Meet the Pro

Hello from Risa!  My name is pronounced like 'Visa' but with an R.  

Thank you for visiting Events by a Pro to consider me to assist with your next special event. Here is a bullet point bio.  It may seem a bit commodious, but that's because I've been doing this for a while.

I have a multi-faceted career with a variety of feathers in my event hat. It has included the following:

• Certified as a Wedding Consultant with the Independent Wedding Consultants of America since 2001.  
• Staff Wedding Director for different locations such as a major hotel, a popular rustic ranch-style venue, a garden venue in an historic site, and currently at an oceanfront venue.
• Certified as a bridal makeup artist in the mid-'90s.
• Server and bartender for a hospitality staffing company.
• Decor installation services for a catering company.
• Assistant and installer for a floral designer. 
• Ordained to step in as an Officiant replacement, if needed, for a ceremony.
• Executive Director for a non-profit organization where I produced, staffed, and directed annual premiere car shows and popular City holiday events.
• Planned and/or coordinated hundreds of weddings or events in my career either through my own company or the venues where I have been on staff. I have also assisted several fellow professional wedding & event planners throughout Orange County and LA.

Because of all this experience, you can be assured that your event or special occasion is in trusted hands.  We will work together to cover every detail that needs to be executed to make it a success!

Several of my events have been featured in major magazine publications such as Wedding Bells, Inside Weddings, Tea Time, Romantic Homes, and Special Events magazine.  I have been interviewed and printed by Cosmopolitan magazine and The Wedding Book for my professional insights.

When I'm not working, you will find me glamping in my vintage 1958 Shasta camper trailer, sewing a caftan for a tiki ladies' meetup, or having a Dole Whip at Disneyland.  My husband & I are beyond proud of our three grown children - a medic/firefighter son, a college student/bartender son, and a college student/event assistant daughter.

If you'd like to see if we vibe for your event or special day, don't hesitate to contact me and we can chat over the phone, or meet for coffee.  Or a tiki drink. 

I look forward to meeting you!

Kindly,

Risa