another charles dickens dinner

12.14.12 -- Dickens has come and gone, again.  And thankfully with a little more ease this time.  This year's Dickens wasn't accompanied by as much stress and craziness as past years, and I'm hoping that's a sign of experience. It also helped that the structure and flow of the evening remained pretty much the same from last year, a definite blessing considering I had more events that normal in the two months leading up to the event.

Over these past three years I have been able to develop some great relationships with the staff at the Biltmore, and it is these relationships that make the long days more bearable. I'm so thankful for their hospitality and how helpful they have been from year to year -- there's definitely a sense of comfort I feel knowing who I'll be working with and knowing I can trust them.  I'm sure many event planners who work with the same venues and vendors over and over feel the same way.

This year we honored James Newton Howard and Wells Fargo.  The night was narrated by opera star baritone Rod Gilfry and highlighted by performances by our talented USC Thornton students.  I chose to go back to a traditional red and green color scheme, with copper accents in my centerpieces (I was thankful that the Biltmore also decided to decorate with copper--what a blessing!) which resulted in a very rich and Christmas-y room. So thankful for the wonderful success of this event year after year!

Here are some pictures from the beautiful evening.

Vendors
Venue, Catering, & Valet: Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Valerie Lehman & Olivia Manzo
Linens: Elegant Design Specialty Linens
Florals: Dellarobbia Design Studio & Flower Market, Jolene Reynolds
Lighting, Production, Sound: Thinkwell Design & Production, Jamie Hamlin
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Sound: PRG Audio
Photography: Steve Cohn Photography

symphonic hall dedication

10.28.12 -- My most challenging event of the year, but also one of my most involved events as well. The reason for this dedication was to celebrate the generous donor, Alice Schoenfeld, who gave $3 million to help renovate and name the Lloyd Sound Stage into a new symphonic rehearsal hall for the USC Thornton Symphony and other music ensembles at USC Thornton. For about two months, I worked closely with the client, with almost daily meetings and phone calls to go over guests lists, confirm the performances, discuss the program, etc.  During these meetings I developed a wonderful relationship with this woman, hearing stories about her sister, her time in Germany, and I am glad I got the opportunity to meet and work with.  Those are the connections that make my job so enjoyable.

It's always such a blessing to see everything come together on the day-of and to hear that the event was everything they envisioned. so much of my job is not about what I personally like, or would want, but taking my client's vision and making it a reality.  I had the help of Thornton's amazing production team (Jeff, Tori, Heather, and Michelle -- you guys rock!), whose company and jokes throughout the evening made the 18-hour day, yes, I said it, fun!

Complete with a red carpet, I transformed our loading dock into an elegant reception space for the reveal of the new name of the symphonic hall.  After the unveiling, guests were ushered inside to enjoy a concert featuring world-renown artists and then served a delicious three-course meal by Barbara West Catering.

One of the biggest blessings of being the only event planner at the music school is the opportunity to learn about different components of events in more detail because they're all under my responsibility. For example, we wanted to create a memorabilia piece for the donor in order for future students who entered the hall to know the legacy of Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld.  In the process of trying to figure out how to frame these pictures, I learned a lot about foam core and different mounting materials, something I wouldn't have thought to research otherwise.  Additionally, I personally designed the invitation, menu, and program cards for the event, a task that allows me to exercise me creative side.

As always, no post is complete without pictures.  Thanks to Vanessa Preziose for these beautiful pictures! For more information on this transformative gift, read this article here. 
Also, my apologies for the blogging hiatus -- I hope to be posting more frequently in the new year!

Vendors
Catering: Barbara West Catering
Valet: USC Transportation, Pablo Sahugun
Linens & Napkins: Elegant Design Specialty Linens
Florals: Dellarobbia Design Studio & Flower Market
Rentals and Lighting: ELM Concierge, Mark Vanis
Photography: Vanessa Preziose

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

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