Sheri Holloway Photography

Check out my interview with my friend and fellow wedding vendor, Sarah Rein! http://www.bransonpartyrentals.com

Sheri Holloway Photography: Hi Sarah! Can you introduce yourself?
Branson Party Rentals & Rosewood Floral: Yep – I’m Sarah Rein, owner of an Event Planning, Design and Rental company called Branson Party Rentals & Rosewood Floral here in the Branson Area.
SHP: So can you tell me – do you normally work by yourself or do you have help?
BPR: I run the day to day paperwork stuff by myself usually, but have a team of people getting the events ready behind the scenes all throughout the week at our design warehouse. We have grown our team over the last 4 years and work on multiple events a week. My husband has taken over the Rental portion of the company as we have now added tents and it has become a pretty heavy lifting department :). I also have many other wedding coordinators on my team that will assist with the different venues we run on super busy weekends.
SHP: How did you get started doing Events and how long have you been at it?
BPR: Great question! I Actually got started over seas in Sydney Australia in 2006 and was involved in corporate events and promotional fundraising but had the opportunity to get involved with the wedding world as well and it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
When I came back to the states I started a small event planning company called Elite Occasions and had an alteration company at a local Bridal Store “Touch of Class” as well. By 2012 the company started to grow so quickly, My mother took over the alteration company and I went 100% full time with the event planning and Rental Business. in 2014 we purchased an event design company from the infamous Billie Naioti and incorporated it in with our rentals. I also got to keep her amazing designers who are very well known for their fresh floral skills!
SHP: So what’s your favorite thing about your job?
BPR: My Favorite part of the job is that I get to wake up every day and do what I love! I am truly passionate about what I do, and treat every wedding I am involved with as if it were my daughters! Every Bride is special to me! I also have been blessed as to have been able to work from home in the beginning stages of the company and to have had my children close to me the entire process! Training the next generation of Wedding planners ;). Especially when you get to work with clients you really click with.

SHP: Could you tell me a bit about what services you offer?
BPR: Sure! So we are an inclusive Wedding Design Studio. Not only do we offer Full Service Wedding planning for Brides that just don’t have any time to put in, to just offering Day of Coordination Services to where we would lead the rehearsal and day of the wedding. Our Rental Company offers any different options of chairs, tables, linens, tents, dance floors, heaters, staging, lighting, dinnerware and much more for event rentals. Last but not least is our design company Rosewood Floral.
We offer fresh floral services along with something that is a bit unique for the area. We actually rent customized floral centerpieces as well, and can insert fresh floral the day of to keep brides budgets on target without sacrificing the wow affect!
SHP: So for the full, do the clients just tell you their ideas and say “go forth”?
BPR: LOL, Sometimes we have had clients that are that trusting, but for the most part people know exactly what they want. I have a lot of out of state clients that are relying on technology to keep in touch and keep me posted on updates, number changes and any design ideas they have. From that point of the initial consult, our designers do get together and we comprehensively come to a conclusive design that we will present to the couple for approval. The couple has complete control of what happens along the way.
SHP: Awesome. What’s an aspect of your job that people don’t know about or might find surprising?
BPR: I think that sometimes when people think about weddings they think of something beautiful where everything is placed perfectly, but they don’t always think about how that got there. How many hours it took to set up the extensive designs How many flowers to order, how to arrange them. Who coordinated all of the times and schedules. How do the vendors know what to do and where to setup? How many vases need to be cleaned and packed. A lot of people don’t take that into consideration when they start to plan a wedding. Then they get in too deep and start to panic if they don’t know what to do. It takes a lot to make the day go smoothly. There are so many logistics to events and I think people just don’t know how much goes on behind the scenes of a flawless event.
SHP: I think that’s often true! I for one love working with a planner and event design team. It makes everything so much saner! So what about your creative process, but how do you find inspiration? What happens first that you then build from?
BPR: A lot of times working with clients we ask them to pull some images, or pieces of things that they like, and then we have to figure out – what is it about that image that they like? Is it the florals or the colors or how it makes them feel. We’re trying to get to the core of their style. Once that has been established, we walk through the space and get an idea of the setup. Then we’ll go to what rentals would work there – linens, china, glassware, flatware, chairs and everything like that. Where I like to go often times for inspiration is Pinterest. So overrated sometimes, but I still love it. I love pulling from all of those different places and creating something that’s unique to the couple.
SHP: I bet that part is super hard, coming up with something different!
BPR: Yeah, and it is. We’re always trying to stay original and find a new way to do things. In a creative business, everyone’s kind of doing similar things, so it’s definitely nice to look outside the wedding world for inspiration. I have found the movie industry will influence raising trends and I can see what is coming before it hits usually.
SHP: I know you are married and have kiddos now but, if you could do your wedding over again, is there anything you would do differently?
BPR: So, I actually wanted to run away and get married, but my husband was set on a big wedding, Suprising?? Shouldn’t be since then I have had tons of brides say the same thing! We had about 200 guest at our wedding and somehow kept the budget under $6,000.00 total! Amazing yes, could I do it again, probably not ;). the one thing I regret is not hiring a professional wedding coordinator to help me, so I wouldn’t be hector the director to my own family and could relax about the details, and I wish more than anything that I had hired a professional photographer! I had an amazing friend that shot some great pictures, but there is no way she could have done all of that by herself and been everywhere at once, so I relied on friends and family to send photos to recreate the day. Not to mention, that is probably going to be the best you will ever look, not to say that is true for everyone but, I am pretty sure it was for me, I have never been good at the girly dress up thing. That is a day you can’t get back and I Wish..Wish… Wish that I had some more photos to remember it with!
SHP: So, what’s one piece of advice that you would give couples specifically who are looking for a wedding planner. What’s something they should keep in their minds as they’re considering their options?
BPR: I think first and foremost, personalities have to align. This is someone you will be spending the most important day of your life with, so you need to like them and make sure your ideas and goals meet up. Next, make sure they are a professional company with experience. You don’t want to be a learning curve for someones resume list! Make sure they have a couple of weddings under their belt before you intrust them with that special day! Look at their past reviews, past photos of weddings they have done, and if you are still not sure ask them for a couple of past clients that you could personally call for a reference on their services. Nothing more eye opening than a call with a past mother of the bride, they usually have no problem holding back the pros and con’s of how a wedding day proceeded. 🙂
SHP: Haha! Ok, last one. If you had one day to spend doing anything you want, what would you do?
BPR: Well, It would start with waking up on a remote island with no technology around me surrounded with tropical Fruit! and or course all of my loved ones together and just having a day of relaxation, spa treatments and peace!
SHP: I love the sound of that! Give me a beach, my favorite people, some kicking music, and my favorite cocktail and I’m good to go! Well, thanks so much for chatting with me Sarah! I can’t wait to work together again 🙂