Simply Natural Events

Let me just say, Alessandra is the BEST THERE IS. Hands down. She did my best friends wedding and we were blown away at her professionalism, polite manners and skills as a coordinator. Everything ran smooth, on time and was excellent. I don’t know what we would have done without her!!! Thanks so much for the great service, Alessandra. Would definitely use Simply Natural again!

Our Wedding day was the MOST important for me and in choosing the person to realize our vision I also chose an Earth Angel and in compliment to that I made a lifelong friend and confidant. Never would I have expected this.
Upon meeting Annette, my husband and I instantly went from wanting Annette to «help» us plan our Wedding, to deciding to go the Full Monty and asking Annette to administer for us the full package. It was undoubtedly the BEST money we have ever spent and I would do it all over again ten-​fold if I could! For, the energy of giving Annette her immensely hard earned and beyond deserved salary translated to so much more than money could ever, ever buy. She gave us PERFECTION!!!
It must be mentioned that PERFECTION is not something I seek in any area of my life. I thrive on the unconventional and where that can lead me, I champion the imperfection because I always see it as more interesting, I look for the flaws because to me they are beautiful. But, as a Bride, I came to realize after our day had passed, PERFECTION –though I didn’t seek it-​was the most blessed thing I ever could have felt on the most magnificent day of my life!!!
After our first meeting with Annette my Husband and I left her cozy and inspiring office feeling lighter, something– it must be noted– most Brides do not feel. We felt lighter because we knew we trusted Annette 120% and that we could relax into the process. It must also be pointed out that it takes a VERY special person to put a Bride at ease in that capacity; especially when that Bride is planning a destination Wedding. Annette is THAT EXTRAORDINARY at what she does and has built a team alongside her that allows this reality to be. I stress that she has built this team «along side» her and not «around» her, in an effort to explain that Annette is more than a team player and more than a leader, and more than a perfectionist, she is a friend. And, again, I cannot express enough how to a Bride on her Wedding Day, what she needs more than anything in the world, is a FRIEND!
A bride goes through a lot on her Wedding day, whether she is super mellow like I believe myself to be and lets things flow or whether she is uptight and neurotic, a Bride needs someone who’s got her back! A bride needs someone to be her voice when she’s having a hard time expressing herself. A bride needs a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen… In my particular case, a bride also needs someone she feels comfortable enough with to allow to grab her boob 30 minutes before the ceremony when she is freaking out because she cannot get the «stick-​on» bra to stick right and to get that bra stuck on and that boob looking stellar!!! None of my girls, not my Mom, not my Sisters in Law could figure out my most important bra situation and after just 1 second of seeing my panicked face Annette gently asked my permission, took hold of that juicy orb and VOILA: My Dress and my breasts never looked better! And she did all that while with the other hand signaling to some invisible assistant that I didn’t even know was there to grab me a glass of champagne and get this show started!
In that moment she became My Maid of Honor!!! I didn’t want one previously. I didn’t have an official one… but right then and there in my heart of hearts and symbolically for me at best, she became IT!!!
I NEVER ONCE FELT AN OUNCE OF STRESS BECAUSE ANNETTE LED THE WAY!
There is so, so, so MUCH I could say… but perhaps the most telling, even more so than my Husband and My and our Parent’s overall elation with what she managed to create, the most, most telling example of how perfect our day was might be that we were chosen to have our wedding featured in the nationally acclaimed, «Best Destination Weddings and Honeymoons» Magazine as the BEST DESTINATION WEDDING this Summer unbeknownst to us!!! When one is not looking for that sort of acclaim, as my husband and I surely were not, but someone outside takes that much notice in the beauty and perfection of the day enough to enter you in a contest and has no motivation other than because it is PERFECT and your Wedding gets chosen: THAT IS WHEN YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD THE MOST PROFESSIONAL TEAM AND LEADER YOU EVER COULD HAVE CHOSEN!!! (We indeed were proudly featured in the July/​August Edition of «Best Destination Weddings and Honeymoons» Magazine 2015).
Thank you Annette, Thank You Simply Natural Events for more than I could ever express here! THANK YOU for building a dream for me that I didn’t even know I was capable of…
THANK YOU for guiding me with passion, kindness, ease and an air of celebration throughout…
THANK YOU for giving me the gift of a lifetime that I will never stop cherishing…
THANK YOU for allowing me to surrender only because you showed me that I could trust you 1000%…
THANK YOU for reminding me that love is real and fun is the goal.
THANK YOU above and beyond all else for becoming one of the most precious lifelong friends I will ever know!

