Richandra Nickerson-Ukpong

Hey, yall! I am Richandra Nickerson-Ukpong, affectionately known as "Rich". After graduating with honors in Psychology and English from the University of Houston, I spent over a decade building a successful career managing corporate training, communications, and events for global oil and gas companies. I fell in love with weddings by accident when planning my own 2 multi-cultural weddings, and soon after, my company, Fervent Designs, was created. In 2015, I stepped out on faith and became a full time entrepreneur. I took what I learned in corporate, and applied it to my business. And what I disdained, I purposely left out.

Today, I am blessed to lead a team of award-winning event SLAYERS at Fervent Designs, Houston's first one-stop shop for weddings and events. We specialize in cultural, multicultural, and destination weddings and themed events. As a true one-stop shop, we offer in-house wedding planning, event production, event design, florals, rentals, entertainment, transportation, and more. Fervent Designs allows me to travel the world doing what I love - helping couples, clients, and families curate custom events for all of life's milestones while making memories that last a lifetime.

Outside of work, I am a devoted wife, mother, daughter, and sister. I enjoy traveling, spending time with my hubby and my huge family, and spoiling my beautiful daughters and nieces. As a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and a host of other organizations, I spend lots of time giving back to the community. In my 20 years in the training and event industry, I have been on all sides of the event equation: the intern, the trainer, the event planner, the bride, the client, the middle man, the wedding planner, the CEO, the business coach, etc. I am known for my non-nonsense, project management and budget-centered approach to event planning using tried and true resources, workflows, and systems.

I enjoy helping other business owners grow. As a proud leader in the event industry who has helped to BUILD the table for minority-owned business owners, I am excited to usher in the next generation of event professionals. Having planned hundreds of weddings and thousands of events, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge, experience, and accolades. For years, I have been asked, "When are you going to create a training?" Well this is it! This OG crew and I cannot wait to share what we have in store for you.