FROM SOCIAL BUTTERFLY TO STRATEGIST
Jana Richardson, Founder and Lead Strategist of Defined by Design Events, has turned her passion for event planning into a successful business that serves the DC metropolitan area.
MAKING THE RIGHT CAREER MOVES
A graduate of University of Virginia, Jana started planning events for a variety of social clubs and organizations. Later on, she entered the fashion industry as an Assistant Buyer, where she planned events for more than 80 department stores throughout the east coast. She then transitioned to a non profit organization, where she built their events department and helped grow their largest fundraiser to one of the top tasting events in Washington metro area.
FINDING HER PASSION
Defined by Design Events is a boutique, style events company that specializes in weddings, social, philanthropic and corporate events. With her background in fashion, Jana is able to accentuate details from color palette, lighting, floral accents, and more, to create atmospheric gatherings worth remembering. Celebrating only its fourth year, Defined by Design Events has been exceptionally prosperous. To date, the company has been recognized in the Washingtonian and featured on WJLA/News Channel 8. As a wife and mom of three amazing small boys, she is continuously inspired to take Defined by Design Events to new heights. The love she has for her family is the root of her passion, which drives her to build long lasting relationships with her clients and create unforgettable memories one event at a time!
What defines our designs
“I find inspiration from all aspects of my life when conceptualizing and designing events. Whether it derives from my family, friends, music, traveling or what’s trending in fashion – I draw upon those elements to create unique event designs for my clients. The fusion of my professional and personal experiences form the ultimate model for Defined by Design Events.”
What our Clients Say
Akosua Meyers
"Superb organization, impeccable attention to detail, refreshing creativity, and innovative approaches to ensuring customer satisfaction on all aspects of event planning."
Christy & Robert
"Our wedding day was planned down to the second, and perfect in every detail, thanks to Jana. She was more than generous with her time and showed her great talent for planning and creativity throughout the entire process. Whether we needed ideas from her or needed her to execute our ideas, Jana made it happen without a glitch, and she was always two steps ahead of us. Jana was so easy to work with, and her level of organization was astounding. She was great at working within our budget without sacrificing our wedding vision. Jana showed over and over again that she is an unparalleled professional and expert planner. We honestly don’t think anyone else could have helped us put together our wedding vision as perfectly as Jana did, and our guests have not stopped mentioning “the best wedding ever!"
Allison Mitchell
"Jana has a true gift for building genuine relationships and an ability to manage and remember details that contribute to the strategic, purposeful perspective she brings to her work. Perhaps among Jana’s greatest assets is that she is truly passionate about and enjoys event planning, making her not only effective at her job but an essential team member to any client."
Fairrah & Kodell Jackson
"Jana was our wedding planner for our 2011 dream wedding. My husband and I live and got married in Atlanta while Jana was based in DC. The distance was never an issue because Jana was outstanding handling every detail several states away. During the planning stages, Jana was stellar bringing our vision to life by having ingenious ideas, finding solutions and getting things done. She handled all of the vendors brilliantly and few of them even offered her jobs. Everything leading up to the wedding was handled with great precision and it made the process less stress even for a controlling bride. The day of the wedding, my husband and I did not have any worries. Jana had everything under the control from handling the vendors, to the wedding party, to the overall wedding schedule. I would recommend Jana to anyone and I have sent her several references. Looking forward to working with Jana in the future!”
Christine Owens
"Our organization retained Jana Richardson to work with us on our 2011 fundraising dinner (300 people) and found her to be an exceptional event planner and coordinator. She is organized and thorough, attentive to detail, conscientious about budgets and cost-constraints, juggles multiple balls successfully, and both asks the right questions and makes useful suggestions. She’s also warm and collegial and a delightful partner in what can otherwise be a high-stress undertaking. I recommend her highly and look forward to working with her again.”
