ABOUT

HISTORY

"It all started with me planning the neighborhood Halloween Party in Chicago, which was quite a success for a 9-year old. I learned to plan every detail to help my friends and family enjoy themselves.

With each endeavor, I share a little part of me, to make sure my client is totally satisfied. For the last ten years, I have been planning social events at my job from milestone birthday parties to picnics.

Because of this, a close friend asked me to plan her wedding.
So in 2008, Events by Lisa was formed."

- Lisa Berkley, Founder

Lisa Berkley, Founder

Born and raised in Chicago, Lisa moved to Atlanta in 1993. She is the youngest of four children and a cradle Catholic who truly enjoys going to Mass every day. Lisa has 23 years of customer service experience, which includes airline and travel agency experience. Currently, she is a bookkeeper and facilities coordinator for her church.
Lisa is lovingly called the “Hostess with the Mostess” and “Miss Social Butterfly” by her friends because she loves to entertain. From that first neighborhood Halloween Party to the present, when her church host a community Safe Halloween Party, Lisa is there with the planning and implementation to insure its’ success. Presently, she organizes monthly Sunday brunches and social events, and is on call as an on-site wedding consultant for her church.
Whether you want a simple elegant ceremony for a small group, or an extravagant gala from 50 to 500, Lisa’s goal is to make you, the client happy. She will treat your event as if it was her own, taking care of every last minute detail to make your event one to remember.

Patrice Barton Smith

Patrice Barton Smith, originally from New Jersey, now resides in Atlanta, GA. She received a Juris Doctorate degree and currently works as a project manager and risk consultant at a global Fortune 100 financial services company.
Patrice first caught the event planning bug when she served as the Business and Marketing Manager for a student-run talent show in college. From that point on, Patrice realized that she had talent for organizing events.
While working at Prudential Insurance in the late 1990's, Patrice was an active member of the Northern New Jersey chapter of Minority Interchange Inc., a non-profit professional services organization for minority professionals in the financial services industry. Patrice co-chaired the Special Events Committee which executed many successful and profitable events for the organization, including the annual ski trip, annual boat ride and networking mixers.
Through the years, Patrice has planned many events for family and friends as well as corporate events through various professional organizations. From intimate tea parties to baby showers to large corporate events, Patrice has had experience doing it all. Patrice has an eye for detail and likes to bring in various elements to ensure that the overall event reflects the host’s theme and vision. Patrice enjoys creating that “wow” factor so that the guests will know that every detail was carefully planned and thought out.

Donar Thomas & Associates

Donar Thomas & Associates is a full service catering company. We are a one stop shop inclusive of event planning, décor/theme specialists and executive chefs.
Clients come to us with concepts, dreams and a wish list, which we execute to perfection and make a reality.
We are a consortium of American and international personnel in both experience and cuisine. Food produced from our group covers the spectrum from traditional meals, cultural specialties, Pub food, food truck invasions and farm to table.

Our menus incorporate healthy eating lifestyles. For example, we use fresh herbs and spices in place of salt, yogurt in place of mayonnaise, and other quality ingredients.
Menus are not preset, but rather planned by our chefs after talking with our client, where we can make recommendations.
We provide global diversification with a healthy twist to your favorite menu items and to get your pallet enthused to try something new, we offer our own bottled tea, “Ms. Thomas’ Peach Tea.”