4.8 out of 5 stars and 44 reviews
4.8
(44)New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut
About this vendor
Located in Nutley, NJ, Bella Donna Weddings & Events is a full-service planning company. Founder and chief planner Alana Gamarro delights in bringing couples’ dreams to life. Whether you desire an intimate, rustic affair or a grand-scale lavish reception, she and her professional team will tailor their talents accordingly.
Alana Gamarro’s background is in New York Bridal Fashion Week, where she gained the skills and know-how to finely tune and curate events with aplomb. She pursued her passion for all things weddings and today delights in assisting to-be-weds at every step of their romantic journey. Aside from weddings, she also plans many of life’s milestone moments, from birthdays and baby showers to graduations and anniversaries.
Bella Donna Weddings & Events offers full and partial planning, day-of coordination, and event design services. Alana’s skilled team relishes the pressure and panache of overseeing every finer detail of your day so that you can relax and enjoy the journey from start to finish. You can connect with Bella Donna Weddings & Events today and begin a personable and professional collaboration with a stellar team.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
Planning
- A la Carte Wedding Planning
- Budgeting
- Day-Of Coordination
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Full Service Wedding Planning
- Honeymoon Planning
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bridal Luncheon
- Bridal Shower
Awards and Affiliations
4-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2021.2020.2019.2018.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
4.8
out of 5.044 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 2
Alana was nice and easy to talk to in the months leading up to my wedding, but as we got closer things went downhill.
I booked Alana as my DOC. I was a low maintenance bride and di...
d all of the planning and booking myself. I only needed Alana to be the POC between me and my venue for the day of.
In the weeks leading up Alana ghosted me. I sent her a bunch of detailed emails; no response. I was very patient. I finally texted her 2 weeks out and she replied. We finally caught up over the phone and scheduled to have a final call the Mon of my wedding week. I was ghosted again. I texted her; no response. She sends me an email that Thurs before my wedding, not even acknowledging the Mon meeting that never happened. I remained patient because I wasn't relying on Alana for much. However I thought it was unprofessional, and I chose not to say anything because I didn't want the day of to be awkward.
For the day of my wedding we agreed to meet at the hotel first and walk with us as we did our first look. It's 35 min past the time she was supposed to arrive and she sends me a text that she decided to stay at my venue and wait for me there "to make sure everything was fine for my arrival." I didn't need her at my venue, I needed her with me. Everything at the venue was being handled by the manager. I never asked Alana to help set up anything beforehand. I was frazzled, and my sister quickly had to finish getting ready so she could come with me to help hold my bouquet and bag while we did our portraits.
Not a huge deal but I didn't think it was cool to change plans on the bride last minute for no reason. It would be one thing if something was going wrong at the venue but it wasn't. Bc of the lack of communication leading up I had little trust in Alana.
We arrive at the venue to then take fam pics and this is when I started to lose it. I got one of my maids to help call out names for the shot list for fam pics. She knows everyone and I trusted her. Alana quickly shuts that down and says "this is what we're here for." I said ok and just wanted to get the pics over with. We start lining up and Alana barely projects her voice. We're outside on a busy pedestrian plaza, it's hard to hear. Her husband Thomas grabs the paper and starts calling out the names.
They completely f*cked up my fam pics. They were calling out combos that didn't exist in my shot list (I had the list practically memorized). They were asking my sis in law to step out of several pics that she was supposed to be included in, which was really upsetting for all, and something I didn't learn the extent of until afterwards.
There was one moment in particular where I asked if we got a pic of a specific combo. Alana said we got it, I said I don't think we did. I look over at my sis in law and she confirms we did not get it. Instead of Alana saying to me "no worries let's take it again" Alana argues with me and then asks the photographer to prove that she took the photo. I finally said "just take the photo." It was completely unacceptable.
After that I only saw Alana for my ceremony and when she helped me into my reception dress. IDK what time she left, and she didn't even come up to me for her tip, which in hindsight she did not deserve. I would never want to tarnish someone's livelihood, and thank god I was a chill bride, on top of everything. If I was relying on Alana for any more than I was IDK what I would have done. She didn't even fulfill the bare minimum in the contract.
