RENTALS | ARTIST INTERVIEW ///
All About Events owner Steven Herring leads his company with pride, integrity and a whole lotta hard work! I toured his warehouse full of lovely wedding rentals and was amazed at his organization, cleanliness and team. Not many people see that side of the wedding; the before and after! Various kinds of chairs were stacked, saran wrapped, and towering on shelves. Glassware was organized in crates of color coded cubicles. There was a small team of guys quietly and efficiently filling a moving truck with care and precision. Steven shared with me the workflow that goes into providing gorgeous furniture and dish-ware for hundreds of guests each weekend. He explained how it starts with the cleaning and restoring process from the previous event. How the truck unloads in the middle of the night or the next day sometimes. How his dishwashers inspect glasses for cracks so they can discard anything that might not hold up at the next dinner. He would rather throw it away at his warehouse then have a guest find the flaw and have to worry about finding a replacement. Then there is the reorganization and preparation for the next event. Not to mention the huge amount of work that goes into installing everything at the venue. All so that couples can have a fabulous feeling and looking event! The best thing about Steven is his heart to serve people with love and joy. He is really all about it!
How did you get started doing what you do?
My Friend was getting married in 2007 and a local rental company dropped off the rentals and I noticed a huge need for better quality equipment and customer service, so I started doing my research and the rest is history.
Who or what continues to inspires you?
I am surrounded by people who inspire me everyday! My wife, who supports me in this crazy industry that I am part of, my 2.5 year old son Hudson that looks up to me like I am the best thing in the universe and shows me that life is not all about work, its about running, playing, singing and loving!
My employees are a huge inspiration! They are the ones that are out on all of the installs every week pulling off some really amazing events and continue to keep the positive attitudes and smiles on their faces. In our weekly warehouse meetings with the delivery and install teams we constantly talk about what happened last week, what went well and what could have we done differently. The guys are all so willing to do whatever it takes to make the events go smoothly and as stress free as possible for all vendors and clients involved. Im lucky enough know each and everyone of my employees on a personal level, which makes each employee be very invested in the AAE values that we live by. We all work hard, fast and diligent. Most of these young bucks constantly tell me "thanks for paying us to work out!"
What makes your business unique?
Our custom built furniture and the boutique style business that we strive for. I want all of our inventory to be clean, organized and exceptional for every single event. I think another thing that is really unique is that everyone in the AAE family truly cares about every wedding or event we are part of, we take pride in our work!
I like to think we operate in organized chaos :-) At All About Events our main goal is to set the new standard in quality for wedding and event rentals on the Central coast! Attention to detail is key in our everyday operation. We have put in many hours and days figuring out the most fluid and accurate procedures to assure everything runs as smooth as possible. A complete inventory count is done every Tuesday to be ready for our warehouse manger to stage each order in the warehouse on Wednesday, once a order is staged a second pair of eyes looks over the staging to ensure exact accuracy to the rental order, then the equipment is loaded into the delivery truck like a perfect fitting puzzle to be delivered the following day. Then repeat, repeat repeat x10. After each delivery is made we place all rentals in a orderly fashion on sight snap a couple photos to send to the office so we know where everything was placed and then checked once more by our delivery team. Saturdays we are at the warehouse organizing, building, creating and waiting for any last minute calls Sundays and Mondays its a mad dash to get everything picked back up, cleaned, counted and placed back in its places ready for the next events
How would you describe your ideal couple?
Ones that are getting married :-)
What's your business philosophy?
Set the bar high and always be the first to raise it! If it is "good enough" it can be better, so make it great!
Tell about your competitive edge that serves the clients in a way they didn't know they needed.
Brooke has worked in the catering industry for about 4 years prior to joining the AAE team in 2013. With her extensive background in managing back of house for onsite catering she has a keen eye for what needs to be on the rental order for what is on the dinner menu. I think this really separates us from other companies because we truly care about each and every order and pay attention to the details. We want to try and catch any mistakes long before the order is finalized. I always tell the team that we are more than just order takers, we want to help the clients understand their order, make sure everything is covered and just make sure that everything is completely understood and communicated.
Favorite part of a wedding?
Everything.
Why do you do what you do?
It's very cool being involved in so many weddings, it is the happiest day of MOST peoples lives.
Not too many people can say that they were part of something so magical.
How do you normally begin your day?
Wake up at 5:15 go to the gym, get home, wait for my son to get up, snuggle him, eat breakfast with him and talk about what he dreamed about through the night.
What do you enjoy doing on your day off?
Day off??? What's that???? Well during off season I play on a men's league soccer team and really enjoy schooling the youngsters that come out on the field.
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?
Starting and maintaining a successful business that makes it possible to me home every night with my family and friends. If the business was not around I would be working out of town during the week and only home on the weekends. Raising my son to be a kind and compassionate little boy :-)
Tell us about your first job?
KFC enough said.
OK, tell us your Nickname(s)?
For some reason when I was younger I wanted everyone to call me Scooter, not sure why but I did.
Then my sisters would call me Young Buck, once again I'm not sure why...
Tell us one thing few people know about you?
I'm an open book, no secrets here.
Wedding trend that your loving right now?
Rustic chic, Rustique, chabby chic... Whatever you prefer to call it, I love it. Our Farmhouse tables def do not collect dust in the warehouse.
Wedding trend that will hopefully be out next year?
Burlap.......... and hiring your friends to coordinate your wedding.
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Being able to go to the mountains and snowboard for the weekend and not have to worry about if I fall down and hurt myself how much the medical bill is going to be.
What's in the top 5 of your bucket list?
Travel the world. I'll make up the bucket list as I go.
Where do you see yourself (or business) in the near future?
Right here, Better than ever!
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