Extra Spotlight: Vintage Event Professionals

Instead of doing an extra File this month, I thought I'd do an extra Spotlight instead. Never mind that I haven't posted the actual Spotlight. lol Just to close out the month of parties, celebrations and the like, I wanted to show off some professionals in the world of vintage events, whether it be styling for said event, providing props, doing photography or planning of the event. I wish I could come up with a more thorough list, but this was a spur of the moment Spotlight so I didn't have as much time to put a larger list together. In retrospect, that's probably a good thing seeing as how I consistently have trouble putting my Spotlights up on time. LOL Hell, this one's not on time, but that's neither here nor there. Let's get started! 


*Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership rights to any of the photos included in this post. All photos have been properly sourced and many are from the websites featured. Each photo is here purely for the purpose of featuring the company and displaying their work.*

1. The Marvelous Vintage Tea Party Co., Austin, TX

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I had to start things off in my home state of Texas. The Marvelous Vintage Tea Party Company is a vintage event planning team in Austin that specializes in vintage tea parties, bridal parties, and gentlemen get-togethers. The website is gorgeous but simply styled, with helpful tips on makeup, hair-dos (and a really innovative method of providing tutorials on 4 classic hairstyles), and the difference between various kinds of tea parties, the last of which was full of new info for me. The gallery is filled with beautiful photos of past events and I couldn't include the photos in the post, but here's the link. I suggest checking out the FAQ page to find out more about what Marvelous does and what they provide to their customers; it was quite informative. 









2. Unearthed Vintage, Miami, FL

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Unearthed Vintage is a rental company based in South Florida that specializes in a number of things such as both vintage and custom rentals for your event, delivery services, event styling and complete event design. Everything on the site is easy to understand, simple in design, and I appreciate their effort to make sure the customer understands everything about their services, the standard procedure, and what is required from them. The gallery and photos of previously styled events, which you can see here, are both full of photos that display the quality of the work they do, how the items look that you'll be renting, and what everything will look like in action. 









3. Something Borrowed Vintage Rentals & Event Styling, Portland, OR

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Something Borrowed specializes in providing styling for photo sessions as well as theater, photo and film props. Something that I like about this company is that they're versatile and do more than just showers and weddings. They also do corporate, black-tie and charity events, which I hadn't thought to include before. They'll also help you with custom searches if there's something that you want them to include in your event but it isn't currently in their inventory. In addition to a page with their inventory, they also have an inspiration page to show how others have used their items for events. I think that's helpful when trying to figure out where to put a sofa or large piece of prop furniture; if done incorrectly it looks very random and not in the good way. So whether you want inspiration for how to use an item in Something Borrowed's inventory for your event or just want to see a variety of ways on how to implement a piece of furniture for your party, this site is a good place to look. 









4. Good Ol' Fashioned Party, Denver-Metro area, CO 

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First things first, I am in love with the name of their company. It doesn't sound at all uptight or stuffy and it gives you the idea that the owners and staff of this company are just as fun and laid-back. The site and their 'About' page pretty much confirms it. lol Another thing I liked about this company is that the owners are a mother/daughter team, and I don't see that a lot. Good Ol-Fashioned Party provides full wedding or event planning, rentals and styling, they also do custom searches for items, and they help with day-of coordination for your wedding/event. Like the other companies I listed, GOFP also handles their own delivery, setup and pickup. The website is adorable and I'm yet again in love with the design. The gallery is categorized more personally; instead of just random photos we get categories of couples by name so we can see how their events came together. I think categorizing the photos by name rather than event provides a more personal touch and I like it. They also have a gallery up of their inventory available for rent. Finally, a list of local vendors get their own shout-out on the site, another little bit that I haven't come across too often on many of the other sites yet. 









5. A Southern Affair, Huntsville, AL

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A Southern Affair Events specializes in both event planning and vintage rentals for events. They also provide day-of coordination, styling, and the option for full event planning. They recently discontinued the independent rental portion of the company due to the increased demand of day-of coordination, so now you have to purchase a package in order to rent anything from the inventory. I like that so many of these companies bring their own flavor to the world of vintage event planning and they all manage to do so in a distinctive way. I also like that Alli, the owner, is a Packers fan. LOL The packages and the services detailed under each package are fully explained and I like how thorough it is. There's no guessing as to what you as the client will be receiving with each package. The inventory has a collage here so you can see some of the items and categories offered. The style of A Southern Affair to me is rustic vintage chic. It has a classic vintage feel, but it's also very rustic in terms of props and accessories, and it comes together very well. 









6. Rent My Dust Vintage Rentals, Dallas, TX

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Rent My Dust Vintage Rentals is a vintage rental company out of Dallas that specializes in vintage event decor and props for your event. They also participate in the styling of your event. Since renting equipment and props seems to be the primary function of the company, their inventory is a bit larger than the other companies I've featured, who perform other duties in addition to the equipment rentals. The gallery shows the range of events that Rent My Dust is involved with; graduation photos, engagement and wedding shoots with varying themes and vintage inspiration, and other kinds of photo sessions. Like I mentioned earlier, the furniture inventory is quite extensive and you can view that here, and if you're interested in using china you can see what they have to offer here along with prices for individual china rentals. You could probably rent everything you'll need for an event from here and I love that Rent My Dust has so much to offer.  









