Hidden Gems: Meet Alex Etter of Events Made with Love by Alex

Hi Alex, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My name is Alex Etter and I am the owner of Events Made with Love by Alex LLC. I am a small business owner, wife and Mother. My husband and I are Colorado Natives and grew up in the Littleton area, we now live in Fort Collins with our son and pup!

About the business- I didn’t expect that I would fall in love with the wedding industry as much as I have. Before I opened my business in 2021, I spent a lot of time unsure of what I would do career-wise, doubting myself, and generally not having much faith in the journey I was on. I graduated from Colorado Mesa University in 2016 with a degree in criminal justice with a focus in social work.

I was working with domestic violence victims and their families, working in a safe house and on a crisis line. The year I was due to graduate I knew this wasn’t the career for me. I consider myself a “fixer” and I often take my work home with me- and unfortunately in that line of work, I couldn’t fix these family’s situations and it was really taking a toll on me to take that work home.

During that same year, I met my now husband. And while I wasn’t sure about what was next for me regarding next-level education or a career, I was sure about him- and Fort Collins is where he was, so I graduated and moved to be with him. We were engaged a year later, and later had a beautiful wedding with family and friends in November of 2018.

During my season of wedding planning, I also had many friends get married and I would say that’s when I knew I needed to shift my focus onto learning more about the wedding industry. I was blessed that one of my best friends had been working her way up as a wedding photographer. I saw her drive and motivation and she really helped support me and guide me into learning where I belonged. Shout out to Kaitlyn Fox with KBCustomPhotography.

For years, I watched, observed, researched, and felt that planning and coordinating weddings was really my niche, but I felt a lot of doubt. Until my son came along. My husband and I welcomed our son in 2020. Becoming a Mother gave me such fire and suddenly, the doubt didn’t matter as much as the trying did.

So I opened Events Made with Love by Alex LLC in 2021 and I have never been so happy and fulfilled. My business continues to grow, and so do I, and I’m really just so thankful for each moment that led me to this point in my life. A special thank you again to Kaitlyn, my husband and our son.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not a smooth road, and there have been challenges. The wedding industry is competitive, to say the least. Learning not to compare myself to others was really challenging at first. But, at the end of the day, most self-employed wedding vendors are really just trying to make it- and rather than comparing myself to others, it’s made all the difference to give them support and hype them up. We should all be each other’s cheerleaders.

Aside from the competitiveness, it’s also been challenging to ground myself. When you own and operate a business, it takes an incredible amount of discipline and focus- which can be challenging when you’re like me and also have a 3-year-old to chase around. There are many challenges, but each is a great learning experience and shouldn’t deter anyone from taking that leap of faith.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Events Made with Love by Alex LLC?
I specialize in partial planning and coordination of weddings. I am constantly learning about the industry. I am constantly working on improving myself and the business. This is my full-time job and I take a lot of pride in my dedication to continued learning about how to best serve my couples.

It is my goal for each wedding for my couples to feel like this is the only wedding I am working on. I don’t want to miss a single detail, I want to know my couple as if they are my best friends (and a lot of them are my friends post-wedding), I want to know what I can do to make their day “theirs”. It is my job to bring the planning, the timeline, the vendors, and all of the details together for a stress-free day for my couples and their families.

I feel most proud when vendors come together and work as a team and when my couples leave at the end of the night just overjoyed that they are finally married. I also owe a big thank you to my team. Throughout the span of being in business, I have had two team members who have helped me with events, planning details, etc. They have represented the brand just as I do- “with love”. I’m so proud. To Jaycee and Shaela, thank you.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The last three years have been incredible and I have no plans of changing my role- or my goal, which is to continue to help couples have the memorable, stress-free wedding of their dreams. With that said, I think the “dream wedding” for many couples is going to shift from large “traditional” weddings to more intimate- micro weddings and elopements. With economic changes, but also social changes, I believe more engaged couples are coming to choose their own happiness going into marriage while keping stress levels and debt to a minimum. Colorado is perfect for micro weddings and elopements.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eventsmadewithlovebyalex.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eventsmadewithlovebyalex?igsh=aWlmeGg4azV1aHVj&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eventsmadewithlovebyalexllc?mibextid=LQQJ4d