123. From Gracious Hostess to Luxury Event Planner: How Whitney Bowman Became Knoxville’s Premier Luxury Wedding Planner

From her humble beginnings as a gracious hostess to becoming one of Tennessee's premier event planners, Whitney Bowman takes us through the highs and lows of building a successful luxury event planning business. In this episode, we explore the power of community support, the valuable lessons learned from growing pains, and her unwavering dedication to creating unforgettable weddings. Whether you're an aspiring event planner or simply curious about the world of high-end celebrations, this conversation is a must-listen!

WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/whitney-bowman

📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Maple Grove Inn

Knoxville Museum of Art

WIPA

Transcript

0:01

Whitney, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I'm honored to be here. first podcast. This is exciting. you feel nervous? wracking. I do, I feel really nervous. I mean, I can't lie, I have a team member here in case I mess up. yeah, nervous but excited. Very intimidating. Yes ma'am. Soul Sisters, yes. I'm so excited. Everybody's gonna hear our accents. It's gonna come out. Kyle, my husband, is from Ohio originally, so he doesn't really have much. He has a pretty neutral like accent I would say. Although his mom says like oinge and words like that. Which I laughed so hard. huge, those kinds of things. So we laugh, but he's like, anytime you talk to someone from Knoxville, Shanna, your accent gets so much thicker. And so me and you, Whitney, here we are. No. okay. So born and raised in Knoxville, tell me a little bit just about backstory and then how you got into weddings and what you're doing now. So born and raised, went to the University of Tennessee. I'm older, I'm 54 as of last week, but in 1989 I went to the University of Tennessee and I knew I wanted to do something really that involved people. I'm not a good sit behind the desk person. This part will kill you, I'm not a big numbers person. I'm more social, I'm more just get out there and see what we can accomplish kind of girl. Went into hospitality and about a year in when they offered me an internship at Disney World or Opryland or Six Flags. All those are really special places. I'm sure you take your kids. I've taken my kids. They're all great. That's not what I had in mind. I think I had something more glamorous in mind. So I switched my major to communications and then that went well. I did a lot of internships. So I thought, gosh, maybe PR or marketing or something like that. And there's an N here. I don't know if you're familiar with it, the Maple Grove N. Mm-hmm, I am. so I was there for six years, which is crazy to me. And that's how I got my start, but they hired me to come in and do really just marketing and PR and sales. And it's beautiful place, you know, long driveway, gorgeous lush gardens, old house, antebellum home. And so a couple of people started asking if they could have weddings there. Dan said, great, if can sell them, go for it. So we probably started selling, I guess the first year we had 15, which is great. You know, that was my job, you know, bring business. It just was not the business we'd planned on. It wasn't corporate and it wasn't, you know, meetings and things like that. So we really got into this wedding mode and the more people that would come, not everybody booked, but I'd say about 80 % did. And I had a girl one day literally just say, hey, Are you going to be here on my wedding day? you plan the wedding? I was like, no, no, no, no. My background's not in that. know nothing about that. So she rang the doorbell, the maple grove the next day and I'm showing my age, but she had this, I don't know if you're familiar with them, those yellow books. It's like computers for dummies or whatever. was weddings for dummies. She said, she said, I know she's like, I don't think you're dumb, but I think you can read this and you can do my wedding. Like our personalities really mesh. And I'm like, And I'm like, you're kind of serious about this. She's like, I am. I read it. So I guess you could say I'm completely self-taught. read, that led to like the weddings for dummies led to like 30 to 50 weddings per year at Maple Grove that were just, just me. I had no team other than my Maple Grove team. You we weren't set up for weddings. This wasn't the plans. The plan sort of found us. And it worked beautifully until it didn't. met Bob, my husband. We dated and right before we got married, we were like, this is just, I was 29, he was 31, we were ready for a family and this work in every weekend was not gonna cut it. So went to the Knoxville Museum of Art and I had a great little stint there and I helped plan their events and did some membership drives and love that, got pregnant and unfortunately had a miscarriage. And that was just a real life changing moment for me, for all of us, really my entire family, not just my husband. But it was this sort of, okay, maybe you're grinding too hard. Maybe you're going too fast. What do need to do? And the doctor just sort of said, Hey Whitney, I think you're going to be that kind of person that needs to be a bed rest girl while you're pregnant. And so quit my job at KMA, which was crazy. missed it. Ended up having two kids and that's sort of the backstory of how I got into planning. I was for a bit. Yes. And both came early. Both were breached. It was kind of wild. It's great. They're both healthy. They're great. They're 19 and 23 now. yeah, praise the Lord. Yeah, yeah. but it was a game changer. So I think that it really, when I took that time off, I thought, gosh, know, love being a mom, mothering is great and making my house pretty is great. And I'd love to say I cook well and I like cooking, but I don't, that's not my strength. That was not great. I just felt a little lost in a way. part of my, just there was a piece of the puzzle missing. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought about it. It's connecting with people and it's doing events. And so that's sort of how we got back into. yeah, how did you get started? Did you come up with Whitney Bowman events like from the beginning? Was it more organic than that? Was your family okay with you going back to where it like kind of worked me through those early days. Yeah, they really were. think that in between my pregnancies, being from Knoxville, you know how it works. People know what you used to do and, I know you just had a baby, but would you come do my birthday party? Or, hey, we're having a dinner party. It won't take much of your time. And so that kind of fulfilled that little need for me for a while. And then after I had both kids and they were really like in elementary and middle school, more people were asking and I thought, okay, okay, let's do this. And so I went to work with another florist here for a short amount of time because I'd had the illness and I was like, how's this going to work out? Is my body going to handle this well? What I'm going to do. And we did great things for a couple of months. And he was like, I don't want to have a wedding planner. I don't like this planning part. I only like the floral part and my feelings were hurt. And I was really upset and I thought, where do I go from here? And several people were like, you're crazy. Start your own business. Just, just do it. You're a Knoxville girl. People know who you are. They're already asking you to do things. And so sat around and thought of names forever. And then I was like, this is silly. We're just going to be Whitney Bowman events. And so that's how it started. Okay, tell me what year this was Whitney. really the Whitney Bowman events part of it probably came to be more like 2010 ish, but the wedding planning was really 1995. If you can believe that that's a long time. So, it. So how did you come up with your offers, your pricing? How did you, did you start reaching out to venues? Like how did you market yourself? What kind of tell me the, those beginning days of Whitney Bowman events, like officially? So not the best business plan. was no business plan because this was something that I just needed to do to complete me. Yes, the money would be helpful, but my husband worked seven days a week. So it had to be something I could do in my own time. being from Knoxville, I'm blessed with a lot of relationships because I've never left. So there were rental companies here and people that knew I was doing the work. So I just sort of reached out, but honestly, I wasn't on Facebook. I wasn't a big social media person. I put a post up and it was just like, y'all, I've been blessed to get through these surgeries and get through these treatments and I'm well and I think that wedding planning is my calling. I posted a wedding from like 2001 or something. Looking back on it, I'm sure I'm like, what was I thinking? But I was like, please help me pursue my passion. If you need anything, please call me and hire me. And literally Knox will embrace me and brought me back to life, brought my career back to life. It was no big business plan. was just a gracious community. Whitney, that gives me chills and that is so Knoxville. I love this place so much. Walk me through the growth of the company. Did you start taking on a lot of events? Did it ever get to the point where you're like, I need to slow down? How did you figure out your pricing? Just kind of walk me through the growth. then even, Whitney, I would love to hear about your own growth because I get on your website and I'm just like, this is so... beautiful. mean, obviously I love it. It's so beautiful. And you probably look back and cringe at your weddings 15 years ago, but like, I just want to hear about that growth as well. I think in beginning, like I said, this was I've been sick. I've been missing this piece of the puzzle. I promised myself I'm a person of faith. If I got well, I wanted to make a difference in some way. And I do think what I do makes a difference. No, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a nurse. I'm not a school teacher. But what we do is really help people get through the most important day of their life for many of them. You know, they're young, they haven't had kids yet and they haven't had these huge big grand experiences. that was sort of the goal. I would say I started taking anything anybody would give me. You know, looking back on it, I remember telling Bob, my husband, gosh, I got a wedding for $2,500. So great and it's in a year and in this great, somebody wants me. Oh my gosh. You know, that came out where you're just in the negative. Yeah. made no money, but I needed to get back. I needed to get boots on the ground. I needed to get myself back out there. So was okay. So there was a lot of that. There was a lot of growing. So I would double my price and I would think, okay, this is it. It's gonna work. We're there. No, because now I'm doing different types of weddings and a different caliber of event. And we were doing lots of events. We were doing fundraisers and parties. And it sort of became this moment for me of who do I want to be? I don't think I enjoy. the birthday parties and I enjoy them, I enjoy the people, but the