Meet The Team Of Soirees Southern Events
We are the team at
Soirees Southern Events
and we love "love!"
We love getting to help our clients and their families plan the biggest day of their lives, and help relieve all of the stress that can come with planning a wedding. Check out our team below and see why we love what we do and why we can't wait to help you plan the beginning of your Happily Ever After.
Sherri Christensen
FOUNDER / LEAD FLORAL DESIGNER
Meet Sherri, our founder of Soirees Southern Events! Sherri has been in the industry for over 20 years and knows more than anyone about how to make your wedding day just perfect for you. She is native to Gainesville and has a degree in interior design. This gives her a unique perspective on your big day and how to make a memorable impact on your guests when they enter your wedding. She is also the flower guru of our company and is the face behind all the beautiful flowers that we do! Her favorite part of the big day is when the bride gets to see her bouquet for the first time. To see their eyes light up and just gush over how gorgeous it is, it makes it all worth it!
Here's a few fun facts about Sherri:
- She loves all things Paris, including all the macaroons!
- She is one of the most giving people you will ever meet and will do anything for anyone! She was a volunteer with Casa in Gainesville for several years.
- Her favorite food is Sushi and is always down to go to Spice 55!
Andrea Barber
SENIOR COORDINATOR
Meet Andrea! Andrea has been with SSE since 2016 and comes with a pack full of experience in the wedding industry. She was the catering manager for a local restaurant for almost 20 years and has taught us so much from a catering standpoint and is the perfect person to help our brides come up with their perfect menu. She is a worker bee if we have ever seen one and is always going above and beyond for her brides and their families! She is always the first to cry at the end of the night when saying goodbye to her sweet brides and grooms. They become like family! She has 2 favorite parts of the big day. The first is at the beginning when the bride walks into the venue for the first time and sees her face light up. The second is at the end when the couple share their last dance in an empty room while their guests line up outside for the exit, "You can just feel how much love they have for one another. It's Priceless!"
Here's a few fun facts about Andrea:
- She was born & raised in the Dahlonega North GA mountains.
- Andrea loves spending time with her "furball" orange tabby cat named Autumn.
- If she could be anywhere, it would be digging her feet in the sand at the beach with her family & sweet hubby of 25 years!
Kirstin Lindstrom
SENIOR COORDINATOR
Meet Kirstin! Kirstin is a graduate from the University of North Georgia with a degree in Marketing and interned with us before accepting a position on our team in 2019. She fell in love with event planning and we fell in love with her! She has such a fun and bubbly personality that our brides instantly connect with. Her hometown is in Cumming, GA, but her favorite place to be is at the beach. Her favorite part of the wedding day is when all of the guests see the bride coming down the aisle for the first time and you see their faces light up, "it just makes my heart happy!" We are so excited to have Kirstin as a part of our team and can't wait to see what the future holds for her!
Here's a few fun facts about Kirstin:
- She is a dog mom to the sweetest little guy, Fez.
- She is part Swedish, if you couldn't tell by her blond hair and blue eyes, and recently visited her family in Sweden!
- She is the definition of a foodie! If she could have any job in the world it would be to drive around in a van trying all different kinds of food from all over the world. In other words, she is always happy to go to your tastings with you! ;)
Susan Barber
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT / OFFICE MANAGER
Meet Susan! Susan began interning for us at the beginning of 2019, and has since became Sherri's Executive Assistant as well as our Office Manager. She graduated from the University of North Georgia in Spring 2019 with a degree in Communications. She was basically brought up in the wedding industry doing caterings since she was in early high school and bartending events while in college. Her favorite part of the wedding day is the first dance between the bride and groom, especially when it's choreographed!
Here's a few fun facts about Susan:
- She is a Gainesville native, but currently lives in Athens (Go Dawgs!)
- She loves textile art and has been knitting since the age of 12, thanks to the teachings of her grandmother!
- Most of her free time is spent shopping, thrifting, and shopping for antiques.
Ellen Neal
SENIOR COORDINATOR
Meet Ellen! Ellen found our company after getting married at The Walters Barn, one of the venues we manage, and has since joined our team and has become part of our family! Four years ago, Ellen walked into a wedding planning meeting and has been in love ever since. When she’s not planning weddings she can be found playing with her husky, Saber, for endless hours! Ellen also uses photography as a creative outlet and loves shooting engagements, families, and seniors sessions. Her favorite part of the wedding day is getting to see the bride in her dress for the first time. Ellen says, “There’s nothing quite like seeing a woman become a bride!” Ellen’s dream is to one day own her own venue and give couples beautiful and memorable weddings.
Here's a few fun facts about Ellen:
- She is a born and raised Georgia Peach.
- She married her high school sweetheart, Cory!
- Ellen spends a lot of time sharing all her wedding planning tips on TikTok.
- She might be little, but she comes with a BIG personality!
Mathew Bagby
FLORAL DESIGNER / COORDINATOR
Meet Mathew! Prior to joining the Soirees Team, Mathew worked at Whole Foods for almost 18 years. He started out in floral department then ended up on the marketing team doing demos and planning in-store events for customers and team members. In 2019, Mathew moved to Sautee to help friends at their Bed and Breakfast. He also gained experience working at Mark of the Potter since the beginning of 2020 as a team leader. We have loved getting to know Mathew and we are so excited to see what the future holds for him!
Here's a few fun facts about Mathew:
- He lived in Tehran, Iran while in the first grade with family.
- He worked to raise money for Gorilla Haven, which was in Morgantown, where there were 2 male silverbacks. He also worked to raise money for Project Chimps in North GA as well as AWARE Wildlife Rescue in Lithonia.
- Mathew's hobbies are photography, painting, hiking, and watching movies.
Shelby Norris
Marketing Manager
Meet Shelby!! Shelby comes from a long background list of working in the wedding industry. She first worked at a bridal store all the way through college. She then started up her wedding and lifestyle photography company shortly after getting married. She did that for a few years before taking a break to grow her family. She found us through capturing several of our brides weddings and now works with us as our social media and marketing manager while also still pursuing her photography career as well! You can always find her with a camera or a cell phone in her hand getting all the behind the scenes for the team! She loves love, all the pretty wedding things and loves documenting such a special season of life!
Here's a few fun facts about Shelby:
- She's been married to her husband for almost 8 years and he is a lineman for a power company!
- She has three very adorable and very energetic boys!! All age 5 and under!
- Shelby and her family is very outdoorsy! From hunting, fishing, adventuring and everything in between.
