Stepping into Her Own: an Interview with Tess Oplinger
For this month’s team spotlight, I got to sit down with the one and only Tess Oplinger. Jane Rae first had the privilege of having Tess on our team as an intern five years ago, and she has taken on a whole host of new adventures with us since then. From back-of-house work to rental clients to design, her newest endeavor this year is taking on the role of Lead Planner. Tess is driven and dependable, curious and quick to find solutions. We are so lucky to have her, and I was deeply excited to chat with her and share that chat with all of you.
RO: What are some of your joys outside of work?
TO: My joys I would definitely say are on two different levels. A competitive side, where I love sand volleyball, spike ball, any sort of competition aspect. I like winning, so I'm going to do what I can to win. But then I also really like the relaxing aspects of sitting at home reading a book, I’m really into paint by numbers as well. I probably have eight or nine of them done and hung up in my house. So, really, creating. Creating things as well, I guess. I would say they're drastic differences, but it's a good balance.
RO: Who do you want to be when you grow up? Who do you admire?
TO: I admire my mom the most. To be a single mom with twin daughters. It was a lot for her to go through in life not having a super close support system either. Her close family, sisters, parents were about four hours away from where we lived. So she did it by herself and as I've grown up, I've begun to realize the sacrifices that she's made a lot more than when I was a kid. Her strength and resilience is, yeah, very admirable, with all of the health things she's gone through as well. And just still finding joy in life. She's one that always wants to do things with friends, always having activities, trying new projects. So, yeah, I look up to her a lot.
RO: What are you proud of about you?
TO: I would say my work ethic is one of the things I'm most proud of. Growing up in a small town, it was instilled in us. And also it relates back to having a single mother. My sister and I, we learned quickly, yeah, our mom was there, but we didn't have to depend on her because she was already doing so much for us. So we became independent figuring things out on our own. I think that really built me into who I am today, being a very independent and hard-working person, and who's going to do the grunt work if necessary and not complain about it either because it has to get done.
Also I'm very proud of my ability to show up for those who are close to me. I always knew I was doing that, but this past year, people have mentioned that, and it really clicked with me, that is who I am. They are seeing me, and I'm representing myself well.
Photo credit: Britany Moser Photography
RO: How would you describe your personal design style? What does a Tess Oplinger event look like?
TO: I have my design experience, yes, but I've also recently been able to free design with the styled shoots, and I think that's where my style comes into play a lot more. I would say it leans a little more, I don’t know if edgy is the right term? I truly feel like if I were open to moving, my design style would definitely fit one of the coasts. It’s trendy, but still approachable and has unique aspects people haven't really seen before.
RO: Which coast do you think is closer to your style?
TO: I almost want to say East Coast. Maybe just going more city vibe, which I feel like my style kind of translates to. Recently, I've taken chances on colors, like really color drenching green with this last one. Or, my very first styled shoot, I chose red of all colors. Maybe bold as well would be a good word.
But then it’s also figuring out the balance of - I don't want to intimidate people. Typically, South Dakota trends hit about three years later than the coastal trends, and some don't even get picked up because of how funky they are. So that's the one thing that I always balance is, what can we show that's approachable, but also trendy and fun and new?
RO: What is a trend that you're excited for in 2026?
TO: I am very excited for textures, no matter where that's coming into play. Lace is huge again. With bridal dresses, but also smaller elements or how we just did on the anthuriums as well. Also leaning into texture with draping. Draping can be so fun. It can be such a statement, and it's just fabric! And colors are obviously endless with that, so it can fit any sort of style.
Photo credit: Solis Photography
RO: What first brought you to event planning in general, and specifically Jane Rae?
TO: My degree is psychology. I went into college being a pre-med student. I was thinking. I wanted to be a pediatrician or something along those lines, which is funny, because I'm not a huge fan of children. Switched my major to focus on psychology and was going down the route of potentially wanting to do criminal psychology, so I was taking police administration classes and things with more law enforcement background. My sister actually came into my room one night and saw one of my textbooks. And she's like, “What is this? This is not you. You're not supposed to be doing this. You were supposed to be either a wedding planner or a real estate agent.” I said, “Oh wow, thank you. Yes, I am.”
