Our Philosophy
Our Perfect Couple
We know that you’re a busy couple, and that you’d much rather be sipping champagne at sunset than researching vendors or perfecting the wedding day timeline. You may have a specific picture of exactly how the day will look OR you may have no idea what you want, but either way, you know that we’re your advocate and wholeheartedly want to find the best value for everything you want to incorporate in your wedding. Bonus points if you love wine and to travel!
We believe that the wedding planning process can be just as memorable and fun as the wedding itself.
We take your vision and pair it with our expertise to create an inspired event that showcases how awesome you are as a couple.
At First Comes Love, we take a value approach to wedding planning. We know you are investing a lot of time and money into the day – so let’s work together to find the best wedding professionals to create your personal dream team – for whatever budget and priorities you have.
It is so important for you to be able to confide in us and tell us anything and everything about your wedding – we want our clients to feel comfortable with us, so much so that most of our clients become friends and we keep in touch after the wedding.
Schedule a Consultation >The “wedding planner gene”: a Type-A personality
Meet the Team
“I love learning about my clients, their lives and what makes them happy.”
Amy da Silva
Over the years I’ve learned that what’s really important about a wedding is the couple coming together and being surrounded by friends and family. I love learning about my clients, their lives and what makes them happy. This allows me to hone in on what’s really important to them and help them create the most memorable day imaginable.
If you ask anyone, I’m a stickler for detail and my timelines are on point! I can be a bulldog, but only when I have to (in the best interest of my clients of course!) I founded First Comes Love with my best friend Lindsay in 2008 and took a huge leap of faith by leaving my job working for the world’s largest PR firm. But I’m so glad I did and have been so grateful that phenomenal couples like you allow me to call this my job.
Traveling, Valle de Guadalupe, spending time with my husband and two kids and the color purple.
“I want my clients to have fun and be able to relax at their wedding.”
Lindsay Johnson
I love anything and everything about design. I started in the wedding industry while I was in college. I worked for a wedding florist and a wedding photographer and got to see how design played into each of their roles.
I’m also a graphic designer so feel that all of my collective experience really helps me to create stunning weddings for my couples. When we launched First Comes Love, it was the perfect balance of design and logistics for me. I get to make things look pretty and keep the day running smoothly. I want my clients to have fun and be able to relax at their wedding.
Hiking, live music and partaking in San Diego’s craft beer scene (oh yea, and I run a beer festival every year)
“No matter how many times I work at a venue, no two weddings are the same.”
Chardae Jones
I began working for a wedding venue and caterer in 2007, and I was hooked–I loved the excitement, the tiny details, and even the long hours. Eventually, I moved into corporate event marketing, but weddings have always remained my passion.
My marketing background provides a balance of creativity and detail-oriented project management skills, which ensure that a couple’s special day is executed seamlessly from beginning to end. I feel so privileged to help bring a couple’s vision to life while allowing them to enjoy every moment of it.
I love that every wedding is different from the next. I’m always excited to see the unique aspects each couple will incorporate into their wedding day.
Traveling to new places, riding my horse, and planning the perfect adventures with my friends—like Sip n’ Social, my monthly happy hour event!
"My feet are sore but my heart is full" (at the end of a wedding)
Allie Applegate
With a degree in event management, I've worked in both the corporate and social sides of the business but wedding planning is truly my passion. I left behind my corporate roots to join the First Comes Love team so that I can help our clients plan their dream weddings and have been planning weddings for over 5 years. I'm also the office manager so work daily to develop timelines, coordinate final details and make sure our clients are well taken care of.
I shamelessly cry at ceremonies because I love what I do, and consider it an absolute privilege to be trusted with the details of someone’s special day. Seeing a couple's vision become a reality, more beautiful than they could have imagined, is the best part of my job!
I'm mildly obsessed with picnics and have the cutest Vizsla puppy Penny, who we are currently trying to train. I also love hiking and exploring San Diego.
I believe that every wedding should be an artistic expression of a couple's personal style and love story.
Michele Nation
My educational background is in Biology and Fine Art. I started my career in the wedding industry over 10 years ago as a cake designer. I'm almost equal parts left brain/ right brain and excel at finding logical solutions to creative problems. This is what ultimately lead me to my love of wedding planning. I believe that every wedding should be an artistic expression of a couple's personal style and love story. Sitting down with my clients and helping them build that experience for themselves and their guests is my passion. I pride myself in establishing an easy working relationship with my clients that is based on trust, communication and organization. I want your wedding experience to be stress free, flawless and FUN!
I love to draw, sketch and doodle and am obsessed with modern calligraphy and practice daily. I'm a podcast and audiobook junkie, especially if the topic is comedy, movies or true crime. I love the SD craft beer scene and not just because my husband is a professional brewer, I just really appreciate a good beer. But all in all my favorite thing to do is spend my leisure time with my amazing husband and our 4 awesome kids...especially if we are at Disneyland.
“My perfectionist side is definitely the perfect fit for weddings.”
Nena Villavicencio
I’ve always loved the excitement of events, whether it’s weddings, sports or festivals.
I started my event career working for the Padres and then interned for Amy back in the day. She kept me onboard and I trained up to become an event manager, which I’ve been doing since 2013.
I think what draws clients to me is that I’m a go-getter. I always make sure everything is just right and my perfectionist side is definitely the perfect fit for weddings, where we only get one shot to get it right.
Wine and champagne, hiking, camping, movies and concerts.
“I run a tight ship, but still have fun doing it.”
Ruthie Malak
I couldn’t imagine a job more perfect for me. I studied interior design, work as a home stager AND love organization. I have meticulous attention to detail and anyone you meet in the wedding industry will tell you that I run a tight ship - but still have fun doing it.
I’ve been working with First Comes Love since 2011. Right now I’m taking very limited weddings because I am enjoying being a new mom.
Spending time with my husband and baby girl plus our fur baby Oski (he even has his own Insta), walking around Balboa Park, gardening, and good local beer.
Where You’ll Find Us
We’re preferred planners at over 20 wedding venues including Scripps Seaside Forum, US Grant Hotel, La Valencia, The Prado at Balboa Park, Rancho Valencia, The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Loews Coronado and many more! We’ve been published too! You can find our wedding featured in San Diego Style Weddings, Exquisite Weddings, The Knot, 100 Layer Cake, Style Me Pretty and Green Wedding Shoes, just to name a few.
Awards
Best of the Knot – 11 years in a row! Inaugurated into The Knot’s Best of Weddings HALL OF FAME for Wedding Planner WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award Love Notes
Our wedding was truly the best day ever but this would not have been imaginable with out the amazing help and impeccable taste and planning of First Comes Love! Not only did we make the best choice when we choose First Comes Love but it took our wedding from dream to a real life fairytale! Every request I had was handled with precision, every question we had was met with invaluable advice and First Comes Love took ownership of our wedding as if it was their wedding. This is a once in a lifetime day and First Comes Love treated it as such! I could not ask for more professionalism or attention to detail than First Comes Love delivered. Thank you Amy, you were the best!