Monday, April 29, 2013

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

Who did you interview and what house are they in?
  • Marilyn Sambo from East House
What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?
  • Clinical Psychology because it is something I am interested in. Also, I am thinking about choosing this along the lines of my major and it will help me later on.
What do you plan to do for your 10 hour mentorship experience?
  • I have already found a Clinical Psychology through connections and the people I know there runs their own office. I just plan on helping around whenever they need me and shadow them while they do their work.
What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2 hour presentations?
  • I just have high expectations for this presentation. I'm hoping to see people who are doing the same topic as mine or something along the lines of it. Overall, I just hope the presentations are really good and I look forward to them. 
What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior topic)?
  • When do I start the 10 hours?: You start and complete the hours during the summer. If you go over the 10 hours, they do not roll over to your 50 hour mentorship and the 10 hours are not included in that mentorship as well.
  • I advise you to start early when finding a mentor because it can be quite difficult to find. From my past experience, a lot of people rejected me just because I was a high school student. They didn't take me seriously enough to do their professional work. So starting early is easy and it creates a stronger bond with you and your mentor. 

Blog 22: 3-Column Chart

3 Column Chart

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

Literal
(a) Statement saying:

  • I, Sydney Tieu, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.


(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component

  • No mentor or book helped me include the independent component. Instead, the sites The Knot and Wedding Wire had tools to help me plan a wedding. 

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet



(d) Explanation of what you completed

  • For this independent component I fully planned a wedding that I would show to my future clients, my uncle and his fiance. Basically I had to start from scratch. The date I set the wedding was the day the independent component was due. There were some difficulties in planning this wedding especially when you do not really have the bride and groom at hand. I provided the venue after reviewing potential areas, the entertainment, the florist, the caterer, the dress, the tux, the attire for the wedding party, stationary for the wedding, the party favors, and so much more. Of course every wedding would needed a color scheme so after putting various colors together I decided that the color scheme would be purple with splashes of gray and blue. I also created seating charts for the reception and a timeline for the entire day. After hours of finding appropriate songs, I constructed a "Do Play" and "Not to Play" playlist. I also kept in mind of the traditions and customs of the couple. They are a Vietnamese/Chinese Buddhist couple so I had to make sure the wedding would be appropriate for the elders. In the end, I assembled all of the little wedding components into a binder.

Interperetive
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.

  • Planning a wedding is NOT easy. It takes time, skill, and patience (definitely patience). Trying to design the wedding from scratch take a large amount of time. Even just putting together the seating arrangement took hours of work! I also had to do more research on wedding celebrations and create spreadsheets for the vendors. 

My wedding planning binder filled with hours and hours of rigorous  work. 

Some sources I stumbled upon while planning the wedding. They have really unique ideas for party favors, invitations, and his and her gifts.  

The wedding planning checklist which I copied and pasted from The Knot. As you can see, every box is checked and notes were written all over the paper

The reception seating chart which I tried to upload digitally but The Knot would not allow me to do so.
The color scheme I created on The Knot  but again,  I could not upload it onto blogspot.

Choosing the right shoes for the bride while still staying within the price range. 

Of course the bride needs the right wedding accessories so I had to choose some bling for the bride. 

The garter toss is an American tradition. Seeing as how my clients grew up in San Diego, this is an essential for them. 

A suit selection for the groomsmen. and accessories that may go along with it.

A tux selection for the groom and accessories that may go along with it. 

The perfect wedding dress chosen for the bride. She requested a strapless sweet heart that is a fit and flair.

Bridesmaid and Maid of Honor dresses. The bottom dress is for the regular bridesmaid and the top dress is for the maid of honor. 


Possible updos for the bride and embellishments that may go along with each hairdo. 
Possible updos for the bride and embellishments that may go along with each hairdo.


The bride requested a long laced veil that would go well with her dress. As requested, I showed her some selection. 

The bride did not want a tiara for her dress. Instead, she wanted floral arrangements in her hair. 

I chose an elegant guest book for the reception. The cool thing is, is that the ribbons can accommodate to the color scheme of the wedding. 

I created a wedding program for the reception.

The wording for the invitation. 

Save the Date cards that will send out before the invitations so guests will know an important event is coming up. 

An elegant invitation that will be used for the wedding except the color would be purple and the ribbon would be gray. 



