Unique Events in Cedar Rapids aims to be a one-stop shop for weddings, other large-scale events

Travis Newell started working as a disc jokey when he was just a freshman in high school in 1996.

That’s also when Unique Events, today a large-scale event services company, got its start.

“We offer everything from full on event planning, coordination and design, to a flower shop, rentals, D.J.s, photo booths, a lighted dance floor and more,” he said. “We are a one-stop shop for weddings.

“This can be as much or as little as you want and need, especially for people planning a wedding from out of town. Here you’ll have just one or two points of contact at the most, and you also are not losing the quality of any services.”

While Unique Events specializes in weddings, it also has a host of corporate clients, including helping with the annual John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities.

“On Friday we might be renting 10 linens for a baby shower and then on Saturday we are doing a $60,000 wedding that we are handling every element of,” Newell said.

Working with about a dozen employees, the company manages up to some 2,500 events each year.

“I think perhaps our busiest ever was when we had 25 different customer tickets for one weekend,” Newell recalled.

It does work around the Corridor as well as in the Quad Cities, Des Moines and Galena, Burlington and Mount Pleasant.

“We really will go anywhere,” said Newell, noting its had calls brides from Omaha make inquiries.

While many of the people coming the Unique Events for their services have a venue in mind, a new sister company venture — the HarMac Building in downtown Cedar Rapids — also will be a good connection, Newell said.

Its office space has a large showroom where it displays rental items, changing it out seasonally to highlight new design ideas and trends.

Balancing the amount of hours they all put in can be a challenge, between needing to meet with clients during typical business hours during the week to doing set up and tear down for events on the weekend, Newell said.

Winter can be a slower time for events, but with the holidays its also prime engagement season, so the company is at the point of getting a lot of inquiries.

In the 14,000-square-foot warehouse storage space, Newell’s team recently was working on inventory — accounting for rows of napkins and other linens, chairs and other table decor — and making repairs.

“On a busy Saturday, this warehouse is like a beehive with everyone buzzing around, knowing their assignments, loading and unloading vehicles,” Newell said.

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