Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Ram-Santiago.
Hi Diana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Let’s take you back to 1995 where I sat on the on the floor of aisle 10 browsing through wedding magazines at my local grocery newsstand. It was the era of embroidered lace cut out satin gowns, pearl beaded head pieces, scrunched up shoulder padded bridesmaids’ dresses and tailcoat groom suits. I flipped through all the pages to see the latest 90’s wedding trends and thought to myself, that one day this vision of being in the world of weddings would come to life.
It wasn’t until 10th grade marketing class when we had to take a personality career assessment. My results came were in…”A Music Teacher” The only music I could play was the recorder. My classmate on the other hand shouted, “ A wedding planner??”.. My head turned towards her reaction and a smile went across my face.
While fresh out of high school and taking evening collage courses, I held a position in the Sales & Convention Service department at the historic Omni Shoreham hotel. This was start of my event management career. I supported many conventions, galas and political VIP meetings. My Saturdays were dedicated to overseeing weddings that passed through the hotels’ promenade. From traditional weddings held at the gazebo to holding elevator buttons for guests attending a Jewish orthodox wedding weekend on Sabbath.
My career journey also led me to plan meetings and events for the financial industry, pharmaceuticals and the private sector. It was never a dull moment in the world of event planning. I worked with multiple departments and project managers to ensure a smooth event. Not to mention, having to learn which department VP was going to be gluten-free that week. Despite working corporate events planning world, my passion for wedding planning never faded.
It wasn’t until I moved to Florida where I went to finish my undergrad that I had a vision. I wanted to establish an event planning service in Miami. A city of entertainment, destination weddings and where Spanish speaking was a plus. Before graduation, I sat on my dining table and began to write out a business plan. It was then where from pen to paper, Passionate Weddings was born. After being in Miami for 2 years, and marketing my way from South Miami to Boca Raton, calls from DC were coming in. I had referrals calling me to come to DC to plan their wedding. At that time, I was the only Spanish speaker mixed with South Asian roots event planner that family- friends knew about.
After graduation, life had other plans for me, I went through the hardest breakup and made a decision to say goodbye to the sunshine State. I moved back to DC with a new mindset and ready to show the world who was Passionate Weddings. I had a market niche that was untouched. I became the bilingual – multicultural event planner that gained many hearts for speaking Spanish, understanding culture and traditions. It became a warm and welcoming feeling to communicate with first generation family members that never planned a wedding. We helped with communication, logistics and any challenges that came from planning a large gathering with multiple vendors. Many of our couples were also working professionals that wanted to pass on the baton and trust to an experienced planner in exchange for being an a true party host.
After 15 years later, a growing family, multiple trips to many new destinations, Passionate Weddings has been part of over 300+ weddings that has turned wedding planning into many great partnerships and opportunities. Looking back, the newsstand on aisle 10 filled with bridal magazine was my inspiration. It turned my passion and motivation into a career.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Each day in the world of Passionate Weddings has been a journey. Many lessons learned from the business side to the event side.
Believe it or not, I started my younger years in my career and business as an introvert. Walking into a networking space and having to learn how to read and work the room was something that took time for me to feel confident when connecting with industry professionals. Now it’s a walk in the park attending networking socials and creating opportunities.
Setting boundaries – Being in the service industry and hospitality, you are in a line of service to accommodate. In the start of my business, I would jump through hoops to accommodate a request or visions. Now it’s all about setting boundaries and expectations for a healthy work-life balance relationship with our clients.
Technology- We’ve come a LONG away with technology in these last 15 years. One of the biggest learning curves was adjusting into the digital world of doing business. Coming from a person who loves meeting people in person and still carries a physical spiral calendar, to now having to learn about multiple tools of digital communication and navigating through multiple social media platforms for content exposure. I quickly learned that hiring the right people that are experts in those areas are a true value.
Social Media- Social media has brought our job of planning and coordinating events to the NEXT LEVEL. If a client saw an event on social media with a WOW factor and extravagant details, those wow factors come with vendor research, scope of work negotiating, virtual meetings, conversations of liability, logistics and much more. Educating clients on these details for what they see on social media has been an added step into the planning experience.
