We recently connected with Amber Schryver and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I knew very early on that I had a passion to organize events. Growing up, holiday parties were held at my family’s home, so I was always playing mini hostess: straightening the table settings, starting the music, greeting guests, and gathering everyone to the kitchen for the meal to begin. As the only daughter and middle child, I was in love with the spotlight. These family gatherings were the perfect opportunity for me to put on shows and performances for my patient relatives. I recruited my brothers as actors and created full productions with detailed scripts, structured timelines, assigned seating, ticket sales, customized menus, and even wardrobe.

By the ripe age of 5, I was the ultimate party planner! Commanding the attention of, literally, anyone who would watch, I began producing events from Titanic reenactments to fake news broadcasts and poorly choreographed musicals. The hospitality and production bug followed me into adulthood where I graduated with a degree in film production. I worked with the American Film Institute and interned at the Cannes Film Festival in France. While studying for my degree, I pursued a career in planning corporate events and sports functions. I fell in love with this job that embraced my Type A personality and compulsive need for order. I then recognized the opportunity to join my passions together. It was important for me to study the wedding market, and form authentic business relationships before I made the leap to the business owner.

My elaborate childhood productions evolved into planning life’s biggest and best occasions. I’m still designing “sets” and working with a behind-the-scenes team to put together social events that have so much emotion and meaning behind them! Even now, I love peeking from behind the curtain and watching the audience’s reaction… I live for those “oh my” occasions! My award-winning company is multi-published in popular wedding blogs and magazines. I’m super excited to see where the future takes us!

Amber, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We specialize in full planning and complete design of your event. From conceptualization of your color palette and ideas for your invitations, to custom curated pieces that reflect your unique personalities, we are involved with your planning and design from start to finish, ensuring everything comes full circle. Our mission is to create an event that leaves your guests talking for years to come. We want them to enter your wedding with jaws dropped, and eyes wide, gasping, “this is soOoOo them! Of COURSE they would do this!” Your wedding deserves to be a direct reflection of the things that make you, you. Our team takes a great level of pride in being trusted with your special event. Our Design Decks are carefully curated with research, hand drawn ideas, endless hours, and full attention to make guarantee that we have accurately captured your vision.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Everyone I know was forced to adjust to an entirely new life because of the pandemic. The event industry was hit hard, and aside from the financial strains it put on so many individuals, it was also difficult for creatives, like myself, who enjoy staying busy. I’m one of those people who is much happier when I’m busy, when I have a lot on my plate, and when I have multiple creative projects going. Since events were at a standstill, I had to find a way to exercise the “right side” of my brain. I ended up writing the first and only children’s book of its kind… an ABC book of wedding words! “W is for Wedding” is a child’s first book of ABC wedding words. The idea came as I was pregnant with my first son, and we received all sorts of gifts that had to do with my husband’s career, but there was nothing that existed that gave me a way to share what I did for a living. The book has rhyming verses that are not just entertaining, but educational as well. I wrote it for wedding professionals who never before had a way of teaching their little ones about the industry in a fun and playful way. I wrote it for children who are serving in special roles on wedding day and want to learn more about what a wedding is! I wrote it for my former couples who are becoming parents. The book is inclusive and talks about wedding traditions, religious or cultural practices, common things you’ll see at a wedding, and it allows the reader to imagine they are at their own future wedding, perhaps working at a wedding, or attending a wedding as guest. Writing “W is for Wedding” was SUCH a rewarding experience and the response it’s received from the industry has been incredible.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Something I’m adamant about as a business owner is having integrity and being true to who where I came from. What sets true industry leaders apart is the passion they have for what they do, and it was important for me to show potential clients my “why”. I wanted couples to know who I was and why I started Oh My Occasions before they even booked with me. For this, I enlisted years and years worth of home video footage from my childhood, and had an incredible video team piece together these videos with my interview to show clients just how much creativity and production have been a part of my life. By sharing these snippets of my younger years, clients get an in depth look at the exact moments that the wheels were turning in my mind to one day start Oh My Occasions. It brings everything full circle to not just *tell* clients that I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember but to SHOW them that this is always what I was meant to be doing. Putting this inspiration video on my website and sharing with the world was something personal and it had the potential of making me seem very vulnerable. Instead, I moved forward with a potentially embarrassing look at my younger self, and the feedback has been absolutely incredible! Clients love being able to see that part of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: ohmyoccasions.com
• Instagram: @ohmyoccasions
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oh-my-occasions-pembroke-pines
• Other: W is for Wedding: A Child’s First ABC Book of Wedding Words https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Childs-First-Book-Words/dp/0578817888

Image Credits
Erika Delgado, KT Crabb Photo, Munoz Photography, Suzanne Delwar Photo