be[love]d venue: studio 1342

i've never done a venue spotlight, but this venue deserves one.  i recently visited Studio 1342 after seeing a wedding there featured on 100 Layer Cake and it caught my eye for many reasons. 

1. succulents. recently landscaped with the guidance of landscape architect Rob Steiner, the garden and outdoor patio is lush with succulents of varying kinds that gives the space a modern organic feel.
 

2. bright colors. bright painted murals. bright patio furniture.  they create excellent backdrops for pictures and well, i'm a sucker for bright things. 

3. a unique indoor space. it's fully equipped with track lights on dimmers, a projector, and a kitchen. its blank palette allows clients to dress it up however they like.  i love the little shelves built into the walls, perfect for displaying pictures of the bride and groom.

the pictures don't do this wonderful space justice.  i personally can't wait for the opportunity to coordinate an event here! for more information visit their website! happy monday everyone :)

preview: lisa + byron

Congratulations to my cousin Lisa and my new cousin Byron!  Here's a sneak preview into their beautiful handmande Disney wedding that I helped coordinate yesterday.  Can't wait to share more of the glittery details with you.  Thank you to Taky of LA Color for putting together this wonderful video!


Lisa and Byron - Same Day Edit from L.A. Color on Vimeo.

melissa + garland

08.03.12 -- I had the honor and privilege of coordinating Melissa & Garland's wedding this past August.  It was my first event to kick off the "school year" (working for a university I still think in terms of school years) so there was a lot more mental preparation going into this event just because I had a more relaxed summer doing more research and design work than actual event coordination.  It was long, but completely God-centered wedding, and we only had a couple snags along the way.

The wedding took place at the Vibiana downtown, a Los Angeles Cultural Monument, and L.A.'s first cathedral.  A beautiful venue in and of itself, the hall is completely transformed when the sun goes down and the colored lighting highlight the architectural columns and details of the space.  

My favorite detail was the white cherry blossom trees that Garland and Melissa brought in to frame the aisle and line the sides of the room.  They helped create a more intimate and elegant feel to the space.  Simple potted orchids served as the centerpieces and hand sewn table runners were just a small detail that kept the tables from looking empty.  

The reception started off with an incredibly energetic and choreographed first dance by the couple, whose energy carried the guests to the dance floor by the end of the evening.  It was a great time for everyone there.

Thank you, Melissa and Garland, for giving me the opportunity to share in your special day!  Hope you're both enjoying married life! 

All photos are courtesy of Nate Goins Photography. For more photos, click here.


Vendors
Venue: Vibiana, Nicole Kingston
Lounge Furniture: AFR Furniture Rental, Rhonda Boyer
Catering: Jay's Catering, Patti Robledo
Photography: Nate Goins Photography
Video: Anthony Ma
Lighting & Audio: Amber Events
Officiant: Kenny Peavy

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.