1.22.19 Event

1.22.2019

MULTI-CULTURAL & FUSION WEDDING

PANEL DISCUSSION

MODERATOR:

LISA KRAUSS – HARBOUR VIEW

She is the owner and general manager of Harbour View, a special event venue located on the Occoquan River in Northern Virginia. Harbour View is host to many types of events, but their true specialty is weddings. Due to the beautiful river views,as well as their award winning service, Harbour View has been fortunate to host the wedding of couples from a wide variety of cultures, as well as other celebrations. ” At Harbour View, we believe in the international language of love, Being a part of such a wide variety of celebrations with people from all over the world has been our pleasure and honor.” The special events industry is a second career for Lisa. She spent the first portion of her life working in real estate enterprises; everything from direct sales to brokerage management and corporate training. Her personal philosophy of providing superior customer service while treating everyone with the utmost respect and fairness has translated seamlessly to Harbour Views business.

PANELISTS:

LOLA AKINGBADE – A MASTERPLAN EVENT

Lola, is one of three event planners that make up A MasterPlan Event, who absolutely loves to plan events and execute them according to their clients’ vision so that their clients have unforgettable memories.

She plans, designs and coordinates a broad range of Cultural celebrations with her dedicated and professional team. Lola has been featured in array of print and online publications; Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, The Knot, Washingtonian Weddings, Wedding Wire and United with Love to name a few.

CHRISTINE GODSEY – CG & CO

Christine has been planning both weddings and corporate events in the Washington, D.C. area for over 15 years. Formerly, the South Asian and Multicultural wedding specialist with Engaging Affairs. Over the past 12 years, she developed a passion for the beauty and intricacy of multicultural and South Asian weddings. Christine has planned weddings from 50 to 650 guests for D.C.’s elite, both locally and beyond. She is able to offer expert guidance on what venues and vendors will work best for you based on your specific vision, design, budget, guest count, and overall priorities for your wedding day. She takes pride in her ability to find the perfect balance of honoring and respecting tradition while also creating a unique and personalized wedding experience for each couple. Christine has been educated in international protocol and etiquette by The International Society of Protocol & Etiquette Professionals and has received her Certified Government Meeting Planner (CGMP) certification. Christine lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband Victor and daughter Claire.

SARAH KHAN – SARAH KHAN EVENT STYLING, LLC

Sarah developed an eye for creating luxury and beauty at a young age by building a solid foundation in handcrafted skills as a cook, baker, stitching artisan and various arts an crafts projects with her grandmother and mother. The conglomerate of seemingly lost techniques of Pakistani and Indian arts and crafts of days old took a new life as Sarah worked to keep alive tradition and melded her skills with the desire to create contemporary event experiences with hints of culture more appealing to South Asian’s in the US. As the Founder and Creative Director of Sarah Khan Event Styling, Sarah and her team look to every client as an opportunity to be transformative visual architects with their mantra at the forefront, timeless beauty.

Sarah’s work has been lauded in Harper’s Bazaar Bride, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, Modern Luxury Weddings DC and leading South Asian bridal blogs: SAB and Maharani Weddings to name a few. Her team was called to provide florals and set design for a welcoming ceremony for the former President Barack Obama, an interactive floral dress for Cirque Du Soleil’s opening night, the coverage of an ethnic wedding in National Geographic (print edition) and a finale party for the second season of the Real Housewives of Potomac. Above all the amazing opportunities Khan and team have had the honor to take part in, the most important thing to Khan is to be able to create a concept with her client and present them with something tangible.

ESME KRAHN – BODAMAESTRA

Esme is a Texas girl by birth; she spent her entire childhood and a good chunk of her young adult life in Monterrey, Mexico before moving to the United States in 20016. She first started in the wedding industry in 2004 when her dear friend, Emily, and she co-founded a Monterrey, MX-based wedding planning business called BodaMaestra. Shortly after moving to Northern Virginia, Esme relaunched BodaMaestra with the goal of helping Latin-American couples from around the Washington, D.C. area with their wedding-planning needs. Since re-establishing the business, she has been excited to help so many Latin American couples celebrate as part of their weddings their unique heritage, culture, and special traditions. She graduated from Monterrey Tech (ITESM) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. Esme holds a certification in wedding planning from Weddings Beautiful Worldwide. Her design work has been recognized by Ruffled Blog, The Perfect Palette, and United with Love. She is also the co-founder of Amor Latino Unveiled (a business venture with Marirosa Anderson with Photography by Marirosa), a wedding blog for Latino couples looking for bilingual vendors, wedding advice, planning tips, and Latin wedding traditions. Esme is married to Joe, her husband of 12 years (and counting!). Together, they are raising their four children, in Northern Virginia.

TABITHA ROBERTS – UNITED WITH LOVE BLOG

Tabitha is the founder and lead designer of Roberts & Co Events (www.robertsandcoevents.com)as well as the Editor and Owner of United with Love Blog. United with Love and Roberts & Co both are a part of the fabric of the DC wedding market and we strive to build personal and memorable wedding and private event moments with each couple we meet. Since launching Roberts & Co 9 years ago, Tabitha has produced more than 250 weddings ranging from intimate home spun affairs, to grand multi day extravaganzas. Constantly having to evolve with the ever changing fast paced wedding market, has allowed us to constantly stay on the classic side of trendy. Roberts & Co has worked tirelessly to bring innovation with personal touches to each event produced. Tabitha has been named 50 best planners in 50 states by the Daily Meal, Washingtonian Bride and Groom’s Editors Choice for planners multiple times, and published in print and digital media across the wedding and events industry. Most notable publications to include 3 Washingtonian cover brides!

United with Love Blog is our passion project for bringing real wedding and events inspiration to the DC area market through real weddings, inspirational shoots, and advice content. Tabitha works alongside her team to find the best products and new trends to service the wedding market across all tiers of budget. United with Love Blog believes in all weddings for all styles of couple and that each wedding is beautiful in its own unique manner! UWL are members of Aisle Society, a collective of Wedding blogs internationally known and rated as being the best in our industry! Juggling two children, two successful businesses, and a lifestyle has not always been easy, but I strive for creating a work life balance that will always allow us to be on the top of our field!