Janis Thomas Tapscott
"Jana Richardson planned a Sweet 16 party for my daughter. She was engaged in every aspect of the planning—the location, hold the date announcements, invitations, the photographer, decorations, catering, music, etc. She developed a timeline, which enabled us to stay focused. Jana is a very organized, creative, and professional person who truly enjoys planning events. The party was a complete success, the memory of which my daughter will always cherish. In fact, several parents told me how much their children enjoyed themselves. Whatever the event, Jana will work hard to ensure her client’s satisfaction.”
Kasandra Gunter Robinson
"Jana is a detail oriented event manager who is relentless in meeting her client's expectations. She has excellent event planning skills and ensures that she understands her client's needs before providing recommendations. She is very creative and searches for unexpected nuances that surprise and delight her clients. She is dependable, honest, hard working and delivers what she promises. Above all, she is a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Jana and offer this recommendation without reservation.”
Shamia Holloway
“I have had the pleasure of working with Jana Robinson as both a colleague and a consultant for over eight years. Jana's attention to detail, out-of-the box event concepts and professionalism are unparalleled. She works side by side with event team to ensure timely execution of tasks, management of vendors and other logistics. She's client driven and always works to secure the best deals and costs. She has saved the Capital Area Food Bank over $80,000 in venue, vendor and overall event costs. Under her helm, the Blue Jeans Ball has grown from a grass roots event to one of DC's top 100 ranked galas; that has raised over $2 million. I have worked with numerous special event teams but none deliver the enthusiasm, professionalism and cutting edge ideas that Jana brings to the table.”
Amy Lambrecht
"Advancement Project worked with Jana Richardson / Defined by Design Events in 2014 on our 15th Anniversary Gala. Honestly, we could not have done it without her! Jana brought the perfect combination of organization and creativity to our event. She kept us on track, and we never missed a deadline. She made the event sparkle, with performances from the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and others, as well as fabulous catering and decor. She made sure that we stayed on budget. And, as a direct result of her incredible work, we had a much larger audience and a much greater net proceed than we were expecting. I would highly recommend Jana, and I hope to have an opportunity to work with her again and again."
Peter Rothberg
"When The Nation magazine turned 150 years old in 2015 we staged dozens of events in cities and towns coast to coast. We were thrilled with the results in many places but nowhere was our event as smooth as special and as seamless as our big party in Washington, DC. There was only one reason: Jana Richardson. Her event planning was peerless. The degree of attention she devoted to even the tiniest details was inspiring and her taste and creativity were of enormous value. if you need someone to help you pull off a truly memorable occasion, I know of no better planner than Jana."
Danielle & Ryan
"Jana was beyond anything we could have asked for. Leading up to the wedding she kept things so organized and communicated with us regularly. We had lots of personalities between our families, wedding party, and other wedding vendors -- and she was able to keep everyone in line, calm, and happy! I seriously have no idea what we would have done without her. Jana's radiant personality and strong energy is unmatched. She is an amazing person all around -- and truly cares about every detail and every bit of happiness for her clients. I cannot wait to work with her again in the future - and always recommend her to friends and family! We had the best day ever and Jana is responsible for making it happen."
Samantha & Antoine
"In my opinion, Jana and Defined by Design Events is as close to perfection in event planning as you can get! She planned and coordinated my 2014, Washington DC wedding to an NFL star with about 300 guests. Needless to say, it went off without a hitch and she was so pleasant and patient the entire time! I think what makes Jana so amazing at what she does is her extreme attention to detail, her experience and knowledge about event planning on both a large and small scale and her vast list of vendors who are, like her, extremely professional. I was most amazed at her ability to remember deadlines, budgets and the smallest of details like cupcake wrappers. The pride she has in her work is unparalleled and it's obvious that she was born to do it! I would certainly choose Jana and Defined by Design Events every time."
Melissa & Jay
"Jana was so helpful throughout the wedding planning process, and she made planning a wedding from across the country doable. On the day of the wedding, she took care of all the small details and made sure my husband and I enjoyed our wedding day. Thank you!"