Thomas with Bella Donna Weddings & Events was a pleasure to work with. He was very professional, organized and confident with an easy going demeanor - a perfect combination of skil...
ls for this industry - and quickly solved a few mishaps throughout the day. Would work with Thomas again in a heartbeat. Thank you Bella Donna!!!
We hired Alana after dealing with a lot of stress with the staff at our wedding venue. We looked into hiring a coordinator early on in the process but was told by the venue it was...
n't needed and that they handled everything. We learned 6 months out from the wedding that they did not. Alana handled all the details from the coordination at the hotel to the guest transportation and absolutely everything at the venue. None of us had to worry about a thing! So glad we had her for the last 6 months!
Very nice job! Alana and Thomas did a really nice job coordinating everyone on the day of the wedding, and really stepped up to help set up the room when the venue missed a few it...
ems. Also, they were really helpful in the weeks leading up the wedding in terms of planning (e.g., giving advice on best way to do seating, order of people walking down, how much to tip, etc.). They really helped lower our stress leading up to the big day. I would recommend for any couple.
I couldn't have gotten through my wedding planning (And actual day of my wedding!) without Alana (and Thomas!). Alana was recommended to me by a close friend and she lived up to t...
he expectations! She was willing to speak to me whenever I needed and was the perfect partner in planning. She was knowledgable and able to provide great recommendations for vendors and overall tips and tricks for wedding planning. Alana was crucial in the month leading up to our event when all of the small details had to be figured out. She was a joy to work with and helped me remain calm always. This continued through the day of my wedding... I knew I had someone to go to if any issues/questions arised and it made me feel supported always (Even when my dress broke! haha :)). HIGHLY RECOMMEND using Bella Donna Weddings!!!
Alana ! went above and beyond to make our day very special. She worked well with our vendors and got my husband and his groomsmen in line and ensure they were on time ! Alana ensur...
ed a smooth ceremony and reception and everything was perfect I could not ask for a better wedding planner. Her husband Tom was also involved and was such a big help! Customer service was excellent! I would use Bella Donna wedding and events again …I highly recommend!
Alana was amazing. We could not have done this without her. We were originally to be married on 5/24/20- which did not come to pass due to the pandemic. Alana not only helped us re...
schedule twice (we should never have thought that July 2020 would be possible), she was finally able to be there for us for our May 2nd wedding. Our "Month Of Coordinator" became our "2 Year Coordinator" without missing a beat. She was extremely communicative and led the charge on constructing and keeping our weekend and daily timelines. Alana helped 2 extremely anxious people feel relaxed for the entirety of the most complicated weekend of their lives. She is our hero.
As a bride who had their wedding cancelled because of Covid, having Alana to help me navigate our small wedding meant everything! Thanks you Alana for all your knowledge!
Alana was so easy to work with while planning our wedding! We got struck with having to make it work with Covid and having Alana to walk us through what to do was so helpful!
I recently was a guest at a wedding that Bella Donna weddings coordinated. Despite all of the chaos and last-minute changes that needed to be made for this wedding to take place ev...
erything ran perfectly. Not one detail was out of place. I highly suggest hiring this company for your event needs.
We brought Alana in as our wedding coordinator about a month before our wedding after a change in venue. Alana was very attentive and easy to communicate with. She was organized ...
and on the day of the wedding she was very reactive to issues which came. When the wedding cake came out with no flowers (something I knew the bride had requested) I let Alana know and she quickly improvised and decorated the cake table herself. No one even knew the difference. Highly recommend.
Alana and Tom went above and beyond! We had to change venues and downsize our wedding significantly because of Covid & Alana swooped in and helped us throughout the entire process....
The day went so smoothly & we owe that to Alana and Tom! HIGHLY recommend. Thank you so much Bella Donna Weddings & Events!
