Meet Andre Wells. Andre is the mastermind behind Events by Andre Wells (EAW), an event planning firm that has coordinated over 4,000 events both nationally and internationally. Andre has organized presidential balls, Hollywood galas, society weddings, and counts in his list of clientele people like Aretha Franklin and Barack Obama. In his spare time, Andre’s hobbies, vices, and pleasures include a daily glimpse of WWD, Belvedere Gimlets, or more recently, a Belvedere dirty martini.

The Morning: I love the serenity of mornings, when it’s quiet and all seems still. I usually wake up at about 6 a.m., have some green tea, almost always on my patio, and take some time to enjoy the slowest part of my day. By 8 a.m. I’m working out with one of my trainers Uthman (Clay) Claiborne or Bryan Williams, who are both experts at getting me and my day jump started!  Then it’s immediately off to meetings, walk throughs, or the office.

The Day: I rarely get the opportunity to be in my office very long. But when I am there, I’m usually greeted with a long list of calls, appointments, and walk through from my super assistant. The days I do get to spend in the office are filled with proposals, color palettes, concept boards, and inquiries for my opinion or preference on a multitude of things event related.

On the days that I just swing by, or never even make it in the office at all, there are generally a number of things I could be doing. With event planning there are so many aspects, moving pieces, and personalities involved, that there is absolutely no shortage of things going on. I could be picking out floral, tasting menus, walking through venues, viewing linens, or even things as crazy as hunting down the last spool of ribbon in the city in a particular color or shade – you literally just never know where your day will take you!

Traveling is also a huge part of my day. It gets so hectic that I keep three toiletry bags packed and at the ready for last minute trips. With days like these, I’m thankful to have such a wonderful team.  It’s also the reason that I prefer evening meetings, and luckily that’s when most take place.

Evenings: With that said, evenings (and many weekends for that matter) are filled with executing and attending events, dinner meetings, and entertaining clients. It’s a rare treat to be able to head straight home or hang around the office for a few extra hours for some quiet work time. I usually don’t make it home before 10 p.m.
You can read more stories on DC startups, technology and innovation at https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/inno