connie + chi

Love is not bound by time. And therefore...

...it's never too late to get married.

I think it's safe to say that my dad and his college roommates had been waiting for Chi to get married for a long time.  Even as a kid, I remember hearing them constantly wondering when it was going to happen -- it was literally all I knew about Chi.  So when the day finally came it was nothing but celebration amongst old friends.

Of course, I was also excited because it was another opportunity to gain some wedding planning experience.  If there's one thing I've learned in this journey -- it never hurts to offer to help.  You may get more than you bargained for, but it'll be worth it.  And that's precisely what happened.  I offered to help day-of, and I ended up being one of the official coordinators along with my godmother, Elaine -- got listed in the program and everything :)

This wedding was a lot of "firsts" for me.  First time making a wedding timeline.  First time running a rehearsal.  First time setting up a reception by myself.  It was the transition from being just a wedding assistant to the wedding planner, and one step closer to my dream career.

If I could describe this wedding in one word it would be simple.  The day was dedicated to celebrating Chi and Connie's marriage. There was no bridal party or groomsmen.  Dinner was served uninterrupted (no toasts, bouquet toss, dancing).  The favors were ferrero rocher (they were a big hit among the kids who walked around the reception hall trying to get as many as they could). 

The more weddings I attend the more I realize that elegance can be achieved without spending a lot of money.  One easy tip is to use the same flowers in your reception as you did in your ceremony.  This saves you the cost of ordering additional floral centerpieces!

Here are some pictures from their beautiful day!

The happy couple!

Me and the beautiful bride!  Thanks to Connie for letting me plan your wedding!

inspiration: floating candles

It's a fact that floral centerpieces can break your budget if you're not careful. As I was looking for inspiration for a Christmas fundraising dinner I'm planning, I came across these beautiful floating candle centerpieces.  Not only are they beautiful, but they cost a lot less than a bundle of flowers!

Cranberries are a creative addition to Christmas decor

jennifer + kevin

It's the little things that count.

And it was the small touches that made this Riverside wedding truly unique. Gauging by the number of pictures I took, it's clear that this wedding was nothing short from special. The only setback was the huge gusts of wind that prevented us from setting up the centerpieces right away, but that was overshadowed by the beautiful view from the private estate overlooking Riverside county.


The bride and groom ditched the traditional ceremony music, opting for some Tyrone Wells for their entrances. They wrote their own wedding vows. They didn't have a cake -- but an assortment of desserts from mini cupcakes to baklava.



The garage was transformed into a serving area for the food by putting up rented curtains around the walls, and hanging handmade decor from the ceiling to beautify the space. So creative!


The bride handmade all the signage, and made fabric flowers to accentuate the aisles, buffet line, and dessert table.


Homemade jam served as seating cards for the guests. Floating candles in the pool were an elegant touch as the sun went down.





I'm so glad I got to be a part of this special wedding! To say the least, I was inspired by this couple's creativity! There are no limits to what you can do on your wedding day. So go crazy -- try new things, be inventive and you're sure to have a day you'll remember and cherish forever.

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.

cryout: a day of community service

CRYOUT was a one day event with a sole purpose of serving the undeserved, at-risk communities in the South Los Angeles area. On February 20, 2010, about 100 USC students took their Saturday in order to help the community through painting, clean-up and other service projects.

Little did I know how involved I would become in the execution of this event.

48 hours before CRYOUT...

Me: "If you need any help, I love planning events, so let me know if there's anything I can do to help!"

Friend: "Want to help us run the event?"

Me: "Uhhh...yes!"

The next 48 hours included me getting caught up on all the details, reviewing the timeline with the event leader, offering suggestions about scheduling, and figuring out last minute logistics to help the event run smoothly. My Friday night was spent coordinating the check-in table procedures and ensuring that all aspects of the event were fully communicated to all involved.

As an event planner, it was an awesome experience in making decisions quickly, and maintaining a calm demeanor in the midst of a stressful situation. If there's one thing I learned from this event: communication is key. Just because the leader of each aspect (community sites, buses, funding, set-up) know what's going on, doesn't mean the rest of the leaders are aware. Communication across all teams is essential to the smooth execution of an event.

Check out this cool video summarizing the events of the day!

nathalie + paul mills

Sunny clear blue skies. A slight breeze. Nathalie and Paul couldn’t have chosen a better day for their ocean view wedding at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. It was definitely the cherry on top to a beautiful wedding.Every detail contributed to the overall elegance of the day, from the concha shells on the ceremony table to the cones filled with rose petals for the guests to toss.

I had that privilege of helping out at their wedding with Ashley Powell of Agape Planning, LLC. I began interning with Ashley in April. As an intern, I help her out with the day-of coordination, doing everything from setting up the reception to cleaning up. Every wedding is a learning experience, so here’s a few gems I’ve taken away:

lesson #1: You can never have too many rose petals.
Put them everywhere. And even when it seems there’s no place for them, you see another table that could benefit from just few more rose petals.lesson #2: Mini LED lights are awesome!
Who knew something so small could make such a big difference? These things added a nice touch to the beautiful centerpieces.
lesson #3: ORCHIDS. YES.
They’re beautiful. Enough said.lesson #4: Everyone loves a good surprise.
Ashley and I decorated Nathalie and Paul’s suite with leftover rose petals and candles unbeknownst to them. Hopefully they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed decorating it. Here are a few photos: With a Tiffany blue (who knew there was a color associated with my name!) and brown color scheme, the Vista Ballroom was transformed into a beautiful beach themed reception. Here are some detail photos:
At the end of the day I was exhausted. I had been on my feet since 1:30 p.m. and it was now 1:00 a.m. I’ll be honest, not everything about wedding planning is glamorous. Not many list raking up rose petals or lighting candles in the job description. But the more I learn about the hospitality industry, the more I realize, it’s not about me. I want to do this so that other people like Nathalie and Paul can enjoy one of the best days of their life without having to worry about who’s picking up the linens or if the cake is going to arrive on time.

And the joy of making their day special makes it all worth it.…not to mention the free filet mignon, red velvet cake, and flowers were a nice bonus.