retirement celebration

As with every university, there comes a point when a faculty member decides to retire, and so as a special events coordinator, retirement parties fall under my job description.  I had the opportunity to put together a small, intimate retirement party for one of our dear faculty members to thank and celebrate his 14 years at USC Thornton.  Because it was a small gathering, I took on the challenge of doing the floral arrangements on my own as I had a lot of vases left over from past events.

With every DIY project I take on, I gain a new found appreciation for all the vendors I work with to help me put together a great event.  And florals are no exception.  I would like to say I have a pretty good eye for color combinations and textures (a lot of that creativity and design manifests itself in my personal style) but it's different when those colors and textures are in the form of flowers.  My office turned into a temporary garden before the event, displaying my different options in various vases across my desk.

I've been truly enjoying the opportunity to explore different areas of events, and not simply the coordination and organization aspect.  I hope to continue to improve my own personal skills in these arenas such as floral and invitation design in order to better serve my clients and create something new and exciting with every event I plan.  Thanks for looking!

Vendor Credits
Venue: Town & Gown
Catering: USC Hospitality
Flowers: Trader Joe's
Awards: SoCal Trophy

the great train race

I had the wonderful opportunity to produce my boss's reception following his DMA flute recital on February 24, 2012.  Instantly, I knew I wanted to try my hand at designing a themed dessert bar, similar to many of the ones I've seen done by Sweet and Saucy Shop or Amy Atlas Events. I was most excited for the chance to be creative, down to the small details like signage and table design.  My inspiration drew from a vintage train look, incorporating dark brown, tan, with accent colors of red and sky blue. 

This event was a labor of love for me -- a complete do-it-yourself endeavor, and I loved the experience.  I came away with a greater appreciation for caterers, bakers, designers, and every hand that is involved in producing an event. 

Having never produced a reception of this size (about 70 people) on my own without the help of a catering company and on a very limited budget (I produced this "in-house" for about $120), I took on the challenge of baking many of the sweets for this reception including sugar cookies, cupcakes, and cake pops.  A lot of time was spent planning the menu and testing my baking capabilities to ensure that the desserts I presented had a professional look to them.  Hence, round one consisted of me "test-baking" cake pops and mini cupcakes to see if I could really pull this off. (Note: cake pops are a LOT harder than they look!)  My department got to enjoy the spoils of my first attempt, and because of the great response, I went ahead as planned.  Round two was finding the perfect consistency of icing for the train sugar cookies -- too thin and it'll drip off the sides; too thick and it won't dry smooth.

The next challenge was finding the appropriate serving ware to display everything with a variation of levels.  Because I wanted to create a vintage look, not everything had to match.  A lot of the serveware was borrowed from friends (you may recognize some of the same ones from the Valentine's tea party).  I also really liked the idea of using frames as serving platter like at Ziza and Seth's wedding, so out came the glass in a few of the picture frames I had in my office.  In order to create more levels with plates I had, I used a couple of the floating flower vases and placed them below the plates.

I put my arts and crafts skills to work with the final touches which included small signs propped up by clothespins describing the different food items, and a large sign made of handcut matted letters that spelled "The Great Train Race" to tie the whole display together. It's amazing what you can do with a cutting board, cardstock, and a glue stick! 

I could not have put this event on without the help of my sister, boyfriend, and friends, who dedicated their time and energy in the preparation and setup of this event, so a HUGE thank you to the both of them!  Thanks for looking!

"Vendor" Credits

Styling, Printables & Decoration: Beloved Events & Weddings, Tiffany Yu

Rentals & Serveware: Anna Rogers, Vanessa Rhue

Cookies, Brownies & Fruit: Costco

Cake pops & Baking: Karissa Yu

Event set-up & tear down: Delano Meriwether

be[love]d: vintage art deco engagement rings

Photo Credit: 1. Paris Hotel Boutique//2. Mellows//3. Trocadero

I've always been drawn to those items with small details that make it different from your mainstream fashion -- an asymmetrical hem, a zipper detail, a pop of color.  I've recently been loving the small details of these vintage art deco engagement rings, characterized by their "highly stylized geometric shapes and strong use of symmety," that make them unique and different from your standard diamond ring.

valentine's tea party

You know you're an event planner when...you incessantly comment on every tiny detail in someone's house because it's a real life display of a style you've seen on wedding and event blogs.  Yeah, that was me the other day.  It was like an inspiration board come to life.   And a style that in my current position, will never get the opportunity to implement.

