SPECIAL TO OCALA STYLE
Close your eyes and picture this — Tables covered with elegant, shimmering, beaded, gold tablecloths. Gold, bamboo garden chairs surround each table. The magnificent centerpieces overflow with crimson red roses and lush greenery. The lights in the tents are dimmed, allowing the flames of hundreds of tiny votive candles to come to life.
A soft, amber glow illuminates the tents that are supported by beams covered with decorative wrought iron. As the guests take their seats, they notice beautiful ivory china, adorned with a decorative gold edge. The deep red, linen napkins are folded and carefully placed across every plate. Crystal wine goblets are placed at each seat.
Glancing up at the ceiling reveals several wrought iron chandeliers draped with Italian crystals. The chandeliers cast a decorative shadow on the walls of the massive tent. Soft medallion-shaped images are projected onto the ceiling of the tent to create a look of texture. The ambiance for your special event has been set. The staff at Party Time Rentals made this vision come to life for one Ocala family, and they can do the same for you.
“I think very highly of their talents,” Diane Branch says. “Party Time’s credentials speak for themselves. Dawn and Scott made our daughter’s wedding just what we envisioned. We’ll always be appreciative for what they did for us. As a matter of fact, we have another daughter who is getting married in May and she’s working with Dawn to get ideas.”
From listening to Party Time’s clients, it’s evident that the smallest details don’t go overlooked.
“The best part of my job is when my clients come in and their ideas aren’t honed in yet,” co-owner Dawn Lovell says. “I’ll sit down with them and talk through their ideas or look at pictures, whatever it takes to come up with the perfect look and feel for the event.”
When Dawn and Scott purchased Party Time in 1995, they had six employees. Today, they employ 50. During the fall, Party Time will be expanding once again when it moves into its new building, doubling the current size.
Dawn was destined for this line of work. Her first job was working at a local bridal shop here in Ocala.
“After high school I went to UF and majored in architecture and design,” she says. “I even worked at a bridal shop in Gainesville, so I’ve been around event planning for quite some time. Then I found out about a position here at Party Time. I took the job with the option to buy the company. It was a wonderful opportunity and I definitely made the right decision.”
It’s obvious from her excited smile and animated descriptions of past and upcoming events that Dawn loves her work and has the utmost confidence in her design staff. She is quick to say that each staff member brings something special to Party Time.
“The designers don’t just think they can put together a function — they can,” Dawn says. “We have a very well-trained group of people. All of the designers meet once a week to brainstorm about the different events we’re working on. In reality, when you work with Party Time, you get the benefits of a complete design team.”
What comes to mind when you think of party rentals? Weddings? While weddings are a special part of Party Time’s business, the events the staff caters to span a wide range. Whether you’re planning an anniversary party for 500, a backyard barbecue for ten or a $500-a-plate fundraising event, Party Time has the centerpieces, lighting, chairs, linens, and other supplies needed to make the event a success. Having a garage sale? Need tables to display your items? Party Time can help with this, too.
“The rental industry is set up where most companies have one pattern of china, white linens, and a standard tent style,” says Scott Lovell, co-owner and Dawn’s husband. “Dawn’s goal was to make Party Time unique in the rental industry. We have about 100 different styles of linens, five china patterns, and three or four styles of flatware. We offer our customers many options.”
Scott says that Dawn purchases items for the store that she would be proud to display in their own home.
“We go out of our way to get the products our clients want,” Dawn says. “We put more money into purchasing our rental equipment than we had in sales our first year in business.”
Walking into their building on 27th Avenue, clients are greeted with elegantly decorated tables overflowing with carefully arranged table settings and centerpieces. The ideas and options are endless.
After working closely with the staff at Party Time Rentals, Jeanne Sims of Town and Country Farms has nothing but great things to say about them.
“They’ve done so many wonderful things for Town and Country Farms,” Jeanne says. “The biggest event they’ve done for us was our Cure by Design dinner party. The backyard of the farm has a steep slope, so we had a multi-level tent that was set up on scaffolding.”
Guests entered the cocktail tent, which was carpeted with black carpeting. Oversized couches and chairs filled the area and colorful, floppy pillows were strewn about.
“A few steps down from the cocktail tent was two dinner tents. Dawn and her assistant came up with the idea for the décor. Our theme was a ‘Gem of a Cure,’ so they suggested using different gem-colored wine goblets for each setting. The gold dinner plates stood out beautifully on the black linen tablecloths.”
Brightly colored ribbons and streamers hung whimsically from the ceiling. Crystal chandeliers added special lighting to the event. Another step down led to a black-and-white tiled dance floor.
“This event was such a huge undertaking,” Jeanne says. “We always receive wonderful customer service from Party Time. They brought in everything from tents and generators to scaffolding and decorations. Everything pulled together beautifully.”
Dawn knows that when clients are in event-planning mode, they have very specific ideas concerning the look and feel of their affair.
“We will create the ambiance our customers are looking for and do it within their budget,” Dawn says. “We can work creatively with any budget. To get the appearance a client wants, maybe we have to use a different material for the linens, or use a variation on a china setting. There are so many options.”
Dawn and Scott encourage and invite potential clients to visit halls and banquet facilities that have been decorated by the staff at Party Time.
“It’s so much easier to see something in person. It’s all about making the customers visions a reality.”
Party Time Rentals
926 NW 27th Avenue
Ocala, FL 34475
(352) 629-8858
www.partytimerentals.us
