It began as a one-man DJ; now this ‘Platinum’ experience is landing KCI’s first big event at the new terminal

In-person events are back with vengeance, said Kris Nardini; and Platinum XP is positioned to plan experiences coming only from one’s wildest imagination. 

“Platinum XP is a single-source, full-service event planning agency. This means that we can quickly create proposals — that are very creative — but also on budget,” explained Nardini, the owner and CEO of Platinum XP. “It’s because we own 100 percent of what we use. We don’t need to rent any equipment. It’s a new way of planning events.”

Click here to check out Platinum XP.

The “Platinum Experience” starts with the team’s creative planners and is then powered by the company’s various divisions. Platinum XP’s divisions include: planning, destination management, AV, graphics, fabrication, media, floral and virtual events. 

“We didn’t invent this approach,” Nardini acknowledged. “It just takes a lot of staff, infrastructure and AV equipment to be able to execute it. That’s why for over a decade, we’ve poured profits back into the company. We’re buying more equipment and hiring more people to elevate these big events.” 

All of Platinum XP’s divisions are currently in full-gear as the company won the bid to plan the grand opening events of the new terminal at the Kansas City International Airport in 2023, Nardini teased.

“We knew all the big firms would go after this project because the new terminal is a defining moment for Kansas City,” Nardini said. “It’s a new era; it’s different; it’s exciting — and that’s everything that our proposal was.”

The journey to securing events at this scale started slowly, Nardini said. It all began with a one-man DJ company in 2007. 

The homecoming assembly

Before founding Platinum XP, Nardini taught high school science in Liberty, Missouri, he recalled. In his first year of teaching, he was asked to organize the homecoming assembly.

“It was a big school of a couple thousand kids,” Nardini noted. “I had just started getting into DJing, so I had some gear and made it really fun and interactive. When that was done, I realized that I loved the adrenaline and everything that goes into creating an event.”

Nardini launched a DJ company in 2007 under the name, Platinum DJ. As his company became more popular for weddings and private events, Nardini left his job as a teacher, added more DJs and eventually approached venues with a special offer.

“I said, ‘We install all of the AV in your space — the video screens, the lighting, the sound — and I pay for it all, but in exchange, we will be your exclusive DJ company for all of your events,’” Nardini said. “… We ended up adding 10 venues like that in Kansas City with the same model. We were the largest DJ company for quite a while with 20-to-25 DJs and hundreds of wedding and private events every year.”

With more corporations becoming interested in Platinum DJ’s services, Nardini decided he did not want to be limited to specific venues and a DJ company. He sold Platinum DJ to a friend in 2017 in order to pursue Platinum XP.

“Platinum DJ still exists in Kansas today and we partner with them from time to time,” Nardini said. “But we sold it so we could take this leap of faith into conferences, galas and non-profit fundraisers. We’ve produced a lot of these events in Kansas City: the Ronald McDonald Spark of Hope, the JDRF Dream gala, both of American Hearts [Associations’] annual events.”

As Platinum XP worked on more corporate events, Nardini realized that the process of corporate planning was broken, he said. 

“Corporate planners are logistical wizards; they’re great at hotel sourcing and transportation, but conceptualizing events is where that stops for them,” he noted. “They have to outsource everything — florists, printers, media specials — so they have to reach out to 15 different vendors. It gets really expensive.”

Check out a photo gallery below from Platinum XP’s recent Industry Night event, then keep reading.

Juggling multiple vendors is not only pricey, but it can also stifle creativity, Nardini said.

“How do you get creative with multiple vendors?” Nardini questioned. “You don’t know what they can do or what they have and everyone is trying to relay that in a meeting for an hour. A lot gets lost in translation.”

The Platinum XP team is both the planning and executing arm of an event, allowing for quick communication and more freedom to think outside the box, Nardini said.

Platinum XP is able to execute about 90 percent of an event with in-house resources, Nardini estimated — noting that the only elements they need to outsource are caterers, bar service and transportation.

Invest in people

The COVID-19 pandemic was the “kiss of death” to numerous individuals in the event planning industry, Nardini said — recalling the uncertainty on when it would be safe to gather again. 

“I was all about survival in the beginning,” Nardini said. “I just happen to have some funds saved up to invest in more equipment — more video wall, which is really expensive. I decided to put it all into our people and kept 100 percent of our staff through the pandemic. It worked out because some of the PPP funding was tied to how many employees you had, so we got extra help there.”

During the first couple years of the pandemic, Platinum XP got involved with more digital events and renting out its space for private projects like music videos shoots, Nardini said. 

Check out a photo gallery below from Platinum XP’s River Market offices, then keep reading.

Now in 2022, in-person events are in high demand. Because Nardini didn’t lay off any of his staff, Platinum XP has the ability to meet this demand, he continued. 

“We are fully staffed with 25 full-time people,” he noted. “Other companies let their employees go, and they went and found other jobs. Those companies are now struggling to hire and keep people on. Because the event world is hard. It’s a lot of setting up and late nights, stress and burnout. You have to find the people who really thrive in it.” 

Nardini’s passion for connection and events have spread to the people closest to him: his family. 

“My wife works as the CFO, my daughter is our floral fabricator and two of my other daughters work for the company,” he shared. “My niece started as our HR person and her soon-to-be husband is also on our team. We ask our employees if they want their kids and spouses to be a part of this company. Rather than one person working long hours, it’s great to see everyone have fun and get excited about an event together.” 

Love, Lilacs 

Sharing her father’s passion for watching a vision come to life, Lexi Nardini spearheads the floral division for Platinum XP. 

“My focus in college was to be an event planner,” said the University of Missouri 2021 alumna. “I took a floral design class as a fun elective, and I really enjoyed it. I pitched the idea to my family because we already have all these other divisions like graphics and fabrication. We were always hiring florists for events, so it made sense to have our own florist as part of Platinum.”

Earning an event planning degree with minors in floral design and business, Lexi launched Platinum Floral in August 2021. The design element of Platinum Floral was and is a one-woman show, Lexi said, noting that her time alone in the floral shop gave her the idea to start creating “day in my life” vlogs on the social media app, TikTok. 

“I carry my tripod around the shop and record what I do in a day as a florist,” Lexi said. “People started showing more interest, and then I had one video that did really well and got me a lot of followers at once. It wasn’t my intention to gain business through the page, but brides in the area started finding it and booking me for events.” 

With Lexi generating a significant amount of business aside from Platinum XP, her father had the idea of rebranding the Platinum Floral branch. Lexi rebranded to Love, Lilacs Floral in November 2022.

“I still design for Platinum events, but I’ll be focusing more on weddings,” she noted. “… Love, Lilacs is more romantic and elegant, which is more my style. My passion is wedding flowers, and next year is going to be very busy with those.”

Lexi has plans to hire another florist in 2023 as her business continues to grow. 

“I have a lot of goals for the future; ten years from now, I want to be a staple in the wedding industry here in Kansas City,” Lexi shared. “I put a lot of love into my work and really care about the clients having exactly the wedding they want.”

Click here to check out Love, Lilacs Floral at 150 Walnut St, Kansas City, Missouri.