Alana and Tom are absolutely amazing to work with. When our caterer (my mom insisted on this caterer even though it wasn’t what we wanted) totally messed up and didn’t send us a Ma...
itre D or captain AND we were understaffed, Alana and Tom took charge in the kitchen and served food so that everyone could eat on time. Alana helped plan the wedding in NJ when we were in California, working around our schedule and being truly involved. She did an amazing job for day-of coordination and I will be recommending her to any friends in NJ getting married in the future. I really cannot day enough good things about her, she is truly a life saver. Our wedding would have been an absolute disaster without her because of the caterer my mom picked. However, Alana has great recommendations for vendors so my suggestion is to ask her early before you book anyone! She is truly skilled and knowledgeable and my only regret is that I only did day of coordination and not full service wedding planning. Super kind, understanding and down to earth, while being absolutely brilliant with organization and coordination, Alana is a no-brainer. I can’t say enough good things about her!
I was not fully on board when we were looking to hire a day of coordinator. Alana changed my mind on that. She was great to work with and made the day so easy so that we could enjo...
y it.
I thought I was detail oriented and a good planner until it came to planning our wedding. After my initial consultation with Alana I realized how many details I was missing and ho...
w many things I wasn't thinking about. Our Wedding day was 100% problem free. My fiance and I had did not have to worry about anything. The timeline Alana created was down to the minute and really helped all of our vendors stay on schedule. Hiring Alana was certainly one of the best decisions I made in the Wedding Planning Process!
Alana and her team did a great job of keeping the whole bridal party and family organized. She made sure not only the bride and groom were taken care of but also everyone else invo...
lved in the wedding. I never knew how many things needed to be done and timed correctly to make the day run so smoothly.
Alana was great!Helpful, kind and had all of the information. I was only a guest at this wedding but she was able to help me when I could not find my place card. She had all of the...
tables with who was sitting where. At the end of the night she was there again helping each guest find their specific favor which made the process go much quicker.
Alana was fantastic! My husband and I hired her and her team a few months before our wedding. We were concerned that our venue was promising the world and wouldn't be able to deliv...
er the day of. She jumped right in and relieved a lot of our concerns. She even spent an entire night researching caterers when ours decided to quit a little over a week before our wedding. The information she gave us helped us make an informed decision about the caterers we were asking to jump in at the last minute. Additionally, Alana really took the time to get to know my husband and I and what we wanted for our special day. I would definitely recommend Alana and her team to anyone looking for a day of coordinator.
I cannot say enough great things about working with Alana and her team for my Wedding Day. She did not miss a single detail and was on top of everything leading up to the day and ...
on our actual wedding day. I originally was not going to hire a planner but as things got closer and I realized all the things our venue was not responsible for I knew I had to ask for help with such a busy work schedule. Thank you again for everything!!
This past weekend I was a guest at a wedding Alana coordinated. Not only was she a sweetheart, but very accommodating to the entire bridal party and couple. I would definitely use ...
her for an upcoming party she was fantastic!
I had Alana as my wedding planner and seriously she is the best. I have had two close friends get engaged since my wedding and they are BOTH using Alana because I can’t recommend h...
er enough and they were impressed by how smoothly our wedding went. Alana and the team make everything so easy; they sincerely care about creating a special day; they are available to you at all times. I had moments where I would call Alana just because I was stressed and she would stay on the phone with me to talk through things! Can not possibly recommend her and her team at Bella Donna enough. You will never regret working with them!
This is a wedding planner who does not communicate well. She instructed me to fill out a google drive document with a list of my vendors. Awesome. Didn’t take me any more than 10 m...
inutes.
She had no office at that time so we took it upon ourselves to meet her close to her old office at a Starbucks. Our FIRST official meeting A MONTH before our wedding (her contract indicates THREE meetings, not sure where in her mind she wanted to fit in two more meetings).
Being a pretty organized person myself, I already had sort of an idea in terms of wedding processions/introductions so I had already created a temporary outline with the names of the entire bridal party and order of events. Congratulations, I already started half your job.
Fast forward I still haven’t heard from her. I questioned her on the timeline and she reassured me it would be ready BY THE FOLLOWING WEEK. Still no timeline. Our wedding was already nearing 3 weeks away. She stated she needed to still make confirmations with our vendors. Pressed for time, I personally contacted my vendors (to also pay for final payments) and was able to confirm times EASILY. There is absolutely NO reason or excuse as to why creating a timeline should take so long when the wedding is in less than a month.