Applied
How did the component help you answer your EQ or support one or more of your answers. Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

  • This component helped me support my answers because it tied in all my answers. To create a wedding, a wedding planner needs to utilize a proper budget, have connection with vendors, and create a time budget for the special event. Seeing as how I scheduled the date of the wedding to be on the day the independent component is due, I had to set up a guideline of what tasks I needed to do each day. Of course, a wedding can not take place if it does not have a budget. So after giving myself a budget of $27,021 (the average budget of a wedding in the U.S.) I planned each wedding component to accommodate that. In the end, the budget ended up being $26,785 which was under what I planned it to be. As for the vendors, I actually emailed the West Gate Hotel and talked to the head wedding planner there. She gave me lists of the rooms and how big it is, the menu, and wedding packages. 




Sunday, April 14, 2013

April 14, 2013: Open House at Comfort Inn

Today I got to work with my mentor, Gretchen, and her assistant, Neferete, on the Open House at Comfort Inn. Just a few months ago, we were working on a mock wedding to present the Comfort Inn facilities to interested clients. Now, we have finally opened the comfort inn venue after months and months of planning! At the Open House, many vendors appeared to advertise their business and expertise. I got to talk one on one with many vendors such as caterers, bakers, photographers, DJs, bartenders, tux shop people, and so much more. There was even a photo booth! Here are some pictures of my crazy adventure today:

Here is the advertisement for the Open House which can also be found on the Entertaining as Always Events Facebook Page

Some goodies presented by the McGrath's catering (it was bomb diggity!)
This is what came in the packet that we handed out to guests. Information about all of our vendors for the day!

Friar Tux Shop also came down to advertise their awesome deals on tuxes and suits. Be sure to check them out!

Now this is just plain awesome. The Snapden photo booths  had a bunch of awesome props AND right after you take your picture, it prints instantly. You can even email it to yourself and share it with friends and family!

We even had a bartender! Non alcoholic drinks of course. They were so fruity and delightful. Compliments to Treeshrew Bartending for their awesome drinks. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the website but you can always contact Gretchen at Entertaining as Always to find out the contact information!

Sweet Pea Floral did an amazing job on these centerpieces. They lasted all day!

Of course we can't thank Bring that Beat Back for the AMAZING music throughout the day!

Other vendors I haven't mentioned yet are:
Simply Divine Cuisine (AMAZING food. Their strawberry shortcake is to die for!)
A Helping Hand Event Services (The lady was so nice! She offered to clear our tables when we could have done it ourselves!)
Masquerade Cupcakes (Ever heard of a strawberry lemonade cupcake before? Well you have now!)

I'll try to update with more pictures of these vendors as soon as I can!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

San Diego Hair and Makeup

These are the three top vendors in the makeup and hair field in the San Diego area. They seem to have the most positive reviews on the website, Wedding Wire.

Makeup, Hair, and Dance by Meleah

BIJOU Beautiful

The Makeup and Hair Studio

San Diego Cake Baker Vendors

These two cake baker vendors were the most positively reviewed in the San Diego area. After researching their styles and past cakes, I believe my clients would be the most happy in choosing one of the two vendors.

Sumi's Oven

Twiggs Bakery

San Diego Florists

After a lot of research, I have finally narrowed down my three top florists in the San Diego area to these three vendors:

Susan M Florals

Third Bloom Flowers

Elegant Touch Floral Designs

San Diego Videographers

After researching for videographers, I have stumbled upon two in the San Diego area. For my independent component, I will be using one of these two videographers  for the wedding I'm "planning".

Taylor Films

Bob Hoffman Photography and Video

San Diego Photographers

3 photographers were chosen for the engaged couple. They specifically wanted a photographer that could present the style of photojournalism for their wedding. The photographer I chose fit into their budget and their criteria. The couple would choose one of the 3 photographers I had laid out for them.

Stephina Photography

Heidi-O-Photography

ABM Foto

Thursday, April 11, 2013

San Diego DJs

The couple specifically wanted a DJ so their guests would interact more at the wedding. So I have narrowed it down to these two specific DJs due to their great reviews and amazing services.

DJ David Cutler

DJ Guy

San Diego Lighting Events Company

This is the lighting events company I will use while planning for the wedding in San Diego.

San Diego Lighting Events Company

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Top 3 Venue Sites

I chose three venue sites for my independent component. I am planning a wedding for a couple and they will choose which site they want the most with budget and guests in mind.

West Gate Hotel
Caramel Mountain Ranch Country Club
El Cortez Don Room and Terrace

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Top 3 Caterers

My independent component requires me to choose certain caterers to present to the couple that is getting married. Since my couple is planning to marry in San Diego, I have chosen caterers around that area. These caterers are very flexible in their cuisine types and they are proven to satisfy their customers.

Continental Catering

Personal Touch Catering

TOAST Catering