Iron Security College Scholarship Entry

A last minute decision can greatly impact a person or even several people. There have been many instances in my life where I have had to make immediate decisions in a moment’s notice. For almost 5 years, I worked for an after school day care and a summer day camp while I was getting my first bachelor’s degree (I am on my second bachelor’s degree now) in South Florida. We had a full facility that even included a full gym with a basketball court. We had a special time put aside every Tuesday and Thursday for roller skating and we even had a whole skate room full of roller skates and skating games.

One day, during the after school program, I was one of the skating monitors in the gym when a situation occurred that required some swift decision making and some delegating. It was probably one of the most terrifying moments of working there and maybe even one of the most frightening in general of my life. It’s hard to know how to react in a moment’s notice. The kids were skating in the gym and we had the “High School Musical Soundtrack” playing. There were probably about 20 kids skating at the time and the age range was Kindergarten through 5^th grades. We had just finished our “limbo” game and it was free skate time. The kids were skating around in circles around the gym and everything seemed to be going smoothly…or so we thought.

All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, something happened! I saw one our second grade boys trip over another child and fly into the bleachers. I hurried over as fast as I could, while the other skating monitor watched the rest of the kids. When I got over there, I realized the situation was pretty bad. All I could see was blood all over the back of his head. I should stop here and say that blood makes me faint and queasy and has even made me pass out before. Of course, seeing all of that blood, my first thought was to walk away. However, I couldn’t. I had a responsibility to the child as his caregiver. I braved the blood and went over to him.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t crying. Yet. I think he was more stunning than anything else. That is, until he saw the blood coming from the back of his head. Once he saw the blood, he started screaming and crying. I had to do some quick thinking. The first words out of my mouth were, “its okay! Everybody has this happen to them!” He replied, “Really?” as he looked me with sad eyes. I said, “Yes, of course.” He stopped crying and by that time, someone had brought me the first aid kid and I had time to put my gloves on for protection. As I was cleaning him up, I realized it was pretty serious. He had split the side of his head open. We called his parents to come pick him up and while we were waiting, he sat next to me while I read him picture books to keep him calm. His parents came and picked him up and took him to the hospital. It was such a scary situation and required very quick thinking. 

http://www.ironsecurity.com/scholarship-opportunity

Alvin & Olivia's Intimate Wedding

Our second wedding of the season was Alvin & Olivia's wedding at Rosen Shingle Creek on October 4, 2014. It was in one of their smaller ballrooms, one that The Busy Bee had never used before. It is used more for intimate small weddings & it was the PERFECT site for their nuptials. 

Alvin & Olivia said their vows at First Baptist Chruch - Marie William Chapel and then the cocktail hour and reception moved to Rosen. 

Their gold & navy color scheme was so classy and their floral arrangements were INCREDIBLE. 

Indulge in some of the pictures from their day! 

Bride's Toss Bouquet

Beautiful chair ties

Place Settings

Sweetheart Table

Beautiful Sunset at Rosen Shingle Creek

Beautiful Sunset at Rosen Shingle Creek

Amazing Floral Centerpieces

View of the Sweetheart Table

List of vendors: 

• Wedding Coordinators: The Busy Bee Events & Design
• Florals: Raining Roses
• Harpist: Perficio Inc.
• Transportation: Transtar Transportation Group
• Photographer: DTM Photography

First Wedding Of My Internship!

Yarnell/Mantilla Wedding

The first wedding of my internship with The Busy Bee Events & Design was at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida. 

Stephanie and Joe's wedding was a beautiful, classic affair with beautiful ivories and purples. Their first dance was to "From This Moment" by Shania Twain and their two adorable daughters joined in on that dance. You could tell they were very much in love with each other and that their new family was happy to be together. 

My Busy Bee family is wonderful and working with them is such a pleasure. Enjoy these photos from our first wedding of the fall season! 

Memorial Table

My lovely partner in crime, Liss! 

The florals were absolutely stunning! 

Vendors for the event:

Wedding Day Coordinator: The Busy Bee Events & Design

Venue & Catering: Rosen Shingle Creek

Limo Service: VIP Transportation Group

Florist: Dream Designs

Videography: A Moment To Remember

Photography: Scott David Photography

Chair Rentals: Event Source Solutions

Band: Leonard Brothers

Violist: Perficio Inc.

Spotlight on Disney's Fairytale Weddings

I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at Disney, called Spotlight on Disney's Fairytale Weddings in September. This seminar is held especially for Disney Cast Members and my good friend Sheena told me about it and I signed up and went. 

It was my first time even being in the beautiful wedding pavilion at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Seriously, if you ever get a chance to go inside, it is STUNNING. It's hard to find words to describe the beauty of it. 

The glass stained window with the Cinderella Coach on them are just so amazingly beautiful.

The seminar consisted of about 10-12 Cast Members that work in Disney's Fairytale Weddings and they went over their role, what it entails and answered any questions from the audience. It was great to learn what is takes to be a wedding planner at the Walt Disney World property. 

Shadow : Big City Catering

As a part of my internship, I decided to take it upon myself to do some shadows of local wedding vendors so that I could gain some insight to different aspects of this industry. 

For my first shadow, I reached out to Kristina Mollo at Big City Catering. Her and I already have a great rapport with each other due to her not only being our caterer for my own wedding but also to her just being such a personable individual and always keeping in touch with me about the "goings on" of my wedding and life in general.