After ONE meeting and STILL NO TIMELINE (our wedding is in 10 days at this point) you may want to reconsider her services. Oh also, they refused to give us a refund because of “all the work that has been done already including phone calls and texts” which in my eyes was completely half done. An untouched google drive document, NO communication on her end, even to offer reassurance she was doing her job. As a professional you should have SOME type of integrity and professionalism about your business. It sad to think what she thought she has accomplished” for us was worth $900.
NOT to mention, her husband is her “assistant” and also sales director. So in case she tells you to refer to him for any given reason, that IS her husband. Its a shame some vendors have no sense of credibility or professionalism, or at least can admit their faults. Please look into another wedding planner if you want someone professional, experienced, and reassuring.
Alana was great! Cannot recommend highly enough. We had a lot of questions, and she was super helpful and detailed in helping us organize our big day.
As a parent you want to make sure everything is perfect for your child's wedding. I am so glad my son and his wife decided to hire Alana to help with all of the last minute details...
. They helped to keep us organized and on time. Thank you!
Recently I was a bridesmaid in my friends wedding. Alana made the day flow seamlessly. Her and her team made sure everything was perfect. When I get married I will be reaching out ...
to her for my wedding.
As a groomsman you do not really get to see all that goes into the planning of a wedding. I can say that Alana and her team were great on the day of the wedding. She made sure we h...
ad everything we needed prior to leaving for the ceremony and while at the reception.
Groom: My wife and I were recently married, and we had the pleasure of working with Alana, and her assistant, Tom, during our wedding. She helped coordinate our wedding day, workin...
g with us to outline and break down all the important steps for our wedding, as well as organizing our vendors. There are so many moving parts to a wedding, and she really helped make our special day an unforgettable one. Alana, we will miss working with you! You rock.
Bride: My husband and I are happy and fortunate that we were able to hire Bella Donna Weddings as our day of coordinator. In our wedding planning process, Alana had many helpful suggestions for planning our ceremony and wedding. She was very detailed oriented. Her timelines great. Bella Donna also contacted all the vendors to confirm their arrival times. This was very helpful since I was stressed with the personal touches for the wedding and finishing projects at work in order to have time off for the wedding. On rehearsal night and day of wedding, she and her assistant Tom were great in directing our wedding party including the ringbearer and flowergirl in our procession. We did have a slight snafu in forgetting the name placecards in my apartment but was able to retrieve them at the time of the ceremony. Alana and Tom were very calm and collective to calm us down. They also started handwriting our placecards just in case we were not able to retrieve them. All in all, the our wedding day was perfect and we are grateful for Bella Donna.
We hired Alana & her team for Planning services for my daughters Wedding. She far exceeded my expectations! I was apprehensive at first to hire someone to do tasks that I thought...
we could do ourselves but I was wrong. Everything we thought of was already taken care of. Thank you Alana for making this a wonderful experience for me, my daughter & our family!
Alana was an angel! I am a type A person and had a lot done when I decided to book a day of coordinator but went with my gut and brought her in. The day of I didn't have to worry a...
bout a thing! She was literally in 10 places at once and helped make the day go so smoothly!
I used Alana for day of coordinatoring for my August 3rd wedding at the Westmount Country Club. She was fabulous leading up to the wedding as well as the day of. I am a big planner...
on my own and super organized as a teacher. She still wowed me with everything she did and how on top of everything she was. Any question I had she was ready to take care of it and reminding me not to worry. Thank you so much for making my day so special!
Being from California, I knew I needed help planning a wedding at The Southern Mansion in Cape May. I was beyond confused about vendors as I had only visited the area once before. ...
