Downey Street Events

Shaley and her team did an outstanding job planning and operating our wedding weekend. I was so impressed by the professionalism and the quality of vendors she sourced. She seemed to work with our venue and vendors effortlessly. She provided much appreciated guidance. Our guests are all still talking about what a kickass wedding that was. Thank you for making our forest disco dreams come true!

We had the best experience working with Kelsey at Downey Street Events for our wedding at Alila Ventana Big Sur. Ours was an intimate, immediate-family-only celebration, and even though the guest list was small, the planning was anything but simple, and Kelsey handled every layer of it with care and precision. What stood out most was how she took my vision and not only brought it to life exactly as I'd imagined, but elevated it in ways I couldn't have pictured myself. Her vendor connections were invaluable—she matched us with people who were clearly some of the best in the business, and every detail came together beautifully because of those relationships. Communication throughout the process was seamless. I always felt like I had someone in my corner, ready to answer questions and talk through decisions, which made the whole experience feel supported rather than stressful. On the wedding day itself, multiple guests commented on how smoothly everything was running, and that's because Kelsey was on top of every detail from start to finish. I never had to worry about a thing. Highly recommend Downey Street Events, whether you're planning an intimate gathering like ours or a much larger celebration. She made our day everything we hoped for and more 🤍

My husband and I worked with Kristen for our Napa wedding in May. Leading up to the wedding, friends would ask us how stressed we were, and the honest answer was “not at all, Kristen’s got it all under control.” Of course, the wedding itself ended up being the most perfect day. Kristen is worth her weight in gold (and more) - throughout the process we felt like we were working with a professional and friend. She delivers constructive guidance with respect (whether it’s a design or budget choice), and ultimately gives you the space to make the decision that is right for you. Coming into the process with very little design direction, Kristen was able to take a few hodgepodge inspo photos and turn it into something beautiful that also felt personal to us. Day of, we felt extremely present - Kristen and the team made sure every single small detail was taken care of so we could enjoy the time with our friends and family. Highly recommend partnering with Kristen and DSE if you’re looking to have a stress free and perfect wedding!

We had a great time working with Downey Street Events. Kristen called me and inquired about setting up five headshot stations to capture over 200 student portraits at an event at the California Academy of Sciences. She was extremely professional and friendly, and it was such a pleasure collaborating with her on planning and executing this project. The event went very smoothly, and we had a great time working with Kristen and her team. I definitely recommend her event planning service to anyone who is planning a wedding or an event.

Kristen Nakano at Downey Street Events hand-delivered the best day of our lives. Kristen is the must-hire…although “hiring” is the wrong word for what you’ll be doing. You’re gaining an ally, confidant, and partner who cares just as much, if not more, about the details of wedding day than you do. She is priceless. We began planning our wedding about a year ahead of the day in a very competitive and expensive market. We had struggled to find a planner that resonated with our needs. From the first introduction, Kristen’s calm confidence, authentic point of view, and keen listening felt unique. Kristen juggled our difficult work schedules to build immediate planning momentum, carefully curating the most important / time sensitive decisions and knowing when to give us space on choices that needed more thinking. She charmed our families, building a relationship with everyone involved in the process and leaving even our most hard to please loved ones impressed. Her poise, grace, and professionalism showed in every interaction. We felt at ease knowing she made it her job to understand exactly how we felt and what we needed for every nuance, from timeline to budget and so much more. The practical stuff: • Timeline for decisions was well thought out and helped manage our stress. We were fully done planning ahead of schedule and her confidence in the detailed run of show left us to focus on the actual experience • Kept it real on budgeting so there were no surprises, and was willing to guide the hard conversations on our behalf • Vendor curation and industry knowledge – helped us understand the landscape and gave multiple excellent recommendations • Managed every vendor relationship so we never had to think about endless emails, negotiations, nitty gritty details • Eye for detail and great taste – the design boards she put together to capture our detailed vision were a vibe • Helped us understand where we could splurge vs save with the single minded goal to create an impeccable, luxurious guest experience • Day of logistics were invisible to us – everything went off perfectly thanks to Kristen and the Downey Street team • We only ever inter-faced with Kristen – never once handed off to an assistant which is incredibly common in the planning industry We love you so much Kristen!

