Asian American Role Model Series - Nancy Shen & Anna Chen

Kate Liu and Cindy Le
Sales & Advertising Intern and Content Marketing Intern
All photos courtesy of Aisle Ai Weddings

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a successful wedding planner behind the scenes? Finding the perfect wedding planner means finding someone who can understand the desired vision and interact with not just the happy couple, but the families as well.
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Nancy Shen, CEO, and co-founder of Aisle Ai Weddings sat down with us to talk about her journey in the wedding planning industry and how her Asian American background has helped her connect with her clients. ​

There are a lot of aspects of starting a business.  What are some tips you have for someone who wants to start their own event planning business?

I think it’s important to do job shadowing and online research. Having internships that allow you to have hands-on experience. There are certification classes that teach you how to fold napkins and put together centerpieces. Networking with industry professionals and connecting with certified planners can really help. The wedding industry is generally friendly and very helpful.
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When interviewing to be a part of a wedding planning team, what are some things that make a candidate stand out?

For junior-level positions, it’s important to be somebody that’s here to learn because we will provide onsite training [and] provide a good amount of guidance through the process. We’re just looking for someone who’s eager to learn and has a good attitude. In the wedding planning business, I think it’s important to be quick and think on your feet. For entry-level positions, we’re just looking for someone who can and are able to learn. If there are last-minute changes, they should be flexible and able to adjust.

What kinds of overall skill sets are you looking for when you have a job opening?

For the specific social media and marketing role, we’re looking for somebody who studied marketing or has [internship experience] in marketing. We’ve received a few applicants with lots of social media experience on their own or helping to promote local companies.
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We are a business that is focused in the Midwest. While we do destination weddings and weddings in New York and Los Angeles, most of our weddings are in Chicago. So anyone that has experience in understanding the local market is super helpful.​

​What kind of people are on your team now? How do they contribute to making a client’s perfect wedding?

Everybody has professional training from assistant planners to planners. Everyone has certifications. We know everything from boutonnières to helping girls select wedding dresses with the different cuts and types of dresses - it gets pretty granular! We’re very detail-oriented. Everyone is quick to think on their feet, flexible and creative; we have a vision.

During the interview process, we ask the interviewees what they envision their perfect wedding is. It gauges that they’ve done their research and that they understand what the perfect wedding means.

[The environment] is very energetic and positive. Everyone has different personalities, specialties, and expertise. If you look at our website, you can see some of the different areas that we specialize in.
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All of us, also, speak different languages so we have a multicultural play to Aisle Ai Weddings. That’s important because many of our brides are multicultural and the couples’ backgrounds are different. So we do a lot of fusion of cultures. We might integrate Mexican food and music with Irish food and music and blend it together in a way that feels organic.

In terms of personality, we want to make sure the person we hire is outgoing, be able to socialize with the clients, and interact with all parties. They have to be able to handle high-stress situations.​

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A person’s wedding is one of the most important events in their life. What’s it like interacting and collaborating with them to figure out what they want and then executing it?

Our initial consultation [with clients] is free. We sit down with the bride and groom and figure out what they’re looking for. There’s a questionnaire given beforehand so that we can understand their budget, their style. We take a look at their Pinterest boards.

Once we get an understanding of who they are, we then try to talk to them about how they met and see if we can find a theme to integrate into the wedding.
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Contact with them is on a daily, weekly basis depending on the package they purchase. We have a lot of face-to-face interactions. We go with them through the walk-throughs and meeting with the vendors. We have them select their vendors and make sure to coordinate with all the parties involved.

This is kind of similar to a marketing campaign or some type of event. It’s a similar process when you’re talking to vendors, making sure everything’s within the budget, and making sure everyone knows what to do on the day of.

We get pretty involved with the couples and their families. Sometimes we have to solve internal drama. In the end, we feel very close to the couple. [My business partner] and I are good at keeping things under control and making sure the bride is calm on the day of the wedding.

We get pretty involved with the couples and their families. Sometimes we have to solve internal drama. In the end, we feel very close to the couple.

How do you feel your Asian American background has helped you in your career?

Being from an Asian American background has been beneficial for us in our industry because there aren’t a lot of Asian American wedding planners. We understand what it’s like to grow up in two different cultures that help us integrate that multicultural aspect to our planning.

Many brides get excited that I speak Mandarin or when my business partner speaks Cantonese. Because we can speak these languages, that means we can navigate and guide their parents and family from abroad that fly in for the wedding.

Because we understand and respect multigenerational differences, we are able to make weddings that are more impactful, which our couples really appreciate. We are able to help couples navigate between traditions and modern trends.
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In the end, we are celebrating love and making sure the day is super easy for the bride and groom.​

​What kinds of issues (racial or gender) did you run into when you were first starting out in the wedding business?

My business partner and I were younger and new to the industry. Some people thought they could pull the wool over our eyes when negotiating and say, “Oh they don’t know.” But we’ve had professional training so it was an unfair judgment. As women in the industry, most planners are women so we see ourselves as partners of other planners. So it’s not so much as seeing it as a competition.

Being from an Asian American background has been beneficial for us in our industry because there aren’t a lot of Asian American wedding planners. We understand what it’s like to grow up in two different cultures that helps us integrate that multicultural aspect to our planning.

​Do you have anything else to say about the wedding business?

We need more representation in this business. Anyone who’s willing to join and learn, we are happy to teach. Regardless of what your current background is, entering in the wedding business should be considered.

We’re always looking for officiates that can speak different languages. Entering in this business can have a lot of opportunities.

[Aisle Ai] is a passion project for me so I try to run the business as ethically as possible. Some planners take kickbacks; we don’t do that. Planners might say, “This florist is going to give me a 10% cut if I recommend them.” If any vendors offer a kickback, we say no and to take that kickback and give it as a discount for the bride. So when we plan a budget for the bride, I am being as cost-efficient as possible for the bride and try to give them the vendors that make sense for their vision.​

As you can see on our website, there’s always that element of Aisle Ai taste. Aisle Ai stands for the aisle of love and “Ai” means love in Mandarin. Even our name brings some of our cultures. It shows our understanding of different cultures and how they influence us.​

I think how we build up the business has a lot to do with how we were brought up. I am very proud to be a part of the Asian American community. It helps with the budget, design, and the aesthetic.​ ​

​Kate (left) is the former Sales & Advertising Intern for Asian Student Achievement and a junior studying Marketing. Cindy (right) is the former Content Marketing Intern and a junior studying Mass Media & Communications.

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