Kristina works in sales for BCC (Big City Catering) and her day to day job basically consists of consults, emails, phone calls, leads, proposals, and making sure the operation of the office runs smoothly. I definitely gained some insight on how to be organized in the office. I learned that when a bride/client has a budget and it is unfortunately not the budget for your company, you CAN let them down and tell them that maybe they are not the right fit, rather than try to STILL sell them services they cannot afford. Unfortunately in my own wedding planning, that is not the experience I have had. Many companies knew our budget and STILL tried to get us to over-spend for something we could not afford. I love that Kristina does not push that upon her clients. 

I also learned from her that anytime you are in contact with a client, whether they email you or you talk to them on the phone, to make sure to record it. Even if it's just a simple question, still document that you talked to that person. It is very important because that can be referenced later if there are any questions of when you had a certain conversation. 

When Kristina gets in contact with a potential client, whether they reach out to her or she reaches out to them, she sends them a list of questions to get to know them better and also to get to know what they are looking for on their wedding day. 

This shadow was a great experience for me because it showed me the organization skills that I need to hone to be successful in the future. I am already a very organized person but this showed me how to take it to the next level for success.

Thank you to Kristina and thank you to Big City Catering for allowing me to come in and shadow for a few hours!!

And if you would like to check them out........

Website: Big City Catering
Blog: Big City Catering Blog

ABC Speed Networker - August

The Centerpiece of American Q, the dining location at the B Resort

On August 28th, 2014, The Busy Bee Events and Design coordinated the Association of Bridal Consultants August networking event. The event was held at the "B" Resort in Lake Buena Vista. This resort just re-opened from a HUGE renovation. It used to be known as the Royal Plaza Hotel. The renovation was very successful, as the resort is beautiful. It had some great convention and meeting spaces, some really amazing eclectic decor, and a fun, "down home" farm themed restaurant named American Q. 

Chandeliers in the Meeting Space

This chair was in the lobby of the B Resort

One of the many eclectic items that make up the decor in the lobby of the B Resort

The Speed Networker Event

 The premise of a Speed Networker is very similar to Speed Dating. You spend a couple of minutes of time with a professional and you learn about their business, they learn about yours and you learn how you can help each other evolve in the industry. At the ABC Speed Networker, there were many great wedding and event professionals present and there were a lot of business relationships formed. 

The pre-Speed Networker reception. Note: I am in the yellow sweater. Photo credits to Rudy&Marta Photography

The pre-Speed Networker reception. Note: I am in the yellow sweater. Photo credits to Rudy&Marta Photography

Some of the amazing vendors that were involved with this event were: 

The Busy Bee Events and Design: Coordinator
www.thebusybeeeventsanddesign.com
GBS Linens: The BEAUTIFUL Linens for the tables were provided by GBS. Pictures do not do these justice. 
www.gbslinens.com

Our DJ Rocks: Musical entertainment and MC services. 
www.ourDJrocks.com
Windermere Flower and Gifts: Modern Floral Centerpieces
www.windermereflowerandgifts.com

The Invitation Lounge: Menu Cards, Elevator Speech Takeaways, and Ice Breaker Cards
www.theinvitationlounge.com

GiGi's Cupcakes: Mini Cupcakes
http://www.gigiscupcakesusa.com/orlandoflorida

Rudy&Marta Photography: Photography services
www.rudyandmarta.com


Overall, this event had a great turnout and everyone who attended had a great time and walked away with solid information and contacts for the future. 

#MadWed at Wyndham Orlando International Drive

Last week, I got the great pleasure and opportunity to work at and attend the PWG monthly luncheon. The Perfect Wedding Guide has always been a favorite of mine. I use their website often for my own wedding planning and just to keep up with the latest trends in weddings.

The theme of this event was MadWed and the hashtag #MadWed was encouraged at the event so that pictures and statuses could be documented via social media. The event was based on the show Mad Men, which I’ll be honest, I have never watched. However, I love the idea of the “Mod” look and era and the décor for the event was phenomenal.

I think my favorite part of this event, was being able to network with so many great Central Florida wedding vendors. There are many vendors in our area to choose from and getting to know some of them was a great experience for me.  Coming from working at Disney, I know that networking can lead to great and amazing things.

The vendors that specifically worked on the event, were absolutely wonderful. RW Events had some of the most adorable décor, including the vintage chairs, couch, telephone, typewriter and table. Lee Forest Floral Designs provided the flowers for the event and they were BEYOND beautiful. I am not much of a flower person, as most people who know me will attest to, but seriously, these flowers made the décor for the event truly “pop.” Victoria Angela Photography was the photographer for the event and not only is she incredibly talented in her field, she is such a sweetheart. And don’t even get me started on her outfit….ADORABLE!! Her pink wedge pumps were to die for. Elaine Duran from Next Great Baker on TLC provided the cupcakes for the event. Her company, “Enticing Cake Boutique” is located in Kissimmee, Florida. Her cupcakes were not only themed to the event (and absolutely, perfectly, mod) but they were so delicious. She has some incredible talent and meeting her was truly an honor. Pretty Peacock Paperie did the escort cards and menus. I have already met Natalie but it was a pleasure to see her in her element and the paper work came out beautifully. 

I really enjoyed my day with my new Busy Bee family. This opportunity is amazing and it was a great start to the fall wedding season. I am looking forward to these upcoming months and hope that I can stay with the company long term and truly be part of this beautiful work family. 

Photo Credits: Victoria Angela Photography