Growing up I always knew that I would do something different. I wanted to be a ballerina yet I went to construction site with my dad every single Saturday. I watched my grandfather and my dad run and operate a company and never did I imagine that one day that would be me.
I grew up in Wisconsin our winters were full of snowmobiling, skiing and sledding. Summers were at the lake and dance camps. I enjoyed my friends, school, and was always organizing and doing something. DECA, running the school store, dance team, fashion shows, and track helped me learn to manage my time, meet other people from all over the world and use my creativity on a daily basis.
Flash forward to college. I moved from Wisconsin to attend the University of Kentucky. I graduated with a degree in Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles. I still wanted to do something different. My internship took me into Event Rentals and Planning. I called every planner, rental store and person that I could find asking for an internship. Finally, I got a call back from Mr. Carlton Lear. He took me under his wing and taught me the basics of tent rental, chair and table set up, and overall event design and creation. That also is where I met all of the other event professionals in our area. Then when Special Events was looking for a new general manager, my phone rang. I was lucky to be the General Manager for a family company for almost 6 years.
During all of this I met this wonderful man (Jim) and we got married. We also welcomed Lucas into our lives. During all of this I was running Special Events and I was able to complete my certification with the Association of Bridal Consultants and became a Professional Bridal Consultant. At the end of 2011 I was given the opportunity of my dreams. I was offered Special Events. At first, I thought there was no way I could do this on my own. Jim had other plans. He told me that I could do anything that I dreamed and that I would ROCK it! In May of 2012, I purchased Special Events and began transforming it into the company I dreamed about.
Never did I realize how hard it would be but then so gratifying at the same time. I get to help others create amazing events and plan the biggest day of their lives! Jim decided to leave his company that he had started in 2005 to help me with Special Events. Now I get to work with my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, my rock in life.
This industry is ever changing. The trends, the people, the vendors, the colors. Basically everything. When I first started people said things about me being a young woman. I knew about it, I heard about it and it affected me every day. I was working with a bunch of men and no one thought that I could do anything, tent rentals was a man’s job. Now I am the only 100% Woman Owned Rental Company in Central Kentucky. I am very proud of that. I have worked hard and so has my team and especially my husband. He has supported me in so many ways and I am forever grateful to him.
I have blended my passion for planning weddings into the business with the rentals and now brides have the opportunity to actually rent large items from a planner. I am involved from the initial phone call to the actual set up. I will not leave a set up until I am 100% happy with the quality of my rentals.
On top of it all I get to be the mom and wife that I always dreamed of too! Yes, I have a summer full of long days and nights, out of town set ups and days that Lucas gets to go to Nana camp but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I get to take him and pick him up from school EVERY DAY, I get to take time to myself in the slower months, and I get to be at every game, performance, assembly and field trip if I feel like it. I truly feel like I have won the lottery!