Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Chasnoff
Amanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started my career in events in Los Angeles, working for a planning firm that specialized in non-profit events. Through this company, I was able to coordinate and experience high-profile, star studded events throughout California and destination events in Las Vegas. I planned to move home to St. Louis briefly to save up money to live on my own in LA, and began planning weddings here, something that was little known in the midwest at that time. During my first wedding planning meeting, my couple asked if I was single because they wanted to set me up with the best man. Almost 17 years later, he’s still my biggest fan. I partnered with an amazing woman, and together we ran an event planning and floral design company called Lucky You Productions. We specialized in weddings, design, and along the way, festivals including LouFest, St. Louis Fashion Week, Pride Fest, First Night in Grand Center, Dancing in the Streets, and so many more. After deciding to close that company, I was a public events coordinator for the Saint Louis Zoo (so fun!) and then senior sales and events manager for Ces & Judy’s Catering, assisting with literally thousands of events and the opening of their gorgeous venue, The Venue at Maison du Lac. In addition, I have been a certified (and award winning) Life Cycle Celebrant, specializing in love story wedding ceremonies for the past 8 years. Currently, I am the owner of Signed Sealed Delivered Events, making magic for happy couples and their families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not necessarily smooth, but definitely lots of turns along the way. Working in the event industry in other states has given me the opportunity to see how they work, and more importantly, work together. The industry in Saint Louis is like no other. Here we truly value community over competition, and my vendor friends are some of the longest and truest. The support we can give to each other helps any complications that may come our way. Going through COVID, we saw that even in a pandemic, people still want to get married and celebrate the combining of their lives. Helping couples reschedule their weddings, and for many of them, reschedule a few times, and working with the entire teams of vendors to make their dreams come true in one of the darkest times in our current history, brought a light and hope I think we all needed. I’ve had the pleasure and pain of working in multiple facets of the industry, and in the end, it has made me a stronger planner and a more compassionate person. When I’m working with an event, it’s never about me, it’s about the team and how we can all support each other to make the common goal the best it can be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think what I’m known for is depth of knowledge and experience in the event industry. I have a unique perspective as a wedding planner, as I have worked in so many facets of the industry over the years, and so I come at each event through the lens of “what would work best for each vendor.” What the caterer needs vs the florist vs the entertainment, etc. Each and every event is a team sport, and you want to build and coach a great team for the success and experience of the clients and guests. I’m also a long time performer at heart, not to mention a bleeding heart romantic, so it feels like each wedding, each milestone birthday, each festival is a stage experience for every person in attendance. What does it feel like for them, and how can it be made memorable? How can this love story be brought to life? In the years post-pandemic, I’ve seen the guest lists of weddings in particular become really refined. We’ve learned to value friendships and family in a different light and that translates to the people in attendance who mean something special to each couple.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I don’t think I’ll ever become jaded about love. I’ve always found a deep pull to a great love story, and I’m incredibly grateful to have seen it in real life so many times, mine included. Watching two people devote themselves to each other, and having a front row seat to that intimate experience, is truly a life changing experience. There’s something really magical in those moments. Even now just thinking about it brings a tear to my eye. To think in a world of millions and millions of people, two found each other and decide to share a lifetime and a life together. That their love is going to ripple out in the world and touch, and hopefully inspire, other people to experience joy. Like I said, I’m a hopeless romantic through and through.
And puppies. My boys Pancake and Waffles definitely bring a smile to my face each and every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.signedsealeddeliveredevents.com/
- Instagram: @ssdevents
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SignedSealedDeliveredEvents
- Other: https://www.thelovestoryteller.com
