Dreamers and Heroes

Melanie helped us coordinate our wedding this past summer at Cornerstone and it was pure perfection!
The first time I talked to Melanie, she really spent her time getting to know me and didn’t seem rushed through that process or any really the entire time. She takes her time and makes sure that when you are making decisions, she refers you back to what you wanted.
As a local to the Sonoma area, her connections and recommendations were spot on! We used her referral for our flowers, shuttle, rentals, you name it!
I couldn’t be happier and highly recommend reaching out to her for your event!

I wish Unilocal had a 10-​star rating, because Melanie and her team deserves it! If you are looking for a wedding coordinator, stop your search now because you’d be stupid not to hire Dreamers and Heroes.
My husband and I got married at Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma, CA, where Melanie used to be an event coordinator. Everything was perfect. Even my parents got to enjoy the wedding without having to worry about anything. My dad said like he felt like the President with a secret service…(whispered into his ear) «Excuse me, Mr. Huffman, you’re needed to take first look photos»
From the start Melanie gave fantastic local vendor suggestions for a photographer, florist, catering, DJ, etc. All professionals were within our budget and provided fantastic service. Not to mention that Melanie suggested vendors that fit our personality and wedding vision.
During the planning, we kept everything organized in shared documents and she was always open for a quick phone call. I always knew what still needed to be done.
The month of the wedding tends to be the most stressful (from what I hear), but that month was completely stress-​free. Dreamers and Heroes coordinated with all the vendors so that my mom and I could just relax and go wine tasting.
During the wedding rehearsal, Melanie told the entire wedding party that I was not allowed to lift anything or do any work. And neither should my mom. I loved it! I felt completely taken care of on the wedding day. Her team even brought us breakfast burritos as the wedding party got their hair and make-​up done.
And the best part… I asked for her help with a secret ice-​cream groom’s cake! We successfully surprised my husband, he had no idea!
Overall, she planned the perfect wedding and most importantly, kept things moving! Every minute during your wedding is so precious and goes by so quickly. Make sure you have a support team to ensure that every minute is the greater than the last.
That support team needs to be Dreamers and Heroes, you won’t regret it!

Melanie and her team are just the best. My wife and I (yes I’m a guy) had what I honestly tell everyone was a perfect wedding day. And yes I am that guy who says «I don’t need help planning my wedding or managing it day of». Well I was wrong, and now kind of wish we had Melanie and team there from day one. But don’t get me wrong when Melanie is your «day of coordinator» she has been helping you for weeks in advance. Well before you give her the final payment she has already paid for her services in tips, vendor discounts, and general thoughtful recommendations. Then there is the wedding day itself. We had so many vendors, so many family, so many moving pieces. We wanted to fit in everything, ask our guests to toe the line, and still have an unforgettable, perfect day. Melanie and team made it all happen. Everyone was where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. We got to include all the little things in our wedding. Every speech, every game, every special moment. We were surprised by all the small touches that Melanie and team included that we could not have ever expected or planned for since this was our one and only wedding. She made our day perfect, simply stated it was everything we ever wanted and it went off without a hitch. I joke that Melanie had the power to change the weather, because while our rehearsal was done at a balmy 94 °F, our ceremony the following day was at 72 °F. Thanks again for that Melanie, you will always be a special part of our special day.

I hired Melanie and Dreamers and Heroes for a la carte service to help me put together the «design» aspect of my wedding. I was having a destination wedding and was very worried about picking out linens, chargers, etc when I had never seen my venue. Melanie was amazing to work with. She went over to my venue, spoke with the florist, and put together a dream reception for me. Everything came together beautifully and I couldn’t have envisioned anything better.

Melanie and her team have been absolutely exceptional to work with. Leading up to the event, every meeting was extremely productive. Melanie carefully listens to ideas, offers helpful insight and infuses structure to the crazy planning process. A seasoned professional, Melanie immediately recognizes the strengths and challenges of any venue, idea, timeline — I felt like we could make very educated decisions along the entire way. Melanie was very mindful of our limited budget and helped us considerably to get the best value. An added bonus — she has a fantastic palate for wine, which helped narrow our options at a wedding in wine country!
The day of the wedding truly showcased Melanie’s (& company’s) talents and professionalism. The entire team was organized, handled the few emergencies with highest preparedness (and creativity when was required). I realized that the ideas I threw out six months ago and never brought up again were executed better than I had ever imagined. The whole wedding far surpassed anything I had hoped for, and much of that is attributed to Dreamers and Heroes. I would highly recommend!

