I’m so excited to share with you the details from my recent trip to San Diego to participate in Operation Shower! There is so much to share that I have to split it into 2 posts! This one will cover the setup and pre-event and the second one will cover the day of the event.
So, let’s start with when I first got the invite! I was sitting in the chair at the nail shop 8 months pregnant when I checked my iPad and saw the email inviting me to be one of 12 event designers and bloggers taking part in a table design event for Operation Shower….I gasped OUTLOUD! And then I scrolled down and saw the names of the other designers who would also be participating and my JAW DROPPED! I must say I did do the happy dance! My manicurist had no idea why I was so overjoyed…I didn’t care! I immediately called the hubby to make sure he was down to go as we were expecting our baby in late December and I would have to take the baby with me as the event was in January!
NOTHING was gonna keep me from heading down to sunny San Diego for the honor of participating in Operation Shower along with such amazingly talented event designers. Not to mention, I am totally IN LOVE with Amy Belle Isle and her work with Operation Shower. Operation Shower San Diego will join with the PGA TOUR’S Birdies for the Brave® military outreach initiative to provide a group baby shower for 40 military moms-to-be whose spouses are deployed members of the U.S. Military. The “Sunshine Safari” themed event was held during the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open at the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, San Diego. Shout out to LeAnn Morrissey, Founder and Chief Shower Officer and Amy Belle Isle, Chief Event Planner for taking Operation Shower across the country. Since 2007, they have showered more than 600 women! OH YES! What an organization! I’ve only been emailing Amy every month asking to be involved in any way I can. THANKS AMY for the honor!
As the month progressed more details emerged…we were all to design a seated table for 8 guests around the theme “Sunshine Safari” and…GET THIS….it was being sponsored by Pottery Barn Kids. This was heaven for me as I love Pottery Barn Kids and loved that we were able to incorporate PBK products in our table design. We also were provided really cute printables from Paper and Cake to incorporate into our tables. So, we were all given the same theme, PBK products of our choice and printables to design a table with our own flair and interpretation of the theme! I was so pumped up to see what my fellow designers would come up with! Abigail from Paper and Cake has just now made the “Sunshine Safari” printables available for sale, so you too can host your very own “Sunshine Safari”
But first, I had to figure out what in the world I was going to do! I was 9 months pregnant at this point and had to keep myself focused. See, I had the tendency to zone out into “La-la land” daydreaming about what my baby boy would look like…what’s he doing in my tummy right now…hmmm…I really want some chocolate peanut butter ice cream and of course…wow…can’t wait to hold my baby! So, with all that going on in my head..I had to design a table to be showcased amongst my peers. Did I mention who those peers are? A STELLAR lineup of Hostess with the Mostess, The TomKat Studio, Maddycake Muse, A to Zebra Celebrations, A Blissful Nest, Thoughtfully Simple, Cupcakes and Cutlery, Shawna Brockmeier Styled Events, Paper and Cake, Your Bash! and the sweets table was being designed by Sweets Indeed including marshmallow pops by the amazing The Marshmallow Studio. I KNOW…I KNOW…THE PRESSURE! I better snap out of it and get crackin’!
Pottery Barn Kids created a Pinterest board for us designers to pin our inspiration pics. It was very cool to see the pics that my fellow designers put up there and it was a cool experience for the public to see us designers in brainstorming mode.
So, I came up with a design, and the day I went to place my order for the Pottery Barn Kids items I wanted to use…they were all SOLD OUT!!! OHHHH NOOOO! Did I mention, it was the last day to order…so, I had to start back at square one and come up with a completely new concept! After scouring the PBK website again, I came across the cutest little Elephant wearing a tutu. I knew right away she would be my inspiration for the table. I mean Elephants wearing tutus having a tea party in the middle of the jungle makes perfect sense…right? After that, I picked a few other PBK items to compliment my tea party concept, raided my Soireé Event supply house and a “Girly Safari Tea Party” concept was born!
The day finally came and I was really nervous! I was so happy that I had done a trial-run setup of my table before I came so there were no surprises! Nervous and all…I put my big girl pants on (literally! I am still in maternity clothes for crying out loud!) and marched in the tent and went to do my thing! The day before the shower was our day to setup. It was really quiet–everyone was a bit reserved and focused on their table designs. Could have had something to do with the fact that it was FREEZING, WINDY and POURING DOWN RAINING!!! Our poor fingers were frozen.
In the midst of that…this bubbly woman walks over and introduces herself…it’s Alejandra…the “Marshmallow Queen” herself from The Marshmallow Studio…FINALLY WE MEET! She is such a sweetheart and soooo TALENTED. She made me at ease right away! Then my girl Jenn Sbranti (Hostess with the Mostess) comes over and we chatted about our post-baby lives. Now I’m feeling better 🙂
Let me tell you, set up day was a rare look into my fellow designers setup process….seeing how they prepared and setup their tables was interesting. I admit, I was glancing over at everyone’s table trying to see if anyone else was using the tutu elephant! When I didn’t see anyone using it, I was doing the happy dance inside! Check out the fab photos taken by Dez and Tam Photography that captured all the behind-the-scenes action.
That night, Amy arranged for us all to have dinner together. This was a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other and have fun. AND FUN WE HAD!
I sat at a table with Michelle from Maddycakes (My new BFF!), Nancy from A to Zebra Celebrations, Rebekah from A Blissful Nest and Alejandra from The Marshmallow Studio and Shawna from Shawna Brockmeier Styled Events. We had a blast! Laughing…trading stories….taking pictures. From the “OMG” dramatic entrance of Michelle to the “dirty” martinis, tequila flowing and even Amoxicillin we had a ball! So fun! Thanks ladies for a great time!
Next up…..Day 2….Operation Shower Event Day!
Links & credits:
Photography of Setup Day: Dez and Tam Photography
Soiree-Event Design Pinterest Board for the “Girly Safari Tea Party” table design
Great post Tonya, as I was reading I felt like I was reliving that day. I cannot tell you how happy I am that we finally got a chance to meet and get to know each other. You are very very sweet and genuine. I”m sending many hugs and kisses your way for you and your new baby boy 🙂
Such a beautiful post for an amazing organization would love to get involved with them!