One-stop party shop

  When it comes to throwing a party, everyone wants their event to be special and perfect.

  It's the job of Shirley Weber and her daughter, Jennifer Boyer, to make sure they are.

  Sometimes it's a tall order, Boyer said, especially when there may be a wedding, a children's party, a graduation and a large corporate event all at the same time.

  Through their business, Reddy Rents Party Rentals, they will provide the tents, tables and chairs, linens, dishes, grills, chafing dishes, coffee pots, dance floors, Hollywood premiere lighting - whatever it takes to throw a perfect party. That is, all but the food and the guests.

  "Our goal is to make everyone's party perfect, whether it's a birthday party, graduation, corporate event, wedding or even funeral," Weber said. "We try to make sure that the china, glassware and tableware are spotless, the linens ironed and the tents shiny and impressive. We strive for happy, satisfied customers."

  Weber and Boyer manage to pull it off, thanks to a handful of dedicated employees and a warehouse full of linens of many colors, hundreds of tables, thousands of chairs, tents in several sizes, eight dish patterns, three types of silverware and a multitude of other items.

  Want a hoedown? They have old-fashioned lanterns and checkered tablecloths. Want an elegant wedding? They can provide a Roman arch to frame the wedding couple. Want to truly impress? They have gold-rimmed dishes and gold cane chairs that cost $100 apiece.

  They have three sizes of chocolate fountains, or can accommodate you if your taste runs more to snocones and popcorn.

  The party supply is the fun side of the equipment rental business, Weber said. And that was what tweaked her interest.

  Reddy Rents has been in business since 1957, originally where the post office now is located, she said. At the time, her father-in-law managed the business.

  It had some party supplies, but Yuma wasn't ready for the concept, she said, so that part of the business faded away.

  In the meantime, Weber and her late husband, Jay, purchased Reddy Rents in 1983. She had accompanied her husband to a National Rental Convention where she saw all the party supplies and figured she could do that.

  "I knew how to set a table and do centerpieces," she said, explaining that at the time she was a home economics teacher at San Pasqual. "I was always a little artsy."

  Besides, she said, "it seemed like fun. Parties are happy events."

  And it would be a nice change from renting forklifts, she decided.

  So she took the plunge and invested $50,000 in linens, china, stemware and tents. That was October 1995, and Boyer joined her mother to help run the business as the party supply consultant.

  The idea was a little slow to catch on at first.

  "Once we did a few weddings, it grew fast," Weber said. "People weren't used to seeing big white tents in the middle of a field."

  That was appealing, Boyer said, because it gives the hosts more freedom to do what they want with their event.

  The next challenge was to be prepared to satisfy a variety of tastes.

  "People wanted different things," Weber said. "We bought and we bought and we bought, trying to meet the requests of people."

  At least within reason, Boyer added. "We try to accommodate people but it has to be something we think we can rent out again."

  That probably leaves out a pink tablecloth with purple polka dots.

  But there's plenty of other colors - at least 35 - not to mention floral patterns, stripes, even reindeer prints for a Christmas party.

  Spring and Christmas time are the busiest times of the year for the business, Boyer said. That can mean some late nights and long weekends, juggling small get-togethers to special events for 2,000 people.

  "We have enough supplies we can do several events at one time," Boyer said.

  To store them all, Weber recently had a 10,000-square-foot warehouse built. "It should have been 20,000," she observed.

  Reddy Rents also has a party supply showroom in its main building at 2155 S. Arizona Ave., where brides - or other party hostesses - can select the china pattern and other supplies they want for their special event.

  It's a lot of work, mother and daughter agree. "If I'm not here, I'm at home thinking about it," Boyer said, adding that she always takes off July to recharge and spend time with her husband and children.

  As for their favorite part of the business, Weber said she gets excited about helping a bride plan a very special wedding like no one in Yuma has done before. Boyer likes the challenge of large corporate events.

  Most of all, though the greatest satisfaction for both of them is their part in a perfect event.

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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.