Best of Arlington 2019
Sara Franklin Social Scene Events
Best Event Planner

Photo by Geoff Chesman
If you can dream it, Sara Franklin can make it happen—whether it’s a late-night “bacon bar” at the end of a seven-hour wedding reception, an animal-themed bat mitzvah or a memorial service tailgate party. “Her dad loved sports,” she recalls of said tailgate. “They got back from the funeral, put on jerseys, ate sliders and wings and told stories all afternoon. It was a celebration of life. It was him.” Franklin launched Social Scene Events in 2008 and now orchestrates an average of 17 events per year, eschewing cookie-cutter templates for details that are personal and meaningful. She’s also the fixer who stays calm in the face of calamities, from wrecked wedding cakes to lost limo drivers. “Stuff is gonna happen. Somewhere it’s written that at any given wedding there are five problems,” she says. “My main goal is that nobody notices.”
–Jenny Sullivan
Other top vote-getter: