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Our founder, Addie Graham-Kramer, has always had a passion for parties. She grew up having fun birthday parties that her mother planned. When she was 12 years old, she even hosted her own public party at the City Hall. She charged a small fee for people to attend to help cover the costs of the professional DJ, food and for the venue. Nearly 75 people attended the party and it was a hit!

 

Throughout her personal life, she always had fun throwing casual parties, birthday celebrations and one was even featured in a local magazine before she had even considered opening her own company. Then over the years in her professional career she helped to plan or led the coordination of very large-scale events both in the corporate and non-profit sectors in four different states. After doing research on the possibilities and the missing link in the market for a corporate and non-profit event planner in the market that also has a sweet spot for social celebrations, Addie and her husband, Drew founded The Event Company in October 2013. 

 

 

What type of events does MR Events specialize in planning?

 

MR Event Company specializes in the planning of corporate, non-profit and social events. This includes holiday parties, employee appreciation events, fundraisers, galas, conferences or meetings, weddings, birthday parties, bridal showers and more! Whether you are planning a small gathering of 10 people or the social event of the season with hundreds (or thousands) of people, we have fresh and creative approach to bring your dreams to a reality. 

 

 

What types of services does MR Event Company offer?

 

We offer various aspects of the event planning services which includes budgeting, venue selection, menu planning, preparing the timeline, working with vendors, contract negotiations, day-of coordination (set-up and tear-down) as well as development of media/public relations plans, fundraising consultation, talent buying and much more. 

 

How early should you start planning an event?

 

Depending on the event, most will start planning at least 12 months in advance. For large-scale events that involved hundreds or thousands of individuals that span over multiple days, those can take 18+ months to plan. Our team has also planned and hosted intimate celebrations that took only one month to plan. Our advice would be to start as early as possible. If you have the right event planner, they will find a way to make it work with your timeline. 

 

Do you work with other professionals throughout the Sioux Falls area for your events?

 

Yes, we work with so many incredible professionals throughout the area including sales managers of venues, caterers, DJs and musicians, florists, décor rental companies, printers and more. After planning events for over a decade, our team has built very strong relationships throughout the community and knows the trusted professionals that will make each event a success.  

 

How far will you travel for an event?

 

Since launching the company, we have helped to host events throughout the country and even helped to coordinate an event overseas for one client. Many of our clients are in the five-state region: South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska.  

 

What are your favorite aspects of event planning?

 

Our favorite aspect of planning an event is hearing our client’s dreams of what their event looks like, what they envision and for us to make that dream a reality. We love it when a client walks into the venue for the first time and their eyes light up as they take it all in. Their smile tells us everything…we did our job. We built their dream.

 

What experience did you have before entering the industry?

 

Each person on MR Event Company team has varied backgrounds from event planning in larger corporate settings to non-profit fundraising events to marketing and public relations/media work as well as interior design experience and working in as an event manager at a venue.