My fiancé and I have been having a heck of a time with trying to put together vendors and all of the miscellaneous stuff that goes into planning a wedding. Pile on top of that: we decided to get married far from home in a destination location where there is tons of competition for vendors, my mother has leukemia and we can almost never get away to meet with vendors, and my fiancé works two jobs and is in school full time so I have no one to help me. In enters Melanie. After meeting with an unpleasant and aggressive wedding planner, among other unsuccessful vendors, the last time we were in Sonoma, we planned another trip to Glen Ellen, specifically to meet with vendors, many of which baled on us at the last minute. Panicked, since we were already booked for hotel, we scoured Unilocal for alternative vendors to meet with. I contacted Melanie, and she responded right away, and was able to fit us in pretty instantly. She was very accommodating and friendly, and suggested we meet at the Olea Hotel, which was convenient since we were hoping to look at them for a room block. Now, after meeting with probably 20 or so vendors throughout the greater Bay Area and wine country, we were unprepared for the truly pleasant experience of meeting with Melanie. We had hor d’oeuvres and wine under oak trees while Melanie put our minds at ease about the whole planning process. She was friendly, willing to work within our budget, and excited to make our artistic ideas a reality. She didn’t rush us, offered lots of suggestions and advice, and generally took her time getting to know us as a couple. I do not doubt for a second that she would put the same kind of care into creating our, or any other, event. So many vendor meetings have left us with more questions or stresses, and we left this one feeling like we made a friend. Thanks, Melanie!

This review is way overdue, but I can speak about Dreamers and Heroes on two events — our wedding (June 2012) and my work’s fundraising event (October 2012). First and foremost, it should be known that I am a bit of a perfectionist (not in a mean way, but in the «I know what I want» way.) I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and I personally have planned many special events, but our wedding? That’s a whole new ball game. Thankfully Melanie was recommended to us by our baker. I have dealt with event planners before and being Sonoma County, I was concerned she might be one of «those» types of planners. If you don’t know what I mean, I’m talking about the type that boss you around and convince you that you want or need things that you don’t want or need and they have the attitude to go with it. Thankfully Melanie was the perfect fit for our personalities and she saw right away what we envisioned for our wedding. She has such a calming effect on you, which I so appreciate! Especially since I’m a bit of a spazz. She is kind, generous and fun! And so is her team.
We hired her as a «day-​of» planner but that title is just plain bogus. She and her team provide way more than that. I had actually done a lot of the initial planning myself with regard to Save the Date cards, invitations, favors, photographer, videographer, DJ and what I wanted the centerpieces to be, etc. However, thanks to Melanie she saved us from making a huge mistake with our catering choice. We opted to go with her recommendation (THANK GOD!) and they were perfect! What I loved was she spent time with me helping me to choose linens, meeting with the florist (also a recommendation from her!) among other countless details. She and her team were absolutely perfect in my opinion come event day. If there was a «fire», we didn’t know about it. Her team did such a great job working with our wedding party and our families, not to mention all of the different vendors. I just remember how good they were about making sure our families were taken care of during the wedding. What can I say? Dreamers and Heroes are stellar! If you want to deal with «real» people who simply want to help you make your day special and memorable, this is the team! It doesn’t hurt that they are fun people too!
Obviously I was so pleased with our wedding that I approached Melanie about helping coordinate my work’s fundraising event and I’m so glad I did. She teamed up with another planner and helped us have the most successful event we’ve had thus far! The evening was a huge step up from the previous year and our attendees had nothing but wonderful things to say. I was really happy as well because I didn’t have to deal with all of the logistics like I did the previous year. It was as if a huge weight was lifted.
I can assure you should we need any more event help, I’ll be in touch with Dreamers and Heroes. Both of my experiences were excellent.

I was really nervous about hiring a wedding coordinator– but Melanie is amazing! The first time we met I knew our wedding would be great! She totally «got» my husband and I. She knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding, and helped us picture what we did want. And it was exactly that– a mellow, homegrown, backyard wedding with a funky twist. She called it «bohemian chic.» Melanie had a ton of GREAT ideas for extra things we could work into the event to really personalize the wedding! All our guests commented on how everything reflected our personalities.
I can’t recommend Dreamers and Heroes enough! They really help you figure out what you want your event to be like, and then make it happen! We didn’t have any stress outs the day of the event, and actually got to enjoy it, because Melanie and her team made sure everything went smoothly.