Alana was amazing! I’ve never felt so taken care of - she even took the time to meet me in NYC when I was traveling back east with my daughter. My wedding was more beautiful then I could have ever imagined. I was literally able to show up and enjoy our wedding. The florist, Southern Mansion, hair and make-up and bakery all said how professional and wonderful she was to work with. The DJ had everyone on the dance floor ages 3 - 95. The photographer didn’t miss a moment. I wish I knew more couples getting married in the area so that I could personally recommend her and Bella Donna Weddings. Alana - thank you for making our wedding a day we will never forget.
I hired Alana for her Day of Coordinator services and I am so happy I did! She really gave me peace of mind on my wedding day and I was able to fully be in the moment and enjoy th...
e entire wedding. I was not stressed at all. She showed up so early while me and my girls were getting ready and made sure we had everything we needed from breakfast to champagne flutes. Anything we asked for she made it happen. She was very attentive to my needs while her husband made sure the groomsmen were all set. During the cocktail hour and reception she always checked in with me and remembered all the little details that we discussed! She remembered things that I totally forgot about. She also noticed that my centerpieces were missing flowers (I didn't notice this lol) and she contacted the florist and they came back and added the flowers. All my vendors and my venue were amazing but Alana really helped pull everything together on my big day. I can't thank her enough! Hire her you won't regret it.
I can’t say enough good things about Alana! I ordered my wedding invitations through her and I’m so happy I did! She was professional, fantastic and fun to work with. She answered ...
all of my questions and always replied back to me immediately. She’s extremely knowledgeable and I highly recommend everyone to use her for all your wedding needs! Thanks Alana!!
Not only did Alana make sure the bride was taken care of on the big day, but she also made sure all of us in the bridal party had what we needed. Will definitely be contacting her ...
for my wedding!
Making sure I had all of the pictures I wanted was very important to me especially with such a large family. Alana made sure she spoke with my photographer and had a copy of all th...
e photos I request. She was able to keep everyone organized and made sure I got all my photos! I would use her again.
You need to hire Bella Donna for your Wedding or next event ! You will not be disappointed. A++
It takes a lot of planning, time, stress, etc to make a wedding - your dream wedding. Let Bella Donna make your dreams come true. Alana and Tom from Bella Donna are super knowledge...
able, easy to get along with, and super attentive. They will make planning your wedding fun, easy and a piece of cake! 100% worth the money to hire Bella Donna Wedding & Events to plan your day.
I recently attended a wedding planned by Bella Donna Weddings & Events. The wedding was wonderful, and everything was managed and planned out to perfection! I would highly recomm...
end them!!
As a Maid Of Honor that could not be with the bride for a majority of her wedding planning due to living across the country I was so thankful for Alana! Great communication, super ...
easy to talk to, super organized and overall a pleasure to work with!
You absolutely need to book your wedding coordination with Alana from Bella Donna Weddings & Events! She is so organized, insightful, and easy to talk to. Weddings are so incredibl...
y stressful and it really can be a full-time job to book your vendors, correspond with your venue, etc. It's 100% worth it!
I was glad that my wife hired Alana to help with things on the day of the wedding. I knew that Alana was there to help my wife but what I didn't expect was that she had someone the...
re to make sure my groomsmen and I were on schedule and had everything that we needed. I could truly say it was great to have someone there so that we could enjoy our day together.
Professional, detail oriented, organized, punctual, creative, is as friendly as can be & Overall, a great person to work with!
I can't begin to thank Alana & her staff enough for everything they did for my wedding & the months leading up to it. Alana even came with me to find my dress because I had no ide...
a where to even start! All of her knowledge helped tremendously and took away all of my stress and worries. With my busy work schedule I had no idea how I was going to get all those little tedious tasks done and Alana took care of everything. Again, I can not thank Alana & her staff enough.
I could not have planned my wedding without Alana. In the beginning of my planning, I did not think I needed a planner, I had all my major vendors booked and thought I was ahead o...
f the game. It wasn't until we were just 5 months before the wedding that I realized so much wasn't done! Alana helped me get organized, guided me in the right direction with vendors ( that were in my price range) and made me feel so comfortable and at ease on the wedding day. If I could do it all again, the only thing I would do differently would be to hire her sooner!
Contact
Nutley, NJ | New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut
Bella Donna Weddings & Events