Email: neill@outloudculture.com
Christine was born and raised in Koreatown, Los Angeles. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in fine arts, Christine became an Event Director, organizing multiple events at a variety of popular Los Angeles venues. Later, Christine began developing an interest in wedding planning. What started as merely a passion project, transformed into her career! Her event background gave her the experience and knowledge to help her clients get the best out of their venues and vendors. This led to the creation of her company, Live Love Create Events in 2009. Over the last decade, Christine and the LLC team have helped execute over 500+ beautiful events.
While working on a wedding during covid, Christine’s client who is in the film industry was inspired to write a film about his wedding being planned during the pandemic. Christine got the opportunity to not only plan their wedding in real life but also play the role of their wedding planner in the film! The movie titled “The Wedding Hustler” is set to release on Amazon. The film is especially meaningful to Christine because most of it was filmed in San Diego, her college home, and it features an all-Asian American cast!
Bride to Be’s dream of the opportunity for Christine to plan their weddings. Just recently, Christine planned TikTok stars, Kelianne Stankus and Chase Mattson’s beautiful wedding in Glen Oak, California. The wedding went viral, with all the beautiful attention to detail and the magical and warm aura Christine was able to create. Christine has the special ability to make her client’s visions come to life and not only exceed their expectations but help create unforgettable memories on her clients’ special day!
In her free time, Christine likes to express her creativity in other forms such as calligraphy, painting, knitting, and embroidery. She is also very active and loves to break a sweat by weight-lifting, practicing yoga, Pilates, and hiking. As far as philanthropy, she is passionate about Liberty in North Korea, an international NGO helping North Korean refugees escape and reach freedom. Christine is also a huge supporter of AAPI small businesses!
Hi Christine, welcome to OLC! So, before we begin tell us a bit about your story and your childhood and how you found the passion for the arts?
I grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles to immigrant parents from South Korea. As a child, we never felt we were ever in need or that we didn’t have much which was furthest from the truth. Our parents did a great job of keeping us safe and comfortable with the little that they had. My mother is a Korean Folk artist, and my father is a retired contractor. Naturally, because my mother was an artist herself, my two younger sisters and I lived a life surrounded by art all the time. I also inherited her creative genes which were cultured as I was growing up with the endless art classes that my mother exposed me to. The first memory I had was the Korean Calligraphy class I enrolled into when I was 5. I barely knew how to write my own name but was in class painting my version of the Korean alphabet with the brush and ink that was provided. As I got older, my mother did all sorts of research to get me into free art programs around the city to get me to become interested in the arts. Eventually, as a high school student, my mother mustered up the courage to spend her hard earned money for private fine art lessons in figure drawing and painting to prepare me to go to art school. My high school portfolio got me accepted into Otis school of art on a scholarship which our entire family was happy about. However, at a young age, I decided to be defiant and accepted my place at UCSD, declining the scholarship to Otis behind my mom’s knowledge while she was away in Korea on a business trip. Little did I know the debt that would come with this decision and that I would eventually go back to the arts. I thought being an artist was my mother’s dream but after making my own choices while in undergrad, I realized the arts was my passion and dreams as well.
How did you discover Wedding Planning and acting?
I think both of the careers (wedding planning and acting) found me. As for wedding planning, it was a combination of things that led me into this role and it all happened organically. I grew up trained in fine arts and as many know, art/painting can only get you so far, So while I was practicing in my early 20’s I worked in the service industry as a server for many years to make ends meet. The company I worked for saw me hustling hard as just a server and eventually asked me to train other FOH staff for events that were being held at the restaurant. Being the lead server/host for the small events at the restaurant led me to bigger off-site events and then to a job offer working with other companies as an event planner. However, being a corporate planner never really filled my cup. I wanted something more creative hence diving into the world of weddings. A daydreamed of that requires attention to detail, aesthetics and design that represents the couple that is to be wed. Anyone can plan something and be meticulous about logistics, however, I brought a bit more to the table having an art background. I combined my love of arts with the skillsets learned working in the service industry to plan, design and execute my couples dream weddings. Live.Love.Create Events was born in 2009 and our team continues to push ourselves to bring our couples wedding visions to life.
