Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison MacNealy.
Allison, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My mom tells a story about me as a little girl that whenever she would go out to dinner or to an event, I’d always be waiting at the door, dying to know all the details. What food was served, what did they drink, how was the music, did anything funny happen, what were people wearing, I wanted specifics! And honestly, I’m still the same way. I don’t want to hear if the party was great, I want to hear why it was great, how did you feel, were there any surprises, don’t just tell me it was blue and white, tell me what kind of blue! I live & love in the details. Which is why it’s probably no surprise to anyone that knew me as a five years old, that I’m now a wedding & event planner.
In the luxury hospitality market for almost 15 years, I’ve done a lot! A fine dining restaurant, a luxury hotel and dining club, a catering company, an event venue on 22 acres, and a curated gifting company. I just don’t get tired of serving people with beautiful experiences, learning new skills, and fine tuning my current skills.
After running one of the most sought after wedding venues in Dallas for nearly nine years, I decided that it was time to pivot. I missed the connection that I had with the clients at the beginning of the process. While traveling to Canada and Europe I realized that I was constantly getting ideas for destination wedding locations, design inspiration and a pull to do move away from the catering & venue side of the events industry and to launch my own planning & design company, Allison & Co Events.
Has it been a smooth road?
My advice would be to take on as many opportunities as you can while making sure your main obligation stays a priority. I assisted other planners and companies for years. I was able to work at every high end venue in Dallas and see what they did well and what they could work on. This helped me be an even better venue director and now in running my own planning business, I can refer to those venues and service styles from a place of knowledge. Also, if you feel that you are getting burnt out or unhappy, take about a month and start journaling how you feel every week. If at the end of a month, you are still writing down the same feelings and thoughts about the job, it’s time to move on. However, if at the end of the month when you look back at your journal you realize you were just in a funk for a week or two, give the job some more time.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Allison & Co Events story. Tell us more about the business.
I LOVE tented events!! In my time as the director of a venue, I oversaw 115 tented events! (Really, I counted them all!) I love the magic of a tent and how you can create whatever you want! I also know the challenges that come from not knowing the logistics of a tented wedding or event and I’ve seen how it can cost clients money and more stress if they are working with a planner that doesn’t have as much experience.
I love surprises for guests and experiential moments throughout the event or wedding. I love when I hear people on the way out raving about the party!
I feel that my experiences on the venue side over the years has lead me to have a great eye for event flow and what can really wow your guests and what can fall flat. I have also learned ways to be strategic with budget and decor statement pieces.
I love traveling and have plans to create some really beautiful and unique destination weddings & events! I’ve planned some really fun themed parties in the past. I think it’s so fun to take something that you’ve seen while traveling and put a twist on it and incorporate it into a wedding or party!
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think that because the wedding & special event industry looks fun and we can have a lot of fun, some people on the outside don’t see it as a longterm career and it’s just fun and games. I couldn’t disagree more! However, it is an industry that you can get burnt out in too quickly if you don’t take care of yourself and have a clear vision of why you are in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allisonandcoevents.com
- Phone: 253-241-3040
- Email: allison@allisonandcoevents.com
- Instagram: allisonco_events
- Facebook: facebook.com/allisoncoevents/
Image Credit:
Ben Q Photography, John Cain Photography, Kiss Me for Eternity Photography, Perez Weddings
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