Baby Shower Storyboards Give Birth to New Ideas!

Family and friends often celebrate a new mom by showering her with gifts. Are you servicing these showers with flowers?

How can you position your floral business as the ‘go to’ for great baby shower ideas?

What makes floral party décor seem more like ‘child’s play’ than work?

How can storyboards help up-sell your party business? “What’s a storyboard?” You ask. 🤔 We'll get to that.

First, here’s the story of how one inspirational storyboard helped give birth to new baby shower ideas.

Planning a party long distance

Kelly Mace of Smithers-Oasis helped organize a baby shower for her daughter-in-law, Kerry Mace. Kelly turned to Chicago-area, floral pro - Stacey Carlton AIFD, EMC for her fresh flower decor.

Anticipating the arrival of their first grandchild, Rita Logan (Kerry’s mom) and Kelly chose the delicate décor of Urban Icing, in Chicago, Illinois for their ‘It’s a girl!’ celebration.

Baby showers are especially fun to plan because there are so many details to celebrate with.

Along with fresh flowers, food, and gifts - infant clothing, stuffed animals, books and photos can be used as party décor.

This was a true destination shower as neither of the moms or many of the guests live close,” says Kelly. “I think it is always fun to bring together people from different parts of the country.”

“The logistics of planning an out-of-state event were challenging,” says Kelly, “but we were able to hand the details over to the professionals, and they executed perfectly.”

Plans began with a storyboard

Kelly created a storyboard for the event. A storyboard is a visual presentation of illustrations, images, or details that tell a story in the sequence it should be delivered.

“Our inspiration for the baby shower was Kerry’s nursery Pinterest boards,” shares Kelly.  “We could really get a feel for what was inspiring Kerry and her baby registry.”

“Working with Kelly was a dream!” replies Stacey, owner of The Flora Culturist.

“She provided an intuitive and concise visual presentation of her inspiration and event information.”

“Kelly's storyboard was a beautifully curated time saver,” Stacey continues, “I highly recommend this approach as a clear path of communication that eliminates going ‘back and forth.”

Consider developing a digital storyboard format to share with your event customers. They can easily ‘fill in the blanks’ and create a visual guide of inspiration for you.

“We discussed a few specifics such as dominant colors, favorite flowers, and potential add-ons,” says Stacey, “the whole process was smooth and organic.”

Upon arrival, Kelly knew she was in good hands when she noticed that Stacey had even decorated the welcome sign with flowers.

Special flowers for the honorees

Kelly wanted Kerry to feel special during the celebratory event, so she asked Stacey to create a flower crown for her to wear.

“Creating flowers to wear is a breeze with floral adhesive,” says Stacey. “It's my trusty, ‘go to’ product for all wearable floral designs.”  

The grandmothers and great-grandmother wore matching pink floral bracelets and corsages.

Whether you’re planning an event for an arriving baby boy or girl, color can be a good place to start developing your theme.

Why blue for boys and pink for girls?

Why did we begin choosing blue for boys and pink for girls?

Before the mid-19^th century, babies of both sexes wore easy-to-bleach white dresses that facilitated fast diaper changes. 

In the early 1900s, pastels were introduced, and boys were dressed in pink while girls wore blue.

After World War II, Rosie traded her riveter back in for her ruffled apron, and 1940’s retailers began promoting pink as a feminine color.

The roles reversed. ‘Sugar and spice’ pink became the color for baby girls and ‘faded denim blue’ the hue for baby boys. A generation of Baby Boomers grew up wearing these popular boy/girl colors.

Today, neutral gender colors for babes continue to increase in popularity, but we still see traditional pinks and blues often used to celebrate baby showers and gender reveals.

How can you use colorful flowers to enhance these exciting events?

Dress the tables with centerpieces

Greet family and friends with arrangements of fresh flowers to deliver the non-verbal message that they’re the guests of a special celebration.

Suggest placing flowers throughout the event.

Highlight food with flowers

Color draws the eye to detail. Placing flowers on the cake adds interest to the sweet treat.

“One of the things we loved most were the flowers under the champagne glasses … such a special touch,” adds Kelly. “Stacey even had flowers in the ice for the ice bucket.”

Filling an acrylic box with flowers to place underneath the champagne glasses and freezing small blooms in cubes of ice for the champagne bucket are just two examples of Stacey’s attention to detail that made the shower décor more memorable.

“I love the positive community dynamic which seems to be particularly present at baby showers,” says Stacey, “you can always feel the love!

How can you increase this celebratory segment of your floral business?

Celebrate a lifetime of gatherings!

Create storyboards for your clients when organizing or selling events.

When working with wedding couples, offer your services (with an incentive) for the décor of their wedding showers and parties.

Let your clients know that you have the expertise to help them celebrate a lifetime of special gatherings, not just their wedding flowers.

Designing in a new venue is always exciting for you and the client. Discuss with the family where the unexpected placements of flowers can be most appreciated.

Share images, suggest themes, and ask directly for their business to inspire clients to hire you for every event, not just this once in a lifetime gathering. 

Whether you’re designing flowers for a bridal or baby shower the basics of business remain the same. Remember to ask for referrals!

Keep in touch

“It was lovely to see this warm, friendly group of people coming together to create a beautiful environment for the guest of honor,” shares Stacey.

“Nurturing relationships is the best way to continue business with clients and receive referrals,” Stacey explains. “Follow up with your customers and communicate your services for potential repeat business.”

Offer inspirational storyboards. Stay connected to nurture relationships. Always ask for referrals. What other ideas can you suggest for increasing bridal and baby shower business?

Please share your comments below!