By Mary Sisk
Rock River Current
Get our newsletter
ROCKFORD — The Kardashians are known for throwing their children flamboyant parties with vibrant decor, imaginative food boards and the perfect setup for Instagram photos.
Andrea Baez and Adrianna Baez Romero, however, don’t think these parties should just be for the rich and famous.
“I’m a mom, I get it,” Adrianna said. “I want to give my kids a Kardashian-style party, absolutely. Who doesn’t?”
The Baez sisters have built BW Event & Decor over the past two years with the goal of giving you the party of your dreams. They offer balloon installations, grazing/candy boards and more specialty decor with their eye for events.
Now they’re preparing to open their first storefront in downtown Rockford. It will focus on selling their materials, offering workshops and more.
“The brick-and-mortar is an extension of us,” Adrianna said. “It’s an extension of BW as a whole. It’s a place where we can just continue to offer more services.”
The sisters are in the process of securing their location, and they are hopeful it will be open for business by December.
More downtown: ‘Accomplished, fearless women’: New mural in midtown pays tribute to Rockford Peaches
Andrea and Adrianna have always been party people, often decorating events for friends and family long before their business started. They would throw large parties to showcase their original decor at their shared loft in Rockford.
“We would throw these crazy parties,” Adrianna said. “It wasn’t just about a party being rambunctious, no, it was an elevated experience where there was decor and music and installations.”
The duo realized their knack for orchestrating events, elevating events to unique experiences.
“Anyone can throw a party, but it takes an eye and it takes execution to give you an experience and make you forget you’re just at a party,” Adrianna said. “That’s what we want.”
Returning home
While their first brick-and-mortar will be downtown, the sisters haven’t always been stationed in Rockford.
The sisters, who are two out of the five children in their family, lived in the area periodically through their lives.
In 2004, the Baez family moved to Rockford after their father accepted a job at the Belvidere Assembly Plant located at 3000 W. Chrysler Dr., Belvidere.
In high school, their parents got divorced and Andrea moved to Los Angeles with her mother and other siblings. Adrianna, 30, remained in Rockford.
Adrianna attended Harlem High School, graduating in 2009 and continuing her education at Loyola University Chicago. Andrea graduated from Pioneer High School in California circa 2013 and went to Regis College in Massachusetts.
More business: ‘It’s a resource for everyone’: Rock Valley alumnus opens production studio in downtown Rockford
They reunited in 2017 after Andrea graduated college and moved back to Rockford, where Adrianna had settled after living in Los Angeles and Mexico City.
They attribute a lot of their aptitude to growing up in a large family fond of celebration, but it wasn’t until August 2020 they decided to pursue an official business.
The pair began watching tutorials on various social media platforms to learn how to create elaborate balloon installations, grazing boards and other event decor.
“I knew the basics of it, but a lot of it was YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok,” Andrea, 27, said. “I spent hours on TikTok learning different methods on how to tie the balloons together.”
Andrea was also on student council while in high school and often found herself decorating student-life events, giving her some previous knowledge how to assemble simple balloon arches.
“In high school, I was on student government and we used to have to do balloon arrangements similar to what we do now,” she said. “We did a lot of free jobs in the beginning to, kind of, get our name out there and then, from there people just started booking us and we haven’t slowed down since.”
It can take upward of a week to prepare for events.
Also in Rockford: Original Rockford Peaches musical set to hit the stage at Maddox Theatre at Rockford University
BW Event & Decor has covered numerous Rockford events, including the annual B103 Pride .1K Run and the Euphoria event hosted by RKFD/Co. in May.
The store will have supplies the sisters use for their installations, a candy bar, a small space for workshops/gatherings and more.
Andrea and Adrianna have felt the Rockford small business community has been extremely welcoming and they’re excited to offer more services downtown.
“We always say this is literally the best gig in the world,” Adrianna said. “We get paid to make people happy.”
More: Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center receives grant to fund Summer Arts Enrichment youth program
More information
For additional information on BW Event & Decor, email them at baezworkshop@gmail.com or find them on Instagram @bweventdecor
This article is by Mary Sisk. Email her at msisk@rockrivercurrent.com or follow her on Instagram at @maryrrcurrent