We cannot say enough about how much we loved working with Downey Street Events on our amazing once in a lifetime wedding!! We worked with the Downey Street Events team with Kelsey and she and her team did the full planning, design and wedding day execution for our November 2025 Napa wedding. We hired Kelsey at the very beginning of our wedding planning process so she helped us with narrowing down our venue + date and negotiating the contract with our venue, The Four Seasons Napa in Calistoga. The second we brought on Kelsey she took over all communication with The Four Seasons and effortlessly handled everything for us. The negotiation process was quite lengthy and Kelsey was amazing in knowing what to ask for and where to negotiate things. This gave us so much confidence in her and her team before we even dove into full planning and design. We met with Kelsey bi-weekly throughout the full process of planning with an agenda for every virtual call and Kelsey fully leading so that we stayed on track for what we needed to accomplish when. As a type A bride I was obsessed with the extremely detailed budget Kelsey created with us along with the wedding workflow excel (all in a master sheets document) where we tracked everything and knew from the start a timeline and wedding workflow of when we would be accomplishing what. As a crazy detailed planner myself this was invaluable. The budget tracking also was so beyond helpful in constantly knowing where we were at and in real time seeing categories evolve as we locked down vendors, rentals etc etc. Kelsey assisted with the onboarding of all of our vendors amazingly and managed getting calls set up, contracts drafted etc - she handled all communication for us. We told her early on we didn’t want to have analysis paralysis and that we wanted her to give us narrowed down lists of vendors to select from. She did so based on our vision which was SO helpful but she was also so flexible when we wanted to see more vendor options and she made this whole process so seamless. We cannot rave enough about the vendors we worked with and we know this is completely due to Kelsey!! Her expertise on who to work with is also invaluable. My favorite part of the whole process, design, was so fun with Kelsey!! I created a Pinterest board with my overall vision and aesthetic for the wedding as well as our Friday events and she brought the visions to life. The design boards she created (1 for the wedding and 1 for the rehearsal dinner and welcome party) with real rentals we could use incorporated was so helpful in curating our wedding weekend vision. We did design with Kelsey for both our Friday night rehearsal dinner + welcome party and separate design for our wedding Saturday. The design was to die for on each event!! We had very different vibes for both Friday and Saturday and she perfected each one. Kelsey truly brought my exact vision to life and as someone very particular that is not easy to do! It was hard to imagine after an amazing planning process that wedding weekend would be where Kelsey and her team truly shined the most. They were so attentive and amazing the entire wedding weekend. I would get a look on my face of needing something and Kelsey was at my side. They truly made the entire weekend so stress free so we could just be present and enjoy. Kelsey had a huge team that executed everything flawlessly and our friends and family could not stop raving about them!! If you got through this crazy long review, to recap, if you are looking to hire Downey Street Events me and my husband 1000% recommend them and you will not regret your decision! We are so thankful to have worked with Kelsey and all of her amazing recommended vendors and are forever grateful!! Attaching photos for reference all taken by our wedding photographer, Jessica Rieke.

Kelsey and the Downey Street team are incredible. True professionals who made planning leading up to our wedding feel easy, and all our wedding events in the moment absolutely perfect. I couldn't recommend them more!!!!!!!!!

Kristen absolutely rocks!! She was organized, diligent, helpful, thoughtful, and had impeccable taste. We planned the most delightful wedding on a timeline that most other planners would have balked at, and everything went off perfectly - we would recommend her to anyone and everyone!!

If I could give 100 stars, I would! My husband and I worked with Kristen at Downey Street Events for our Healdsburg wedding last May, and the entire experience was nothing short of perfection. From start to finish, Kristen made our dream wedding seamless, stress-free, and absolutely magical. Organization & Communication: Kristen kept us on track, on schedule, and on budget through regular meetings, detailed trackers, and thoughtful check-ins. Her project management skills are unmatched. Design & Vision: She transformed our ideas into something more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Kristen has an incredible eye for design, connects you with amazing vendor partners, and truly listens to your vision while adding her own creative touches that elevate everything. Wedding Weekend: I actually felt like a guest at my own wedding! Every moment was planned so seamlessly that everything felt natural and effortless. Even our friends and family couldn't stop raving about Kristen throughout the weekend. Kristen doesn't just plan weddings – she creates truly magical experiences and incredibly fun parties!! Her attention to detail, creativity, and genuine care for my husband and me shone through in every aspect. We cannot recommend Downey Street Events highly enough. Run, don't walk, to hire them!

We worked with Kristen at Downey Street Events to bring our non-traditional, intimate, and fun wedding to life — and we couldn’t have been happier. Hiring a full-service planner was worth every penny. Kristen was incredibly organized, had impeccable taste, and took so much of the stress and decision-paralysis off our plate. She understood our budget anxieties and made the process seamless by always giving us three clear options for every choice — from major vendors down to the pillows. Each came with pros/cons and a range of prices, which made it easy to decide where to save and where to splurge. She was intentional about keeping us on budget, yet also went above and beyond by sourcing amazing vendors outside of our wedding location, which had limited local options. In fact, she discovered an up-and-coming florist in the area who is now in high demand everywhere. Kristen had a perfect balance of vision and practicality. She helped us create a celebration that was modern, tasteful, and truly reflective of us. She also knew exactly which levers to pull to make sure the party wasn’t just beautiful, but fun for our guests too. We loved our regular calls, her readiness to jump in whenever needed, and her dedication to making sure every detail was handled. Even though our wedding wasn’t in San Francisco (and in a venue Downey Street Events had never worked before), it didn’t matter. Kristen made it feel effortless, offered thoughtful local options, and ensured everything came together seamlessly. We can’t recommend Downey Street Events enough!