venue: The Estate at Kings Mill
Owner
My name is McKenzie. I was born in Georgia, but have lived in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia for most of my life. I grew up loving weddings. My dad was a pastor, and my mother has a beautiful voice, so they were involved in a lot of weddings at our church, which meant I was too. I ended up loving weddings so much that when I was about 7 years old I made my own aisle runner, dress and veil out of tissue paper and asked my dad to marry me. I just couldn’t wait til I was old enough to get married any longer!
Since then, my love and passion for all things weddings has grown. Early on I tried my hand at designing my own line of wedding dresses, but I quickly realized that even though I love them, I was not born to create them. But I would not deterred. I simply evolved into planning… making lists of everything needed for my own wedding and the weddings of friends, unbeknownst to them 😊. I discovered that I loved searching through bridal magazines, cutting out pictures and creating lots and lots of lists. It was in these pre-Pinterest days that I found my niche for my ever present wedding crush.
But I also learned I loved planning beyond weddings too. During my teen years, I had the privilege of helping my mother with events for her non-profit ministry. I loved joining in on all the behind the scenes creative efforts needed to pull off top notch experiences for everyone who attended.
In college I gained experience working in the magical world of weddings by landing a job at a bridal boutique. I loved consulting with brides as they picked out the most important dress of their lives, but I also really enjoyed working with bridal parties too. Doing so allowed me the opportunity to see firsthand the many various aspects of weddings and the many opinions flowing. I had a front row seat to viewing the stress many brides experience while planning their special day and because of that a desire within me grew to help make a difference. I really cared about my brides enjoying their day of celebration instead of stressing over so many details of their wedding. It was in that season that I began to dream of a career in planning weddings. I could envision myself being the one behind the scenes, holding the clipboard, making sure that all the details were taken care of, that all the transitions were running smoothly, and the bride and groom and everyone present had an amazing time of celebration.
I honed my skills by helping friends and family members plan weddings, bridal showers and all kinds of parties… engagement, birthday, graduation and even house warming celebrations. I also gained the privilege of working part time at a local wedding venue and learning from professionals regarding all of the ins and outs and the details which are involved in coming alongside people to plan their special day! It was through my employment at this local venue that my passion for weddings had the chance to flourish! And that is why I decided to launch my own business planning weddings!
photo: Belle Eve Photography
All in all I love to see dreams come true! My breath gets taken away when all of the planning and hard work beautifully comes together to create magical moments that make memories forever. I thrive in the planning process and truly love organizing details!
The months leading up to your wedding don’t have to be stressful, but truly can be full of joy and excitement. I’ll put in the blood sweat and tears (from my experience these can sometimes be literal) so you can enjoy this season of engagement to your true love and revel in the magic of the most special day of your life!
McKenzie Leigh