Deborah Kanani created Mendocino Weddings in the early 1980’s to provide locations and services for couples choosing a wedding or event in Mendocino County. Deborah comes from a varied background in hospitality, business, and early childhood education. She was trained in the etiquette of several cultures and learned the “art of entertaining” as a young girl. Her ability to focus on details led her to explore the Montessori education. In 1971 she moved to the Mendocino Coast with her husband and son and founded the first Montessori school in northern Calif. In addition, to teaching and managing the school Deborah was responsible for creating and producing many events including fund-raisers, parties, workshops, theater, concerts and educational events. Her skill and experience to manage the details of a wedding or special event, with grace and elegance, is unmatched.

"My love of working with people, especially on their WEDDING, is what motivates me to continue to make sure that each couple receives excellent personal service both from Mendocino Weddings and the vendors. Each couple is different and provides a unique opportunity to learn more about how we can create a perfect event for them. Our desire is to give our clients personalized wedding planning tailored specifically to their needs, their ideas and their budget. Our staff is experienced, friendly and efficient. We focus on the details and gracefully create a stress free environment for the client, the family and the guests.

During the 18 years of service in Mendocino County, we have created weddings and events for Eva Spring (of Martha Stewart Weddings staff) this event was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, the Fetzer family of Hopland, the Thurston family of Ukiah, and Dr. Nancy Snyderman of Good Morning America and KGO to note a few of the clients who chose Mendocino Weddings to plan and coordinate their event. We have worked with clients from all over the world and have created everything from elopements to a grand wedding for 450 people."

Andrea Rios has been working with Mendocino Weddings for 3 seasons and she has developed a wonderful rapor with couples and their families. Her expertise as a wine professional assists both clients and chefs with excellent food and wine pairings.

Carol Sanders has been working with Mendocino Weddings since the beginning of 2007. She is our office manager and the organizer and "schedule keeper" of the coordination team. Yes, even the coordinators need a coordinator!

Carol has lived in the Mendocino/Fort Bragg area since 1985. She has a strong base in organizing businesses, taking care of client contracts, arranging vendor appointments, site tours and BBQ's. Carol was born in England and has a special rapport with our European clients. She is in charge of all retail sales and rental equipment orders and is the coordinator for certain events.
We are very pleased to have Carol as part of our team.

“THANK YOU FOR ORGANIZING A PERFECT DAY FOR US TO REMEMBER FOREVER.” Thank you!

John and Laura

Hi Deborah,

I am so so sorry it has taken me this long to write you after our wedding. Wow, what a whirlwind life has been since we returned from Costa Rica. Once we got back, I started looking for a new job and thankfully, I have just found one, so I feel like things are finally settling down for us.

Greg and I both want to thank you once again for helping to make our special day so wonderful. We couldn't be more pleased with how well everything went. And we keep hearing from friends that it was the best wedding they've ever been to, which reinforces what an amazing day it was.

Thank you again for you all of your assistance and support through that year of planning and decision making, and for your invaluable help on the day of the event.

Perhaps we'll see each other again on one of our trips out to Mendocino.

Best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Kym Orr and Greg Rentfroe

Hi Deborah,

Thanks for everything that you did to make our wedding perfect! We had a wonderful day and night and everything seemed to go so smoothly. We simply cannot imagine how we would have ever done this without you! We loved Andrea and thought she did a great job too!

Thanks for everything!

Susan and Claude

Dear Deborah,

You and your staff were fabulous. Thank you so much for everything you did. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect and it couldn't have happened without you. You did an amazing job and I am so glad you were there to take care of everything for us!!!!!

Corrie Jentz
May 2007

Dear Deborah,

Thank you so much for the location tour. Having grown up in the area I thought I knew every nook and cranny one could get married at. Boy was I wrong! You showed me to almost 20 locations in a 3-4 hour period. All were new to me and equally appealing. By far, it was the best $ I've spent so far in this process!

Thanks again!

Kara

A thank you for our rehearsal BBQ on the beach.

I am so sorry to be so late doing this, but thank you so very much. Everything was lovely in spite of the rain (What rain?). Everyone complemented the food, especially the ribs -- absolutely delicious. I cannot remember when it has been so easy for me to give a party.

Again, thank you so very much.
Barbara Grossman

Dear Deborah,

John and I have decided not to have our wedding in Mendocino, let alone California. We've decided to have it in Vermont, which is closer to where our parents live. With that said, I want you to know how amazingly helpful our day with you was. You showed us things we never would have found on our own and really made us feel like the whold process was not that scary. I particularly like the Cypress Grove and hope that lots of people enjoy ceremony's there this summer.

We have been talking about how great you are to people we know down here in the Bay Area. I've been convinced that you're worth every penny of hiring a planner. So, hopefully we can bring you business indirectly.

Good luck with everything and thanks so much!

Sincerely,
Julia Larson

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