Meet Hallie, Our Summer Intern

Posted on June 17, 2021 by admin

Hi! My name is Hallie, and I am ecstatic to be an intern with The Rutherford this summer! I am a rising junior at Furman University, majoring in Communications Studies. At Furman, I am the Annual Chair for our Student Activities Board, meaning I have the privilege of planning all Furman’s annual events for the year of 2021! Additionally, I have the incredible opportunity to study abroad in the Spring of 2022, to Barcelona with IES Aborad’s Journalism and Communications Program.

I am originally from Lakeland, Florida where my love for event planning began with Ashton Events. Though my love for Lakeland is great, I am thrilled to be in Greenville for the summer and eager to learn from everyone at The Rutherford!! I have loved every aspect of event planning since day one, yet I am excited to grow in my experience and learn more specifically about the social media side of things.

2019 Reflections

Posted on January 20, 2020 by admin

Looking back on 2019, it’s hard to comprehend how much growth The Rutherford has seen in the past 12 months.

This past year, we’ve hosted countless weddings, corporate events, and functions. And it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. But what we remember most is the details from every event. From the luggage tag name tags at a travel-themed wedding to the wedding party that came straight from their ceremony at Pretty Place, each event is unique.

At The Rutherford, we get to see all the moving parts that go into each event and we get to see how they make people feel. Each event is unique—they all have their challenges and their own flair. But at the end of each event, our favorite thing to see is the happy couple or hostess walk away with a smile on their face.

Community has always been a core aspect of our business and reflecting on the past year, we’ve seen that continue to grow. Vendors, new and old, come into The Rutherford and continue to amaze us with their talents. Our open house and showcases give us the ability to connect with them and help our clients plan the event of their dreams. It truly is a team effort and we’re so thankful to be a part of it all.

Along with expanding our outside community, we’ve also grown internally this past year, adding Wallace on as our Director of Sales. She’s a dream to work with and truly understands how to make each of our couples’ dreams come true. Every time she gives a tour, we can’t help but fall in love with our space again! Our intern program has also grown this year, with four new faces from Furman and Clemson. It truly takes a village to create a space like the Rutherford, and we love our team and all the fabulous work (and fun!) they do.

We’re so excited for another year at The Rutherford filled with weddings, parties, and other events. Here’s to ringing in a new decade and a year of possibilities!

xoxo

The Rutherford Team

Meet Wallace, Our Sales Director

Posted on December 19, 2019December 16, 2019 by admin

Get to know Wallace, our Sales Director!

She’s in charge of all of our bookings, coordinating with clients, and keeping us all caught up on the Bachelorette!

A recent Clemson grad, Wallace has experience in special events and event sales coordination from across the Upstate area and knows her way around an event!

If you’ve toured the Rutherford recently, you probably met Wallace and explored the space with her. Learn a little bit more about her and why we’re so excited to have her working at the Rutherford!

Dream job as a child?

Ballerina

Favorite space in the Rutherford + why?

Our Brick Room (the upstairs space)! There is SO much you can do with our upstairs space, and I am a sucker for wood floors!

What’s something you always have on your desk?

A Dr. Pepper – always necessary!

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl – I get my best work done at night!

Digital or paper?

Paper, I’m old school.

Go-to lunch order?

A Mr. T bagel from Sully’s Steamers 🙂

Favorite TV show right now + why?

Handmaid’s Tale for sure! It’s not like any other show and so interesting!!

Best part of working at the Rutherford?

This is a very hard question, but I would have to say the best part of working at the Rutherford would be having the privilege of working alongside of the owner, Yasha Patel. She is such an incredible mentor!

A fun fact you’d tell at dinner parties!

I have been to 2/3 National Championships that Clemson has won! Go Tigers!

We love working with you, Wallace!

Meet Camille, Our Fall Intern!

Posted on December 16, 2019December 16, 2019 by admin

Hi I’m Camille, and I’m the fall intern here at the Rutherford. I’m entering my senior year at Furman University as a Business Administration major. Throughout my time in college, I’ve dabbled in public relations and sales, but I am so excited to gain more experience on the business side of event execution.

