I’m Brenda Cali, Owner and Creative Director of Events at Gatherings for Good!
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area which is where my passion and love for events began. Growing up in a big Italian family, parties were a normal part of life, almost on a weekly basis! Birthdays, holidays, weddings - there was always an occasion for a get together. Naturally being around parties and celebrations I learned a thing or two about hosting events and fell in love with the process of planning! I have always been super passionate about details and am a logistical queen directing, managing, and overseeing all the moving parts and pieces on the event day so you don’t have to worry about any of the details. I’ve always been a detail oriented and organized person. My favorite places to hang out as a kid were the library or a stationery store surrounded by paper, pens, and books. I loved to make lists and still do!
As I got older I realized those skills were very useful when I started working in the corporate world where I took on roles in administration and marketing. Inevitably I gravitated towards any and all company events helping to plan sales meetings, team building events, organizing birthdays and holiday parties. Event planning came easy to me, I enjoyed it, and I was instinctively good at it.
Living in the Bay Area allowed me to explore my passion for event planning even more when I started volunteering my time to work with other event and wedding planners who taught me the ins and outs of the industry. After moving to Santa Barbara in 2008 I quickly became part of the local events community there and worked with some of the most amazing and talented wedding and event professionals on the Central Coast. During that time, I also started to get involved in the non-profit community and volunteered my time planning fundraisers and other special events with a charitable giving aspect.
When I was ready to start my business in 2014, the name Gatherings for Good was born. It combined the passion I have for event planning along with my commitment to supporting local charitable causes. Through my business I have been able to donate money, time, and resources to help support causes I care about and help raise awareness to so many wonderful organizations in the community.
Bringing people together has always come naturally to me and it is my honor and privilege to share that with my clients. My Absolute favorite part of planning events is the moment everything comes together and you get to see all the months of hard work pay off. Seeing someone’s ideas or vision come to life is truly a moment I always look forward to. Knowing I was able to help create and execute a wedding or special occasion and see my clients smiling and enjoying themselves when the day finally arrives is the best reward there is.