An Interview With Jen & Jay Ryall: Tips To Planning An Immersive Zoom Baby Shower
Today on The Mag we are featuring Jen & Jay Ryall, a husband and wife founding duo of two creative studios in LA. A few weeks ago, I attended the best Zoom event I’ve been on since pandemic started and it happened to be our good friends’ baby shower (that’s not a phrase I ever thought I’d write) hosted by Jen & Jay. Learn more about their creative work, their guide to throwing the ultimate Zoom baby shower and much more!
Introduce yourself, your family, and brand.
We are a husband and wife team who founded two historic properties and built them into creative studio venues with focus on community growth and historic preservation. We help brands we believe in reach their full potential while building a creative environment for them to thrive in. We also cultivate thoughtful memories through purpose driven events and product launches. Our first location, Naked Eye Studio, was born in June 2019 and our newest location, The Clara Los Angeles, just officially opened in October 2020. Who launches a new venue in a shut down industry during a pandemic?! WE DID!
Hosting a baby shower is no small feat! What were the initial theme ideas you brought to the table? And what theme did the (awesome) couple choose?
I really wanted the parents-to-be to feel involved in deciding the theme. My goal was to create an environment that celebrated the new baby but that also represented the couple and how they were feeling about their experience. I narrowed down themes to four choices - sending them a quick mood board with accompanying visuals. The four I chose were Night Sky (moon and stars), Forest Meadow (rustic wilderness), Wild One (baby animals), and Adventure Awaits (outdoor quest). They picked Adventure Awaits as they decided having a baby and becoming new parents felt like their biggest adventure yet. I loved how involved they became in sharing their emotional discoveries. From there, I mocked up six designs fitting the Adventure Awaits theme (ranging from plaid and wood colors, to travel inspired visuals, to camping and nature elements) and they narrowed it down even further choosing a mountain vibe design!
The Clara in Los Angeles
What were the most important elements to include in the shower for parents to be? Did they have any specific requests to make the event memorable?
Due to us being Zoom virtual event newbies, we all didn't quite know what to expect and, therefore, the couple really left it in my hands. It was key to them that there not be a focus on gifts or gift opening but some of the other "usual" items (food and games) were also off the table when moving virtually so I felt a little stuck creatively with how to fill the event in thoughtful and creative ways.
Can you share your event checklist to help others plan a similar event?
My process when organizing an event revolves around the guest experience. My intention is to always leave a memorable moment or feeling. I believe pulling the guest in from the instant they receive an invitation and allowing them to feel like they are involved (not just attending) is so important.
My checklist begins with
Narrowing down a theme
Tieing in all of the elements that will support the theme
Visual imagery and mood boards are important for me to focus all of the ideas into one centralized spot to ensure the look and the experience connects
Move from invitation and theme design to sourcing vendors and curating the flow of the event
Finalize a timeline and use this as a guideline for any last minute details
Tell us how the baby shower went! What was the final structure of the experience? As hosts, did you and Jay also virtually “MC” the event and did that help the flow of events?
I was ultimately VERY nervous as this was my first attempt at a virtual event and I had never used Zoom before! I am definitely not good with tech and I am grateful that my husband Jay stepped into that role or I would've been a stressed mess!
Our final flow began with a guest intro. Most of the guests were friends of the couple but had not met before. There were also a couple of family members included.
I requested that intros followed the theme of Adventure Awaits - guests were encouraged to tell stories about an adventurous experience they had with one or both of the new parents. This instantly made the room feel like a community of friends and had us all laughing and learning more about the couple.
Next, in lieu of standard baby shower games, I launched a virtual scavenger hunt where guests were given 30 seconds (shared a countdown timer to everyones screens) to look over a list of ten random household items and then 3 minutes to rush around and grab up any items they could find. To my surprise, many guests actually completed the full list and we had to run a tie breaker. It was amazing to see what folks pulled together and how creative they got to fulfill the list.
Our next portion of the event concentrated on the couple's childhood adventures as kids. I asked them a series of questions prior to the shower and designed a slideshow with 12 questions. We used a Zoom poll for each question and guests would guess which new parent "loved eating pennies as a kid" or "was allergic to grass" or "has never changed a diaper before". The results were very fun!
Lastly, I surprised the couple with a grand finale using flying wish paper. I sent out packages of flying wish paper to each guest in advance and we all took out our papers, wrote a wish for the new couple on them, and lit them into the sky together. It was a magical ending!
All in all, my goal was to not go over 90 minutes and we hit just that. My husband really helped keep the flow of the event moving as he is very familiar with Zoom and great at keeping things on track. Ultimately, we celebrated the couple with sharing our personal stories of their adventures, learning about their childhood adventures, and sending out our wishes for them into the universe. I felt both the couple and the guests were fulfilled with their experience!
Anything else you’d like to add?
In these modern times, it might feel overwhelming to celebrate in such a different way. The pandemic has reminded us how much true connection really matters. If you focus on building an experience that you yourself would cherish as a guest - that will prove you're on the right track.
And finally, where can we find you?
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