weddings, I started to feel like, okay, this is what I need to focus on. And that's really when Whitney Bowman events came into play and we really started just doing weddings. So we went through this phase where I got a lead planner and I did all the big girl things like, okay, we're gonna make it, we're really gonna do this. And it was great. So we started basically with a planning fee and a production fee. And it worked really well for a period of time. It was kind of this hybrid model. I think though it gave my clients anxiety because you've seen my website, you've seen my events. I don't, I haven't in a very long time, probably 10 years, had an event that's just a one day setup anymore. And so when you would do the planning fee, you would give a lump sum and then you would do the production and it would literally say it's this amount per day, dependent upon how many days it takes. So as you know, because you've been involved in the industry, things sort of blossom and bloom and grow or weather comes and you can't set up the tent on a Wednesday but you sit there all day or the rental truck breaks down, you know, in Indiana and they're two days late but you're still at the venue. So it felt very complicated and convoluted not only to my clients but I think to me so it felt unfair. So I really went around and talked to a lot of people, some people in Atlanta, some people in New York, some people in Charleston and thought how do make this work? So it seems like the industry standard now is a percentage. Mm-hmm. And I want to say that the moral compass in me has worried really about that. It's been something that my lead planner for the longest time was like, you've got to get to this. And I think it's this Knoxville part of me, gosh, everybody knows me and nobody that, no one that has not done a wedding before doesn't realize that it grows in the end. You you decide, maybe we do want transportation for 500 people. there's another $8,000. Well, I'm taking a percentage of that. I never wanted people to think, oh my gosh, she's gouging me or she's adding things not because I need them, but because she makes more money. So that's a real give and take for me. That part's been hard. It's also been interesting to see how clients react to it. Clients either love it or they hate it. I will have people right away say, great, let's have an initial phone call. We'd love to talk to you. And they hire us. And then I've had clients say, I just... That's not a, I need a fine number. I need a number that's not going to change. But it's where I am now and I think it's working for me and I think it's the best, the safest, easiest way for the clients and myself to work and it's working out well. Yeah. How have you, have you always done the planning and hired out the florals, the rentals, the, have you ever like dabbled in doing more yourself or less yourself or just has it kind of been straightforward from the beginning because of your background? Yeah. grew up, and it's funny, but like at my grandparents, we didn't read bedtime stories, we read etiquette books. And we would go outside and play, but we would also learn to set the dining room table, because it was very important to know where the soup spoon went, and where the seafood fork went, and we arranged flowers. We would go and pick things from my grandparents' yard and do that. So at a very early age, I like I came from a bunch, just a great line of gracious hostesses. And so I feel like it's in my blood. I'm also one of those people that likes to be in charge of my own destiny, so to speak. And my heart for this business, aside from the people and the relationships, really is the design. I designed every wedding you see, that is my design. And so when I work with the client, we present the design, we tweak it, we do whatever. There's a group of people that sort of fall under the Whitney Bowman events umbrella that I always work with. They have their own companies, but we're a team. So Wither and Bloom, for example, Lauren there, she does 90 % of my flowers. So I come to her with a mood board and flowers I like, and I'm thinking of this installation I can't draw to save my life. So we really, it's this give and take, and we come up with these great things together. It's a good team. So no, I haven't dabbled in other things, but I have my thumb on every single aspect from who your bus driver is to basically which flowers you're using, which rental companies we're using. We design all your paper goods with Lolly at Little Postage House. So haven't dabbled in the sense that I do it myself, but I am the lead designer in every process of the wedding. Yes. Would you say there's been any moments in your business where you feel like it really caught on? Like this was either a major turning point in your business or any big shifts or pivots or just like this is when we got this event and it got published here and then everybody knew. So any kind of moments like that that stick out? There's a couple, mean there's one small one, there's a sweet family here and they hired me to do their daughter's wedding and they're probably one of the most well thought of families in Knoxville and their sweet daughter Nell. really wanted us to do the wedding that I did and I'm forever grateful to them because they really helped me get back into the community and showing people what I did and that was really kind of a takeoff moment for me. People could see, gosh, she's back, she's healthy, she can do this, this is a lovely wedding, my gosh, she's full service, you know. I'm really the only full service person here. We're the only people that are taking