Kerri Motter programs a rotating video booth before an event at the City Club in Lima. The Motters recently purchased the video stand at a wedding convention in Las Vegas.
Mackenzi Klemann | Lima News
CELEBRATING OUR SPIRIT
Small businesses make the world go round. The Small Business Administration reports 99.7% of all firms with paid employees are small businesses, accounting for 46.8% of private-sector employees in the United States.
Celebrating Our Spirit celebrates a handful of these businesses, showcasing examples where the little guys are accomplishing big things. Read more stories online at LimaOhio.com/tag/spirit.
WAYNESFIELD — Kerri and Dan Motter retrofitted an old photo booth, occasionally renting it to couples who needed to entertain wedding guests. The couple quickly found a niche for themselves and founded Motteriffic Music & Photo Booth, now a thriving event business 10 years later.
The Motters have been providing DJ services and photo booth rentals to weddings, graduation parties, Sweet 16 parties and school dances across Ohio since 2012.
The nostalgic rentals have been a hit, allowing the Motters to book hundreds of parties in the last decade.
“It gives the guests something to do while the bride and groom take photos,” Kerri Motter said.
Guests can choose from a selection of masks, hats and sunglasses before stepping inside one of the Motters’ four photo booths, which print a strip of instant photos for guests to take home. Party hosts can now rent a rotating video platform too, capturing panoramic videos that guests can save to their phones or share on social media.
Motteriffic is at once a hobby and a job for the Motters, who worked other jobs to sustain their business as it grew.
A former graphic designer for the Wapakoneta Daily News, Kerri Motter started a commercial printing business from her home in 2009. The printing business now complements the Motters’ rental business: Couples who rent a photo booth from Motteriffic are offered discounted custom wedding invitations, RSVPs and programs, which Kerri Motter designs herself.
The Motters may attend as many as three weddings per weekend during the busy season, with calls from brides and party organizers coming in at all hours of the day.
Working so many weddings led Kerri Motter to become ordained, allowing her to officiate weddings in a pinch when the minister is unable to attend because of an emergency.
The Motters have gradually expanded their rental services, offering add-ons such as professional lighting equipment, backdrops, wedding arches and frames that party organizers may be looking for. The couple travels to Las Vegas each year to learn about those trends, bringing home new equipment such as the panoramic video booth.
And demand keeps growing: The couple worked 12 events in the first year of Motteriffic. That number grew to 130 parties by 2021, while the Motters have already booked 71 events this year, doubling the average number of reservations they typically see this time of year.
Kerri Motter programs a rotating video booth before an event at the City Club in Lima. The Motters recently purchased the video stand at a wedding convention in Las Vegas.