We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex McClard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

My first job right out of college was working for Disney. They have a reputation for being the best at customer service and the experience for their guests. They instill in all their employees to go above and beyond for the guests and this is something I have taken from that job into my own business. I’ve always tried to do everything I can (within reason and not being taken advantage of) for our clients to make sure they get an even better experience than what they are anticipating.

Alex, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As I mentioned, I worked for Disney prior to starting my company. At that job, I was involved in some planning aspects of events and some guest marriage proposals which led me to think maybe wedding planning is a career that I would enjoy. From there I started working for some other planning companies to gain experience and then eventually Vision in White Events came along.

We offer a variety of wedding planning packages from Full Planning to Wedding Management and even proposal planning and elopement packages. We can customize our packages as much as needed to be sure the client gets everything they need from budget creation and design to vendor recommendations and day of execution. We like to say we can do pretty much everything besides try on wedding dresses, though that would be fun too!

We are a growing team with two associate planners who have shadowed me for months to learn the ins and outs and a solid team of day-of assistants who are ready to help execute the wedding to perfection. We love to bond with our clients and follow their lives for years after the wedding to see how their lives progress after the big day!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid was a crazy time for everyone and the event industry was heavily impacted. I think I had to postpone/reschedule 7 weddings in a matter of days as the restrictions and closures started rolling in. It was wild!

Since we had months and months of no events being allowed (and in Tennessee we were limited to 30 people at events) we launched our elopement and intimate wedding packages. Basically we wanted to be able to offer a planning package for those couples who still wanted to get married during that time, but weren’t able to do the big full wedding. We created packages that included everything from the venue, catering, photographer, florals and music. We could still customize to meet the look and vibe that the couple wanted, while being affordable and a one stop shop. We created packages for just the couple attending, for up to 10 people and then one for up to 30 people if they still wanted to have a nice dinner and small reception. They were a hit!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think being easy to work with and reliable with vendors is a huge part of building our reputation. We often have vendors tell us how calm we are and that they love working with us because we aren’t bossy or micromanage. I am big on expecting the vendors we hire to do the job we hire them for and not needing to check their work. We all work as a team on wedding days.

Since we’ve built great relationships with vendors, they now recommend us to clients they have booked first which helps us to grow. Our preferred vendors often give our clients a discount or are willing to meet a budget because they are working with us and know that they day will be easier for them. This is a great bonus for our clients to save money and for vendors to work with others that they trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.viwevents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/visioninwhiteevents
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/visioninwhiteevents
• Other: www.pinterest.com/viwevents

Image Credits
Smith Studios Photography Krista Lee Photography John Myers Photography Hallas Photography Ferla Photo