your RSVPs and building your websites and doing those things. So I think that that was a real you know, turning point for me being published has been great. We won top five planners in Tennessee recently. That was an awesome honor. Mostly, I think just really being able to move from a great market, can't complain about where I was, but more to this luxury market. And that's a shift that's happened in the last two years. And I really... I think it's important who you surround yourself with helps you achieve your goals. And again, that's just a great team and a lot of drive and effort. And Style Me Pretty picked us up and Grace Armand and Inside Wedding. So there were those publishing moments and they made a big difference. I was just about to ask you as the only full service planner here in the Knoxville area, how have you kept yourself inspired or aspiring? know, who are there people you're looking up to? Are there communities you've surrounded yourself with? even where you're like who to ask these questions to if no one else in Knoxville is doing this? How did you find those other people? I mean, was it social media? Was it? A lot of social media, WIPA has been a great resource for me. Are you familiar with what I'm talking about? That's been great, know, hopping over to Nashville or North Carolina and talking to like-minded people in the industry. That really helped me a lot with, you know, how they're charging. You know, never asking me, what do you charge? But how do you charge? know, do you have packages? How do you do things? So I think that, and then, you know, there's always the people that you always just look up to like Calder and Tara. And so a lot of that has been social media and seeing their work and thinking, wow, I would really love to be them one day. You know, I've not been to engage yet. That's a goal. I think I want to do that. But no, a lot of it is just really been me saying, okay, this is who I want to be. And my clients saying, okay, we're going to let you do that. I think that I've also reached a place this last wedding, dear people, we would one daughter's wedding in July, we did one last weekend, a weekend before last. They're like design, we trust you, go do your thing. Yeah. we hired you. And I feel like all creatives work best in that way. So I think that's been a turning point for me where people are not saying, are you doing? What are you doing? What's this? What's the color? What's the pattern? What's the size of the sofa? It's, we trust you, go for it. And I think that that's when I work best and our clients get the best possible outcome. How have you developed the vendor relationships you have in the community? You know, it's interesting, gosh, all occasions, party rentals, Terry Turner, the owner and I go back 27 years. He was with me from the very first time I put up at Maple Grove. But really it's grown more. mean, there are great Knoxville vendors and we worked a lot. have a cake maker that does all my cakes. I've told you about Lauren with Wither and Bloom, Lolly with Little Postage House came to me through my lead planner. They had a personal relationship and she's just continued to wow me. She's She's really involved with me in the branding and the cohesiveness and just every aspect of the paper goods from the save the day to day off. So it's really been, this is going to sound strange. I pick my vendors, I guess in a weird way. I want to be able to communicate with you. I want to have something in common with you. And I also want you to be okay with the fact that I like to be in charge and I have my own ideas and I want you to implement the design that I'm giving you. you okay with that? that, you know, give you pause because it's affecting your creativity and all the people that I've reached out to are like, no, do your thing and let's see how we work together. So that's worked well. And then Perry Vale, know, Ben Fench, there's a lot of people I work with that are not in Knoxville. So really 80 % of my vendors other than floral and stationary are not in the Knoxville area. Work with police be seated out of Nashville a lot, curated events, that kind of thing. So it's mostly just me reaching out and a lot of times I think this new branding that we did a couple of years and investing in the company with a new website, they found us. So it's been nice. Have you been active on social media? Have you found that to be a big piece of your business or no? I'm 54. I love to look at social media. I am terrible at social media if I'm being honest. But I love it. I sit and scroll. It's probably a scroll way too much. No, it really has been a part. We don't have tons of followers. mean, I think we're at like 8,000 or something like that. But my gosh, when I started it was 330. But it is. A lot of people will come to me and say, I saw your wedding from, this wedding you did in West Jefferson, North Carolina. was incredible. know, so yeah, social media has helped a lot and I do, and I think that it's important. I'm listening now. I have a social media manager and she's like, we have to post this many times a week and these are the best times for your post and speak authentically. So I just don't like doing things that are fake. I want it to seem like it came from me. And so that's really a big focus on our Instagram. If you read the caption, somebody else may have spell checked it, but they are my words. Sure, yeah, I love that. Okay, one last question. I'm gonna talk a little bit about the money side. Did you ever wonder or feel restless or frustrated? I know those are kind of negative words, like this itching maybe to do the