Today we’d like to introduce you to Geraldine Davila.
Geraldine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I moved to the DMV when I was 21 to pursue my Master’s Degree at Georgetown University and to intern for the federal government.
I’ve always been a very determined person. I actually moved to the DC on the same day as my undergraduate graduation. I was able to walk, go on stage to grab a medal, and subsequently ran to the airport to move to a city I had never been to, by myself. It was terrifying but it’s been almost a decade since then, and I have absolutely no regrets.
After interning for a year I landed a job at the Library of Congress. During my time there and subsequently in my other jobs following the Library, I was both a communications specialist, as well as working on events, including the National Book Festival, events with Supreme Court Justices, and pioneering the first ever virtual event at the LOC after the COVID-19 pandemic.
My last job before becoming a full time wedding planner was at USAID, helping their Inclusive Development program with their communications, social media, marketing and events. In tandem with this happening, I was getting married myself and falling in love with the process of wedding planning. I always loved wedding planning, even as a kid, but my parents discouraged me from that career path.
I come from a hard working but very risk-averse family, where you cherish everything you have and you don’t take risks. However, I was somehow bred a little different, always with a passion for creative fields, always interested in growing, doing new things, taking risks. I think that’s where my entrepreneurial spirit evolved the most.
I had been adjacent to the wedding industry, both as a bridal consultant and a travel agent that worked on a ton of honeymoons when I still lived in Puerto Rico. I always felt like I could do it but it was difficult to gain the confidence to start.
I decided to give myself 6 months after my wedding to decide if I truly wanted to pursue this and I launched Velada Events in October 2024. It seemed to have been serendipitous because in January of 2025, I was laid off during the massive cuts to USAID. From there, once my husband and I recovered, he suggested I pursue this full time and so since then, we’ve been helping couples bring their wedding days to life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
On top of my layoff at USAID, my husband was laid off as well at the same time. Both of us were out of work and all of our income streams were gone. We had a small dog sitting business from our home keeping us afloat but it was absolutely brutal to manage, but thankfully we made it through.
When it came to Velada, the first year was obviously difficult and so much hard work. It took me a long time to create healthy boundaries and to figure out what works best for me and for my business. It took me a long time to stop second guessing myself and my decisions, quiet the imposter syndrome and to lead wedding days with confidence.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in multi-cultural weddings and also infusing non-traditional concepts into wedding days. I am one that believes that couples should prioritize what’s important to them and skip what’s not important. I am a logistics forward planner, however, I still love designing and believe wedding days should be beautiful.
Ultimately, our goal is to plan an event with great flow and a high-level of guest experience, that looks beautiful and reflect the couple perfectly.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the sense of community, the people you meet, our collective sense of humor.
I dislike traffic.
Pricing:
- Prices range from $3,250 – $10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://veladaevents.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velada.events/
