From Our Inner Circle: The World of Custom Wedding Fabrication
For the second installment in the From Our Inner Circle series, we’re diving into the world of custom fabrication. What is custom fabrication you ask? In the wedding industry, custom fabrication is used everywhere from ceremony backdrops and escort displays to bar facades and lounge furniture.
Meet Brianne!
We’re thrilled to spotlight Brianne Hellman of Party Bound, a visionary event professional whose journey from sought-after corporate planner in New York City to creative entrepreneur in Atlanta has been nothing short of inspiring. With her experience orchestrating world-class events for major brands, Brianne brings a sharp eye for detail and a deep love for celebration to everything she touches.
From curated furniture collections to playful party pieces, Brianne’s work reflects her belief that every gathering deserves to feel personal, polished, and unforgettable. Now, she’s sharing her story and insight into custom fabrication — a world of possibilities that celebrates connection, creativity, and the beauty of life’s big moments.
What does custom fabrication mean in the context of event rentals, and why is it becoming more essential for modern weddings?
In the world of modern weddings, “custom fabrication” has become more than just a buzzword; it’s a reflection of how deeply today’s couples care about design, storytelling, and creating unforgettable guest experiences. At Party Bound, we specialize in luxury event furnishings and one-of-a-kind rental pieces, and over the years, custom fabrication has become a core part of our service offering, which often comes in the form of customizing our line of rentals with color and patterns. We’re proud to partner with visionaries like Drake Social to bring these bespoke moments to life — because when planners and designers dream big, we love to build the pieces that make it real.
Couples today are leaning into personalization more than ever. They want their weddings to feel distinctly them — whether that’s through a sculptural ceremony arch that mirrors the architecture of their venue, or a cocktail bar wrapped in fabric inspired by their grandmother’s china pattern. Elevated design standards have raised the bar for what’s possible — and custom fabrication is how we meet that challenge.
Can you share an example of a custom fabrication piece you’ve collaborated with Drake Social on, and how it elevated the guest experience?
One of my favorite custom moments we’ve created with Drake Social was a modern escort card installation for a spring wedding at the Atlanta History Center. The couple wanted to celebrate their shared love of hopeless romance, but in a way that felt artistic and unexpected. Working with Drake Social’s creative team and the couple’s stationer, we fabricated a freestanding double-sided structure in black and white, with monochromatic envelopes with seating assignments on beautiful stationery designed by the couple’s stationer and a clean, sophisticated photo wall moment featuring the couple’s monogram.
It wasn’t just a display. It was a moment. Guests were drawn to it like a gallery piece during cocktail hour. It served as an interactive welcome, a design focal point, and a conversation starter all in one. That’s the power of custom fabrication — it can transform a logistical element into an emotional one.
Why might a couple or planner opt for custom fabrication over a standard rental item?
Often, it comes down to the story. While rental collections provide the bones, custom fabrication provides the soul. It allows you to match the palette of the invitation suite, echo the architectural details of the venue, or highlight something deeply personal, like a couple’s heritage, love story, or shared passions.
From a planner’s perspective, custom work also unlocks functionality. Need a bar that fits perfectly into a curved nook? A statement arch that can be repurposed as a photo backdrop? Custom means no compromising.
How do you collaborate with fabricators and vendors to bring custom pieces to life?
Custom fabrication is a deeply collaborative process. It typically begins with a planner or client sharing a moodboard or concept; sometimes a sketch, sometimes just a feeling. From there, our team creates detailed renderings or mockups, sources materials, and maps out a production timeline.
We work hand-in-hand with our fabrication team, including craftsmen, finishers, printers, upholsterers, and installers, to ensure each detail is thoughtful and event-ready. Building an in-house fabrication team that we trust ensures the final product isn’t just beautiful, but functional and feasible for event load-ins, timelines, and venue restrictions.
What are some of the most requested custom fabrications you’re seeing right now in the wedding industry?
Right now, the most requested custom fabrications in the wedding space include:
- Wrapped or paneled bar facades with custom color, dimensional texture or custom branding
- Lounge furniture in custom upholstery
- Interactive escort card displays that double as décor
- Modular stage fronts and risers
Couples are pushing the boundaries — and we’re here for it.
What are some unexpected ways you’ve seen custom fabrication used at weddings?
Some of our most fun projects have been the ones that stretch the imagination. We’ve created custom curved shelving for a champagne tower, statement bar backs for glassware storage with residential lighting elements, interactive beverage moments, and even sculptural stage design elements. The possibilities truly are endless when you’re willing to think outside the (rental) box.
How can custom fabrication help express a couple’s story or aesthetic in a way that traditional rentals can’t?
We often say that traditional rentals set the stage, but custom fabrication sets the tone. Whether it’s incorporating the couple’s stationery in subtle ways or crafting a ceremony backdrop inspired by their first date location, custom pieces bring a sense of intimacy and personality that off-the-shelf rentals simply can’t.
It’s not just décor — it’s storytelling in three dimensions.
What advice would you give to planners or couples dreaming of something one-of-a-kind but not sure where to start?
If you’re a couple dreaming of a one-of-a-kind moment, my advice is: don’t be afraid to start with a dream. Share your vision — no matter how vague. Pull inspiration images. Talk through your favorite restaurants, architecture, or travel destinations. The magic of custom fabrication lies in transforming that inspiration into something tangible.
At Party Bound, we’re here to build what doesn’t yet exist and bring a little bit of wow to every moment.
Ready to dream something up together? Let’s build it.
Photos: The Willetts, Laura Watson, Pervak Photography, Jessica Gold, Katie York
