Recapping My Third Year in Business as a Kansas City Wedding Planner
As a wedding planner in the Kansas City area, this past year was filled with so much growth, and the upcoming year brings so much change (welcoming our second daughter, Kallie, into the world). So I figured it was time to let you in on it all—from the most significant challenges I’ve faced to what I’m celebrating, and plans for the future of McKenzie Phillips Events!
The Challenges
First things first, balancing my stay-at-home mom and wife life and my business adventures have been difficult for me. When I started to stay home with our first daughter, Kendall in 2016, I knew I would always go back to work at some point. But, my main focus was on spending the few years I had with my daughter before she started school.
It was important to me to do exactly that because so many people and fellow moms have told me, "You will never get that time back.” And I'm so grateful to have a husband who supported my decision, and the finances, to allow me to be able to stay home.
During those first few months, I not only made special memories with her but I also had more time to devote to my lifelong dream of becoming an event planner and starting my own business!
Little did I know, however, that things would take off incredibly fast! And by year three, I felt a constant tugging and pulling between my dream of being a #bosslady and my strong need and desire for quality time with my family. Oh, and to throw one more thing into the mix - we also found out we were expecting baby #2!
That exciting news was a wake-up call for me to decide what I wanted my priorities to be for the future, and it brought the hardest decision I've had to make so far.
Do I press the “Pause” button on the business I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into? Or, do I continue to feel as if I’m giving my family my scraps - meaning, whatever else I have left to give of my time and energy?
Obviously, you know what I chose, right?!
My family comes first.
Now, that doesn’t mean I'm closing the doors to McKenzie Phillips Events, or that I’m not going to continue to chase and level-up my dream. It simply means that I'm going to be focusing more time on my family this year. And, ultimately, that requires me to take on less as we transition to being a family of four.
Again, this decision is something that has weighed heavy on my heart. But, ultimately, I know it will allow me to really slow things down so I can not only make the most of every new moment with my growing family but also return feeling relaxed, refreshed, and recharged. Yes, all because I aspire to make next year even bigger and better than the last!
Now, that leads me to reflect on the things worth celebrating in year three (in addition to a new bundle of joy!)…
The Celebrations
My goal for McKenzie Phillips Events in 2018 was to grow (of course!) and continue to establish my name in the KC market for wedding design and planning. And I can proudly say both of those things were accomplished! Here are some of my favorites worth celebrating:
Worked 38 total weddings (a 250% increase from 2017), at 12 new venues, and with 26 new friend-ors (aka vendors)
Promoted Madison Reidy, event assistant, to the role of planner on my MPE team! Madison has been with me from the start, has years of experience in the industry, and is an absolute rock star and asset, helping me make our couples’ wedding days everything they’ve dreamed of and more. You’ll be learning more about her here on the blog and my social media pages (Facebook & Instagram) very soon!
Won MPE’s first awards EVER - WeddingWire’s 2018 Couples’ Choice Award and The Knot’s Best of Weddings 2018 (from our hard work and client reviews in 2017)! Our work in year three has already been recognized too, which I’m so grateful for!
And, what’s most important is that none of this would have been possible without the relationships I, along with the MPE team, have built with you, our clients and new and long-time vendor friends in the industry! It’s honestly a dream to get to do what I love alongside some truly once-in-a-lifetime people. So THANK YOU!
To wrap things up, as Timothy Egan once said, “You need messiness and magic, serendipity and insanity. Creativity comes from time off, and time out.” So, as I’m gearing up to take some much-needed time off, I’m looking forward to returning in May with a more fresh, creative perspective to bring to MPE brides and grooms this year and beyond!