It's almost embarrassing to recount the sheer amazement and excitement I had over the details of the tea party I went to hosted by one of the members of my community group.  As a result of perusing so many wedding and event blogs over the past year, I have developed a small (okay, maybe more like huge) obsession and love for the rustic/vintage/romantic style of event.  I think it's the way that so many random pieces can come together to create something beautiful, so eclectic.  I can't help but swoon over the mismatched serving ware, the wood slice boards, the lace, the succulents, the hanging terrariums.  And swoon I did over every little detail of my friend's quaint house, exclaiming "oh my gosh" at, well, let's be honest, everything. It was a perfect setting for an afternoon tea party complete with scones, cucumber sandwiches, biscotti, and of course, quality girl bonding time.

Dickens Dinner Round 2

December 9, 2011 -- Another year has come and gone, and so has another Charles Dickens Dinner, or as Dean Cutietta accidentally called it, The 25th Annual Charles "Chickens" Dinner.  And in about six months the cycle will begin all over again.  Another six months of planning, two hour long production meetings, last minute changes, and yet another chance to grow as an event planner, gaining new experiences and skills with each challenge. 

This year we honored Richard Carpenter of the GRAMMY®-award winning duo, The Carpenters, with the USC Thornton Legacy Award and the GRAMMY Foundation® with the John C. Argue Dickens Medal of Honor.  Randy and Gretchen Newman served as our dinner chairs and their playful interaction on stage (completely off-script) had everyone laughing, myself included, creating a warm and comfortable environment.

The evening was highlighted by featured performances from our choral, opera, popular music, classical guitar, and early music departments, giving guests a broad sampling of the talent that exists at the Thornton School of Music.  Rod Gilfry, baritone opera star and USC Faculty member narrated the evening with snippets of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It's interesting to look back and reflect on where I was last year when this event happened.  It was a huge milestone in my career and the success of the event was such an encouragement and affirmation that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.  This year was a huge test of my patience as I waited for all the loose ends to come together, many of which I had no control over.  There are always last minute seating changes, personnel changes, conflict in scheduling and the production flow, and it's in those moments where the ability to make decisions and act quickly are key factors when managing an event.  I know the only reason I felt so calm the entire week leading up to the event was because my peace was not from myself, but from God.  I feel truly blessed to get to spread that peace and in doing so create an atmosphere where others around me -- people on the production team, the hotel staff, the guests -- are able to experience that same sense of ease.  What I was reminded of at Dickens is how much my attitude and demeanor affect everyone involved in the process.  If I am stressed out, my team feels that anxiety and so do the guests (that last people I want feeling stressed out). 

Some of my favorite moments were the times I stepped aside from the event itself and invested in the people around me: an encouraging phone call with a friend, a short chat with the security guard while waiting for the linens to be placed, conversations with the crew from Classic Party Rentals, escorting lost guests to the VIP reception, greeting donors and guests at their tables, laughing at the awkward moments from the stage, joking around with my co-workers -- together they all made this Dickens Dinner so enjoyable despite working 18 hours, my day beginning at 5:45am and ending at about midnight the same day.  It's what allows me to smile at the end of the day.

I couldn't be happier at how Dickens came together, awkward moments and all.  I'm thankful that the autograph auction turned out better than I expected.  I'm thankful that all the decor came together to create my winter wonderland theme.  I'm thankful that I got the chance to eat lunch AND dinner.  I'm thankful for my amazing team of vendors and production crew.  I'm thankful for all the encouraging texts from my friends.  I'm thankful that my family came to support me.  And lastly, I'm thankful for the opportunity to plan and oversee an event of this magnitude at this point in my life.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and Merry Christmas!

Vendors
Venue, Catering, & Valet: Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Valerie Lehman
Linens: Elegant Design Specialty Linens
Florals: Dellarobbia Design Studio & Flower Market
Lighting, Production, Sound: Thinkwell Design & Production
PR: M2M
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Sound: PRG Audio

brie + robert

I had the privilege of coordinating Brie and Robert's wedding in the beginning of October at the beautiful Majestic Halls downtown.  A newer venue to the Los Angeles area, this historic bank created the perfect backdrop for Brie and Robert's special day.  Close friends and freelance set designers Seth Bauer (I help coordinate his and Ziza's, the matron of honor, wedding last November -- see the post here!) and Christian Snell did an amazing job transforming the space with tall trees lining the room and black duvetyne draping from the balconies.  The tables were adorned with bountiful amounts of fruits on vintage platters couple with chandeliers to create a classic and vintage look.

See the beautiful photos below by Joseph and Jenny Llanes -- it was great working with you two again!

Brie and Robert, thanks for letting me be part of your special day!

Vendors
Venue: Majestic Halls, Ashley Cole
Catering: Dean Kahn Catering
Photography: Llanes Weddings
Video: Paperback Weddings -- check out their beautiful video here!
Florals: Claudia Johnston
Hair & Makeup: Lorena
Decor: Seth Bauer and Christian Snell
Officiant: Tim Chaddick
Dress: Vera Wang