It was never something that I thought was a possibility until my sister said that. I looked into internships and more information about event planning, and Jane Rae Events was one of the first ones that popped up. I started emailing them, and sweet Rachel was the one answering my emails at the time. She was answering all of my questions, taking the time to do that, which was so, so appreciated. Once I got into the internship, I knew this was where I needed to be. I loved every aspect of it. The planning, the design, even the grunt work, but also just the company in itself. I was like, “I can't leave here. I don't want to leave.” Thankfully, I didn't leave! And here I am, right about five years later. I had thank you/goodbye notes written to all of the staff on my final review day, prepared to say bye. And then, got a nice little surprise that goodbye was not needed.
Photo credit: Jase Dewald
RO: With your role, you have been in almost every department. Do I have this right? You started back of house, and then moved into planning and being the internship advisor, and now, you've moved into lead planner as well as styled shoots and brand design. Anything I'm missing from your trajectory?
TO: No, I don't think so. I mean, the only thing would be, before planning, I took on all the rental clients. It eased me into the planning, which I'm very thankful for as well. My whole path. I got to see a lot of the behind the scenes, why we do what we do, the grunt work that goes into it, and the appreciation for the people that do that.
It also helped me build my skills and see everybody else navigate the things that come up without having the pressure on me, so when those things do come up and it's my turn to handle it, I already was equipped with ways that I've seen other people handle those things. So, yeah, I'm very thankful for my journey, a long journey to get to where I am now, but I am thankful for it.
Being now the lead event planner, I am very excited for that. I am very excited for a high workload that has been challenging me as well. I'm going to accomplish it, no doubt in it. And I'm just excited for the level of clients and events that I’ll be able to produce with the different designs. Whether that's high-end designs or more of the classic designs.
RO: What is your favorite part of your job?
TO: I would say building client connections and being a reliable resource for those people. Again, getting into this job, I was nervous about the connection building part of it. Put me in a crowded room, and I am probably going to just sit there until somebody comes up to me, so I was very nervous about that. I quickly found out that I'm actually decent at building connections with my clients. I got a close friendship from a past client, and so I think that is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Just being there with the person throughout the whole process, bringing their dream day to life, and knowing that I had a strong hand in making somebody happy. Being able to do that is a joy.
Photo credit: Courtney Trapp Photography
RO: Do you have any specific memories that feel like they sum up your experience with Jane Rae? Successes, obstacles, funny stories?
TO: Anytime anybody asks me a memory of Jane Rae, I have one that I always go back to. And it is when I'm an intern and we're in Aberdeen, and a big chunk of our team was up there. We were at a park, but there was a bomb threat that morning. It was just a lot of panic, obviously because in day-to-day life you don't deal with these things. Hopefully, never in your life. I just remember being a witness to Katie's action that she took being in an event planner position. I think that really taught me the abilities of an event planner and what they can do, because the client did not know about it at all. Katie handled everything. She had backup plans to backup plans. So I think that’s a specific memory that represents Jane Rae in my head. As problems come up, we have solutions for them almost immediately. And always just thinking on our feet.
And that was such a fun trip, regardless of the bomb threat. I think we left on a Wednesday and came back on a Sunday, so we were up in Aberdeen all together for a long time and I love overnight trips with work because you just get the opportunity to hang out with everyone, learn who they are outside of working hours. You're with them for dinner, you're with them in the hotel room, you're with them all these different times outside of work. So, you really grow a strong connection. That was the first time I got a lot of one-on-one time with Katie as well, because I ended up in a hotel room with her. We got to sit down and chat and really got to form a connection. Even with all the stress that she was going through planning this event, she was still a person, and I think that's very representative of Jane Rae as a whole.
RO: What are you most excited specifically to dive into in 2026?
TO: Being the lead event planner. Making a name for myself, but also being somebody that positively represents the company. Going to events and people being, like, hey, there's Tess! Having the trust in me as well. I'm very lucky to be a part of Jane Rae. Co-workers who are like family is something I'm never gonna take for granted. So, yeah, just very lucky to have found this job and to love what I do.
Photo credit: Sampson House
Thank you to Tess for the beautiful conversation. I hope it comes through the screen how truly excited we are to jump into this new year and new adventures.
xoxo, Rebecca
