Inspiring Conversations with McKenna Shano of McKenna Katherine Weddings

Today we’d like to introduce you to McKenna Shano. 

Hi McKenna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started McKenna Katherine Weddings 3 weeks before my college graduation. When I first started, I had little experience in the wedding industry as a whole, but I knew this was the career for me. As a major hopeless romantic and an extremely type A personality this job was right up my alley. I reached out to family and friends I knew getting married and asked if they would let me plan their weddings free of charge so I could show them what I was capable of. You can’t really get anywhere in the wedding industry without having a portfolio to showcase your work, so by doing some weddings for free this helped me build up my portfolio and show potential clients what I can create. After doing a handful of weddings for free the inquiries started flowing in. In McKenna Katherine Wedding’s first year in business, I contracted 7 brides, in 2021 we contracted over 75 brides. I am so grateful for every single couple I get to work with who trusts me to plan one of the best day of their lives, it is truly a blessing. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say owning your own company is full of ups and downs. In my second year in business is when the Covid pandemic hit and completely shut down McKenna Katherine Weddings. I mean legit zero weddings. This was extremely hard to navigate with my couples as they were having to postpone their weddings and also personally as I was still needing to put a roof over my head. It was a big learning experience for me as a business owner but it also helped my business grow and flourish into what it is today. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about McKenna Katherine Weddings?
McKenna Katherine Weddings is a two-time award-winning wedding planner specializing in full service, partial service, and day of wedding planning services. Planning your wedding isn’t always easy to do alone. My amazing team works hard to make sure you can enjoy your special day and be in the moment. Our combination of creativity and attention to detail makes our services well known. 

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Networking is huge in the business world; it is everything actually. Get out of your comfort zone, work for free, build your business from the ground up. If people see you working hard and creating amazing work, they will want to work with you again or refer you out to people they know. It is all about word of mouth and creating a name for yourself. 

Contact Info:

• Email: mckennakatherineweddings@gmail.com
• Website: mckennakatherineweddings.com
• Instagram: @mckennakatherineweddings
• Facebook: mckennakatherineweddings