Complete and total gems! After interviewing quite a few planners, Annette had the calm, grace, and collectiveness that we were looking for. The planning process was a collaboration and Annette walked the line of talking feedback from many sources, offering her opinion when needed, and guiding us in the right direction like a total pro. On the day of the wedding everything went off without a hitch. Even when we almost ran out of booze (nightmare!!), Annette sent her team to quickly buy more and not a single guest noticed. I couldn’t recommend Simply Natural more highly.

We had Alessa as our wedding coordinator on 9÷6÷2015, and she is great. Everything went so nice, organized and right on time. I highly recommend them.

I had Alessandra as my day-​of coordinator and she truly made all the difference! I planned my entire wedding but having her by my side once the wedding got closer kept me sane and focused. With her help, I felt completely relaxed and confident. She was extremely thorough! She was way ahead of me! I wish I could have her as my assistant in real life :) Absolutely worth every penny!

I researched a lot of wedding coordinators before making my final decision and was SO glad I found Simply Natural Events! Alessa worked on my wedding and made the entire planning process painless and stress free. She always made herself available to me and my million questions, followed up on vendors that I hit a few bumps in the road with, and helped my family every step of the way. Even with me living almost 2 hours away from my wedding location, she was always right there to help and was very quick to respond. Her caring, calm, and professional presence was greatly appreciated and commended by some of the vendors (and family) that were a part of my wedding. Alessa was very organized and so easy to work with! Thank you guys SO much for helping keep my beautiful wedding on track, I highly recommend you check out Simply Natural Events! I don’t know how I could have done it without their wonderful help!

Working with Annette and team was so amazing! Annette is a breath of fresh air in the craziness of wedding planning, she knew exactly what I was looking for and had amazing recommendations, impeccable taste and pulled everything together perfectly. I knew from all the wonderful reviews I had received from friends and friends of friends how incredible this group was, but I cannot express enough how grateful and thrilled I was to have the team at my wedding. Annette was AMAZING and made every single moment as smooth as can be. I did not have one worry my entire wedding month because she handled everything, and the day of I was floating and worry free as she handled every single behind the scene detail without anything forgotten! Thank you so much for making our wedding so perfect. We highlyyyy recommend you to everyone we come in contact with and to everyone reading — you cannot go wrong with Simply Natural Events. Thank you thank you thank you!

If you are planning an event of any sort, get in touch with Annette at Simply Natural. Five stars aren’t enough! Our event on 3÷7÷14 was amazing. From finding the perfect space to creating the most spectacular atmosphere, Annette ROCKED! She is incredibly talented, incredibly patient, has amazing taste, is super organized, and tapped into the best of the best in the industry. Don’t miss the chance to work with this incredible company!

Simply Natural Events is incredible! Annette has a true gift of staying calm which in turn only makes those around her relaxed. She is beyond organized, proactive and thinks of all the details that you would never even think of. After the wedding, many of my guests asked me who my wedding planner was because they were so impressed with her level of organization. She is easy to talk to, reliable, knowledgeable and very resourceful. My husband and I still can’t believe how smoothly everything went. We are so thankful for all her hard work and would recommend her to anyone and everyone.

We had our wedding at Stone Manor in Malibu this spring. It was the perfect day and we absolutely could not have done it without Annette. We wanted things to be unique and envisioned a fun party more than a traditional wedding. Annette was our planner and she truly made our vision come to life. The wedding turned out amazing, our friends and family were blown away and it’s even being featured.
Not only is Annette incredibly good at planning, but she has a great sense of style and loves the design aspect. We wanted a different, eclectic, hip twist on a glamorous beach wedding that reflected our love of California. No idea was too crazy, even when we called her and asked her assist us in creating an over-​sized, bright mustache and lips sign. She was always on board and knows how to bring your vision to life. Annette is also constantly in communication, available to talk about ideas or logistics day or night, email and phone.
A wedding at a private estate is logistically harder to pull off than a traditional setting, so you need to have someone you trust to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Annette is extremely calm, looks at a problem logically and always has the answer. Her vendor contacts are top-​notch and everyone that she recommended along the way was excellent. She really understood our personality and matched us up with the right people to make our day perfect.
To sum it up, Annette made planning the wedding fun from day one through the big day. She is a truly awesome person and a truly superb planner.

On September 14, 2013 I had the absolute pleasure of working with the team from Simply Natural events at a wedding at the LA RIVER CENTER in LA. The whole team was so professional and lovely to work with. My main contact was GRACE who made my job so much easier. She truly was a joy. As an officiant I do everything possible to help each couple feel relaxed so they can enjoy the day and my standards are very very high. It was easy to see that Grace and Annette and the whole team also have a very high standard and truly care about their clients. Everything they did was done to perfection and at the same time, seamlessly and with absolutely no stress. I highly recommend Grace and the entire team from Simply Natural Events… when you want someone who cares as much about your event as you do and has the knowledge and expertise to carry it off beautifully!