Originally hailing from Hanover, New Hampshire, I am a little bit Yankee and little bit Y’all. I grew up in New England as the Yankee grandchild to all of my southern relatives. But to my New England friends, I will always be the southern belle rocking cow boots and a flannel.

Sleep is a foreign concept to me—most days I’m taking a 5am Orangetheory class and staying up way too late wrapping up homework for my HR or marketing class. During the in-between hours, I’m in charge of Furman’s Relay for Life as well as active as the Vice President of Member Education in my sorority. You can also find me baking up plenty of sweet treats—gluten-free of course, as I “Glucant.”

During my time at the Rutherford, I’m hoping to gain skills in event coordination and work more in-depth on the business side of a small company. After a summer in PR, I can’t wait to use my verbal and written communication skills to work with both clients, as well as vendors, on executing flawless events.

We’re so excited to have you on the Rutherford team!

A Day at the Rutherford: Behind-the-Scenes

Posted on September 9, 2019August 12, 2019 by admin

What’s it like to work at a Venue?

Today we’re answering all your questions about what a day in the life is like at the Rutherford. As a small business, nothing is too big or small for someone to be tackling throughout the day. We’ve seen—and done—it all.

Each day is different depending on what events are happening that week or even that day!

In The Office

On a day without any events, most of the time is spent in the office answering emails, building out proposals, and communicating with clients on their upcoming events.

We might be setting up mock displays for staging or giving tours of the space to couples interested in having their wedding at The Rutherford. Collaborating is always happening, and we love to talk through different ideas and events.

Lunch is always a main event of the day, especially as we start to discuss possible options around 11 am daily (Pizza and sandwiches are always popular contenders). After that it’s back to work with most of our tours happening late afternoon.

During Events

When we have an event, it’s all hands on deck to make sure that everything flows smoothly. Once the time block begins, venue staff is here making sure that everything is coming together with all the vendors and communicating with the coordinator to ensure a positive experience for everyone.

During the event, we usually hang out in the office catching up on paperwork and emails, sneaking a peek at the event (check out our Instagram stories) and checking with coordinators to see how things are going.

After guests have left and vendors have cleaned up, we do a final walkthrough the venue to make sure everything is in its place and then turn the lights out and say goodnight!

Our Experience at The Ronald McDonald House

Posted on August 19, 2019August 12, 2019 by admin

A few weeks ago our team got out of the office and into the community! We spent the evening at the Ronald McDonald, cooking dinner for the residents who live there.

For those who are unfamiliar with the RMH, its purpose is to keep families with sick children together and near the care and resources they need. There are so many ways you can get involved with their program and help their house feel like a home!

From their pop tabs program and house monitor to cookies from the heart and weekend breakfast, they can always use volunteers. We as a team choose to participate in the guest chef program, cooking a warm meal for families when they return from the hospital.

We volunteered on a Thursday night after work and brought all the ingredients to make Hawaiian sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and pasta salad—basically all the carbs!

It was such a great experience (their kitchen is to die for!), and we can’t wait to go back again soon!

NACE Summer Luau

Posted on July 26, 2019 by admin

During my summer at the Rutherford, I’ve had the opportunity to attend the monthly NACE events. (NACE stands for the National Association for Catering and Events, so working at a venue fits right into this!). At these monthly events, vendors and other event professionals from all around the Upstate get together to network and discuss relevant topics in the event industry. I even got to hear my boss speak about legal considerations in event planning!

To celebrate the summer, NACE held a luau event, appropriately at a rooftop pool (#goals), and it provided me with such a unique opportunity to get to network with other professionals in a potential career field.

Our team got all dressed up in our fanciest luau gear and soaked in the sun all while making meaningful connections with other professionals in our industry. (Spoiler alert: we wore sundresses and flowy tops). Everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly, especially to both me and Katherine, who are just dipping our toes in the field.

