Y ou know a wedding planner is good at their job, when even super organized people are like, “Girlfriend’s got skills.” And that’s exactly what Melanie Hsia of San Francisco-based MSH Events has: practically inhuman levels of organizational skill, and a burning desire make wedding planning less stressful for you. And with prices starting at $1,500 for day-of coordination (plus awesome a la carte services like venue searching for $500), MSH Events might just be the Bay Area’s best-kept secret (until now).
Wedding planners and coordinators are a godsend for disorganized people like me. (What’s a spreadsheet again?) But if you’re normally a hyper-organized person, it’s important know that your coordinator can meet you at your level, because otherwise they’re just one more person you have to manage. Melanie double majored in English and Statistics at UC Berkley, and is a certified wedding planner via the wedding planner certificate course at CSU East Bay (which lasts three months, with eight hours of class a week, plus memorization and homework. AKA no joke). So Melanie’s got both the interpersonal skills and detail-oriented brain to keep your wedding running smoothly, so you can kick back and enjoy the day. As one recent client said:
Apart from interacting with all our vendors, helping fine tune the schedule, and assisting with seating, Melanie also took care of the completely unexpected—collecting gift envelopes, end-of-night food distribution, and even briefly watching our twelve pound dog who became a bit unruly during one of the wedding speeches. In a nutshell, Melanie is awesome. She will think of every detail you haven’t thought of and most importantly, will let you keep your focus on what is truly important: your spouse to be!
And another echoed:
Melanie was the day-of coordinator for my wedding last summer. I’m an organized person, so it was key to me to find someone even more organized than myself. Melanie Hsia was that person. I appreciated her professionalism, especially since a lot of wedding vendors are creative types who aren’t always as good with correspondence. I felt like I was in good hands.
Melanie may be able to balance dozens of tasks at a time, but her operating philosophy is remarkably simple:
I just like helping folks out. Weddings can be super stressful and crazy times, and if I can relieve that in even the smallest way, I’m completely satisfied.
With her credentials and experience, MSH Events could easily be a preferred vendor at a fancy wedding venue, doing all the big WIC weddings. But Melanie prefers working with APW couples. In fact, she loves working with APW couples so much, that she’ll give you free advice, even if you don’t end up working with her. Melanie says:
I’ve never had a bad experience working with an APW reader. I always feel like I can be myself and not a salesperson. APWers just make me feel immediately comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that I’m already giving initial recommendations before we’ve decided to work together. Even if I don’t end up working with that person, I’ve had a fun conversation, learned about some cool new wedding details, and have the satisfaction of helped someone out.
The best part of working with MSH events (other than Melanie herself) is that they offer tons of a la carte planning options, in the event that you don’t need or want a coordinator or planner, but could use a little help in the planning process. They even offer a City Hall package. Here’s the breakdown:
- Day-of coordination: starts at $1,500
- Planning (includes DOC): starts at $2,500
- SF City Hall Special: $750 (ceremony at city hall; reception for fewer than 30 people)
- Venue Seeker: $500 (approximately; depends on the amount of research needed)
The mark of a great wedding planner is when you don’t even know they’re around. Like any good superhero, they just save the day and then fly off into the night before getting a chance to take any credit. So if Melanie’s past client experiences are any indication, MSH Events are very good planners:
Melanie helped the flow of the wedding day happen beautifully and I know this because it all went great, yet until dinner I didn’t notice her. Which is a compliment to her work…. I would absolutely recommend Melanie and the wonderful wedding company she is building. She is incredibly organized, thoughtful, caring, and did a fantastic job of making our wedding day a wonderful success!
In an area that’s rife with overpriced products and services that you don’t even need, MSH Events is both affordable and also worth every penny. So if you’ve been looking for a wedding planner or coordinator who can out-organize you (in a non-oppressive way), then add contacting MSH Events to your to-do list right this second. Because making your wedding planning a little less stressful is never a bad idea.
Day-of coordination with MSH Events starts at just $1,500. Click here to get in touch with Melanie today!