Be prepared to wear many hats- From being the face of the company to moving tables and chairs in heels to help flip a room from ceremony to reception in a timely manner. Oh, my all time favorite…having to be the bad cop when communicating information on behalf of the client to family members or vendors. Yes, I’m a planner, a part-time couple’s therapist and part-time lawyer advocating our couples when duties calls.
Accounting and Math- Every year I present at my sons’ career day. I leave students with this take away, “If you plan to establish a career in event planning or as an entrepreneur in any business, take accounting and math skills seriously.” This will prepare you for when it comes to invoices and preparing your quarterly tax statements. Math will come in handy when you order customized banners and table linens. No one prepares you for this part of the business until you have to export reports and pull out a measuring tape.
We’ve been impressed with Passionate Weddings, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Passionate Weddings is a full-service wedding planning company specializing in traditional, cultural, and destination weddings in the DC Metro area and worldwide.
With over 15 years of experience, our bilingual wedding EXPERTS provide our couples with the VALUE, guidance and resources they need to plan their most memorable day. Our team consists of planners who are PUNCTUAL, RESPONSIVE and RELIABLE event professionals. We collaborate with our couples to help design, manage and coordinate all the details that capture their personal vision and expectations.
Whether you’re planning an intimate gathering or a lavish affair, we provide our clients with peace of mind and a stress-free planning experience. Our attention to details and event day management allows for our couple’s wedding day to run smoothly and ON TIME!
Diana Ram-Santiago, owner & passionate planner of Passionate Weddings, brings a wide range of extensive event experience and passion to the wedding industry. As a Washington, D.C. native, she enjoys sharing her Latin American and South Asian culture, planning many traditional and cultural events.
Diana is a Johnson and Wales University graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management. She started her career planning corporate meetings, conferences in the private sector and social events for luxury-brand hotels. With a solid background in event sales and planning, Diana’s passion, dedication and enthusiasm for weddings never faded.
With her unique cultural background, Diana works with clients and their families to capture culture, traditions and personalized details during the planning stages for a flawless wedding day. Diana and her team have planned weddings in the DC Metropolitan area, the Pacific Northwest and beyond. She is truly passionate about her clients and making their vision. You will always find Diana organizing and managing each wedding with a smile.
We offer the following planning services:
Full service planning, Partial Planning, Wedding Management and Venue Management. From planning over 300+ wedding and events, we’ve gained the trust to planning many of our past clients lifestyle events. From celebrating milestone to retirement parties.
We’ve been featured in Washingtonian Weddings, Virginia Bride Magazine, Maharani Weddings and many more publications throughout our career.
What matters most to you? Why?
I have 2 matters: Community Support & Work-Life Balance
Being an entrepreneur in our industry is built by community support. It’s so important to have a community that you can lean on for support, collaboration and partnership. Building and growing within the community has led to great resources and knowing who to connect with for services and referrals. In the last 15 years, we have grown by the support of our community, inspiring leaders and industry peers that has made such a great impact.
Work & life balance – I can’t express this enough, but working in events is not a 9-5, 5 days a week kind of career. Planning a vacation in July or October during peak wedding season may not always be possible. I learned within these last 10 years how important it is to have a work and life balance. Why? Because those memories and time with loved ones don’t come back. As planners we dedicate some much time invested into our clients that we forget about the most precious things that are right in front of us. As planners, we also need to find time to disconnect and focus more on living the present moment.
Pricing:
- Full Service Planning is designed for couples that seek professional guidance throughout the entire planning process. Spend more time enjoying your engagement with your fiancé while our team works to gather all your wedding resources.
- Partial Planning Service is designed for couples that have been involved in the beginning stages of planning their wedding and now seek professional guidance with vendor selections and other planning protocol.
- Wedding Management allows couples that have logistically planned their entire wedding, and now need peace of mind by having event professionals onsite to pull together all your event day details! We dedicate 40+ hours of pre-planning work behind the scenes and 10 hours of wedding day management by our Passionate Weddings team.
- Venue Management allows couples that have booked a venue that requires an experienced wedding coordinator to help fully manage your ceremony and reception all at the same venue, day-of only. This is a limited service and great for couples that are fully involved in all their pre planning details and vendor communication leading to their wedding day, but only need support at the venue.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.passionate-weddings.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/passionate_weddings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17G3XBkPSg/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/passionate-weddings-tacoma/2afaa452ac5ac7d0.html
