Sage + Slate Wedding Planning

Fantastic experience: I honestly don’t even have the words for how amazing Melena is. My wedding was November 2025 at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, and hiring her (I did her partial planning package) was the best decision I made during this whole process! She is beyond a rockstar. Truly. I could go on and on about her and still feel like I’m not explaining it well enough. She helped me SO MUCH with everything. Leading up to the wedding she was constantly communicating, checking in, answering my questions and helping to guide me when I needed it. I trusted her completely, and that trust meant everything. On the day of, she was so unreal. So on top of it, so organized, but also so calm and steady. I didn’t have to worry about a single thing because I knew she had it handled. Without her, my wedding would not have been what it was. That’s a fact. I am so grateful for her and I always will be. She is worth it times a million. If you’re thinking about hiring her DO IT!! I truly don’t think it’s possible for anyone to be better!

Fantastic experience: As a wedding DJ who has worked quite a few weddings with Sage + Slate, I cannot recommend Melena and her team enough! She is a true professional and absolute joy to work with. She provides a detailed, realistic timeline well in advance and keeps the day running on schedule allowing me to focus on the music and entertainment without feeling rushed or stressed. What sets Sage + Slate apart is their proactiveness and calm demeanor. They handle any issues that arise quietly and efficiently making sure the couple didn't feel one bit of stress. They truly act as a partner to the vendors making sure we have what we need to succeed. If you want a seemless, stress-free wedding day, hire Sage + Slate!

Fantastic experience: We had the pleasure of recently working with Mel to help plan my son and daughter in law’s rehearsal dinner and wedding in Thousand Oaks, CA. Mel was extremely knowledgeable with the venue options available in the area and had a working relationship with several outstanding vendors. She was professional, calm, organized and supportive throughout the process as well as fun to work with. Mel had an experienced team with her during the events which made for stress free evenings for us. Highly recommend!!

Fantastic experience: We loved working with Sage + Slate Planning! Hiring Melena and her team was one of the first things we did when wedding planning and it was the best decision. She was so helpful with providing vendor recommendations and guiding our decisions based on the day we wanted to have. She was a friend throughout the whole process and our day turned out perfect! Would 100% hire again!

Fantastic experience: Hiring our wedding planner was hands down one of the best decisions we made during our entire wedding journey. We worked with Melena leading up to our big day and Kati + team on the day of. Every detail—big and small—was handled with care, creativity, and calm expertise. Kati made the day feel seamless and stress-free, even when things got hectic. Whether it was managing vendors or keeping our timeline on track, she was always one step ahead. On the big day, we were able to relax and truly be present, knowing everything was in the best hands. The entire event flowed beautifully, and so many of our guests commented on how flawlessly everything came together. Our wedding planner didn’t just help us plan a wedding—they helped us create an unforgettable experience. If you're looking for someone who will genuinely care about your day and go above and beyond to make it perfect, look no further.

Fantastic experience: Sage + Slate was a great wedding planning service to work with! Melena was extremely helpful in our process of planning up to the day of our wedding and helped reassure us that the day went smoothly. Melenas knowledge and experience also was extremely helpful. We really felt they went above and beyond with helpfulness, through zoom calls for months of assistance, plus vendor suggestions and making the day-of go well I couldn't be happier with the service Melena helped with that day!

Fantastic experience: Melena and her team are AMAZING! Leading up to the wedding Melena keep us on track with monthly meetings and was full of great tips and tricks and vendor recommendations. I cannot imagine the day of without Melena and team they handled absolutely everything and were so organized, kind and professional while doing it all! Melena is a Rockstar at what she does and so down to earth-easy going. Would highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Mel was amazing! We hired her as our wedding coordinator, and from day 1 she went above and beyond for us. We are so thankful for all of her help and insight, we truly could not have done this without her! She was able to connect us with highly skilled and affordable vendors, and our wedding day went perfectly with her organization and knowledge. We highly recommend her!

Fantastic experience: Melena did a perfect job leading up to and during our wedding. She was so friendly and professional throughout. We were delighted on the day-of when everything went smoothly and beautifully thanks to her hard work. Her services are worth every penny and she made the wedding planning process so much less stressful. She is such a trustworthy and honest person too - couldn't recommend working with her more!

Fantastic experience: Melena was AMAZING!! I could not have had the Wedding of my dreams without her. I had no idea where to start, what was important and what didn’t really matter and she guided me in all areas to help make the correct decisions and where not to stress. She was able to help me with ideas, eliminate all worry and the day went flawlessly, in fact better than I could have imagined. I cannot recommend highly enough.

Fantastic experience: Hiring Melena for full planning for our wedding was the best decision we made (other than marrying each other). Melena was incredible to work with and did an absolutely wonderful job. With her indispensable help, we were able to make a 140-person wedding happen in <6 months. We started with a venue, some elements of a vision, and little else. Melena was amazing at enabling that vision to come to life, offering very helpful insights from a wealth of event planning experience, and ultimately making it all come together. Melena was down to focus on the things we cared most about and make sure those came through while making everything else work around them. She didn’t try to force any ideas of how things should be, but made sure to help us avoid pitfalls and stay within budget. Weekend of, we got to enjoy the festivities while Melena and Dave worked so hard behind the scenes and handled every vendor, family, and guest interaction with professionalism and grace. Best of all we truly enjoyed every conversation we had with Melena: we felt like we were talking to a wise and joyful friend in whom our trust was very well-placed. Paying Melena just to hang out with us would be money well spent, but in this case we also got the wedding of our dreams out of the deal. We’ve already recommended her to two other couples (friends and family), and look forward to passing on her contact to many more!

Fantastic experience: Mel was an absolute life saver. There wasn't a single time I didn't think she had it all under control! If I had thought of something she had thought of it first and already had a solution. She made my wedding day beautiful and relaxing! YES RELAXING! Because I knew I could trust her with my vision and she would execute it.

Fantastic experience: I hired Melena as my month of coordinator and she went above and beyond. For one, she’s very reasonably priced compared to all the others I was looking at. Two, she was so helpful, I text her questions constantly and she always answered. Finally, day of, her and Dave were incredible, making sure everything was set up, she dealt with everyone who was driving me crazy, and didn’t make me feel bad about getting upset or anxious. I could not have planned my wedding without her, and the day went so much smoother because of her. If you’re looking for a wedding coordinator, she’s it!

Fantastic experience: Spectacular Coordinater!! On an incredibly stressful day Mel really helped out to smooth out the rough edges. Add to that the fact she was pregnant at the time and it was extraordinary her performance. I have no idea how she did it but she truly deserves five stars for this excellent job she did on my daughter‘s wedding. I told her she did so well I would give her a favorable review but she has no idea how much I appreciate her. Thank you once again. Gary