About Party Perfect

Party Perfect has been a family owned company with high family values since its 1996 inception. Nelson Parker, one of the original founders, runs the company with two of his four children, Ned Parker, and Lucy Trapp. They have built the foundation of this company on four basic principles - integrity, kindness, appreciation, and commitment - to their clients and to their employees. Nelson believes in second chances in business and with people. He brought Party Perfect back to life with a second chance to its current success and his compassionate heart has helped many get back on their feet after having some sort of record or addiction problem. As a former pastor, his grace has been extended to many in need and he has assisted with turning many lives around in a positive way making a difference in our community.

With over two decades of being in the event rentals business, we supply our clients with high-quality tent and party rentals and we are constantly updating our inventory to carry the latest trends so that your parties can stand out from the rest. Our sales team is consistently trained and educated to assist our clients with an exceptional and visionary experience.

Our company works with some of the event industry’s most respected leaders in helping their events come to life with beauty and ease. We offer complimentary showroom consultations as well as complimentary site visits to ensure we are all on the same page with logistics and production of the event.You can count on Party Perfect for an outstanding rental experience delivered by caring professionals committed to your satisfaction. Our goal is to make your rental journey simple and enjoyable. We operate with full disclosure and total transparency, so you can be completely confident in working with our team from start to finish - there are no hidden fees or unpleasant surprises. Give us a call, shoot us an email, or make an appointment to chat with us - we promise you’ll be glad you did!

Meet Our Team

Nelson Parker - Owner

Nelson is one of the three original owners of Party Perfect that started in 1996. In 2001 Nelson sold his shares to Jeff Johnstone. Over the years Nelson has been involved in ministry and several of those years he has served as a pastor for a church in the Northside of Richmond where he lives with his beautiful wife, Pamela, and their three dogs.

Back in the summer of 2016 Nelson approached Jeff Johnstone about selling the business back to him. Jeff agreed and now Nelson has come full circle back to his roots.

Two of Nelson's four kids (Ned and Lucy) work in the business and have taken ownership alongside him.

Nelson loves to spend time with his family and doing ministry work in the Northside of Richmond – he recently founded a new house-church community with his dear friend, Mike Abbamonte, called 99:1 RVA. His hope is to give people a second chance at employment. He has seen over the years how much a job can make a difference in one's life.

When he’s not at the shop, you can find him traveling with Pamela or on a boat fishing down the James River with his pup/sidekick, Jess.

Ned Parker - Co-Owner

Ned has been with Party Perfect for 6 years. He is one of only a small handful of Certified Event Rental Professionals in ALL of Virginia! Day-to-day, he is our “utility player” at Party Perfect. One day he is running a tent crew, another day he's routing trucks and pulling orders, and the next day he is up in the front office doing site visits, helping with contracts, and running the ship. Ned attended King University in Bristol, TN where he played men's volleyball and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

Ned resides in the southside of Richmond with his wife Maggie, their son Ragland, their daughter Flory and their two dogs Harriet and Norman.

Whenever Ned can find free time, he can be found at the Richmond Volleyball Club or at a local brewery with his wife and friends.

Lucy Trapp - Co-Owner

Lucy is one of our newest owners. She is the daughter of Nelson Parker and sister to Ned. Her adventure at Party Perfect began in 2016 in sales, then moving to the warehouse as the Dish Department Manager, and now a proud owner in April of 2022. Lucy loves to stay busy and can often be found helping load cars at Will Call, out on a truck with the guys setting up tents, or back in the warehouse helping the Dish and Linen departments. Our team is lucky to have her – she keeps everyone on their toes and loves to make us belly laugh!

Lucy proudly graduated from Christopher Newport University with a business management degree, and she is a huge CNU fan to this day! She lives in Ashland with her husband Chris and their two Labradors Mookie & Bale.

Lucy’s favorite hobbies are hanging out with her friends and family – she is the life of the party, religiously working out at Burn Boot Camp, and playing volleyball.

Renata Knayzher - Office Manager

Renata grew up in Odessa, Ukraine making her way to the United States in 1992 living in San Antonio, TX. She worked in the restaurant and daycare industries and decided to attend business school in Richmond, VA. She earned her degree in Accounting alongside her degree from Russia as a Teacher. Her first professional bookkeeping job in the photography business gave her the experience and knowledge she needed to land her position here at Party Perfect. She has been the bookkeeper and “Jenny of all Trades” here since it opened in 1996 as our longest-standing employee. She resides in the West End of Richmond with her family. She loves the color purple and chotchkies as her office is full of both!

