Meet Lily Quinn-henrdick | owner & head planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lily Quinn-henrdick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
One of my two life mottos is “the worst someone can do is say no” and that viewpoint has changed how I approach a LOT of things in my professional and personal life.
Risk taking is a HUGE part in starting any small business. There’s so much uncertainty in any industry, especially those that are service based like the wedding industry. When I first started as a wedding planner, it was as a side hustle to make extra money, but turned into something I absolutely adored doing and couldn’t believe I got paid for. If I stopped every time I doubted myself, got criticism, or wanted an easier path, I would still be a corporate girly hating my life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Most people who are familiar with my story know that I accidentally fell into the wedding planning industry. I interned at a venue in Chattanooga during college in 2017 and actually despised it. I remember telling one of my friends that I would never ever be in the wedding industry! Fast forward about two years, I had a friend getting married in the fall of 2019 who didn’t budget for a coordinator. She asked me if I knew anyone, but unfortunately the budget we were working with wasn’t going to render any candidates I felt comfortable recommending to her. After thinking about it, I decided to offer to coordinate her wedding for free – I’ve always been assertive and can command a room, so I figured I could do a wedding for a dear friend. Weddings are a lot more physical and exhausting than people give it credit for, but after my first wedding, our friends and then friends of friends kept asking me to coordinate their weddings, so in 2021 I finally launched my own business and went full time in 2023. It’s the most rewarding and humbling career, I truly can’t imagine doing anything else.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Favorite city spots are hard to narrow down!
In Chattanooga, I’m going to take a friend to the Hunter Museum of American Art (they also host weddings), Tony’s Pasteria, and then across the walking bridge to Clumpie’s for ice cream – no matter the weather!
In Nashville, my first stop for shopping is always The Plus Closet – a consignment store dedicated to plus size women’s clothing. Then I usually go to O-Ku for sushi or Bar Taco for tacos, depending on my mood.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family really gave me the final push to quit my full time job and be 100% self employed. Before I took the leap into full time entrepreneurship, I was a nanny for a family who owned a local business in Chattanooga that’s pretty successful (and the only place I buy shoes now), and they guided me, gave me so many ideas, and encouraged me to pursue a career bigger than I could’ve fathomed myself.
I also owe a HUGE thank you to one of my best friends and fellow wedding vendors, Bri McClure – she has guided me more than she knows, and being loved by her is an honor. She hired me for her wedding, which gave me the itch to do more destination and travel weddings, combining my love for travel and my love for my career.
The vendor community in Chattanooga and Nashville is seriously something special. Once you’re a part of it, you’ll never be the same. This community values just that – community over competition. Some of my favorite people to sit and have coffee or a cocktail with are other wedding planners! There are plenty of weddings to go around and it’s definitely important to realize that not every inquiry is someone for you, so it’s good to have those connections to refer those couples to.

Website: https://eleventsweddings.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/eleventsweddings

Facebook: https://facebook.com/eleventsweddings

Image Credits
photographers:
Gabrielle Von Heyking
Keren Trevino
Ashley Blair
Bri Nicole Photo
Meghan Kindsvater