Meet Marissa Squire | Company Owner of Sweet Sentiments Princess Parties, Creative Director, & Professional Character Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marissa Squire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marissa, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think the most important factor behind our success is our relationship with our cast members and our clients. Having the ability to build strong relationships amongst your team and with those you serve is so telling of your character and ethics which can impact your businesses success. We truly care about our team of cast members and treat them like they are family. It is evident that we have built good standing relationships with our clients by our very long list of returning, dedicated clients who have utilized us for their Childs birthdays each and every year. As an owner it brings my heart so much joy to be able to see these children grow up over the years by being blessed enough to have the honor of attending their parties and making life-long memories with them. I am so grateful that I have the honor of leading my incredible team, and the privilege of serving our amazing clients.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets my business apart from competitor companies is our quality of costumes, wigs, and performers talent. All of our cast members are professionally trained singers, actors, and some have been in the entertainment industry in Hollywood as actors on films, TV shows, and been beauty queens or professional models. We hold ourselves to a very high standard and as such each of our performers are top of the line quality. Many of our cast have studied acting, singing, or dance at AMDA Academy of the Performing Arts, or signed with a professional acting agency. Our cast also truly cares about the clients experience and all want to make sure that the birthday child feels special, has a memorable experience, and that all of their dreams have come true. I began as an Assistant Manager for a character company I worked for prior to owning my own business but left that company. I was contacted by a number of my friends who had not known I had quit that job and asked me if I could attend their childrens birthdays as the beloved characters and I turned down many of them until I finally agreed to do ONE party. At that event ALL of the parents wanted to know my “Companies name and contact information” I had not tried to open a business of my own but that friend of mine had given their contacts/guests my contact information and the next thing I knew my phone was blowing up for bookings. I decided if I was going to continue to service people, I would make it official and actually create a company, brand, and make sure my dedication was to making childrens dreams come true. I wanted to invest in the future generations by creating magical lifelong memories. My company quickly spiraled out of control and within the first year of business I needed so much additional help that I had hired nearly 25 cast members to help me spread magic and attend various clients parties all over Southern California. We hosted annual community events, visited sick children in hospitals, granted last wishes, donated our time to families in need, visit children who had lost their parents, or who needed some cheer. We make sure that every child has the opportunity to meet our characters even if the family cannot afford it. We try our best to give back to the community as much as we possibly can within our limits. We have faced many challenges through the pandemic in 2020 that has not subsided. Many other companies that do a similar service to us have gone out of business and shut their doors entirely but we were fortunate to remain open and service as many clients as we can still. In a business that is all about in person performance, and experience in the service industry one can imagine the challenges that a COVID lock down had brought upon us. We remained innovative though and were still able to serve our clients virtually by attending virtual zoom birthday parties through the lock down. We would pop on a video call in costume and read a story, play games with the kids in attendance, sing, and have dance parties and this was truly a magical experience for these kids who did not get to have in person parties that year. We also did pre-recorded video grams for various kids sending personalized video messages to the kiddos from the parents, or other various family members to bring a smile to their faces. We have come a long way and learned so much! I want the World to know that our company cares about the clients experience and the childrens happiness. We want to spread magic and make lifelong memories for all of our clients both young and old by making dreams come true.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I currently reside in Yucaipa CA so I am next to Big Bear Mountain, Forest Falls, Lake Arrowhead and Oak Glen Apple Orchards. If my best friend was visiting and had never been here before I would take them to Santa’s Village in Lake Arrowhead, go hiking in Big Bear or go play in the snow up there and build a snowman like our favorite Ice Sisters, take them apple picking and to enjoy some wonderful apple cider donuts that are the absolute best treat ever in my personal opinion, then we would go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, or dine at a local favorite spot Jake’s restaurant. I am also very close to downtown Redlands so we would go down there and spend some time walking around the shops and taking best friend pictures, visit some of the beautiful parks, and national park nearby to see some of natures beauty or see if there are any plays/musicals taking place at any of the local theatres, Yucaipa Performing Arts Center or colleges. I love the town I live in, and it is so close by to so much. The people here are amazing too, all of the locals who know one another are friendly, and you can almost always run into someone you know just by going to the grocery store- at least that has been my experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been so blessed by every single person in my life the list of people I would like to thank for any success in my life is endless. However, I would like to say a very special thank you to my loving husband Jeff who supports my dreams, goals, and company in so many ways, he is a true inspiration and has sacrificed so much with allowing me to continue to make childrens’ dreams come true in my business. Next I would like to thank my mom who has spent countless hours behind the scenes and at events with me throughout the years. I would also like to thank my dad for stepping in this year. I would like to thank my incredibly gifted and amazing cast family. Every single person who has worked for us both past and present have always been tremendous and they truly are some of the most kind hearted, talented, incredible individuals you will ever meet. I have not had to worry about any of their performances because all of them have been a treasure to work with. We are a small company family and continue to welcome any new cast in with loving and warm welcoming arms. Lastly, I would like to thank our faithful clients who have continuously booked with us year after year not deviating or “going with another company” even when the market and industry was saturated with plenty of companies like ours in Southern California. Thank you to each and every one of you as we would not be anywhere without you all. God has truly blessed our business.

Website: https://sweetsentimentsprincessparties.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetsentimentsprincessparties/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetSentimentsPrincessParties/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-sentiments-princess-parties-oak-glen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJmtdootzVnWh9ZpVJRyGQ?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Marissa Squire Photographer, Jeffrey Squire Photographer, Raphael Maglonzo Photographer