Angela Bowles - Rental Consultant

Angela began her career in 2003 at a venue where she quickly found her passion and commitment to the wedding industry and helping people. She is a connector who loves to bring people together. In and out of her professional life, she is always finding herself in the middle of planning fun and memorable events for the people around her (not to mention she’s always asked to bring her cucumber sammies). She has leveraged her experience working within different areas of the industry into creating a coordination style that is unique. She specializes in handling stressful event situations with grace. Her signature is her attention to detail and logistical event flow. Through the years, Angela has continuously remained active within the industry serving on Boards for MPI (Meeting Planners International) of VA, NACE (National Association for Catering and Events), Richmond Bridal Association, and N.E.W. (Network of Enterprising Women). She has also proudly volunteered for LINC (Legal Information Network for Cancer) , a local non-profit association. Angela obtained her certification in wedding planning and has attended the Wedding MBA, WeddingWire World, and NACE Experience national conferences, as well as locally monthly seminars, to keep up with the latest wedding and event trends. Clients who work with Angela appreciate her candor, caring personality, and sincerity. She is proud to be friends with previous clients and industry friends of nearly 20 years. Angela takes great satisfaction in seeing everyone happy and is always grateful for the opportunity to make this happen. Angela loves trying new wineries and breweries, beach trips, live music, and singing karaoke. In her free time, you can find her binging Netflix or sipping wine on the back patio with her hubby and kids.

Phyllis Andrews - Rental Consultant

Phyllis began her career in 1986 with Aarrow Special Events and quickly rose to Special Event Coordinators Assistant, learning the ins and outs of the Special Event Industry. She opened up with Party Perfect in 1996 and moved to another tent company in 1999 where she spent 18 years as a tent expert. She feels blessed to be working with Nelson and his family again here at Party Perfect. With her 35+ years of experience in special events, she is still learning something new every day and enjoying every minute. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her husband of 40+ years, their two children, and especially their 3 sweet granddaughters. Phyllis also loves the beach! When not on the beach, you can find Phyllis reading a book in her cozy backyard.

Ayla Airhart - Rental Consultant

Ayla began her sales career in 2019 with KM Hotels shortly after returning home from South Carolina, where she attended school at Horry Georgetown Technical College. She is currently enrolled with the University of Phoenix to complete her Bachelor of Science in Business degree. Ayla joined our team in 2020, taking the position as the head of our linen department. Her passion for weddings has fully derived from her mother, who has been in the industry for almost 20 years, where she has assisted on many weddings alongside her. After a year of working with the company, Ayla is now the newest addition to our sales team! Her eye for detail, her creativity, and her southern charm are the perfect combination to help plan your next event!

In her free time, you will find Ayla enjoying time with family, friends and her dog - Colt!

Alliyah Lewis - Rental Consultant

Alliyah Lewis, who was born and raised in the heart of Richmond, VA, started her career path after 2 years of community college at J.Sargent Reynolds. Then transferring to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2016 to continue her education at Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Baking and Pastry Food Service Management. Her love for the food industry translated to her wanting to learn more about sales, and the ins and outs of the events industry. She has been working in sales for 7 years and specifically in events for years. Alliyah has officially joined our team in May 2023.

In her spare time you can find Alliyah exploring the city for new bakeries and making plans to travel, not only for the scenery but for the FOOD!

Ashley Salvo - Routing Manager

Ashley started her career with Party Perfect in 2018 by joining our sales team. While she enjoyed working with our clients, she needed a change and moved back to take over our Dish Department where she soon became our Dish Manager. Ashley is a perfectionist, and it truly shows in her work. She is also extremely organized and detail oriented. She took our Dish Department to another level with new chemicals, better organization, and streamlined processes. In 2023, she was promoted to our Routing & Warehouse Manager where she now works directly with Dish, Linen, Delivery, and Will Call overseeing the ebb and flow of the back of the house.

When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her sweet daughter, Bella, and her adorable pup, Bear. They love frequenting the park, the beach, wineries here and there, and travelling to visit family.