RAOFACTOR makes the best days better

From a young age, Shaun Rao found a natural talent for floral arrangements and event décor, honing his skills through family gatherings and celebrations. Studying architecture in college led him to an internship with a wedding design company. That led him creating more large-scale installations for luxury weddings.

“It was just a different way that he saw things,” Shaun’s wife, Priyanka says. “He would see color in a different way. He saw this affinity at a very young age towards flowers.”

Preston Hollow couple Shaun and Priyanka are the creative minds behind RAOFACTOR, a luxury floral and event business. Although officially launched in 2015, Shaun’s involvement in the wedding industry predates the company.

When the two met on Match.com they had a common thread between them. Their families were from the same city in India. They dated each other long distance for a couple of years, with Shaun in Houston and Priyanka in California. Sometimes when Shaun was in California, they would escape to Napa Valley and explore the endless vineyards. It was during one of their Napa trips that Shaun proposed.

Before RAOFACTOR took off, Shaun was involved in talks for a TLC show documenting the behind-the-scenes of the luxury wedding industry. However, after several pitch meetings, the show fell through

Photo courtesy by ROAFACTOR

The couple moved to Austin and a few months and a job loss later, a former client called Shaun in need of an installation. Although it was out of necessity, one call led to another and he was back in action.

“A lot of his old clients were hearing that Shaun was back in the game,” Priyanka says. “That word-of-mouth really spread like fire.”

The momentum continued and the two started to work from their garage in Austin. For the first four years, they weren’t a local business, instead traveling coast to coast to transform venues with their design and floral creations.

“We didn’t have the dollars to be able to hire somebody else to go through and build it,” Shaun says. “I was the one who built all of our florals, our products. If it wasn’t a chair or table, we had to do it ourselves. It became this self-taught craft.”

The husband-wife duo balance Shaun’s creativity with Priyanka’s business acumen.

“We have disagreements, of course we do,” Shaun says. “You learn how to communicate well. We really are passionate about what we do.”

In 2018, Shaun and Priankya found their home base in Dallas.

In the first year, they did 40 weddings, with some projects taking up to eight hours.

“Everybody is very emotional on their day; it’s one of the biggest days in our life,” Priyanka says. “We understand that and we are respectful of it. However, we also make sure we’re true to what we do. If there’s a little bit of help that we can give to destress people and that situation, then a beautiful arrangement can help with that.”

Each wedding has three to four installations, including the ceremony and places during the reception. Clients can go through the process of a design consultation with RAOFACTOR, more design meetings, a sneak peek at the design and floor plan of the installations and then finally, the special day.

“We are all empowered by our own diversity,” Shaun says. “We do these crazy installations and we don’t have to fit a certain mold.”

Although the process is usually the same, Shaun and Priyanka’s focus is to let this day be important for them.

“[A wedding planner’s] bride was not only so blown away, touched and crying to express her gratitude, but she was also hugging and kissing the decor,” Priyanka says. “Sometimes, it might sound silly, but you can see people truly appreciate it.”