We recently connected with Laurie Love and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurie , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In 2007 I worked at a home decorating store where I grew to love decorating for our customers. After having worked there for 5 years, I attended an outdoor wedding in my hometown that I fell in love with. The bride had rented church pews, farm tables, mix and match china, and more vintage pieces for her decor. I asked where she rented it all from and it came from an out of town company because no one else in our area offered that style of rentals. I loved it so much that I decided, that night, that this was what I wanted to do, so I started shopping for vintage china the very next day. After I filled up my dining room with china, I grew into my garage then various warehouses.

Laurie , 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?

This business idea came to me when I attended a wedding where the bride had rented all vintage pieces for her wedding and I loved it. She rented everything from another city, because nobody local had this to offer. Therefore, I thought it would be a great idea to bring that type of business to the Texas Hill Country.

We offer tables, chairs, linens, farm tables, wooden chairs, stained glass backdrops, grand entry doors for the brides to walk through, lounge furniture, centerpiece decor, china, flatware, colored goblets, plain glassware, pews, benches and more. We also offer styling the day off.

I, personally, go to almost every delivery and I feel like that gives my client piece of mind.

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

Yes, I bought out my competitor after they approached me about buying them out. They were a larger business than us, as far as inventory, so the owner agreed to stay on for 30 days and teach me their processes and acclimate me to the way they operated. I made some changes, but I also maintained some of my own processes.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started my company with $5000 cash that I inherited. I knew this wouldn’t go very far, but I also knew that I could make it go as far as it could. I started buying vintage china and glassware and as I started renting this out, I continued to invest back into my business. I grew it slowly, but surely and I’m still growing it today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crurentals.com
• Instagram: @crurentals
• Facebook: Cru Event Rentals

Image Credits
Allison Jeffers Photography Pine & Blossom Tara Williams Photography Jessica Chole Photography Dawn Elizabeth Photography Straughan Photography