We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dakota Bogner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dakota below.

Dakota, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope to leave a legacy that when it comes to your career, you can do whatever you want to do however you want to do it. You don’t have to have the 8 to 5 that people may expect you to have. If that’s what makes you happy, AMAZING, do it! But if not, do something else. You don’t have to follow a specific path or do a specific thing. You don’t have to settle for a job just because it pays well. If you don’t love it, don’t do it. If there are two things you love, do them both! Tradition has it’s place, but all that matters in your career is that you’re happy, passionate, find growth and challenge yourself.

I’ve been planning weddings and running my small business for 8 years now, but it’s never been my only job. I’ve been fortunate enough to have other event planning jobs over those 8 years that help pay the bills, but that are also extremely fulfilling and rewarding, challenge me in different ways, and bring me so much joy. It feels like I’m living two lives at once sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. That is the legacy I want to leave… whatever it is you want to do, even if it’s 10 different things, you can do it! No matter what anyone might say.

Dakota, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My senior year of college at Colorado State University, while also serving as a conference & event intern on-campus, I started my wedding planning & design business, Premier Events. It started as a capstone project, where we were charged with creating a business plan over the course of the semester… that’s how Premier Events was born. I loved that project so much and imagining that it were real, that I decided to just jump in and make it real! Immediately following graduation I was fortunate enough to receive a full-time job in the office I had been interning for, and 5 months later the first wedding I planned came to life. I’ve been continuing to plan weddings while growing my career in events and higher education ever since.

Now, 8 years later, I’m in the middle of my busiest wedding year to date. Actually, just this morning, I hit the goal I set for myself for 2022. A goal that, when I set it in January, I though it was pretty unlikely and maybe unrealistic. But here we are! I spend my days working for my alma mater, creating events and engagement opportunities for alumni, like myself, across the country. In the evenings and on my free weekends, it’s wedding central. I love BOTH of my career paths, and they both bring me so much joy, push me outside of my comfort zone every day, and continue to fill my cup over and over again.

I’m most proud of how far Premier Events has come over the years, and how I’ve learned to balance running a business and pursuing a full time career simultaneously. I’m proud that my business is now a recognized name in the local wedding industry, and that it has a good reputation. I hope that clients and industry partners continue to trust Premier Events, know that we’re trustworthy and professional but also super fun! We hope that our work speaks for itself, and that we can continue to grow and help make wedding dreams come true.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

It took me a while to learn this, but most of our business these days comes from venues recommending us. Most venues require their clients to book day-of coordinators, and because that is a service that we offer, we’ve been fortunate to build positive relationships with many venues that list us as preferred vendors for that category. Now, when we work at a venue we haven’t previously worked at or if a new venue is being built in our area, we work hard to create new relationships with them and hope to be added to their preferred vendor list. Good vendor relationships are critical to creating a name for your business in the wedding industry, and we continue to work hard to build and maintain those relationships, as it’s proved to help bring in new clients.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Bring in people who are excited about the work you’re doing, and then make it FUN! Event days specifically can be extremely grueling, high-stress days, and if we’re not having fun, then we’d all be miserable. It’s been key for me to find team members who are excited about a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled environment, who thrive in those types of roles, and understand the importance of the work we’re doing on someone’s wedding day. I work hard to make sure that we’re having fun together, recognizing the magic that we get to make together, and that we lift each other up and celebrate our successes. Managing a team is really hard, but every bump we hit is wiped clean when our couples smile at us and thank us for making their day perfect.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.apremierevent.com/
• Instagram: @apremierevent
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apremierevent.colorado/

Image Credits
Rhema Faith Photography Tiffany Bittner Photography Velvet Heart Photography