Events and more at Just in Time
When Angelina Hanratty graduated from St. Joseph High School in 2010, she initially attended Rowan University, majoring in political science, with hopes of becoming a lawyer. Soon, though, she realized that was not the career for her.
“I’m a very creative person; I like to do crafts, and I have a passion for those types of things. I realized that law school probably wasn’t going to fulfill that for me,” Hanratty said.
Hanratty married her high school sweetheart, Brandon, at 21, and it was their wedding that helped set her on her current path.
“I planned the entire wedding by myself, and, on the day of the wedding, I trusted that the venue would have everything done for me the way that I wanted it. I dropped off my décor. I made samples of how I wanted my centerpieces and my sweetheart table to be—those types of things,” Hanratty said.
However, Hanratty said that there were several things that went wrong on the day of the reception.
“Little things that nobody else would ever notice went wrong, I knew went wrong ... After my wedding, I thought that there really needs to be a person who checks these things on the day of the wedding who’s not from the venue. I planned it—which was great—but little things went wrong because there was nobody there to advocate for me on the day, to watch over the venue,” Hanratty said.
However, Hanratty’s friends were impressed with the event she had planned.
“For a couple of years, I helped people on the side—doing weddings and birthday parties, and doing balloons for them. About three years ago, I realized it was getting serious. I was really booked up, and I needed to make it a full-time thing. That’s when Just In Time Events was born,” Hanratty said.
Hanratty said that, since starting her own event-planning business, things have been booming—especially during the pandemic.
“We had all these brides who were supposed to have 300-person weddings at venues, and they needed help. They couldn’t have their wedding at the venue, but they still wanted to get married and still wanted to have their day. We made a backyard wedding package. We got vendors from the area—tent people, tables, chairs, caterers, alcohol, bartenders and florists—and we made a package,” Hanratty said.
Working with couples, Hanratty said, has helped Just in Time Events build “great relationships.”
“They’ll call us for baby showers and birthday parties. We planned weddings with them for years—or months—and they remember that. We make memories along the way, and we become a part of the family,” Hanratty said.
Soon, Hanratty realized that Just In Time Events would benefit from having a physical storefront.
“We wanted to have a place to do consults for our couples—and a place to blow up all of our balloons—but also somewhere that we could have a little boutique area in the front of our meeting space where you can get gifts for different things. We’re centered around events, but, when you go to the event, you usually bring something for the people who are having it,” Hanratty said.
While searching for a location, Hanratty happened to be driving through Hammonton on the way to an event.
“I saw a sign in the window here that said ‘for rent.’ I figured that this must be the place—I just happened to drive by and see a ‘for rent’ sign. I called the number, and I checked it out ... After a couple of months, we were able to open,” Hanratty said.
Now, Just in Time Events holds all of its consultations, has retail space and plans to hosts events at their location on Bellevue Avenue,
“We want to do fun things like paint nights and things where the community can come in, shop, have a girl’s night ... We also have soaps and candles and accessories that you can buy for your wedding day, and we make custom jackets for brides,” Hanratty said.
Hanratty said that having their storefront in Hammonton feels right because “Hammonton always calls you home.”
“Even if you leave, you come back. I remembered from going to St. Joe’s that Hammonton has such a sense of community. There was always an event, all the time, and there’s things for the kids to do ... We’re super excited to be in Hammonton,” Hanratty said.
Just in Time Events is located at 205 Bellevue Ave. For more information, visit justintimeevents.com, find them on Facebook at facebook.com/justintimeeventsnj or on Instagram at @justintimehammonton, or call (856) 434-1764.