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From new business to Oregon Bride Magazine's Best Wedding Planner and All Around Vendor

The Indigo Bride , Briana Denman

Title / Role: Owner, Planner
Location: Bend , Oregon
Formed in: 2017
theindigobride.com
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What do you do?

We are a creative wedding planning company located in Central Oregon. We have a team of fabulous planners and offer day-of coordination, partial planning, and full service. Most of our weddings are within Central Oregon, however, we love to travel!

What inspired you to start your business?

I planned my own wedding in Central Oregon in 2016, and I fell in love! On my honeymoon, I decided that it was what I wanted to do with my life. It combined my love of organization and design with giving something so meaningful and special to a couple, a stress-free wedding! So I started on my journey to becoming a wedding planner and started my own business in 2017.

What's special about your business?

We strive to create unique, personalized weddings that allow our couples to relax and enjoy their time with friends and family. How we conduct our business is just as important as the service we provide. Our core values are what allow us to provide the best service and care for our couples. We respect our couples and our fellow vendors, we are honest and transparent. We are solution-based and solve problems quickly and thoughtfully, and we are inclusive. We celebrate couples of all races, genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, ages, and abilities.

What have been the high and low points of being a business owner?

Starting the business was terrifying. You're putting your foot into an established pool of businesses, and you have no clue what you're doing! It took a while to feel comfortable in the wedding space and to know that we were adding value to the community. I also started the business with a partner, and within a year she had to move and separate from the business. Again, I was terrified. I wasn't sure if I could do it on my own. Again, it took time and experience to know that I could give our couples excellent service and beautiful weddings that made their wedding days even more special and profound.

What is your relationship with SCORE? SCORE client What influenced you to seek help from SCORE?

I heard from another local business owner, who was a friend, that her mentor was from SCORE, and I desperately wanted help to know what I should be doing! I reached out and requested Ed Weiser, and he's been my amazing mentor ever since. From teaching me how to start this business, to how to handle the tough times that have come up, to giving advice on how to grow and expand and build a team, his help has been invaluable. I know we wouldn't be where we are today without him.

How SCORE helped.

Almost every year, we've been able to achieve our financial goals, our number of wedding goals, and our growth goals. Even though this past year has been incredibly rough on the wedding industry, we've been able to maintain good financial standing and aspirations for even more growth in 2021. We've been able to hire a fabulous team of wedding coordinators, allowing us to take on even more weddings, sometimes three in a day! That ambition is just continuing to grow, as we look into expanding our service locations and our team.

What's great about my mentor?

Ed has been there for me through every up and down. Whether it was to offer business advice or just a listening ear and some encouragement, much of why we've been able to grow as we have is because of Ed's support. He's always offered sound guidance and often gives me another angle to look at situations to find the best solutions. Whenever something comes up that I don't know how to handle, my first thought is always, to email Ed!

What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a small business?

Get started with SCORE! The advice and help are truly invaluable. Connect with other business owners to learn from them. Educate yourself, attend workshops in your industry, listen to business owners, and never stop learning.

What have you learned from your experiences as a business owner?

I've learned to take my time and establish my business before looking to grow or expand. As an entrepreneur, I love business new ideas, and starting things, and I've definitely done that. But it has been hard to juggle multiple things that are all in the newer phase of development. So I would recommend focusing on your first project and really getting it running smoothly before starting your next endeavor.

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Briana Denman
My mentors
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Ed Weiser

After getting to know you and your objectives, I will draw on my own relevant experiences with...

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P.O. Box 6416
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Bend, OR, 97708
(541) 316-0662

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Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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