The Team Behind Your Event

We Create Memories That Last a Lifetime through Our Event Planning and Production Services

SideDoor Events is a full-service event planning and production company based in Redondo Beach, California. Since 2004, we’ve partnered with corporations, nonprofits, athletes, and brands to produce events that are executed flawlessly and remembered long after the last guest leaves.

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Every event we produce is built from scratch — concept, design, logistics, and execution — tailored specifically to your goals, your audience, and your brand. Our team includes project managers, designers, floral directors, technology specialists, and logistics experts who collaborate on every project from first call to final breakdown.

How We Got Here

Beena Patel spent nine years at Toyota before founding SideDoor Events in 2004. She left corporate life with a clear mission: to build an event company that treated every client’s vision with the same precision and care she’d bring to her own. Not a vendor — a partner.

What started as a one-woman operation in the South Bay has grown into a full production team serving clients from Los Angeles to New York City and Las Vegas. The work has evolved — from intimate dinners to 10,000-person fan activations — but the approach hasn’t. Every event begins and ends with one question: what will people remember?

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Beena P.

Principal Planner and Designer

Beena Patel is the founder and principal designer of SideDoor Events. After nearly a decade leading operations at Toyota, she launched SideDoor in 2004 with a simple conviction: that events are one of the most powerful tools a brand has — and most companies aren’t using them to their full potential.

Over the past 20 years, Beena has produced corporate conferences, nonprofit galas, sporting fan activations, grand openings, and private celebrations across the country. She brings equal parts creative instinct and operational discipline to every project — and she holds her team to the same standard.


SideDoor Events is 100% minority-owned. Beena is deeply rooted in the South Bay community, where she lives with her family.

Irene A.

Principal Designer

Irene Asturias brings 20 years of international event experience to SideDoor. Her specialty is luxury gatherings — the kind where every element, from the entrance to the exit, tells a cohesive story. Irene is the person on our team who sees what an event could be and won’t stop until it gets there.

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Alfredo G.

Director of Technology

Alfredo Apolinar has spent 15 years at the intersection of technology and hospitality. With a degree in Computer Science and two decades of experience as a DJ and audio specialist, he understands both the technical backbone of an event and how it feels on the floor. At SideDoor, he ensures that every system — sound, lighting, streaming, production tech — runs without a hitch.

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Jamie O.

Director of Floral Design

Jamie Milan is a self-taught floral designer with over 15 years of experience turning spaces into environments. He’s produced floral installations for high-profile events across the country, and his network of growers and suppliers means he can source anything, anywhere, on deadline. Jamie’s work doesn’t just decorate a room — it defines it.

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Selvin L.

Director of Logistics and Custom Build

Selvin Lopez has 15+ years in operations management and has served as SideDoor’s Chief Operations Manager since 2020. He oversees logistics, scheduling, custom builds, payroll, and vendor coordination — the unglamorous work that makes glamorous events possible. When things get complicated (and they always do), Selvin is the one who keeps everything moving.