Our entire team was greeted at the door with leis and headed upstairs to the party. Having been to a few events this summer, it was nice to see some familiar faces, as well as make new connections with vendors who will be at the Rutherford in the future. Themed music, food, and drinks made the evening feel more relaxed than like a networking event.

My highlight of the evening was all the luau-themed food. We got to sample different bites from Chef 360, Table 301, Couture Cakes, and Holly’s Cakes—including popsicle Rice Krispies, snow cone cupcakes, and lemon bars! Shrimp and tomato caprese bites were also there to balance out all the sweet offerings—and were also just as tasty.

What a fun way to celebrate the summer and continue to learn about the event industry!

Two Years at the Rutherford

Posted on July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 by admin

Two. Years.

We’ve loved being a part of the Greenville community for these past two years. Building memories, creating events, and establishing relationships and partnerships across different fields. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been two years because it feels like we’ve been doing this forever.

A lot has changed since we first opened our doors in 2017. Over these past two years, we’ve grown to have a full-time sales director who is just as excited about the Rutherford and everything that we do. We’ve also developed an internship program to help college students in figuring out their career paths. Our team is one that is passionate about helping clients host the best event, and we couldn’t be more thankful for that. We thrive off of client feedback and are always working as a team to make our venue a better space.

The Rutherford | Industrial Event Venue — Wallace and Yasha at a conference

One of our favorite parts of the whole experience is seeing all of the different brides and what they do with the space. We’re always inspired by each event and every way they change and transform our space for the evening. No two events are ever the same, and that’s what we love so much about this job—the ever-changing, fast-paced, and inspiring environment.

Thank you for being a part of The Rutherford’s story. And for helping us to build this community right here in Greenville.

We wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Rutherford Logo—Explained

Posted on June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 by admin

The Rutherford Logo—Explained

Have you ever wondering what our logo means—and why it means so much to us?

When designing our logo, we wanted to highlight the three spaces that define the Rutherford and all the events we can host because of them.

Not only does the R stand for Rutherford, but the three different parts of our R logo represent the three different spaces that we have at our venue—the Brick Room, the Warehouse, and the Courtyard.

The Brick Room is our upstairs spaces and features the original hardwood floors and plenty of windows for natural light.

Downstairs is our Warehouse, which we’ve seen transformed into dance floors, reception dinners, and cocktails hours.

Stepping outside of the Warehouse will lead you to the Courtyard, which might be one of our favorites for dancing under the lights or daytime parties.

We’re always so excited to offer our clients three unique spaces when it comes to planning their events. The brick room, warehouse, and courtyard are all customizable to each event and offer a plethora of opportunities to design with and around.

Let us know how our spaces could help you plan your next event!

– AR

The Pretty Place is Pretty Beautiful!

Posted on June 7, 2019July 8, 2019 by admin

We recently held a reception for a bride and groom who got married at Pretty Place Chapel. Fred W. Symmes Chapel (dubbed ‘Pretty Place’ because of its beauty) is located at YMCA Camp Greenville in the mountains just outside of Greenville. The chapel sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the rolling hills that reside on the North Carolina/South Carolina border.

The Best Selfie Background

The beauty of this location is so difficult to capture even in the best pictures, and it is nearly impossible to do it justice in words. The front of the chapel is open and looks out on the gorgeous view. In the center of the floor there is a cross, and above the cross there is a ledge with a line of scripture on it that reads “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills”. This is extraordinarily poetic considering the scene that it sits in front of. Needless to say this is definitely a dream wedding destination for people who adore mountain scenery.

Conveniently Located By The Rutherford

The great thing about holding the ceremony at Pretty Place and then having their reception at The Rutherford was that the couple and guests got to experience both a beautiful natural setting during the ceremony and then a trendy urban setting for their reception. They could enjoy the mountains and all of their natural beauty, and then they were able to come celebrate in a cozy space that was more appropriate for a party and dancing. This plan was absolutely perfect for providing their guests with a unique and diverse experience. You can easily have this experience too if you go onto the Pretty Place website and fill out the reservation request form. Then all you have to do is contact us for your amazing reception!