#MYVIPNIGHT with Place d'Orleans Recap

Last Saturday was a very exciting day and first for me: I hosted the Place d'Orleans #MYVIPNIGHT at the mall. As most of you know, I'm the mall's fashion vlogger but this goes beyond my duties as just that. Hosting a live show versus sitting in front of my camera are two completely different things and while I love public speaking, that's not to say there aren't nerves that kick in.

There was a lot of preparation leading up to the show, on everybody's part. For me it was a couple trips to the mall beforehand to pull together six looks to style the six mannequins that would be on display. I had full creative control to pull what I wanted from the participating stores, focusing on fall trends. Additionally, we were having six local bloggers come and model three pairs of shoes each so I was pulling all the shoes from various stores in everyone's proper sizes.

The day of the event came and everything went wonderfully. I am slowly putting together a video of the day and evening, but in the mean time, I'd love to share some photos with you of the event...

I arrived at the mall shortly at 1pm to this; the stage was being pulled together and there were several men working to make this happen. Everyone was kind of running around, doing their tasks and counting down until show time.

I grabbed a rolling rack and went on my merry way to collect all 6 outfits, and 18 pairs of shoes needed for the show. It took a lot longer than anticipated--or maybe I was just optimistic--to gather the outfits. The stores would either scan in the items or write down the UPC codes. I went from store to store which took over an hour. I brought my rolling rack back to the stage area, grabbed a trolley and ran off to collect all the boxes of shoes which took another hour. Here are pictures of the six mannequins I styled:

By 3:30pm, the stage was fully set up, we put the mannequins in their positions and things were really coming together. I knew my shoe models were coming for 4pm and I still needed to organize all the shoes. There were really no time for pictures at this point, I was running all over the place and Marco hadn't shown up to film just yet. A couple minutes before 4pm, I ran outside to my car and literally changed in the parking garage into my dress & boots.

The stage is set and we are ready to go! Four mannequins were set on-stage flanking the shoe raffle table (the other two by the photo booth); in behind you can see where the silent auction was set up with over 20 items to bid on. There was a spot for mini-makeovers, a lounge area with leather couches, Dress for Success was there as all proceeds were being donated to them & a really cool photo booth with plenty of props to keep everyone happy. Additionally, the entire event was catered so servers were walking around with beautiful looking appetizers and there was a table full of cosmos!

Starting the show! It was such a rush being on stage and welcoming everyone to the event. I went over some general information, what they could do within the event, special promos at the mall that night, when the fashion show & prizes were being drawn, etc.

Halfway through the two-hour event, I hosted the shoe fashion show. The girls killed it with each pair of shoes and we all had a blast.

Me & the shoe models--in their own shoes at this point--had some fun in the photo booth post show.

My number one fan and supporter came out and played camera-man all night so I could have footage of the evening, which I can't wait to share with you!