From the outside, the building that houses the showroom of For the Love of Pete – a company providing wedding rentals, celebration decorations and photography props – looks like a typical warehouse.
But the moment you set foot in the door you are transported to a place where vases in every color of the rainbow are grouped by hue from floor to ceiling alongside centerpieces befitting hundreds of party themes, lighting for every occasion, place settings, linens and carefully curated vignettes that provide ideas for baby showers, bridal and bachelorette parties and, of course, weddings.
“We wanted it to be immersive so people can see it,” owner Dorri Wassom said of the arrangement. “People are really visual. And I wanted to put things in groups because I’ve never seen that.”
In business for the past 15 years, For the Love of Pete began shortly after Wassom and her husband, Steve, adopted their son, Pete.
“I didn’t want to put him in daycare,” Wassom said, recalling the lightbulb moment that happened after a friend asked her to help decorate for a wedding.“She said, ‘I love how you decorate your house. Can I borrow some things?’” Wassom remembered.
And that’s how it began, for the first two and a half years from their home, then – after Steve got tired of having decorations stored in every nook and cranny – from a warehouse on Liberty Street in Salem.
“We still have that,” Wassom said. “We use the front to rent out for events, and we do dishes and linens in the back.”
But after only five years the rental side of the business had outgrown the space.
“We started looking and found a space by the fairgrounds,” Wassom said. But the fit wasn’t quite right. “Our dream has always been to own a place and not move all our stuff.”
Then, in the summer of 2023 they stumbled on a three-and-a-half-acre parcel with both a warehouse and an office building in Aumsville.
“I was nervous going out of my customer area but it’s actually quicker than the fairgrounds,” Wassom said. “And it has creek frontage for events eventually.”
Moving in was challenging, with eight people loading and unloading thousands of fragile decorations over a six-day period. Once the dust settled, however, it wasn’t long before Wassom’s vision began to take shape.
“If it can be an event campus, how cool would that be?” she said of the one-stop-shopping service she is working toward providing for her clients. “And the Lord blessed us with great vendors already.”
Those vendors, housed in the adjacent office building, include Apogee Event Productions, offering DJ services and photo booths; Holt and Heart, providing design planning and event coordination; and Lavender and Linen, featuring floral designs, clothing alterations and custom bridal veils.
“I’m still looking for a photographer and I’d love a hair and makeup person,” Wassom said, relating her plans for the space, which include a specialty cake bakery so that her clients never have to leave the campus to get what they need.
“We just want people to have the events they’ve always wanted,” she said. Adding, “My favorite part is when they send me pictures.”
For the Love of Pete
Wedding rentals, celebration decorations and photography props.
• Showroom open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• 220 South Eighth St., Aumsville
• Onsite DJ, photo booths, event planning, floral arrangements, alterations and custom bridal veils.
• Event Rental Space, 3800 Liberty Road South, Salem
• An event showcase, “For the Love of Summer,” will be held during the Aumsville Corn Festival on Aug. 16.