design work at the caliber you wanted, but maybe you weren't yet getting those clients? Or did you just like take... Okay, will you talk me through how you stayed inspired and kept going until like, you you said just two years ago even maybe is when it really finally kind of got to the place you wanted it to be. I I think that I thought to myself, okay, Knoxville is this beautiful place and we have lovely families and this great community, but we're a smaller community and there's not, know, maybe there's two or three luxury weddings here a year. So it came to me that, gosh, what am gonna do? How's this gonna work? I wanna keep doing this. So it really came to me like going over to old Edwards and saying, hey, I'd really love to do weddings here. I'm going to Nashville to South Hall. going to just a variety of places, reaching out and just saying, I'm capable of doing this. I'd love to do your venue. Take a chance, try me. And it's worked out well. And I also have taken a lot of people from Knoxville because if you don't belong to the country club or you don't want an industrial venue, Knoxville, sort of have a lot of farms and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you want something more elevated or different, or I think you've sort of seen probably since COVID. destination weddings and smaller weddings and these weekend long events where you're with all your special people came in to play. So I would say the edge came and I just went out and tried to sell myself. Not only on social media, we did photo shoots, you we did things to sort of up our game, but really the branding and the website I think was the biggest game changer to up our game and help us level up. Yeah, yeah, you put in the work and I love it. Okay, let's talk a little bit about just the financial business side of growing your business. So it sounds like, and I don't want to put words in your mouth, but maybe money was never the goal. Money was never the as it is. I don't think it is for most of us, but was there ever a point where like, I need to understand the business side more? Was there ever a point where it's like, I want to get paid for what I'm doing? in order to keep doing it and just kind of talk me through maybe your relationship with money as a business owner. How's it evolved? you know, it's interesting. Again, 54. So when we were growing up, it was playing outside, riding bikes, doing things. Now I feel like kids have the opportunity to learn about investing and that's something that we're teaching our kids to do. So probably my relationship with the almighty dollar has not been what it should be. I like nice things. I love a purse. I love shoes. remember just, you know, first big successful wedding, then I had some extra money and I'm like, what do do with this? And I bought two green velvet chairs and a purse. And now I look back on it and I'm like, yay me, but you could have invested that in branding in a website and be where you are now much sooner. So not great with money, but I have a team of people that really do help with that. I think the other thing too is I'm learning to spend less on personal and put more into the business and to do things properly, pay attention to what to write off or. how things work like that. So two years ago, I started a CEP account, didn't even know what one was, but I have a great accountant. She was like, Whitney, you've really turned a great profit this year. Don't just pay this out in taxes, invest in yourself, invest in your business. So we started doing that. And again, I think I started investing in platforms and ways for us to communicate with our clients better, to give them better products. I've hired a virtual assistant. I've hired a much larger team. So really I've learned by investing in the business. I think it's a big part of why I can grow. know, the more minds, the more bodies, the more you can accomplish. Yeah, I love it. Whitney, what would you say is the best thing that you have learned about money? And you can take that in any way, personally, professionally, as a child, as an adult. Probably the best thing about money is that I've learned is it's easy to worry about. It's hard to make. It's daunting to invest and to try to decide how much do I keep for this? How much do we put back for a rainy day? Or do we really want to go to Italy? I'm not great at that. That's really, if I'm being honest, the money part is not my strength. But I will say as a family, personally, we're working on that for our children. Yes. have their own financial advisor. They have accounts. My son loves the stock market. So we're trying to raise them in a way that really we weren't raised. Like I said, I'm older. People didn't talk to you then about how to, you had a jar with some pennies in it and whatnot. You saved your dollar bills and you had an ice cream stand. I don't know, I'm showing my age, but yes, definitely have learned that what I put back into My business comes back to me twofold, financially. I mean, honestly, Whitney, that's why I do what I do every day because I started seeing particularly small business is very underserved when it comes to the financial end of it. There's not a lot of people to ask questions to. I mean, you have financial advisors who would maybe invest your money. I mean, that's how my background in finance started in that way. And then there's people that might help you with your health insurance or licensing your business and a CPA and accountant. There's not a lot of, you know, what I do, like CFOs that take numbers and strategy and help you understand your numbers. And I just am grateful that you