We recently connected with Ashley McCallister and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

I was raised on a farm in a remote area. From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of hard work. Every day, we had chores to complete before we could play. We rarely lounged around; there was always something to keep us busy. This upbringing contributed significantly to my success as a business owner. I believe in leading by example, working alongside my employees rather than simply directing them. I expect them to do tasks I would also be willing to undertake.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from Texas Tech University in 2012 with a degree in general business, but I was unsure about my career direction. In 2013, I married my high school sweetheart and took the lead in planning, decorating, and arranging all the flowers for our wedding. After that, I assisted with several informal weddings for family and friends. When my husband, a football coach, accepted a job in the small town of Coahoma, I found limited job opportunities for myself there. Eventually, I took a teaching position in 2nd grade at the local school, a role I hadn’t anticipated but grew to love. We spent five years in Coahoma before relocating to Idalou, my husband’s hometown, where I started teaching high school English. Although I enjoyed teaching, the dream of becoming a wedding planner never left my mind. In 2021, as my little sister was preparing for her wedding, I decided to take a risk. I completed all the necessary steps to officially establish my wedding planning business, and her wedding became my first formal event. I named the business RANE, an acronym representing my husband, my children, and my own name. I wanted to include them in this venture because they inspire me. Over the past four years, we have accumulated significant experience. My background in teaching has been invaluable in managing clients, as weddings are major life events that can lead to stress. We strive to provide our couples with peace of mind, allowing them to fully enjoy every moment of their wedding day.

We offer comprehensive planning, partial planning, coordination, and decoration services for weddings and events. Our objectives are to bring the couple’s vision to life and alleviate the stress of their special events, enabling them to enjoy them to the fullest.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

This journey began as a side business for me. While teaching full-time, I always had a dream of becoming a wedding planner. After nearly four wonderful years as a side hustle, I finally took the leap of faith to make it my full-time career this past May. Now that I’m fully devoted to this, I’m excited to take on more clients and explore events beyond just weddings!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We began by attending bridal shows, where we gained our first clients. Once we secured those clients, we worked especially hard to demonstrate our value. Positive word of mouth started spreading about our organization and how we assisted clients in achieving their dream weddings. We have since been included in the preferred vendor lists of multiple venues, which has helped strengthen our reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.designsbyrane.com
• Instagram: @rane.designs
• Facebook: RANE Designs

Image Credits

Kirsten Prater Photography