Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Lee.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got my first taste of event planning while interning with the San Francisco Opera and working with a Bay Area wedding planner part-time while I was a college student at UC, Berkeley.
When I moved to New York after college, I finally scored an internship with BizBash. All I did was collect Certificate of Insurances for their conference but I did it with heart and enthusiasm and my boss swore she’d reward my hard work with an introduction “somewhere good.” She delivered and introduced me to the Tribeca Film Festival.
I always joke that Tribeca Film Festival used to pay me in cocktail parties though. It was such an amazing opportunity and I got to attend the coolest parties but it didn’t pay much and I sincerely thought about cutting my hair to save money on shampoo. So, out of pure survival, I started thinking of ways to make a side income. I have never worked retail or waitressed so I thought about what other skills I had and decided to start moonlighting planning weddings since I had some experience with that in SF.
It started out by just letting friends of friends know I was available and to this day I still remember getting my first true “stranger clients,” a couple who I had no social connection too. I quickly realized that this was more than a side gig and started to lay the foundation to hopefully one day go full time. Over the next year, I juggled working between a startup social network called ASMALLWORLD and dashing to wedding meetings at lunch and after work. In 2008, the Tribeca Film Festival offered me a seasonal position to be their Sponsorship Event Manager. This was the cushion I was looking for to help me make the leap to pursuing Daughter of Design full-time. (I’m a daughter of an interior designer, that’s how I came up with the company name.)
It’s true what they say. Once you start investing all your time and energy into something, it will grow. The first year, I went full-time with my business it was the financial crisis and I was sure the planner was the first thing clients would cut but my revenue grew 60% that first year. The following year by 40%.
The last ten years has been a blur of working late and weekends, attending every networking event I could, responding to every press article request that came my way, but a decade later, I am listed as a top wedding planner in the world by Harper’s Bazaar, as well as domestically with Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, and Brides and am proud of the reputation we’ve built within the industry.
Recently, Daughter of Design took an unexpected business pivot into producing corporate events, mainly for beauty brands like Benefit Cosmetics, Beautyblender, and Tatcha. It started when a former bride brought me in on one of her events last year and now beauty events account for half of our business.
Years ago, when I was looking for a break into the NYC event industry, I emailed almost every event planner, designer, PR company and agency and begged for a free internship. None of them got back to me and I get a kick out of the fact that within a few years many of them would be asking me to hire them. I see it as a real blessing that they all rejected me then because I’m not sure I would have been led and motivated to start my own company.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think I undergo the same struggles a lot of small business owners do. In the beginning, there were a lot of growing pains to figure out how to manage the awesome problem of an increasing volume of work but without a proper infrastructure set up. I felt like a tiger economy that grew too fast and didn’t get to lay down some of the basic foundations. I definitely definitely definitely did not charge enough which didn’t leave me enough budget to hire support staff. I think my current hourly rate is what I used to charge for a full wedding planning package. I mean even with inflation… I was overloaded and my personal life was the sacrificial lamb in all this. Eventually, I figured out the right pricing and staffing and I felt on top of it all.
But fast forward to today with the changing nature of my business into corporate, I’m right back to those same growing pains. This time though, I have hindsight and I know what it took to iron out those issues the last time (charge more, hire qualified staff) and know that this phase is temporary!
Daughter of Design – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
If you like to stay at designer boutique hotels, you’ll probably like our design aesthetic. Daughter of Design is a wedding and event planning agency that is recognized for its portfolio of tasteful high-end weddings and curated corporate parties.
For a social event, I want guests to feel like they just walked into the coolest new restaurant opening or fashion week party and for corporate guests I want them feeling like they don’t have enough room on their Instagram for all the things to take photos of. In either case, guests should feel like they are at THE party happening that night.
Our concepts are heavily pulled from fashion, art, and interior design–but blend respectfully with historical and cultural accuracy. I strive to keep it fresh. If I’ve seen it on Pinterest, I don’t want to do it.
We’re fashionable, not trendy; classic, not traditional; subtle, not obvious. The difference is slight but significant if that makes sense.
Do you feel like there are certain traits that increase the likelihood of success?
It would definitely be my tenacity. I will hustle until I achieve my goal whether that means I need to work insane hours or keep asking the same question seven different ways until I get the answer that I want. I will try to “make it happen” and this attitude doesn’t leave much room for giving up.
Pricing:
- Full-Service Wedding Planning starting at $30,000
- Month-of Wedding Planning starting at $6,000
- Corporate Planning starting at $15,000
- Hourly Consultation starting at $250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.daughterofdesign.com
- Email: info@daughterofdesign.com
- Instagram: @daughterofdesign
Image Credit:
headshot – Belathée, lake como – Roey Yohai, white lounge with lamp – Belathée, plate – Trent Bailey, battle of the brows – Sarah Natasha, outdoor benefit octagon – Sarah Natasha
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
