We recently connected with Kelley & Rachele Taylor and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kelley & Rachele thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Kelley and Rachele, a dynamic mother-daughter duo, actually started their journey in the wedding industry before Taylor White Events even had a name. Kelley’s roots trace back to her time as a wedding singer with her band Diggin’ Rhythm and Brass, which earned accolades like The Knot Best of Weddings (2008–2010) and Best of Corporate Bands (2009–2010), voted by Southeastern brides and event planners. She even shared stages with icons like The Commodores, Huey Lewis and the News, Kool & The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, Grover Washington Jr., KC and The Sunshine Band, and many more.

Rachele began performing with Kelley as her backup singer at just 13 years old. Being immersed in weddings from such a young age, she naturally picked up on the planning side—especially when clients didn’t hire a wedding planner and Kelley found herself running the event.

Rachele later earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Central Florida, and after some time away from the industry (and becoming a mom herself), a close friend asked the two to coordinate their wedding. They said yes, did the wedding and from there, the spark was reignited. That event led to a second client, then a third after a venue tour. It was during that moment that Kelley turned to Rachele and said, “I think it’s time we become an LLC.”

The story behind the naming of Taylor White Events is deeply personal. “Taylor” honors a family name on Kelley’s side—and it’s also the middle name of both Kelley and Rachele. “White” was chosen as a nod to weddings and timeless elegance. Together, the name reflects their heritage and their passion for the industry.

In just their second year, Kelley and Rachele had their weddings and designs featured in TOPS in Lexington magazine. Now in their third year, Taylor White Events is on track to become a six-figure company—an exciting and humbling milestone that reflects their hard work, creativity, and commitment to their clients.

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?

Taylor White Events journey began in live wedding bands, where Kelley first made a name for herself as the lead singer of Diggin’ Rhythm and Brass. Her band earned accolades such as The Knot Best of Weddings (2008–2010) and Best of Corporate Bands (2009–2010), as voted by Southeastern brides and event planners. While raising a family and performing weekend gigs, Kelley also ran her own interior design business, combining creativity with entrepreneurial drive.

Rachele joined her mom on stage as a backup and lead singer during double bookings, gaining firsthand experience in entertainment and event dynamics. She later attended the University of Central Florida, earning a degree in Hospitality Management with a focus in Guest Service Management, Restaurant Operations, and Event Planning.

With their backgrounds in performance, design, hospitality, and logistics, Kelley and Rachele bring a unique, full-spectrum approach to weddings. At Taylor White Events, they offer services tailored to each couple’s needs:

Full Planning

Ideal for couples who want a true partner throughout the entire process—from venue selection, budgeting, event design, and vendor curation. Kelley and Rachele work alongside clients every step of the way to bring their dream wedding to life.

Partial Planning

A collaborative, design-focused service where Kelley and Rachele work hand-in-hand with couples to create a wedding that reflects their unique vision and style.

Wedding Management / Day-of Coordination

Perfect for couples who love to plan but need support in the final stretch. Starting 60 days before the wedding, Kelley and Rachele step in to fine-tune logistics, manage timelines, and ensure the day runs smoothly—so the couple can truly enjoy every moment.

During the consultation stage, Kelley and Rachele start by asking each couple two key questions: What are your must-haves? What are your biggest pain points? Must-haves become top priorities—whether that means booking a specific vendor or adjusting the timeline to highlight what matters most. For pain points, they offer creative, thoughtful solutions right from the consultation stage. “We love giving couples fresh ideas from the start,” they say, “so what starts as a stressor might become a favorite part of the day.”

Kelley and Rachele believe weddings should be as unique as the couple themselves. They love playing with design, color, and texture—but their passion is serving people. They focus on guest experience while keeping the couple’s day flowing effortlessly, creating events that feel personal, joyful, and seamless from start to finish.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Kelley and Rachele each contributed an equal amount of seed money, which enabled them to invest in Honey Book, a comprehensive client management software designed primarily for small businesses. The program allows us to send contracts, proposals, and invoices to clients seamlessly, CANVA Pro- purchased as another avenue to make money in house by offering custom graphic design work to couples, and Aisle Planner (a more recent investment) that allows brides exclusive access to our wedding planning software where brides can upload their design inspiration, have a customized checklist, track their budget, their number of guests, assign guest tables/seating charts and more.

To grow our business, we relied heavily on free marketing tools like Facebook and Instagram. When we were featured in TOPS in Lexington magazine, we realized we needed more than just social media — we needed a clear, accessible way for people to find and learn about us. That’s when we decided to build a website.

Together, we created and invested in a website that showcased our portfolio, explained our services, and provided a simple way for potential clients to book a free consultation. A year later, we began seeing consistent traffic through the site. But when we asked clients how they found us, the answer was almost always the same: word of mouth.

To grow beyond that, we scheduled a meeting with a marketing company. They analyzed our website and search engine performance, then presented a strategy to boost our visibility and strengthen our presence in the local market. That’s when we made our biggest investment yet — not from our own pockets this time, but directly from the business. A total win.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Doing business in what Kentuckians call “The Biggest Small Town” (Lexington), we quickly learned that word of mouth is our most powerful (and cost-free) tool for booking clients. In fact, 85% of our bookings have come through referrals. Small towns can be a huge advantage for business owners—but the stakes are high. If you have a bad event, leave a poor impression, or anything goes wrong, word travels fast and can do serious damage to your businesses reputation. That’s why it was so important for us to deliver strong results in our very first year in Lexington, Kentucky. A solid start laid the foundation for everything that followed.

When we first started, we took on jobs at significantly lower rates than the market average. It helped us get our foot in the door—but we later realized that pricing ourselves too low could actually hurt our credibility. People often associate low prices with inexperience or lower quality, and that’s not the impression we wanted to give. At the same time, we were worried that setting our prices too high would prevent us from booking at all. And in those early days, we needed to book. We needed people to experience our services firsthand so they could start talking about us.

During consultations, the conversation often went something like this: “What have you budgeted for a wedding planner? We’ll work with it—because while we’re a newer company, we do have the experience, and we’re building our portfolio.” Sometimes, you have to take the job at a lower rate just to get started and build momentum.

Those early gigs, even at discounted rates, gave us invaluable experience—and they led to more bookings through word of mouth from happy clients, vendor teams, and venue owners. That kind of organic growth has been essential to our success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taylorwhiteevents.co/
• Instagram: @taylorwhiteevents
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachele-masters-b5863aa3/

Image Credits
Kalea Noe