Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Meaghan Kenny. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Meaghan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Quality control is a challenge almost every entrepreneur has had to focus on when growing – any advice, stories or insight around how to best ensure quality is maintained as your business scales?

Fox & Fern Events is a destination wedding planning company – we started out managing all types of weddings: coordination services (helping a couple to coordinate the details they have already planned and managing everything “day of”), partial service planning (guidance until 2 months out, where we then take over as the main planning contact through wedding day), and full service planning (managing all elements – from finding a venue & vendors to putting together guest welcome bags).

However, taking on all types of events became something that was not working for our team, as we wanted to stay small (we have 2 planners full-time and a team of contracted assistants in the summer) and be able to fully dedicate the time and attention needed for each event, and if we were still filling our summer with different types of events – we would either need to grow our full-time team, or personally take on additional events.

We tried the latter and found ourselves burnt out and never fully present for our clients, which isn’t fair to anyone, especially when planning such a personal and important event. So – we switched to only offering full-service weddings so that we can limit the amount we take on while being fully involved with the planning. That switch has made our processes smoother as we are using the same process for all events, has made us able to connect more with the clients we work with since we are with them throughout their entire planning process, and allowed us to have more of a work/life balance.

Because we are taking on only higher time-investment projects, we are able to take on fewer total, allowing us to have additional time off in the height of the season, and allowing us to have adequate working ours to manage our weddings, instead of working until 10pm each night when the season is at it’s heaviest work load. Don’t get me wrong – there are still a few weeks where we are working after-hours, but it’s a far lower number of days than in previous years when we would be taking a Sunday “off” (really on call for event teardown) and then heading back into the office that Monday to kick off wedding week for the following week’s wedding.

We’ve also been able to create better relationships with our creative vendor partners by taking on only full-service clients. The quality of our events has skyrocketed simply because we have vendor teams we trust and clients who trust us to steer them in the direction of incredibly talented, but also reliable vendors.

Additionally, adjusting our offerings to only full-service has allowed us to adjust our services to include a set-up and tear down team, providing us with additional assistance on event-days, making them less hectic and much more refined.

Meaghan, 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?

Fox & Fern Events is a destination wedding planning company focused on creating custom experiences for couples using the natural and refined beauty of Northern Michigan.

I, Meaghan Kenny, graduated with a degree in special event management and got into the industry right after college. After taking a few years to dabble in Marketing/Advertising Agency life, I took on coordinating some weddings as a “side hustle” and realized that I really did love wedding planning. So, I quit my 9-5 and started fox * fern events in 2016.

I think two of the things I am most proud of with Fox & Fern Events apart are:

1. We never put the planner on a pedestal. What I mean by that is that when we are working with a vendor team… it’s exactly that, we’re on a team. So while our job may be managing and assembling that team, we always treat our fellow vendors with respect and never act as though we are above them. We’re not afraid to work hard and make sure that we’re equally adding to the success of the event.

2. We are an emotionally invested partner to our clients and we will do whatever it takes to make sure their day is a success. Freak rain storm? We have ponchos. COVID meant you had to move your entire wedding to a different venue with 2 months to spare? Let’s do it.

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

Fox & Fern Events started as a “side hustle” and quickly grew, but I am lucky enough to have a great crew of supporters that allowed it to do so.

When I first started Fox & Fern Events, I was stepping into an industry where my husband (then boyfriend) already had a company established, so he was a great “name drop” to allow me to introduce myself to vendors, venues, etc. in a more relatable way.

I also had another great friend who owned a event rental and design company who hired me part time “until I couldn’t work for her anymore” because Fox & Fern Events grew into a full time thing. Having the support of a friend to help make sure I didn’t drop the goal of starting this business due to lack of funds was HUGE. I worked for her for 6 months until I was too busy to do so anymore.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The wedding industry is 98% based on referrals. Past client referrals, venue referrals, vendor referrals – no matter which kind, referrals are the biggest (and best) source of new clients.

Past client referrals are always the most qualified inquiries since they were given a first-hand experience of working with us. Venue and vendors are also a huge compliment, simply because 1. it means we have done a great job of maintaining that relationship, and 2. we get to work with someone we like and who returns that feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://foxandfernevents.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/foxandfernevents

Image Credits
Courtney Kent Photo Dan Stewart Photo Abbey Moore Mae Stier