Formally educated through the accredited ACPWC (Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants) program, Allison has achieved the prestigious level of Certified Wedding Consultant (CWC) and has gone on to become a national speaker and instructor for the Association, teaching students all over the country and from all over the world the “ins and outs of becoming a wedding consultant.” She takes great pride in sharing her talents and insight with people who possess the same drive and passion for weddings and for the wedding industry as a whole. Allison lives in Santa Cruz, with her husband and daughters and enjoys her free time by relaxing with family, doing yoga and reading.

In 2003, Allison invited Lori Hood to join her as a lead wedding consultant. Lori and Allison immediately recognized their similar work styles, individual talents and work ethics, and above all else, the complete commitment to the client, and to the outcome of a perfect event, every time. Lori, a people person with corporate management and planning skills, is an immense asset to the success of Allison Weddings.

Today, Allison Weddings is a full-service wedding design company, planning and orchestrating an average of twenty incredible weddings each calendar year, while continuing to ensure that each client receives the personal attention and support they're known for.

Lori Hood, Wedding Consultant, joined Allison Weddings in 2003 after completing the ACPWC training course. Since graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Lori’s career has included full-time Corporate Event Management, Program Management, and Human Resource Management.  

Lori has found her work at Allison Weddings to be a perfect merger of her technical and organizational skills with her ability to communicate effectively and authentically with clients and vendors. She has a down-to-earth personality and an honest, no-nonsense, “drama-free”  work ethic that serves her well in this profession.  Lori believes that to be a successful wedding consultant, you have to truly enjoy working hard, problem solving, mediation and negotiation and super fast-paced, high-stress situations.  As she puts it, “It’s not as glamorous as portrayed in the movies and on TV, but it’s extremely rewarding to see the results of our hard work as each unique celebration takes place.”

Lori lives in the small, coastal community of La Selva Beach with her husband and two sons.  She is active in the community serving on the improvement association board as the Social Director of the community – when not planning weddings, she’s busy planning community events!

Michele Garcia, specialty designer & production assistant: Michele owns and operates a successful, online wedding accessories and paper goods business, Heart Paper Soul.  She started her business in 2002 and her talents have been featured in many prestigious publications, including InStyle Weddings and Modern Bride as well as on Oprah.  Michele and Allison Weddings combined creative forces in 2003, and together they design and produce custom specialty pieces to complete the look of each event.  Michele has a natural ability to pull a unifying design theme from the inspirations a client presents to her.  Her intimate connection with the wedding day pieces and her eye for style make her a natural for the hands on production of the events themselves.