By Maria Allen
Photo by Stephanie Berenson Photography
When Amanda Edwards was laid off from her aesthetician job in 2020, she found herself at a career crossroads. She was pregnant with her first child at the time and knew that she needed to find a job that would allow her to work from home and have a flexible schedule. Craving a creative outlet and inspired by her love of event design and decor, she decided to launch her own marquee letter rental business.
Edwards established Alpha-Lit South Shore/Cape Cod in July of 2021, specializing in elevating wedding receptions, fundraisers and other special events with glowing marquee letters, numbers and symbols. As a franchise of an established national company, she was able to get her small business up and running relatively quickly and ensure that her customers received the highest quality American-made products.
“The first year was very busy, due to everyone getting back to having events, which had been postponed due to Covid,” says Edwards, who frequently collaborates with local party planners and balloon vendors to create eye-catching visual displays. Serving a territory that stretches from Braintree all the way across Cape Cod, the Middleboro resident singlehandedly processes orders, makes deliveries, and handles the setup and breakdown of the marquee displays, with occasional help from her sister-in-law. Edwards has kept her prices the same since she launched her business, but has continued to expand her offerings. In addition to letters and numbers with white and colored lights, clients can also custom design marquees in the shape of business logos or different symbols. All Alpha-Lit products are made of metal, so they can be used indoors or outdoors, and they can be stacked up to 9 feet tall for added visual impact. “The letters provide an interesting talking point, create a great photo-op and really connect guests at events,” explains Edwards, who says the decor trend is as popular as ever. “I’m still lighting up events every weekend.”
For more information, visit
alphalitletters.com/south-shore-cape-cod