Inside The Events Of Event Planning with Amanda Dawson
People have been coming together for weddings and events for centuries to enjoy good food and drinks, a good time, and one another’s company.
And we believe in that fellowship as much as you do.
But what I really love about it all is how much it reminds me that we are not alone—we are connected; we are part of a whole, a whole that needs each other.
Today, I have a treat in store for you. I spoke with Amanda Dawson of Urban Elegance, who is a wedding and event planner extraordinaire. And there’s a secret I have for you—if you’re planning an elegant affair, this is the woman to see! Tune in and hear what she has to say.
Transcript
Gillian de Souza: Hi there, welcome! This is Gillian with DC Weddings with Gillian. And today I have a treat in store for you. We have Amanda Dawson of Urban Elegance and she is a wedding and event planner. Extraordinary. And there’s a secret I have for you. If you are planning an elegant affair, that’s not stuffy and not complicated, stay tuned and hear what Amanda has to say. Here we go.
Hello everyone. This is Gillian again, and I’m here with Amanda Dawson of Urban Elegance, and we are happy to have her here with us today. Hello, Amanda.
Amanda Dawson: Hello, good evening.
Gillian de Souza: Good evening. It is so good to have you here this evening. Thank you so much. So I’m gonna jump right into it cause I am so excited to find out about Urban Elegance.
The name itself tells me I just wanna party with you. I just want you to throw me something with an event name like that. Amanda, how did your journey in the wedding industry begin?
Amanda Dawson: So we started in November of 2008 and in September of 2009, we were presented with an opportunity to do probably about a 250 person wedding in Virginia.
And, it was a little daunting. However, it was somebody that we knew and somebody that we felt comfortable with. So therefore it was easy for the planning process and easy to plan the wedding because we had amazing clients.
Gillian de Souza: Fantastic. Amazing clients are always the best. So tell me about those clients.
What types of weddings do you perform? Who are your best clients?
Amanda Dawson: All of our clients are our best clients. However, we’ve had friends, we’ve had a lot of referrals come through to us. People that we considered family. People that we’ve grown to, know and become family with.
Right now I’m planning a wedding and the relationship has been going on for a year and we planned her older sister’s wedding. So the fact that the family returned to us felt really good. And we knew that we took very good care of them. And so it was a blessing. So we planned her older sister’s wedding.
And the fact that the family came back to us was a blessing. And we knew that we did something right. And we knew that they trusted us most importantly. So that’s really important to have repeat clients come back, to have clients refer you. And just to know that they’re pleased with your service and what you do overall.
Gillian de Souza: Oh, that is wonderful. It is extra special to know that you can make such a difference in a family’s life that they’ll come back to you for their family’s special moments. That’s a great feeling.
Amanda Dawson: Absolutely.
Gillian de Souza: So what about this wedding industry brings you joy, gives you excitement?
Amanda Dawson: It’s just — really the fellowship of it all, especially understanding the last two and a half years. We’ve dealt with COVID and isolation and not being able to host and not being communal. We were made to be in relationship with one another.
I am a child who was raised with parents who hosted events naturally. I think the fellowship of it all and to see people walk in and enjoying good food and drinks and partying and just enjoying one another, to see a person embrace another person and to feel that hug and that love from one another is really important.
I think, as wedding planners, we get bogged down in the details of it all, the runners, the details and love is in the details. However, when you plan something and you plan it well, I think clients will really appreciate then.
My name is Amanda Dawson, and I am principal owner of Urban Elegance, LLC, a special event planning company and design company based in Washington, DC.
We plan weddings, birthday parties, and every event that you can imagine. There are love in the details and everything that Urban Elegance does. And we ensure from the initiation to completion that you are happy, that you are pleased, that there’s open communication. You can visit us at www.urbaneleganceaffairs.com to learn more about us and also to see some of our events that we plan in the past. We look forward to serving you and thank you.
Gillian de Souza: Thank you so much, Amanda. And as I said in the beginning, Urban Elegance, I’m ready to party. I want Urban Elegance for my affairs. So there, I know who to call now when I’m planning. So thank you so much for your time.
Amanda Dawson: Thank you!
Gillian de Souza: Yes. It’s been a pleasure talking with you.
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