During her 13 years in business, Annena has become one of the most highly respected event coordinators in the area. Before her career as a coordinator, she had her own successful catering business, calling on her art background for her spectacular buffet designs. Catering gave her the behind-the-scenes experience that most coordinators don’t have, not only in the kitchen but with the tenting and lighting as well. A woman of many trades, she has studied interior design and now uses these principles in her event design. She looks at form, function, color, ambiance, personality, spatial relations, lighting, and flow. She says that she really enjoys it when her clients are willing to express themselves, bringing their character and style into the event and going beyond tradition. For the wedding of a professional basketball star, she helped expand his bride’s love of roses into the whole event, even surprising the guests at the end of the reception with a waterfall of rose petals spilling over from the balconies of the ballroom.

She has planned international conferences for the wedding and event industry, working with the editors of Bride’s Magazine and Modern Bride . At one of the conferences held in San Francisco, Annena coordinated the elegant luncheon with the theme "Designing a Room." She worked with designers, florists, and lighting technicians to create a stunning effect based on five tabletop themes: Wine Country, Romantic Garden, Enchantment, European, and Art Deco. Everyone was in awe of the room’s design, with its trellises, columns, live plants, flowers, and spectacular lighting. Annena later told me that no one ever knew that most of the vendors had arrived two hours late. "What really drives me is that I want to surpass the expectations of my clients," says Annena. A bride’s mother wrote to Annena after the wedding: "There simply isn’t a way to appropriately thank you for so many months of always being there, always caring, always having the perfect solution, always being available, always making us believe we were your most important concern. After almost 30 years of professional life in several different arenas, I want you to know that there aren’t many like you out there."

Before you hire an event coordinator