We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawon McClure. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawon below.
Shawon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
Every wedding day will have minor challenges and hiccups along the way. As a wedding planner, my job is to ensure that the day continues to run smoothly, and the clients and guests notice as little as possible. Sometimes you have days where if anything can happen…it will. This sums up one wedding in particular. To start, as the bride and bridal party were getting hair and makeup done in the Presidential Suite of a local hotel, the sprinklers on the floor above them went off and the room began to flood. The Lady in Waiting on our staff quickly jumped into action to ensure none of the bridal party attire was ruined and arranged for hair and makeup to continue at the wedding venue. After getting the bridal party settled and hair and makeup resumed; preparations for the ceremony continued. We then learned that a tractor trailer overturned on the highway causing standstill traffic for miles. The officiant who was traveling from Greensboro to Charlotte for the wedding was stuck. Guests were arriving for the 5pm ceremony, our bride and groom were ready, but we had no officiant. I quickly decided that we would change the timeline for the wedding activities and move the cocktail hour up to begin prior to ceremony. For an hour and a half, guests sipped on cocktails, enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, celebrated in the photobooth and were entertained by a live musician. They had an amazing time and after being in traffic for over two hours, the officiant arrived to perform the ceremony. Lucky for us, the bride’s phone had been taken and there were no clocks in the bridal suite. Our lady in waiting, her bridal party, glam squad, and photographer kept her occupied and she had no clue the wedding was starting late. After a flawless ceremony, guests went immediately into dinner and dancing. After all the challenges of the day, it turned out to be a stunning ceremony and reception filled with so much love and fun. In her Wedding Wire review, the bride stated: “The entire team flawlessly executed my day! When our guests mention how beautiful, well-organized and amazing our day was they always mention how on-point my wedding planner and her team was.”
Shawon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My story began the moment my mother planted the seed. She told me “Shawon, the Lord blessed you with a gift, you need to be operating in your gift.” Fast forward 4 years later to 2008, I was driving and as I passed my brother’s barber shop, the Lord told me to stop. I obeyed! As I walked into the barber shop, my brother stated to his client “that’s who you need to get to plan your wedding. I was shocked! The groom was very persistent with sitting down with me. I reluctantly agreed to meet with the couple a week later. They hired me on the spot, and the rest is history! SDS Events, LLC is a full-service wedding and event planning company. Whether we’re planning an intimate ceremony for 50 or weekend long festivities for 400; each client receives personalized service, an experienced staff and memories that will last a lifetime. Our packages range from full planning and event design to month of coordination. To maintain the highest quality and exclusivity of services, we only accept a limited number of full planning events per year. Together with our full planning clients, we uniquely craft your event design, carefully curate a team of professional vendors, and seamlessly execute a flawless event. We provide three additional packages to meet client’s needs and wedding planning & coordination goals. No matter the package selected, every client receives the top-notch service that SDS Events, LLC delivers. In addition, SDS also provides photobooth and linen rentals as well balloon decor for parties.
SDS Events, LLC has a team of 3 highly experienced wedding planners and 11 dedicated wedding specialists. Our team has planned and executed over 350 weddings in within the United States, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Greece, Jamaica, and St. Maarten. Large or small, local or destination…I do not believe event planning has to be stressful. Especially when you have right team by your side.
One of the unique services that our company provides to all wedding clients is a Lady in Waiting on wedding day. Our Lady in Waiting arrives a few hours prior to the start of the ceremony to serve as a bridal assistant and to ensure that the bridal party remains on time. Our Lady in Waiting arrives with her kit in hand; stocked with items to handle any wedding day emergency that may occur. With so much happening on wedding day, it’s important to SDS that our brides have someone dedicated to ensuring their every need is met and they’re able to enjoy the day stress free. Did I mention that SDS Events, LLC does not believe in starting weddings late? We are committed to starting every wedding on time.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I believe every entrepreneur would say that the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to pivot. Weddings that had been planned for over a year, were now being postponed and no one was able to be sure of the date, how many guests would be permitted to attend, indoors or outside…there were so many unanswered questions. Some weddings would inevitably be cancelled with thousands of dollars in deposits lost. Other lavish, large-scale events were now reimagined into intimate, micro-weddings. It left many couples grieving the loss of not only loved ones but the wedding they dreamed would be the start of their lives together. 2020’s wedding season begin rough even before the pandemic hit the U.S. In February, three weeks before one of our client’s wedding date, a popular wedding venue abruptly closed with no notice to their customers. Our bride was in shock, hurt and scared when she received the news. I assured her that SDS would find her another venue for her wedding. With only three weeks until the wedding, our team had to immediately jump into action and secure another wedding venue. The same day we were notified of the closure, we were able to book appointments with venues for the next day. The bride selected one of the venues the next day (that the bride later stated she liked even better than her previous venue). The team then had to update the design and notify all vendors of the changes. It was truly a team effort, and all the vendors came together to make this wedding happen.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Most of my clients come from former client referrals or referrals from guests who have attended an event SDS executed. That is one of the things that I am most proud of about my company. That our reputation speaks for itself, and our clients entrust their friends and family with one of the biggest days of their lives. I believe a repeat client and a client referral are two of the biggest complements in business you can receive. In this business, you have one opportunity to get it right. There are no do-overs on wedding day. It is an honor when brides tell me they selected SDS Events, LLC before they had a fiancé! While we rely heavily on word of mouth, it is important to SDS that our brand match our service. Having an up-to-date website and promotional materials with an esthetic that aligns with your brand is important. Our website and social media accounts accurately depict the services we provide using images from actual events we have planned rather than stock images.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sdsweddingevents.com/
- Instagram: sdseventsllc
- Facebook: SDS Events LLC
- Twitter: sdseventsllc
Image Credits
Team shots Samantha Clarke Photography