have spoken. Thank you for sharing just openly about that because I think it's a struggle. mean, I know it's a struggle for a lot of our listeners and a lot of people. It's like you love what you do and maybe you didn't have to turn a massive profit in your business. But if other people have to, it's like sometimes you have to figure it out. And I guarantee, I'm sure, and I'd love for you to speak to this, if there was a time in your life where it's like we kind of joke like was the juice worth the squeeze? Maybe there was a time when you're like, I want to get paid. I want my investment of time to, or maybe for you it was just the fulfillment. Would you speak to that? Was there ever a moment where it like, I want to take a paycheck? I've really, I mean, it became, yes, it's always been a joy project for me and a source of contentment and an outlet for creativity. And I will tell anyone that asks me, Whitney Bevin Events completes me. It makes me a better person. I would say honestly, wait, Shanna, tell me again what you asked. You're gonna have to edit that part. I think just that idea of like, was there ever though a point where like, I want this to be profitable or I'm not sure it's worth my time or like you said, maybe just the fulfillment of doing it came in doing it and that was what you needed. No, absolutely. This Whitney Bowman event started for fulfillment and contentment and this piece of the puzzle in my life that was missing. But I cannot lie, the money makes a huge difference. We have two children in college. One's getting his MBA, one's a freshman. They're both at UT. Expensive life, you know, is expensive. And there were things that I wanted to do to help pitch in. It did. There was a real turning point for me where, okay, I can make money at this. I can make a difference for my family. Yes. And so really I think, let's see, Filden's now 23, but about the time he was 13, 14, I thought I'm gonna buy Filden's first car. I really wanted to do that. That's something that's a goal for me to work towards. And boy, I worked and I put away money and we didn't buy any purses or shoes and we didn't buy any green velvet chairs. And I put all the money into that and I walked in there and got to buy him a very safe, used, very used 4Runner. And I was like, wow, Bob didn't have to do this. I've helped. I've done something for my kids. I want them to look up to me and say, my mom was able to do this. So it was part of, want to be a good role model. was part of, want to help Bob make ends meet. And then to go and do it for my daughter, you know, four years later, that was really a turning point for me. I wanted to pitch in on large purchases, trips, investments. And I think, it really dawned on me. My parents divorced when I was 12. And my mother had no idea what to do with herself. know, this is like 1982. I remember it was the opening day of the Knoxville World's Fair. You're a Knoxville girl, you know. And my parents' divorce was final. And she was so strong. But she had no idea how she was going to live. And she's gone on, and she's retired now. But she was vice president one of the largest staffing companies in the United States. And she would often say to me, Whitney, it's really important, life can change in a millisecond. And you need to be able to support yourself mentally and financially and those that are important for you. can't break down. You can't let them see you sweat. You've to make ends meet. So if anything ever happened to Bob, you know, I would want to be able to pick up the pieces financially and help. And so it was important to me that I have a job and I have a career. to make a difference, not only like I said financially, but to also be a role model for Mary Caroline, my daughter, and to show her you can have it all. You can be a mom and you can be a business owner and you can still take vacations and you can still get the key parts. and you can still do work that you love doing that lights you up and fills you up. I love it. I love it, Whitney. I love all that. Before we go into kind of a quick fire, just some funds, the questions I would love to hear Whitney and you mentioned a couple of times about some health issues you went through. I would just love to hear, you know, in a world that asks us to do everything well, be a great mom, be a great business owner, be a great wife, be a great cook. It was like for all of us Southern ladies out there. What have you, how have you found harmony in your work and in your life, especially what wedding planning top five most stressful jobs? How have you kind of found that harmony of continuing to love your work, but also pour into and love your family? I think more than anything, that's probably a struggle for both Bob and myself as a couple. He's an attorney, works seven days a week. He's that guy that goes in for church on Sunday and goes back Sunday and we eat dinner together and he starts again that night working some more. I would say harmony is hard for us. It's a real push and pull. I am so readily available and I think that's a lot of the reason. Whitney Bowman Events has had success. A lot of planners and great, I'm proud of them for their boundaries. I really am. I wish I was that person. You you have a couple of meetings there only in their office certain hours. I'm readily available, unlimited text, unlimited emails. You text me at eight o'clock at night, I'm answering you. That's a real push and pull for me. So we're working on that. We really try to close our computers and put down our phones and we're working on that. We also have this real family first approach. I have it for my