Destination events are our passion.
We have a decade of relationships with amazing suppliers from around the world. We love helping our clients secure a location that compliments their personalities and overall vision for their day. SAMKOMA has produced weddings and events throughout Europe and The Americas, we are passport ready, and love exploring new destinations.
SAMKOMA offers destination event design and planning services for clients and couples who are seeking an unforgettable experience in an exciting location.
We consider every event to be an art installation: each being very unique and personal. Our team offers a relaxed and peaceful approach to the planning process. While we are experts in quick-turnarounds, we make it our goal to lean into the slow burn and the gradual process as often as possible. Good things take time, and we make sure to give you and your experience, the time and attention deserved. If you are looking for a team to help you achieve your destination event goals with ease, we would be honored to connect with you.
While SAMKOMA was founded in Los Angeles, California, our headquarters are now in North Carolina in an effort to be more centralized between California and European timezones. We also have a full time team in Montana. Being based in multiple US timezones allows our team to work efficiently for our clients nationwide, as well as being able to work more efficiently for clients planning destination weddings and events internationally.
While we are most often hired to design destination weddings, our team has years of experience planning all types of celebrations.
brand partnerships • activations • destination corporate events • company parties • album release parties • fashion shows • team-building weekends • large scale concerts and productions
leslie and rob // doug the pug // officiant jonathan van ness // cheekwood // nashville, tennessee // photos by victoria bonvicini
What PEOPLE Are Saying
Justin & Josiah made our Montana wedding absolutely perfect from start to finish. From the very first phone call we had with them to the very last moment of our 3-day wedding weekend, they handled every detail with such care and professionalism, creating a seamless and unforgettable experience. They made sure we had the best weekend of our lives. Special thanks to Mariann, who helped oversee the wedding weekend as well — her expertise was invaluable!! Not only did they make our dream wedding a reality, but they also became lifelong friends. We can't thank them enough or recommend them highly enough!!
— HALEY, BRIDE
“We wanted an edgy, offbeat, eclectic wedding in our hometown of Nashville, but we live in New York. We were only able to meet Josiah in Nashville for one venue tour- everything else was done by email, call, FaceTime, etc. and went off without a hitch. I really believe that there is not another planner who could have pulled off our wedding the way Josiah did. In a world of cream, sage, blush, and velvet, Josiah is ready to shake things up and create events that make a statement about a couple and about the future of the wedding industry. He is also so. freaking. fun.”
— Abigayle, bride
I've had the pleasure of working alongside Josiah for his clients upcoming Palm Springs wedding. He has been an absolute delight to work with! His communication is quick, friendly and to the point. His design eye is forward thinking while still focusing on the clients overall vision. As a fellow wedding vendor, I'm so appreciate of creative partners like Josiah. I wish they were all like him! 10/10 service and we can't wait to collaborate more with him and the SAMKOMA team!
— JENNIFER, ARCHIVE RENTALS
“Josiah and Justin are planners that thinks ahead, are willing to go the extra mile, and are so invested in what you are looking to accomplish that you can't imagine doing it without them. They were responsive and easy to communicate with. Details are important to us, and my confidence in their attention to detail allowed me the ability to spend time with my daughter and family, rather than constantly checking on every single thing. We couldn’t be happier!”
— Stacy, mother of bride
When we first spoke to Josiah, we told him we wanted to get married at The Plaza in NYC.....except we wanted it transported to our back yard on Figure Eight island. We also only had four months to plan because May 25th 5-25-25 had to be the date. That may seem overwhelming for some, but not for Josiah and Justin. Everyone always says to be prepared because something always goes wrong when you get married.....not for us. Every detail, every plan, every vendor, every service worker, executed to absolute perfection. Some might call that luck...I call that experience and hard work by the people you entrust with your special day....SAMKOMA was on point in every way. By the way, if you think I’m saying that because I'm easy to please....you're wrong. I will say that I'm willing to pay for quality and service but in today's world it's rare that even when you spend a lot of money, that people deliver the way they say they're going to. With SAMKOMA, I not only got what I paid for, I got more. Seeing our collective vision come to fruition in a way that not only exceeded our expectations but that of everyone involved, including all of the vendors and every guest, made it a once in a lifetime type of event that we will never forget. We were recently in Italy and were stopped in the lobby of our hotel and asked if we had gotten married in Wilmington, North Carolina...they told us that they followed our entire wedding on social media and were amazed by what we were able to create. I always say that your true legacy is the memories you create with those you love...and thanks to Samkoma- Josiah and Justin...the memories they were able to help us create will last beyond our lifetime and will be engrained in the minds of those we love. I can't recommend them more highly- truly exceptional professionals and humans.
— Michael, GROOM
SAMKOMA exceeded every expectation we had for our 3-day Montana wedding! Living in Florida, we knew planning a destination wedding would be challenging, but Justin and Josiah made the entire process seamless and stress-free. They were professional, attentive, and always a step ahead, ensuring every detail was perfect. Mariann, Samkoma's "boots on the ground" in Montana, was an absolute gem. Together, the three of them formed an incredible team that delivered a wedding weekend beyond anything my wife and I could have imagined. From start to finish, everything went flawlessly—there wasn’t a single hiccup all weekend. If you’re looking for a wedding planner that will go above and beyond to create your dream wedding, Samkoma is it. We can’t recommend them enough!
— ADAM, GROOM
Josiah, Justin, and Mariann are truly exceptional. We discovered SAMKOMA a few months after getting engaged, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin. From the very first conversation, Josiah brought a calming presence and a level of expertise that instantly put us at ease. He guided us through every step offering an incredible range of venue suggestions from around the world, helping us bring our vision to life, and even creating mockups of various ceremony and reception setups so we could see how everything might come together. The entire planning process and, ultimately, the wedding weekend was seamless. If any issues came up, we never knew, because Josiah and the team handled everything with complete professionalism and grace. We truly could not have asked for a better experience. We’re so grateful for Josiah, Justin, Mariann, and the whole SAMKOMA team. They made our wedding unforgettable, and we would recommend them without hesitation to anyone planning a wedding anywhere in the world.
— EMORY, GROOM
“We worked with Josiah and team for a company party for the Hendrick Motorsports Championship event. Great attention to detail - a one stop shop for everything we needed.
— HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
“Wedding of the century!”
— JONATHAN VAN NESS, OFFICIANT
chris lane and lauren bushnell // 14Tenn // nashville, tennessee // photos by victoria bonvicini
this is how we do it
We alleviate stress, offer well organized logistics, and execute events seamlessly because of the amazing team that we surround ourselves with.
There are many moving parts to a well-executed event, and every person involved plays a key role. Because we strive for fully immersive experiences and approach the event from this perspective from the beginning, our client’s expectations are exceeded time and time again. Never experienced a multi-sensory event? Let us show you how it’s done.