7. Modern Vintage, Nashville, TN

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I've noticed that throughout the course of me compiling this list, I unintentionally found more vintage themed event companies in the South than I did in other regions of the US. Vintage is hardly a Southern thing exclusively, but as opposed to the festivals, which I found to take place primarily in the UK, when I searched this a bunch of Southern-based establishments came up first. 
That realization brings me to another Southern based company, Nashville's Modern Vintage. Another totally cute website that embodies the name of the company. It could be because I'm struggling to find a blog design that I really like, but I've been noticing the quality of sites a lot more than usual. Moving on, something that stood out to me in the list of services that Modern Vintage provides is a DIY kit. So if you're a control freak like myself, a kit showing you what you'll need to do at every step in the planning process will be a godsend. They also provide a la carte consultations and partial planning, and I like that the client is allowed to retain some freedom and control when planning for a party or event. Full planning, design consultations and day-of coordination are also offered. I love that so many options are offered; I feel like Jessie and Becca are very accommodating to their clients and that's always a relief. Check out the gallery so you can see what Modern Vintage does, and have a peek at the blog for a more personal look at the events. 









8. The Vintage Hen House, Kent, England

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*Mandy's Note: There is another company called The Vintage Hen House, but it's an antique furniture company. There's also another website using vintagehenhouse as part of their website address, but it's for the sale of jewelry and other items, so when searching for this particular Hen House, make sure to include the .co.uk in the address bar or search for 'Tattybojangles' Vintage Hen House.*

Speaking of the UK, I thought I'd look for some planners over there and I found The Vintage Hen House, a Kent-based company that specializes in hen parties and the like. What's a hen party, you ask? It's just another way (a cute one lol) of describing a ladies' only gathering. It could also be used to describe a bachelorette party, but typically hen parties are ladies' only. It's a ladylike way to help your soon-to-be-wed friend (or yourself) transition from a single chick to a married woman. What I love about this company is the laidback appeal that it has. It feels almost like you're looking at photos of your friends' outings; there's an intimacy about them that I really like. Here are some options and photos of the various Hen Collections that are available for you to use for your party. A cool thing about the Vintage Hen House is that there's also a shop so that you can purchase a few goodies for scrapbooking, cake or cupcake topping, or as part of your hen party festivities.









9. Hope & Glorious, Suffolk, England

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Hope & Glorious is another company, this one based in Suffolk, that specializes in hen parties and vintage event planning. Something I liked about Hope & Glorious is that they also offer DIY hen party kits, gift packages and options for games and activities to be played at the hen party. Photo props are also offered in packages; you can see all of those bundles here. Luckily for UK ladies interested in hiring Hope & Glorious, they operate in Suffolk, London, Cambridge and Brighton, all of which come with a few venues that they offer for you to hold your event. You can check out all of the packages here; I think my favorite thing about this company is how creative they've gotten with the hen parties and making sure that they provide a fun, memorable experience for all involved. I'm jealous I don't live in London for a number of reasons, but not being able to hire this company is officially on the list. 









10. Vintage Dorset, Dorset, England

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Vintage Dorset specializes in providing china, mismatched crockery items, floral arrangements, party/event styling, and various props and accessories for your vintage tea or garden party. They also allow for a bit of freedom with your planning process; if you already have a planner for your event you can retain Vintage Dorset's services for 'hire-only' or day-of setup. They have an extensive collection of vintage tea sets; over 300 of them are available to rent for your tea party or event. The gallery displays a stunning collection of tea sets and I wish it was a bit larger so I could see more of what Vintage Dorset has to offer. The prices for both crockery and fabric rentals seem reasonable for the condition that everything is in. I get a very professional feel from this company.




--Driftwood Vintage has compiled a pretty long directory of vintage rental companies throughout the country. If you're in the market for something vintage, perhaps a prop or furniture rental for your event, check it out and see if there's a company listed in your area. 

I truly hope you enjoyed this little impromptu Spotlight. I've never done a post like that; I've had the idea for a little while but I had never actually looked it up before. It was quite fun, though. I'm beginning to realize that doing these Spotlight posts monthly probably isn't my forte, but giving myself the same amount of time as I would for a File post seemed to help. I've never researched, created then filtered down a list of what to include, then written up an entire Spotlight post all in one day before. It usually takes me a few days and because I run two blogs full-time, I never seem to have the energy to dedicate full days to one post when I have several others to prep for throughout the week. This one was pretty good though and I wanted to make sure we ended this month on a different note. It was a fun way to wrap up the month's theme and I'm sad to see it go, but I'm excited to think about what will be on the agenda for August. 

Even if you aren't in the area for some of these event planners to help you with your event, this is still good material for vision/inspiration boards and a bit of a visual to help you along the way if you're planning an event by yourself. All of these sites are very informative, whether it be through the pictures so that you can see which details to include in your event or through the different tips and suggestions that are offered to help you out. 

I guess that wraps things up for July and our focus on summertime events and celebrations! Again, I hope this month was as much fun for you as it was for me. That does it for me for the next couple of days so I will be seeing you back here (and on Twitter lol) on Friday for the beginning of this year's Summer Under the Stars!