About Us
Founder Aimee Monihan began her career two decades ago, pioneering luxury destination wedding planning in Costa Rica before expanding to Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and beyond. In 2011, when her brother got engaged to his now wife, who hailed from Kerala, she was tasked with planning her first proper South Indian destination wedding, and thus Destination Desi was born.
For Aimee and the Destination Desi team, planning top-notch South Asian events is a matter of family pride. They love and respect the importance of the beautiful cultural and religious traditions, while also taking great pride in their ability to modernize certain celebratory aspects to the bride and groom’s generational tastes. Pair this with their extraordinary travel experience, and you’ll see where Destination Desi truly shines.
Our Philosophy
We believe in celebrating love, equality, and joy.
We believe in celebrating love and embracing the beautiful diversity of the world around us. We believe celebration is an art form, and that it should be meaningful but also fun, from the initial consultation until the last guest departs. We thrive on bringing your vision to life while joyfully managing any bumps or surprises along the way. Our purpose comes from
the knowledge that we are creating memories and bonds that last a lifetime. We know that the magnitude of any memory lies in the details and the seamlessness of the experience. We pride ourselves on going above and beyond to meticulously design, plan and produce one-of-a-kind weddings in beautiful locations, for an unforgettable experience.
Meet the Team
We’re a globe-trotting, multi-lingual team of planners, designers & producers.
Aimee Monihan
Founder, Owner, Design Director
Seattle native Aimee Monihan has been a world traveler since childhood, so it was only natural that she begin her post-college career in hotel management. When she moved to Costa Rica and realized there were no professional wedding planners in the country, she pivoted and started her first event-planning company, Tropical Occasions. She used her fluency in Spanish to excel in Central America and the Caribbean, before expanding to producing events all over the world.
In 2011, she planned her first South Indian destination wedding — for her brother and his now-wife, a desi herself, raised in Kerala. It was a natural expansion for her. Aimee’s aim has always been to transport her couples and their guests away from their everyday lives via an extraordinary experience. As an innovative thinker and designer, she makes the most of each location, connecting with the best vendors and bringing a spirit of joy and unity to every event she produces, be it for six people or 600.
Based in Denver, Aimee takes a hands-on approach with every event her company produces, working closely with each client to understand their needs and dreams. She prides herself on loyalty, seamless attention to detail and execution, and on treating everyone she meets with joy and respect. When she is not home, enjoying her family and the Rocky Mountains lifestyle, she travels the world, seeking out the best hotels and venues for her clients, staying on top of hospitality and design trends, and building relationships with top vendors around the world.
Amy Siudak
operations manager & lead planner
Much like Aimee, this Amy began her career in hospitality, moving from Illinois to Austin post-college before relocating to cooler climes in Colorado. Amy worked as the events manager for the Rockies’ best-known caterers, where she discovered she loved planning events, and helping clients realize everything that was possible. Her love of travel and her dream of working on larger destination weddings led her to Aimee, and in 2019 she officially joined the team.
Amy excels at attending to details, and loves being hands-on with logistics, whether it relates to food, guest needs or entertainment. Amy fully embraces the Rocky Mountain lifestyle and you’ll often find her out exploring mountain towns from Aspen and Steamboat Springs. An avid skier and hiker, she finds joy in the natural world and brings that passion to planning events.
Anahi Contreras-Denton
design & production manager
Anahi comes by her love of travel naturally. She grew up as the daughter of a diplomat, and growing up made her home around the world, in Brazil, Japan, Paraguay, El Salvador, Belgium and the USA. A natural at event planning, she has been a key part of the Destination Desi team for more than two decades. Fluent in four languages, she is a natural communicator and master of etiquette, quick to recognize and adapt to each location’s local customs and protocols. Her can-do-anything attitude applies to all aspects of event production, from planning to catering and floral design, and she forms tight connections with multinational vendors, to the advantage of her clients.
Stephen Denton
Event production
Stephen innately understands cultural differences; he was born in Detroit to a Panama-raised father and French-Canadian mother and was raised in Costa Rica from the age of five. He attended Florida State University as a political science major/philosophy minor and obtained an MBA from The University of Costa Rica. But his passions always lay in travel and hospitality. His first business venture was owning a dive shop on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, where he loved to DJ on the side. It was that side job that grew into his creation of what is now Costa Rica’s most successful DJ, lighting, and lounge design firm, as well as his joining the Destination Desi team. Stephen’s constant smile and easy laugh meld perfectly with his natural ability to fix just about everything and problem-solve on the spot. Along with Anahi, his wife of 25 years, he splits his time between Costa Rica and Colorado, working on events and taking advantage of the two region’s alternating high seasons.
Karen Ogden
lead planner and director of operations, mexico and costa rica
Karen grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but left Canada post-college, seeking sunshine and adventure. She lived in Mexico and then Guatemala before discovering Costa Rica, which she has called home since 2000.
Karen’s passion for details and precision is key to the success of Destination Desi, as are her deep connections to the customs and mores of Latin American culture. A skilled negotiator in any language, she is hands-on during production and never goes anywhere without her intensely detailed Excel spreadsheets and her laser-beam leveler. Pair all of this with a passion for precision and it’s no surprise why she is such an intrinsic piece of our Destination team. Karen is also a master of negotiation and loves taking on logistical challenges in any part of the world. An avid traveler, she loves no place as much as Manuel Antonio and the beach towns dotting the lush Mid-Pacific region of Costa Rica.
Makeyla Luedeke
EVENT PRODUCTION
A Colorado native and graduate of The University of Alabama, Makeyla began as an intern with the Destination Desi team, working behind the scenes on destination weddings. She fell in love with event work and soon joined the team full-time as an event producer. Makeyla is fascinated by design in all its forms, spanning artistry to functionality. She loves putting her deep design interests to use, be it while bringing concepts to life for events, or experimenting as an artist, crafter, and furniture designer in her personal life.
Brian Leahy
TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Born and raised in Washington State, Brian now considers Los Angeles his home. Falling in love with travel on his first trip abroad in Ecuador, he quickly moved on to longer jaunts in Southeast Asia, Turkey, New Zealand, and Colombia, and a year exploring all edges of South America. Armed with a keen eye and an engaging personality, Brian found international success as a destination wedding photographer, working in the events industry for 15 years before switching to luxury travel. He brings his knowledge of the world and connections with the world’s top travel brands to Destination Desi, making sure the travel experience is as seamless as the celebration.
