Black Swan Events
Gabrielle Dowding

Event Planner

Every couple has a story. Helping clients define that vision, then translating it into a unique celebration infused with their personality is what Black Swan does. Director Gabrielle Dowding works personally with every couple on each step of planning and production. She will help you select the perfect site, incorporate meaningful details, and customize an award winning Dream Team of professionals so you, your family and your friends will be free to relax and enjoy your wedding.

We invite you to bring your vision, skills, talents, and passion to the table. Together we will create an event that celebrates your story. Let’s create something brilliant! Read more

3 recommendations

  •  
    Char

    Shared on weddingwire.com

    A beautiful surrounding not only the yacht but the event in which was created around it. A short planned, inexpensive, expression of love to be forever. A man 60, a women 50 found in each others waters. Where they had been afraid to swim they now dive in. Bless a beautiful person for making our forever so BEAUTIFUL TOO!!!!

    John and Char

    Original recommendation
  •  
    Angela

    Shared on weddingwire.com

    I was lucky to work with Gabrielle for 15 months in preparation for our July Saturday wedding. Gabrielle was an irreplaceable and critical part of our wedding. I feel grateful that we worked with her, and I cannot give a stronger recommendation for her services.
    No matter what aspect we talked about, Gabrielle always listened to me, smiled, and presented options. She was never judgmental or bossy. One by one, Gabrielle systematically helped us line up all our vendors. We only focused on one aspect at a time (venue, food, photography). First, Gabrielle always sought out our opinions and preferences. Then she would usually direct us to 2-4 options of vendors she had experience working with that she thought we would like/would meet our needs. From there, we made the final choice and Gabrielle helped us set it up. Her approach made it really easy for us to do a little research on our own, but from a narrower starting point.
    As the wedding got closer, we could be genuinely excited and happy because everything was already planned. We had a minute by minute timeline for the whole 36 hours before the wedding, so by the time we were that close we felt incredibly prepared and ready. Not that we didn’t experience some mishaps. I almost flipped out when my husband requested significant changes to the seating chart to accommodate new guests. Our best man got lost on the way to the rehearsal. Our florist got rear-ended on the way to wedding. The day of the wedding we realized not all of the tux rentals made it to the hotel. Gabrielle put out all the fires, kept everything running to schedule, and made sure my husband and I never broke a sweat. We were able to enjoy the day because we could trust that she was in charge. We were unconditionally confident that Gabrielle would make things work, and she did. I realize it sounds cliché, but it was the best day of our lives (so far!). I don’t know if we could say the same thing if we hadn’t worked with Gabrielle.

    Original recommendation
  •  
    Ruth

    Shared on weddingwire.com

    When we first met Gabrielle at the NW Wedding Scoop, she immediately began detailing our wedding and offering great ideas... and we hadn't even hired her yet. Stop researching other event planners and simply make this phone call. She is a wedding guru and easily cut our personal planning time in half. All of this while providing extra value in smart vendor negotiations. We were able to bring so much more to our wedding than we ever would have considered initially.

    In addition, she truly cares about making her client's big day the absolute best. It isn't a coincidence that every review prior to this also received 5 stars. There really is no alternative to a coordinator in the NW. Thank you very much Gabrielle. Paul & Ruthie.

    Original recommendation