We recently had our wedding reception and used Annette as our coordinator. She did such a great job executing our wedding. Everything was organized and went as planned. We enjoy her personality and professionalism.

I recently got married, and found Simply Natural Events through Unilocal,to help plan the wedding. On my first phone call with Annette, I found her to be very pleasant and easy to talk with about the event, which was stressing me out a bit. We decided to meet, and the first meeting put me very much at ease. After talking to other planners, I felt Annette was the right choice. She just made me and my wife feel very comfortable. She had great suggestions for venues and vendors. During the time leading up to the event we had several meetings to discuss our progress, and each meeting was informative and very chill. We had some budget limitations, and Annette and her team did everything in their power to help us stay within budget. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Annette kept us focused with to-​do lists and made sure we had all the necessary pieces in place. On the day of the ceremony, she and her small crew were on hand to ensure everything went well. There were no hiccups, and the day went as smoothly as it could have.
If you are looking for a team that can help remove the stress from huge event and be an absolute pleasure to work with, I would highly recommend Simply Natural Events.

We had the pleasure of working with Annette and her team a month before our April wedding at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel. The wedding was perfect. Everything flowed naturally and with ease and there was never a dull moment. We truly believe that the wedding could not have went that smoothly without the help of Simply Natural Events!
Before the wedding, she was professional, organized, and worked closely with me and my maid of honor to draft and finalize the timeline. She was experienced and very helpful providing ideas and recommendations on the order of events that would keep the party moving. She communicated professionally with vendors and ensured everything was in place before the wedding. On the day of the wedding, she was totally present and prepared for anything and everything that came her way. She was flexible to last minute changes and snafus, but was completely in control. Though there were a lot of things going on, she was always CALM, had a smile on her face and never let us know if things were going awry, which is exactly what the bride and groom need!
Thank you so much for everything, Annette and Team! We couldn’t have done it without you guys :)

Annette and her team at Simply Natural Events made our wedding a huge success for us as a bride and groom, for our families and for all of our guests. She worked with us while we were still living abroad in Beijing, China; to arrange our Malibu wedding. When we moved back to Los Angeles, she was also wonderful to work with in person. Annette is reliable, punctual, organized, kind, creative and easy going. She gets along with many different personality types and is savvy and knowledgable about all things «wedding.» Her services go above and beyond. Annette not only helped us plan our wedding, but she helped with organizing transportation for out of town guests, planning our entire rehearsal dinner, budgeting and contracts, florals, beverages, making sure the bridal party is fed before the wedding, day of wedding rehearsal and staging; and the list goes on and on. She is very detail oriented and has a calming energy about her that carries on through to the whole wedding party! I can’t say enough good things about Annette. If you are planning a wedding and want to stay sane and have the ability to enjoy your big day and bask in those wonderful fleeting moments, you must definitely hire Annette! She is nothing short of amazing.

Annette is a superstar! Our wedding went beautifully without any problems and we have Annette and her team to thank. Annette was always on the ball, asked the right questions and kept everything really organized and straight forward. She is also very warm, sweet and a pleasure to be around. The icing on the cake is what a genuinely sweet person she is!
We cannot stress enough how crucial she is to any wedding. I cannot imagine how things would have been without her! Thanks Annette! We adore you and are forever grateful for what you did to make our big day a smash.
The Posts

Not only did Anette make our wedding an outstanding success. Blissful and organized, she also quite frankly, made it possible.
While we lounged around with our families, exchanged vows in front of the world, and later dined and drank the night away with our guests, Anette and her assistant were busy orchestrating the entire event. Everything happened in perfect unison, and even when some major hiccups threatened to derail the night (we forgot to pickup the beer) Annette swooped in and literally saved the day.
But her influence went further back than that incredible night. She guided us when we had to postpone our wedding due to the venue going belly-​up, supported us patiently while we went through countless changes trying to set the new date for the wedding, tirelessly coordinated the vendors and made sure they knew who was in charge, and wrangled all the players to make sure they paid attention at the rehearsal; basically being there for us every step of the way.
Her magic comes in her unrelenting attention to detail, and then backing that up by channeling an assertive presence that belies her sweet nature.
If you really want to ensure your day goes off without a hitch, Anette will make that happen. We were told from our extraordinary vendors that she is the best they’ve ever worked with. My mother and in-​laws praised her and said she was worth her weight in gold. Now three months in to our marriage, we look back at being able to relax in the days leading up to the wedding, focus on each other, and fully enjoy our families and friends, we realize that it was largely thanks to Anette. She helped us have a truly once-​in-​a-​lifetime, dream wedding. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
All we can say is thank you Anette! We love you!
–Vanessa and Josh

