Local Vendor Highlight: Diamonds and Details | Flawless and Sparkling Events

DiamondsandDetails

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Photo by MamaOwl Photography

“Planning should be fun.  Let us worry about the details!”

Wedding & Event Planner and Owner of Diamonds and Details, Amanda Dabbeekeh has a natural ability for multi-tasking, organization and a love for celebrating every event with a big party.  Passion meets creativity for every event that Diamonds and Details creates.  What sets this company apart from all the rest, is that they work with couples on all budget levels, so connecting with the vendors you’ll need to make your wedding day become a reality just got easier!  We got to chat with owner Amanda to get the inside scoop behind “Diamonds and Details”, who we highly recommend to our brides looking for a wedding planner in the Philadelphia area!


 

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Photo by Brittany Ostrov Photography

You’ve been in business since 2009, how has your company grown and evolved over this period of time?

Diamonds and Details started with just myself planning and running all the events.  I now have an experienced team working alongside me, Svetlana, our Day of Coordinator and Maygan, our Day of Assistant.

What makes “Diamonds and Details” unique, and what does your company take pride in the most?

Diamonds and Details is a unique company in that the person you meet on day one is the Coordinator you will see managing your wedding day.  We also limit our schedule to 1 wedding a weekend.  We pride ourselves on being very client focused.  By focusing on only their wedding, our clients know that we truly are there to make their day (or even wedding weekend!) as stress-free as possible!

What do you love most about wedding planning?

The number one reason I love wedding planning – the people!!  Every wedding I do brings new experiences and new people to interact with, whether it be the clients or the other professionals.  Every wedding we do is unique and has its own personal touches.  I love that each experience is new and different.  I definitely don’t do the same thing every day!

Biggest wedding disaster you overcame as a planner?

Thankfully, in my many years of wedding planning, I’ve been able to prevent any major disasters. Fortunately, with excellent preparation any small misfortunes that did arise we were able to manage! That’s not to say, my team and I haven’t had a few curve balls thrown our way!  Some of the biggest challenges included a venue losing power and the wedding had to be cut short after the ceremony, a tented backyard reception surrounded by rain coming down sideways (the photos were amazing though!) and an ice storm the night before the wedding leading to traffic incidents on the roads and many of the wedding day professionals running late.  One of my biggest challenges though involved a Bride hosting her wedding at her private residence the day after Christmas.  Mother Nature decided that December 26th was the perfect day for a blizzard so we were forced to prep for all options, and canceling the wedding was not one of them!  After lots of “Plan Bs” going into effect and a great team of professionals working alongside of me, the wedding turned out beautiful!

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Photo by OhKarina Photography

Tell us more about yourself and your team. How do you all collectively work together for each client?

I truly believe that in order for you to be successful, you need to surround yourself with the best!  Why Diamonds and Details has had so many happy clients is because of the planning team I have working alongside me on wedding day.  Svetlana is our Day of Coordinator.  She is amazing at managing all the decor set-up at the venue on wedding day, as well as keeping the time line moving and the professionals getting set-up at the venues.  For many of our DIY clients, Svetlana is the person to thank for their vision coming to life!  She also is extremely creative and is our company specialist when it comes to clients looking to plan themed events.  Maygan is a recent full-time addition to the Diamonds and Details team. She started with us as a college intern and now holds the title of “Day of Assistant”.  I affectionately call her our “Bridal Concierge”.  She is a calming face to many of our Brides and their Bridal party on wedding day.  Whether it be handing them a tissue or holding their bouquet during photos, Maygan is always right by their side.  Maygan is also great at handling a last minute dress emergency or touching up a Bride’s hair or make-up during the wedding.  She has even sewn a groomsman’s pants right before he needed to walk down the aisle.

Related: Check out Diamonds and Details on our Vendor Directory

What exciting upcoming weddings are you currently engaged in for 2016?

I am really excited for what we have ahead for 2016.  One of our biggest weddings is a Persian wedding at Cairnwood Estate.   We can’t wait to see the Bride’s vision of a traditional Iranian wedding (setting up a sofreh for the ceremony, etc.) mixed in with the classic, elegant elements she is bringing in through decor and flowers.  We also are working with a lot of couples really adding personal touches to their wedding day.  We have two Brides planning their color scheme around their favorite animated TV series.  One of our clients, who met her fiance ballroom dancing, is planning an evening of cocktails and dancing surrounded by swanky lounge furniture and black and white decor.  We can’t wait to see all these details come to life on wedding day!

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Photo by Jessica Ames Photography

What services do you provide for your clients? Any new developments for 2016?

Our services include day of coordination and customized wedding planning.  Some companies offer “partial” or ‘full” planning, but we feel our clients appreciate the opportunity to really design a planning package that fits their needs and budget.  Even with our day of coordination package, clients receive two hours of consultation time to use however they want, whether it be a venue walk through or final meeting with the florist or caterer.  We recently launched our brand new website (www.diamondsanddetails.com) and introduced some rentals to our list of services.  Right now, our most popular rental is our chuppah/canopy that can be decorated for a ceremony space.  We make it easy for the client to rent from us – set up, delivery and take down are all included in the fee.

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Who are your favorite vendors to work with in Philadelphia?

One of the company specialties is being able to provide our clients with wedding day professionals that fit their vision and most importantly budget.  We have been lucky to form some really great relationships with some of the best Philadelphia wedding professionals.  We also love to network and meet new professionals at industry events and bridal shows.  Keeping a good resume of experienced professionals at all different price points really helps our clients in the long term.  As for my favorite vendors to work with, the guys at Schaffer Sounds always take really great care of my clients.  I never have to worry about the music or following the time line when they are DJing one of my weddings.  Audrey Amaro at Mama Owl Photography has worked with several of my clients and the photos are always breathtaking!  (I have even used her personally for my photos!). For video, Nick at Scarlett Creek Productions is one of my favorites as well.  He really knows how to connect with clients and goes above and beyond on wedding day to get the right shot!

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Photo by MamaOwl Photography

What’s your #1 Tip that you can give to brides planning their wedding in the Philadelphia area?

My best advice for Brides and Grooms planning their wedding is to have fun and don’t forget to make the wedding about you and your fiance.  If you envision a ceremony read entirely in Dr. Seuss verse then do it! (And yes, one of my favorite clients did this for their wedding!)  When you look back on wedding day, you want to remember the fun of planning and how all the details came together.  Of course, my best advice also includes hiring a company like Diamonds and Details to help bring the details together!


Diamonds and Details

Contact

amanda@diamondsanddetails.com