Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Shack Egan

Hi Amy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

I was working three jobs in New York City back in 2015. A friend of mine called saying she was stressed out planning her wedding and asked if I’d help her. Maybe she called because I had always been the event planner of my friend group and a skilled organizer but mostly, she was probably just desperate for someone to help and we were (and still are!) good friends. We met up at City Bakery in Manhattan over hot chocolate, and I just helped her get organized. I remember nothing about that meeting except the very end. I was probably complaining about having to get up at 4am the next day for my opening bakery shift. She looked at me and said, “You could do this!” I said, “What?” She said, “A wedding planner.” I think I audibly gasped and said, “Ew.”

Weddings?!?!?! I was a gender studies major, the fiercest feminist in my friend group. The industry was so much fluff to me. I could never envision being a part of it. A couple weeks went by and I realized if I felt this way, maybe other people did, too. That an industry about love and relationships was so obviously out of touch with the very thing it was supposed to be about. That a celebration about love should actually just be a “Love Party” and the baggage of “have-tos” and “expectations” should be tossed out the window. That to be engaged didn’t mean women had to revert to being treated like pretty little princesses and could boldly claim that getting married was not some sort of achievement but simply a celebration of what they’ve already known to be true for a long time. Maybe in a weird way, what I was looking for in an industry was looking for me too, I just had to get comfortable flexing my entrepreneurial muscles.

I called the company Modern Rebel. I approached wedding planning like a team sport designed for the couple to go through together. I called it a Love Party and actively gave couples permission to break rules and brainstormed with them how to skip the aisle or turn the father daughter dance into a mother daughter dance or family dance or video game match – whatever felt right for them. The first year I did 3 Love Parties. I stayed under the radar. I was too busy to network anyway, as I was still working 3 jobs. I learned as much as I could. I was gracious and humbled and exhausted. But I loved it. I loved stepping into a couple’s world and relationship for 12 months and guiding them towards this new chapter together. The second year, I did 6 Love Parties. The third year, 25 Love Parties. Then, at one point, 75 Love Parties.

It grew from there. In 2020, we were set to have the biggest year yet and the world stopped. We pivoted to virtual date nights and virtual wedding coordination. The New York Times took notice of my little business. We bounced back with the most resilient and hardworking team by my side. In 2022, The Cut called me the “anti-wedding wedding planner.”

These days, I’m focused on sustainably growing my business – doing less but more impactful work. I’ve learned doing more isn’t always the answer. No is a powerful word. I’m finding impact in a sister company, too, a digital marketplace to book a day-of wedding coordinator, an idea that stemmed from a need I noticed at Modern Rebel. We haven’t gone big with it yet – but we have some very big plans to come. If you’re in NYC, you can check it out, for now, at modernrebelmarketplace.com.

I’m 9 years into this entrepreneurship thing. I’ve earned some stripes. I feel lucky to be in the relationship business – the fun side of it. It’s been one heck of a ride and most days, I feel like I’m just getting started.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

How much time do you have? I’ve cried in elevators, on airplanes, in tiny bathrooms, supply closets, in the Uber on the way to an event. – quickly followed by slapping on a smile because it’s someone’s wedding day! I’ve gotten a 1 star review from a very mean, impossible to please client and been cursed out by a billionaire.

On top of the client services side, entrepreneurship is a very tough road. It’s not for everyone and trust me, many who are not in the arena, will try and criticize you. You will have to forgive yourself over and over and look yourself in the mirror and know if it has been your very best. If you can do that, then there is no reason to look back and regret. Life is a series of lessons. I try to learn as much as I can from every experience so, even in the really difficult times, I find gratitude for what it’s teaching me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Modern Rebel?

We’re a wedding planning company for people that sort of hate weddings or at least are very skeptical of them. We call it a Love Party, a wedding that breaks the rules. We plan big Love Parties and small Love Parties but out of whole thing is that no two Love Parties look the same because no relationship looks the same.

On top of being badass Love Party planners, we are committed to this being not just an investment in a one-day event but your relationship. We ask all our couples to come up with a marriage mantra, their true north that guides their experience and sometimes, their design. We require both partners to work with us. We won’t work with your mom. We believe you will get much more out of this experience if you learn to budget, communicate, and plan together. Plus, it’s a hell of a lot more fun.

We typically work with couples at least 12 months and we are not doing more than 25 Love Parties a year.

We launched a sister company at the end of the summer, www.modernrebelmarketplace.com, for finding a qualified, day-of coordinator in NYC.

I’m most proud of the fact that we keep finding ways to show up for the modern couple who wants to spend less time on the plans and more time on the relationship and finding the fun. I’m proud of how we’ve championed that for couples.

What makes you happy?

Sunsets. A Milk Bar truffle. The particular breeze you get on the ferry to the Rockaways in July. The sound of glasses cheersing. Chills during meaningful, thoughtful wedding vows. A riveting thriller book where I can’t predict the ending no matter how hard I try. The stomach drop on a rollercoaster. When my husband makes me laugh, holds my hand, or says nothing but just looks at me in that way that says, “I love you.” When a client texts me and says hello and shares an exciting life update, including me in the plans beyond wedding days. A big bold glass of Cabernet. A long, thoughtful letter. Any Shania Twain song. The feeling after you finish a race. Time with friends and family. A hug that goes on a little too long. That rare a-ha entrepreneur moment. My son, especially when he stops me as we walk home from school and says, “mama, did you see the sunset?”

Pricing:

• Full Service Planning starts at $18,500
• Our Day-Of Coordination Pricing varies by coordinator! Starting at $2800

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.modernrebelco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernrebel
• Other: https://www.modernrebelmarketplace.com/

Image Credits

Daniel Bergin Photography
Warmup Lab Photography
Chellise Michael Photography
Natura Collective
Tonhya Kae