Hands down the best money you can spend on a wedding as far as vendors go is on your coordinator, and not just any coordinator. You need Carole Grogan from Simply Natural Events. Carole did an amazing job. I can’t even count how many times throughout the planning that I said «I’m so glad we have Carole.» We hired her as our day-​of coordinator which not only included her services the day of the wedding, but also the rehearsal and any questions, concerns, crisis, last minute plans, vendor recommendations, 15 time line drafts and all with a smile. My mother –or Mozilla– was very particular about every vendor and every decision made. She met Carole and in less than 5 minutes said to me «I choose Carole. Whatever she thinks is good for me.» Carole is very calm and soothing to talk to and I knew things could get hectic the days leading up to and on our wedding day and I needed someone to keep me, my mother, and my sister calm.
Carole was so great at giving advice and keeping my budget in mind. I was set on using an itunes playlist until people kept telling me to get a DJ. So I emailed back and forth with Carole and she made it so easy. She gave me a few DJ’s to contact which she had already contacted and said I might be calling them. Our DJ ended up being so great!
She called all of our vendors to make sure they were ready for our wedding day and on our wedding day she paid and tipped all the vendors for us. (with our money of course) Our wedding day was perfect. Carole and her assistant were right there if we needed them. The few times I saw Carole she was walking around with her clipboard and a smile on her face.
If you want to enjoy your wedding day and let someone else worry about all the details running smoothly, keeping your family calm and organized, and sticking to the timeline, definitely make sure Carole is there!

Dear Unilocal — er,
Simply Natural Events saved my sanity and stopped me from being a bridezilla! Annette was our coordinator, she was sweet, understanding, patient, professional and most importantly reliable. I definitely felt like she had our best interest in mind and was genuinely sincere about making sure everything would go as smoothly as possible on our wedding day.
I don’t know what type of bride or groom you plan on being, but sometimes the darkest sides of your personality come out in the planning process. With Annette around, she kept us both in check. Allowed us to express our likes and dislikes without imposing her own opinion of how things «should be.» Instead, she was very open minded and offered her suggestions and advice.
In regards to cost, I can’t really comment on that since I did not interview any other coordinators. I just knew, the first time I met Annette, that she would meet all of our needs. She definitely did and then some.
The whole wedding vendor + wedding couple relationship is very intense. There’s a lot of going back & forth for a handful of weeks sometimes months, you want vendors who are pleasant to work with and you know you’re spending money on something that’s worthwhile and will take some stress out of a very stressful event.
There is no doubt in my mind, reader — that if you are looking for a coordinator, you need help to pull off your very special event — - look no further, Simply Natural Events will play a large role in helping you achieve your goal. Sometimes is does take a village, and sometimes it just takes Simply Natural Events.

With only 6 weeks to plan a wedding…
I was a bit panicky and quite possibly over the top at that. My husband and I were struggling to find a place to get married.
After reviewing site after site online and in magazines, and after scores of phone calls to places that didn’t have any openings, it started to look like we were we going to have to give up and settle with a run of the mill wedding factory venue. We were short on time and it was too late in the game to setup any more appointments with potential venues. There were just too many things to do at once so it was time to book.
In this last possible moment, it occurred to us that just maybe the Inn of the Seventh Ray may have an opening for us for the date we had settled on— just a little note– the Inn was site of our first date. So we left them a message and we received a phone call back soon after from Carole Grogan and THANK GOD they had an opening!
It was the most ideal match– I was anxiety-​ridden and panicky and she was Zen. I was juggling so many things at the time (wedding planning, work, family, PARENTS) and she was calm and patient with us from day one even though she had to stay on top of us constantly by email and phone to get details for the wedding.
In the very beginning, considering the amount of time we had to plan, I thought I would have to concede having a wedding that felt like a reflection of both my husband and I and the love we share. I have to thank both Carole and the Inn of the Seventh Ray for instead helping us have the wedding that looked and felt like we had planned it at least 6 months in advance instead of 6 weeks and most importantly reflected us and our love for eachother.
It was beautiful and seamless with a very natural and magical feel. If there were any hiccups– I hadn’t the slightest clue and neither did my guests and family because Carole was there the entire time to make sure that it was running smoothly. She was indescribably soothing and calming the entire time and I’m grateful to her for the wonderful memories of that day! It was the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended and I’m so happy to say that it was mine:)
Thank you Carole and congrats on your new business!
With Love and Gratitude,
Sumaya
(June 7, 2008 Wedding)