team and I have it for myself. And there are times when, you know, a lead planner or someone's like, it's my child's birthday. I'm like, then you're not working. We're going to cover for you. So I helped to try to find my team, find harmony, but I need to do a little bit better. Bob and I are empty nesters. We're trying to do some weekend travel and date nights again. And I do, I do put down my phone then and I do try to just pull away from Whitney Bowman Mints. I think the hardest thing for me and most people wouldn't say this about their career. but Bob would say this about being an attorney and I will say this about what I do. We love it so much, it's hard for us to pull away from it. It makes us so happy. It's such an honor to bring people joy and to pursue pretty every day. So it's hard for me to turn my brain off. So honestly, that's something I need to work on. Yeah. And I love Whitney. I mean, I'm sitting over here like, what a gift to love your work and to love your family so well. mean, what a blessed life to get to do that. And I think sometimes we kind of should ourself. should, you know, so, Whitney, me posted on how you find that harmony of just like, I'm working on. do and you don't want to just be like, shouldn't love this so much. Turn your phone off. But you know, but yeah, you're getting your, yeah, no, I know. And I just, think in my season of motherhood with littles at home, I used to be very, I teach a lot about boundaries with my clients just because I saw a lot of very overworked, underpaid, tired ladies trying to do it all, feeling like they had to and. So we talked a lot about boundaries and in my early days in my career, when I did have kids, I would say like, you your quit time, like what time do you like turn off? And I think that's great advice, think that's great. But it's now as I'm in a season of like, moming, like I work in pockets. So I'm like, nap time here. So I used to be so big, I'm like, I'm not gonna email anybody after like work hours. And like, now I only work after our work hours, you know? And I think it's just, I've loosened up the idea of like, what works for you in your season of life, in your work, in your marriage, in your family, and just a little more like there's no right or wrong, there's right or wrong for you. So keep me posted, I want y'all to decide. I love that you're taking trips together. I could spend so much more time with you, I wanna hear about your team and like all the things, but I'm gonna be aware of everyone's time. So let's go into quick fire and then you and I are just gonna grab lunch. All right, I can't wait. Let's quick fire. Okay, one thing you would be embarrassed if people knew. Probably that I am a serious sugar addict. I mean, it's bad. It's really bad. I have an icy day like I'm a toddler. Really, keep, I go and get snacks for our team because, You've worked in the industry. Sometimes you go places and there's not so much as an ice machine or a vending machine. So, you know, we bring coolers and snacks. So &Ms have become our thing. The team always has to have a handful for good luck is what we tell ourselves. Even the poor dairy free girl has to have one. And that's because the one time we didn't have it, we had a snowstorm and hurricane winds at an April wedding and we're like, it's the &Ms, it's the &Ms, it's the &Ms. We didn't eat the dad gum.&Ms and the Shavari chairs are flying in the wind and we've got to move everything inside. So probably that I have a very bad relationship with sugar. All of those things, but will you tell me about your team? Like, do you have a location in Knoxville that you all go and work at and who, what does your team look like? Because your team dynamic is just making me very happy right now with the &Ms. I tell you what, I'm really blessed, but recently I lost my lead planner, Lauren. You have a Lauren I know as well. and it's been a life changing moment for me really when she came on board, she helped me get these platforms up. I've talked about how I was not a technology driven person. I'm not, I'm not going to be at that stage in life has passed me by. So, you know, I have to have people on my team that help with that. I really feel like. I hire a lot of UT students. I try to mentor people that think this is what they want to do. Emily that's here with me today is great. She's been with me since September and she'll work all the way through until she graduates. We're very close knit. We're sort of chosen family, but everybody has their roles. You know, during the day I'm a real bad, like I make the timeline. It's as my last client said, this is like a timeline that's like military precision here. Oh my goodness, this is happening at 202 and it. But the day off, I want to be the overseer. I want to be the founder and the creative director. And so I have just this great team of people that come on and do the technology and come on and be the keeper of the timeline and come on and make sure the band's checked in and the rentals are checked in. have a production manager now. He's great. And, you know, so I'm really the overseer and they're all the people that kind of connect the dots for me. And it's great. I love it. love it. Okay, let's get back to quick fire. Any regrets or wish you could do over moment? I think probably not investing in my business sooner would be a regret because I've seen what it has brought me. The branding, the website, the social media, hiring a social media manager. That'd be the only regret. But I think really, I just don't have a regret. I'm so lucky to be well. I think I just have a heart full of gratefulness that