brenda + omar

It had been awhile since I'd helped with a wedding. But I was instantly reminded of how much I love them on Saturday, when I had the privilege of working with Ashley of Agape Planning, LLC.

It was a familiar venue. I had worked at least three weddings at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda -- making the set-up of the East Room a smooth process. The bride had excellent taste, complimenting her pink centerpieces with champagne linens and golden candelabras. One of her unique touches was the Mexican candy bar. It was a HUGE hit. When the East Room opened at 7pm, more than half the candy was gone before the salads were even served! A delicious tri-tip and chicken dinner was served by White House Catering.

Before dancing the night away, the couple gave a heartfelt thank you to all their guests for all their love and support. You could tell how grateful Brenda and Omar were for all their friends and family that came to celebrate their special day.

The entire day ran smoothly. No one seemed stressed out -- not even the bride and the groom. And it was a reminder of the atmosphere I want to help create for weddings or any event I plan -- calm, peaceful, stress-free, worry-free. So at the end of the day, all my client needs to think about is having fun, and enjoying themselves completely. And for me, that is one of the best gifts I could give someone.

Here are some pictures from the beautiful wedding!

1300 burritos for skid row

1300. I'll admit, I had my doubts about it. Would we raise enough money for the burritos? How were we going to make all the food? I had never organized the production, or distribution of so much food. Sure, I had coordinated a tea party for 30 people, but this was different.

On Saturday, March 27, I got to see my goals turn into a reality as I watched my sorority, Alpha Delta Chi, and friends pass out burritos to the homeless community on Skid Row. But it wasn't just the sense of accomplishment I felt that made me smile, but the excitement amongst my sisters at the end of the day -- a renewed heart to serve the poor.

The event as a whole, couldn't have gone any better. It was a 2-part event, beginning with a Breakfast Burrito Fundraiser, where we sold breakfast burritos for $5 -- promoting our event with the slogan: "Eat One. Give Five." The idea was that by paying $5 to eat one burrito, you were giving five to Skid Row. All proceeds went to making more burritos and to Central City Community Outreach, a program dedicated to changing lives in the Skid Row Community.

With the money we raised, I got to work calculating how much food we needed to make 1300 burritos. It was time to make lots of burritos.

Step 1: Biggest and longest Costco trip ever! Duration: 2.5 hours. Weight: 400lbs. Yeah. Imagine a small Asian girl pushing around a huge cart of 1200 tortillas, 75 lbs of beans, 75 lbs and rice, and 80 lbs of ground beef.

Step 2: Cooking day! All of Friday was spent cooking rice, beans, and ground beef. Big thank you the Alpha Gamma Omega and Theta Xi for letting us use their huge kitchens and refrigerators to store the food overnight.

Step 3: Assembly lines! Beginning at 9am Saturday morning, we rolled 1300 burritos in 2.5 hours. Talk about efficient.

With our cars loaded with people and burritos, a group of about 35 people headed to Skid Row. Check out the awesome pictures below!

Events should create change. They should affect people. We gave out more than burritos that Saturday afternoon. We changed lives -- we were changed, and I hope I get the opportunity to plan more events like that in the future.