Having gotten engaged only a year after we moved to northern Arizona from Minnesota and with a wedding date only six months out, we began to plan our own wedding feeling like polar bears in the desert. We did not know any caterers, bands, florists, tux rental establishments, venues, wedding photographers, how to conduct a wedding in our preferred location (Grand Canyon), what to do when, how to get invitations, what to include in invitations, and a whole lot more. We both work full-time and had no family to help with planning, so we did the natural thing. We freaked.

But after we calmed down utilizing deep-breathing exercises, we did the next natural thing: we consulted the Yellow Pages for ‘Wedding Planners.” An exchange of e-mails with Yvonne Baca followed, and then a consultation. At that first meeting, Yvonne gave us several photographer names, gave us the schedules of several local musicians, and helped us plan a schedule of what needed to be done. We were so impressed we considered asking Yvonne to join us in marriage herself, which would create an awkward three-person parental unit, but we opted to hire her to plan our wedding instead.

What followed were five months of relatively smooth sailing, with the only problems coming from vendors we found on our own. Yvonne was intuitive to what our style was and helped us plan accordingly, and she was on the ball — always — making sure all the details were covered and, on our wedding day, that the plans unfolded buttery smooth. We had the wedding of our dreams, many of our friends and family commented on how the wedding “seemed just like you guys,” and without Yvonne, we probably would have given up and tied the knot in Las Vegas, where they was a reasonable risk that one of us could have ended up married to Britney Spears. She also saved us a bundle of money on things we had to buy anyway.

We would like to hire Yvonne to manage our lives, but since that isn’t possible, we will have to live vicariously through other couples who choose to plan their wedding with Yvonne. We strongly recommend Yvonne Baca as a wedding planner. You’ll get the wedding you always wanted, and you’ll gain a friend.

Todd and Bonnie Berger
Grand Canyon, Arizona

September 26, 2004