After months of planning, organizing, marketing, and working HARD on this evening…. it all went by in the blink of an eye!
The day of, we were up early that morning, setting up and packing swag bags. Then we all went our separate ways for hair and make-up. (I went and got a beautiful braided hairstyle done by Got Hair Color Salon) By the time we all arrived back at The Bevy, it was a whirlwind of practice, run-throughs, sprucing up, selfies, more practice, and nervous waiting.
Then our first guests arrived!
Picture walking into this beautiful new hotel. The restaurant is busy, the bar is hopping. You’re ushered down the hallway to our event. The smiling face behind The Christmas Shoppe is there to greet you at our check-in table.
Second stop is our selfie station. The background is a salute to our wonderful sponsors, donated by Circle H Signs. The gorgeous couch and furnishings were donated by Catrina’s Interiors. Guests could squeeze in together, smile, pose, and click away.
Then it was on to the cocktail hour!
All kinds of appetizers, cheeses, and fruits were out for the taking. The bartenders were busy serving up wine and concocting delicious mixed drinks. And all kinds of vendor booths were set up, to hand out information, hand out samples, and make some sales.
Check out the amazing range of our Boerne brick and mortar businesses, products, and services being represented:
The Flower Shop
Gallery 195
From Scratch Farm
The Christmas Shoppe
Wheeler’s Feed & Outfitters
Fleur Botanicals
Gina Marie’s Art Studio
Joli Boutique
Rustic Heart Resale & Vintage Treasures
Pixie
La Te Da
Tootie Pie Company
Once the shopping frenzy was over, guests gathered around the runway. Barbara (owner of Joli Boutique) opened the show, talking about the reason for the evening and the importance of shopping local, and introducing me. And then I had the privilege of getting to present Ashley (Joli‘s manager and the brains and brawn behind the whole event) with roses from all us and The Flower Shop. Ashley was introduced, thanked, and honored. And then Tim Handren (our mayor and emcee for the evening) took over, introducing all of our businesses to the attendees.
And next thing we knew, there was darkness, followed by our lights and music. It was a flurry of excitement! It was over so quickly!
I still haven’t gotten to see the other shops’ videos of their time on the runway. But I do know some had completely inexperienced “models” (just like me), some had kids, there was one dog, and then there were some shops with real professionals. Here’s who was in the show:
Joli Boutique
From Scratch Farm
The Pearl Antler
Wheeler’s Western Outfitters & Boutique
Mommy 2B
La Te Da
Rustic Heart Resale & Vintage Treasures
Pixie
And somewhere in the middle of that was a break, more shopping, more drinks flowing. I snagged a pretty magical and tropical drink from the bartender. 😉
And at the end of the night, all of our amazing donated prizes were given away in our raffle drawing.
Cheers, hugs, tears, excitement, compliments, and more! Ended on such an incredible high!
Now, you know I’ve got to take a moment to talk about my shop. My models were (and walked to “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire):
Kim Blohm- President and CEO of our Boerne Chamber of Commerce; wearing my Mama Hen tee with skinny jeans; a total natural on the runway
Ashley Tamayo– a From Scratch Farm brand rep this quarter; wearing our Fresh from the Farm Texas tee with skirt; a little out of her comfort zone (but totally proud of her)
Jessica Lynn Strom– instagrammer/influencer; running for Fiesta 2020 Riverwalk Royalty!; wore our Boerne Latitude/Longitude tee with sequin skirt; pulled off a disco move at the end of the catwalk
Tori Bellos- the marketing specialist behind the Boerne Visitors Center; wearing our You Can’t Buy Happiness, But You Can Buy Local tee; strutted the runway without tripping up too much (yep, I saw that, Tori!) 😉
Taylor Wells– San Antonio Blogger Babe; lifestyle influencer/scoliosis blogger; wearing our Locally Made Tractor tee with skinny jeans and beret; pretty sure she’s walked runways before, either recently or in another life
Beth Legge- Owner/curator of the Boerne Handmade Market; wore our brand new Shop Small tee with skinny jeans; I don’t know how she pulled off arriving late, getting her make-up on so quickly, not getting a run-through practice, and still rocking it when her time was up
Me and Evan- I was in our brand new Save the Planet tee with skirt; Evan was in our From Scratch Farm logo baseball tee and jeans; we practiced a coordinated disco move over and over again, and still didn’t get it right; we are definitely no professionals! But apparently he was a hit with the audience!
Next, I have to give thanks to everyone that helped us with costs, helped us advertise, and loved on us. We couldn’t have done this without:
San Antonio Magazine– published the show on their calendar of events; let us set up a booth at their Sweat SA event, to hand out information
The Boerne Star– ran a couple of articles leading up to the event and attended the evening
The Texas Wildflower Magazine– helped us promote, with an article in their e-newsletter and lots of social media mentions
Sowing Seeds Blog– helped us promote, with a blog post and social media highlights
SA Live– welcomed us and models into their studio, for a segment about the show
Ranch Radio Group– had Ashley into their studio, to promote the event on their show
Kendall County Woman– donated an ad (and wrote up a blurb)
Boerne Business Monthly– published a whole write-up, to help us promote
Great Day SA– gave us a great chunk of time on their program to show off our pop-up shops and a preview of the fashions
Jam Broadcasting– had Ashley on the air, to talk about the show
Garner Custom Homes– sponsor
Kendall County Roofing– sponsor
Texas Star Nut & Food Company– sponsor
Soda Pops– sponsor
Corner Cartel– sponsor
Circle H Signs– selfie station sponsor
Time Out Sitters– provided free babysitting to our attendees; sponsor
Boerne Chamber of Commerce– swag bag sponsor
Christofilis Custom Homes– sponsor
Audi Dominion– sponsor
Laurie Saunders Antiques & Interiors– sponsor
Woodforest National Bank– sponsor
Catrina’s Interiors– selfie station sponsor
The Flower Shop– provided floral arrangements
Designs by Celestina– sponsor
Blackboard Bar B Q– donated a whole dinner spread for our models
And our photographer for the evening- Lonestar Pineapple Photography!
(I had time to take just a few of the pictures included in this post. All the rest are hers!!!)
Plus a THANK YOU to every single business that donated something to our raffle or 200 items to our swag bags! It would take me forever to list all of them!
Every penny raised (after our location, food, and operating costs), all $6821.50, was donated to the Kendall County Women’s Shelter!!!!!!!!!!! Helping them “provide safe, emergency shelter in a supportive environment where Texas Hill Country victims of domestic violence and their children can begin the healing process and receive the support services they need to build new lives.”
And now that all is said and done, I’m sure you CAN’T WAIT for our next show! So I’ll spill the beans… that the event is now moving to the spring of each year.
2nd annual Boerne Retailers’ Style Show & Shopping Event
at The Bevy Hotel
Saturday, March 21st
again benefiting the Kendall County Women’s Shelter
Mark your calendars!!!