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.

New Beginnings

I never thought I'd get this far. To be at the point where becoming an event planner seemed more like a reality than just a distant dream career. Until this summer...

This summer has been full of opportunities beyond my wildest expectations: a friend's dad referring me to several event planners, interning with a wedding planner, a friend randomly meeting a wedding planner, and now me getting the opportunity to intern at a reputable event planning company.

It's almost too good to be true. Almost.

So here's to new beginnings. The beginning of senior year. The beginning of a new career, a new adventure, of "growing up".

In this blog I'll be detailing the events I attend over the next few months, and document this exciting new journey that's just getting started.