We were lucky to catch up with Joe Vicars recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Joe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
When I proposed to my longtime girlfriend Tori in May of 2019, we had agreed to have a backyard wedding at my parents house. This was under the condition that she would design every aspect of our wedding. When we were looking for specific rental furniture for our big day, we could not find pieces that spoke to us and fit our vibe. That was when she said, “why don’t you just build everything, then after our wedding, you can rent these items out”? That was when Vicars Built Rentals was born! So my dad and I spent the next year building farm tables for the reception, benches for the ceremony, a wedding arch, a bar, dance floor, and ceremony doors to give Tori her grand entrance.We both worked full time day jobs, so every evening after work and weekend, we would be hammering away on new products.
One of our biggest obstacles was the ceremony doors. Creating a functional doorway that would be able to have doors open and close was a huge challenge, especially since no one had created the style we were looking for before.
We knew this could be a very profitable endeavor because our furniture was not mass produced in a factory overseas, we put our blood, sweat, and tears into every piece and each piece was unique and told a story. This also allowed us to custom create pieces for brides looking for something a little different then what is offered in our area.
Joe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Its all kind of a funny story how things work out. I was working a dead end shipping clerk job in 2019 not feeling fulfilled but also not knowing what to do with my life. When my wife approached me with this idea to build everything, I had little to no experience in woodworking and my dad was a network engineer, not a furniture maker by trade. We spent many hours on YouTube and Pinterest gathering ideas and processes to create these pieces. There was a lot of trial and error and a huge learning curve for the both of us. We wanted to create quality products to fit couples aesthetics and wow their guests. We never take the “easy” route when it comes to furniture, we want people to want these pieces for their home.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
In the beginning of our journey, we would post every new product and take as many pictures as possible along the way. We also followed every wedding planner, florist, baker, photographer, and wedding venue in the area to try and get the word out. This allowed us to connect with other local vendors and even some of them would reach out looking for other products that we could make for their clients.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We built our reputation with our clients by being on time for events and going above and beyond in terms of service. Always asking questions weeks before the event to make sure we can have a flawless delivery and pickup. Also, we always maintaned our furniture and could make repairs on the spot if it was damaged during transport. Constantly creating new products to keep up with the ever changing wedding industry also sets us apart.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vicarsbuiltrentals.com
- Instagram: @vicarsbuiltrentals
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Vicars-Built-Rentals-100063681275059/
- Youtube: @vicarsbuiltrentals1218
Image Credits
Feature photo: Cloudland Photo 2-3: Eden Photo 4: Marina Claire 5: Olivia Zemanek Photography 6: Alyssa Masters Photography 7: Balsm and Blush Photography 8: Rylie Fuline Photography