As for acting, I was working with a couple re-planning their wedding that got postponed and canceled due to the pandemic. The hustle began immediately since they wanted to get married sooner than later since their family members were waiting years for them to be wed. However, Chris the groom also happened to be a writer, director, and producer. He took our real life experience and was inspired to write a script on the life and process of how Asian American weddings are planned! The wedding planner in the story was based on my character and Chris asked me if I would like to audition for it. Although I didn’t have much experience, I gave it a try and got the part! This also happened very organically and being able to be a part of this project was just as creative and filling as planning a wedding. I can’t wait for more opportunities to come!
You are in the upcoming Rom-Com ‘The Wedding Planner’, can you tell us a bit about the film and who you play?
My role is the wedding planner in the film! A real life character comes to life on screen. You can see me as the spicy Asian version of JLO from “the wedding planner”. The wedding planner (aka: the wedding hustler) helps plan a surprise wedding with a groom that is low on his luck and funds. A funny romcom following the duo coming up with a plan to make one bride’s dream wedding come true.
How did the role in the film come about?
As a real life wedding planner, I was working with a couple re-planning their wedding that got postponed and canceled due to the pandemic. The hustle began immediately since they wanted to get married sooner than later since their family members were waiting years for them to be wed. However, Chris, the groom happened to be a writer, director, and producer. He took our real life experience and was inspired to write a script on the life and process of how Asian American weddings are planned! The wedding planner in the story was based on my character and Chris asked me if I would like to audition for it. Although I didn’t have much experience, I gave it a try and got the part!
You play a wedding planner in the film, how much of you has gone into the role?
It felt surreal to play the role as a wedding planner in the film. Sometimes pure brain confusion between reality and not because it was all so emotional for me. I didn’t really have to act the part because I was the part. Therefore, being a real wedding planner in real life definitely helped with the role. The lines were memorized more naturally because they are things I would say in real life. However, there are moments/scenes that weren’t natural for me (such as fictional character scenarios) that I really had to study for. Overall, the whole experience was challenging and fun at the same time.
You’re quite passionate about the movie, what means the most to you about this film and why?
An extremely proud moment to be able to tell a fun rom-com story about the everyday joyous pains of planning a wedding with an all Asian-American cast! It means everything to me to normalize seeing Asian identities in film on a story, like a wedding, that ALL humans from all over the world celebrate in their lives. This film is much bigger than just another wedding movie. It takes you through the journey of the lives of being Asian-American and how very normal it is like everyone else’s.
Aside from acting your also very passionate about Liberty in North Korea, can you tell us a bit about that?
My grandfather was actually one of the few that escaped and made it to South Korea from Northern Korea during the Korean war in the 50’s and eventually made it to the States. He lost his entire family and lost touch since he escaped, and it saddened me that he was never able to find his family again. He passed many years ago now, but I still feel pretty strongly about the conflict that is still present today. Many Korean families are still torn and broken with no hope for unification. What’s worse is that those that are currently living in North Korea have no chance of a free life and face forced isolation from the rest of humanity and brutal repression. Yes, we see in media headlines of the military threats North Korea puts out to the world every day, but do we hear enough of the North Korean people that are facing the biggest threat of all? I hope to bring even a little attention to this topic so that the world does not forget that great repression on innocent people are still present. You can find more information, help and donate at https://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/
What is next for you in 2023?
My team and I will continue to help those getting married by planning the most memorable event for them. However, for acting, hopefully more opportunities to play roles to bring APPI stories to screen! And who knows… I might be the next Marvel superhero….. HEY MARVEL!!! It’s Silk’s turn! 🙂
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