We caught up with the brilliant and insightful McKenna Folmar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

McKenna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I started Events by McKenna after years of wanting and dreaming to. I was working for a different event planning company and was so frustrated with how the owner was running it. I came home from work one day deflated and my husband said, “How long are you going to do this until you start your own wedding planning business? The only reason why you haven’t done it already is because you don’t believe in yourself, and if you did, you would own the best wedding planning company in the country.” That night I quit my job and started Events by McKenna.
This was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Owning my own company has been the most rewarding experiences of my life. The first two years were definitely the hardest – getting my different service packages in place, learning how to pitch to new leads, learning the behind the scenes of running a company.
But, all of these things are good things. And as my company keeps growing, there are more and more new things to keep doing and learning, and that is part of why it is so rewarding.

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?

Planning a wedding can be stressful and overwhelming — but it shouldn’t be! We believe that the wedding planning process is as big as a memory as your wedding day. Look back at your wedding planning days with joy when you hire Events by McKenna to come alongside and guide you every step of the way.
We are an award-winning wedding and event planning company based in Beverly Hills, California. With over 10 years of experience and expertise, we are here to take the stress out of wedding planning for our couples. From initial concept to the big day, Events by McKenna is here to bring your dream event to life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Events by McKenna was a side hustle that I did for years until I got up the courage to quite my full time job and pursue it full time.

That was key for me, placing all of my eggs in one basket and declaring that I believed in myself to invest in my dream even if it frightened me.

If you are in the wedding industry, the best thing you can do is get on as many wedding planning websites that features vendors that you can. When you are first starting out, this really gives you some credibility.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think something that is so important in the wedding industry is booking the couples that are right for you and them. It would be very easy to just book every single couple that came my way without getting to know them and them not getting to know me. For new wedding planners, my advice is to get to know your couples before you book them. Take them out to coffee, have a long Zoom meeting, take time with them to make sure the year or two of wedding planning you will do with them will go well because you are in line with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eventsbymckenna.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/events.by.mckenna
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EventsbyMcKenna/

Image Credits

White Rabbit Photo Boutique, Magnolia West Photography, Photos by Abbi, Hannah Bri Photography