Davis County-

Jon and Kris Howell researched the wedding business for 12 years before they “dived in”, as Kris says, in 1997. With their nine children ages 10 to 22, the couple has something many employers don’t—a built in workforce.

The Howells decided to call their wedding decorating business Something Borrowed, after the old saying that couples marrying need “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

Kris and her 14 siblings grew up helping in her father’s catering business.  “My parents paid us, so I always had money to spend. My friends thought it was so cool,” she said. “I think that’s where I learned to enjoy work. Work gives you opportunities.” Growing up, Jon did a lot of theatre and set design.” He later got a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA and he now works at Hill Air Force Base. 

In the family business he’s found that all of his varied skills and experiences have come in handy.

His decorations are so lightweight even their elementary-age children can help load and unload them from the trailer.   With computer-aided design, he has built decorations that fill a large church cultural hall, yet fold to use every inch of a trailer.

“Kris and I complement each other very well in the business, with my artistic and engineering skills and her customer relations and attention to detail.” Jon said.   Kris’ friends help her on weekdays, but on the weekends it’s family time as the Howells unload the trailer, set up and reload after the reception. “We always have specific jobs for each child as we go in that night,” Kris said. “Everyone in the family helps unless he or she has somewhere else they have to be. It’s great on weekends because we always know where our kids are.”

Jon and Kris feel it’s been valuable for their children to learn to work and get along with each other as they serve the public, just as Kris and her siblings did.  They spend a lot of family time talking or singing in the car.

On Saturday nights they listen to a radio show that plays old show tunes, and try to guess what the tunes are. They often enjoy stopping for ice cream on the way home as well.  “We try not to make it all just work,” Kris said.   In fact, the Howell children look forward to upcoming weddings, since their earnings pay for their clothes, lessons, college and LDS missions.  The kids are so eager to work that they often ask when the next wedding is.

The downside of the business, Kris said, is that “there are things we miss because we’ve already committed to doing a wedding that night.”

The Howells most often do receptions held in church cultural halls, and their goal is to transform these areas into classy, beautiful settings.  They hope the pictures taken in these settings will have “a lasting ‘wow’ factor.”    The business gives their family lots of time together, as they did 120 receptions last year.

-Judy Fraser,
Davis County Clipper 2006