Secretariat, a wedding and event planning company based in Wilmington, will celebrate its 70th anniversary this September.

Founded by Kathryn "Dit" Buchan and Mary Hynson, Secretariat opened on September 25, 1948.

"Secretariat is going strong as one of the top companies in the area planning both weddings and all types of events, despite a heavily saturated market," said Samantha Diedrick Harris, owner of Secretariat. "We have a long history to be proud of, and we are consistently providing very responsive and truly personalized service for our clients."

Secretariat is one of the longest standing women-owned event planning companies and has maintained women-ownership despite a number of turnovers.

Harris came to Wilmington in 2000 and started working for Secretariat as an event coordinator. She purchased the company in 2002 after taking on the role of vice president. She is the fourth woman to own the business.

Previous owners include Nancy Crowe, who purchased the company from Buchan and Hynson in 1983, and Sonia Rice, who merged Secretariat with Breakthrough Communications in 1997.

"Our clients rely on our experience and attention to detail to guide them," Harris said. "We continue to pride ourselves on the traditional services Dit and Mary would be proud of. Our business is 100 percent referral based, and we are fortunate to have had many repeat clients over the years."