget issues and the fact that I am such a control freak and so particular about things that I could not bare handing the logistics of the most important day off to someone else.
Furthermore, looking back I was one of those brides that was defiantly on top of her game and was very organized throughout my planning.— I just didn’t think that Blanca’s services would benefit me.
However, when the wedding came closer and more details and random issues came up, I started to dread the wedding day itself! And just FYI — Transient Hyperventilation during the planning process is normal ladies! =)
All I know was that I did not want to be stress out. A wedding is supposed to be one of the most magical day of a woman’s life. I wanted to be able to soak up all the beauty and joy that surrounded me on that day and didn’t want little things to distract my enjoyment of it.
I’ve heard so many stories from friends that they were constantly bombarded on their wedding day with questions that they couldn’t eat or even enjoy their wedding— i knew that’s not what I wanted.
A coworker of mime recommended Blanca after she used her services for her wedding. She had nothing but wonderful praises about Blanca and her team.
During the planning stages, Blanca left a very positive impression. She was very articulate, professional, ORGANIZED, Quick at answering emails, on top of her game, goes over and beyond for her clients, and always has something up her sleeve when it comes to tackling issues that arises on the wedding day. Never was I interrupted by any of my vendors on my wedding day for silly questions, or concerns — Blanca made sure of this and she made sure they all did their roles & duties to the fullest.
If I could list all the things that she for me on my wedding day that was over and beyond — I would run out of space on Unilocal,but briefly I will say that by the end of the night I had SOOOO MUCH FUN, I danced my butt off, I lost my jimmy choo shoes somewhere in the venue, my bridal party and I brought a TONS of stuff to the venue that we needed to collect, and we were given an hour to practically collect everything and get off the venue premises. I turned to Blanca and with a snap of her finger she said «Everything is already done!»
She escorted me to the limo and gave me a hug and told me that everything has been collected, she found my missing shoe, and reassured me that if I find anything missing the next day –that she will drive to the venue and look for it herself.
In addition, she was even nice enough to offer to take my dog to the doggy hotel after his appearance in the ceremony. Luckily with some sweet talk and convincing, I was allowed to keep my dog on the venue for the entire reception. She made sure that he was well hydrated and fed, and even took him out for bathroom breaks.
Blanca services is very affordable compared to other companies. She takes great pride in what she does and you definitely get a high level of Professionalism, Service, and Knowledge from her. She has great vendor contacts, and in fact I was able to get a huge discount on my linen rentals through Blanca.
Blanca is worth every penny. Just remember —-You can not put a price tag on a night full of precious memories that you can cherish forever. Anyone who has ever gotten married will tell you that the day passes by VERY QUICK so savor every moment of it.
Blanca made my day so stress free, I was able to mingle with my guests, dance, pictures, eat, drink, laugh, cry, —All the things that you’re supposed to do on your wedding day— but so many brides don’t get to.
If I could say one thing that perhaps I was unhappy about on my wedding day, was the fact that my viedographer left 30 mins early especially when I paid him an hour of overtime. My husband made an ending speech that was not caught on camera and our grand exit out of the venue was not recorded either.
I know it wasn’t Blanca’s fault, the videographer had asked permission to leave early from my Drunken husband — and he gave him the thumbs up to go — BUT HELLO everyone knows you’re supposed to ask the planner and it’s the bride who has the final say!
Blanca should have made it clear to the vendors that they should check with her before they decide to cut out early and it’s not appropriate to ask the groom because almost all the time he’s wasted!

Chair covers & sashes only.
Blanca’s pricing for her chair cover & sash was competitive. I choose her for two reasons: 1. She was a cheaper option than most, and provided a website and
2. She was available the day I needed her (graduation weekend). I was able to book her about 2 weeks in advance which was lucky because I was panicking (didn’t realize it was a busy weekend).
Anyways, Blanca and I communicated via phone and email. I came early to the venue on the party day to find her staff putting the sashes on the chair. I only met her the night of the event when she and her husband came to retrieve the items. She was a pleasure to talk to on the phone and in person. She is a very organized business woman and cares about the details. The sashes looked ironed and were tied on the chair with no creasing.
Some of my guests commented on the sashes and their clean, crisp look.
I would recommend Blanca for chair covers and sashes, and have programed my phone with her information for my next event.

We hired her as the coordinator for the day of our wedding.
Before wedding:
— We needed vendor information; she provided some referrals for the officiant and the furniture rental place (very responsive w/​emails)
— Reviewed all the contracts and introduce herself to all of our vendors
— Reviewed and finalized time line
— Provided advice and comfort
— SUPER DUPER helpful– she offered to take home the place cards the day before my wedding and helped alphabetized it! She had to go through 5 boxes because we had about 230 guests!
— Attended rehearsal
Day of wedding:
— Made sure everything was all set up in the ceremony, cocktail room and reception area. She helped set up my candy bar and the message advice table
— She handled the distribution of final payments
— I totally forgot about my garter, she improvised and made one with a ribbon! It all worked out, no one knew!
— At the end of the night, she went around and collected all the items that needed to be returned to vendors, and loaded them into the truck!
— I asked her to save me 4 cake pops, and when I got to the sweetheart table lo and behold, it was on my plate!
— Things went according to time line
I highly recommend Blanca as the coordinator for the day of your wedding. She is very professional, resourceful, responsive and super sweet. The wedding day can be super stressful and if you want a stress free wedding, Blanca is the person to hire. Our day ran smoothly thanks to Blanca! Money well spent!

While planning my wedding I ran into a snag with my reception site: the tablecloths didn’t go with my color scheme and the chairs needed covers. I looked at a few different vendors and I couldn’t find any place within a 100 mile radius that could help me. Did I mention that this was about 2 weeks prior to my wedding?
My friend recommended that I call Blanca as she was using her for her table settings so I gave A Touch of Elegance a call. Blanca was able to get me full table settings in my color scheme, delivery early on a Saturday in June, and even did a rush order for a small sweetheart table that I threw in at the last minute.
I received so many compliments for the colors of the sashes as a lot of people that I had planned the table settings to perfectly match the reception hall. Little did anyone know that I never saw the table settings until my wedding day! I described the colors I wanted, the color of the reception hall, and trusted in Blanca. Trusting her was one of the best choices in vendors I’ve ever made!
I highly recommend Blanca for any event you might have. She is organized, comforting, and exceptional at keeping her prices reasonable. I spent less on the whole reception table settings than I would have just on tablecloths through another vendor!

So, we’re about 22 days away from our wedding. I’m stressed with work, planning, family, etc, but hiring Blanca was definitely a blessing! She’s helped make the whole process so much easier to deal with. She emails me to go over all the details, and I mean all of them including how we should fold the napkins to what time the DJ can start setting up at the hotel. Whenever I call her she always has a friendly voice and reminds me that it’s going to be amazing! As someone who needs to hear words of affirmation, this is always reassuring!
If you are even thinking of hiring a wedding coordinator, I suggest you do. Having someone objective take your wedding vision to the next level is definitely worth every penny you spend. Check out Blanca’s website and contact her.

Blanca’s staff did a wonderful job! My wedding would not have been complete had it not for her chair covers and sashes! I used to think chair covers were overrated, but it definitely completed the look, 100% positive! THANK YOU Unilocal for helping me find her. She is very responsive as we communicated mostly through email. I did meet Blanca once before booking her to see what color sashes she had available, but you can also find samples on her website. I went with gold sashes and white chair covers. My theme was pink napkins and white tablecloths, and her white chair covers and gold sashes worked out great!
Most important thing I wanted to mention, her work is professional as her chair covers came steamed or ironed and every bow tied with great care. Every table looked beautiful, thanks Blanca and staff!

Blanca was one of our FAVORITE vendors from our wedding. She really did an amazing job from start to finish.
First of all, we had a hard time finding linens for our colors because our color scheme is not a very common one… With our teal and silver colors, we were very specific about the shade of teal that we wanted. Blanca went out of her way to find a color that we would be happy with. She set up our linens well before we got there (she wasn’t able to enter the room until 3pm and we arrived around 4pm – the room was done and she had already cleaned up and taken off). She even took care of our sweetheart table (which I had forgotten to tell her about).
Blanca’s professionalism and eye for detail made our reception room BEAUTIFUL. We received so many compliments regarding our room and we couldn’t be more satisfied. We will definitely recommend her to anyone else who wants «a touch of elegance» for their reception!

Blanca helped us make our wedding reception stunning! She was professional, very quick to respond and very accommodating.
We went with the white chair covers and ivory satin ties and they looked stunning! Blanca was able to do all of the set up and take down and left the room feeling like a million dollars! And best of all the price was significantly lower than the 3 other vendors I had spoken with.
I would recommend Blanca over and over again.