this super Knoxville community has invited me back into, you know, their memory making moments. I mean, it's a huge blessing. So no. No real regrets. I know that I'm doing what I've been called to do. Yeah, I love it. Big win or pinch me moment. I would say big win. We talked about earlier being able to just go write a check and pay for my two children's cars. never, I mean, I didn't know how to write a check for that amount. I really had to sit and think about it. So that was a big win. Another pinched me moment I think involves a vendor that I have, Collie Spencer. She's a videographer. She was a nurse when we first met and that first wedding I told you about with my friend Nell that, you know, sort of got me started back in the process. They hired me and helped me get my name back out there. She did that. She was a nurse at the time. Long story short, we just kept referring her and then she would other people would see her work and other planners would refer and She called me one day and said I just want you know, I'm leaving the hospital for the last time I'm a full-time videographer now and thank you for believing in me. You've you've really helped me do this and That was a real Wow Okay, it's more than just making happy. I mean we're helping people Build a life. It's it's it's great and and you know be able to do follow their dreams. So that part was great and I think As you get older, it's really these little moments, these full circle moments, like at the wedding a couple of weekends ago, the room was empty, the detail shots were over. This is a family that I've grown to love dearly. I'd done the other daughter's wedding in July and I sat in that room and I thought, gosh, I did this, we did this and it's exceeded our expectations. Not only mine and the vendor team's. but the clients and those are always pinch me moments. Just when it comes together, just like you hoped it would because so much in life you dream what it's gonna look like or how it's gonna turn out and it's rare that it does, but I'm really blessed that my weddings do turn out that way. Yeah, I love it. I got chills when you were talking about Koli and that's just such a sweet story. Yeah, I think that every time we get to, I mean, obviously I'm obsessed with what I get to do, but like helping women and moms like do work that fulfills them and like, it just, couldn't be more grateful. Best advice or just really good advice that you have received. I think probably the best advice I've received with who you surround yourself makes or breaks you. I think that's true. tell my children in their social life and early on, know, mean girls and people that were doing bad things, you know, that's a direct reflection upon you. But I've been blessed to surround myself with people that really want what's best for me and want to work with me and want to work for me. and we become like chosen families. So I think probably the best advice I was ever given from my grandparents wherever I go is who you surround yourself with is extremely important. And I think too in the hard parts of life, the sickness and the getting started and the is this really gonna work or people are going to let me do the kind of work that I wanna do or they're gonna put that trust in me, all the doubting, this too shall pass. And I say that often, this too shall pass. Yeah, I love it. Last quick fire and then let's send it off. What are you working on now? Or is there a special resource that you would like to share? think what I'm working on now, and really the team and I had a meeting about this at the last wedding, I'm 54, this is what I love to do, I don't wanna stop. You talk about boundaries and stopping ages, and I'm like, oh, retirement, I don't wanna do that. I'm trying to find a way to do this when I'm 70, good Lord willing. So what does that look like? Do we have a sister company or do I eventually just become the creative director? and the founder and the designer and I have a team that's there that takes care of day off that would require a lot of letting go on my part. It's not that I don't trust everyone. It's that I love being in the moment. So stay tuned. That's something I'm working on really just how to keep doing this for a long, long time. Yeah, I love it. Okay, let's send it off. Looking back now, what would you tell yourself on day one? And this can be of day one at Maple Grove Inn. This could be when that lady knocked on your door and said, here's a book for playing wedding, playing for them. Or it can be like kind of your comeback when Winnie Bowman event. So what would you tell yourself now looking back on day one? I think I would probably tell myself, don't put so much pressure on yourself as to what your career is going to be or what your life is supposed to look like. I got married late, all my friends are already married, gosh, if I had really harped on that, I would have thought I was going to be a spinster or something. So I think I would just say, find a way to go through the peaks and the valleys and still believe in yourself and push forward. and you'll find your way. And not only have I found my way, but I think I've really found my calling. I do believe that this is what I was put here to do. So just keep pushing. Don't put so much pressure on yourself, but open your heart and your mind to letting everything find you. Yeah, I love it. Whitney, thank you so much for coming on the show. Your first podcast, you nailed it. You did amazing. Boy, you're very sweet. You're very sweet. And thank you so much for thinking of me and I can't wait to have lunch and welcome back to Knoxville. Thanks, darling.