Imagine the excitement when I heard that Shhh was going to make her debut in Trinidad on the year I've decided to risk it all!
The initial purchase was a bust because of the website/app's security but my carnival twin quickly scooped up the tickets. What I normally think of as a red flag, I overlooked as it's Natalie! She does no wrong in my eyes when coming to putting on an event.
Fast forward, it's time to start organizing outfits and times of each event. I looked at Shhh's ticket and saw that the starting time was 12pm. So the plan was to be at Shhh damn near when the doors open so we can have a time, leave from there to bathe, change and get ready for my carnival twin's husband later on (KES).
On the day of the fete, we get to the front of the dance and it appears to be unopen.
CONFUSION
First time ever reaching a fete so early because we can't disappoint KES. I mean, he has to see his wife there supporting him. I see this woman who seemed to be 'in charge', I asked said woman what the problem was. Paraphrasing, she said that she wasn't ready to open as yet. She said that everything was ready but she just couldn't let us inside as yet. Understandably, whatever it was it wasn't something that a patron needed to know BUT this caused a little panic because at the same time, I had a madman of a driver that wasn't too keen on leaving his precious cargo out in the road but we couldn't go inside.
Just to get an idea of how long we'd be waiting outside for, I text Natalie. Because this was the actual day of her event and I'm sure a very busy time for her, I wasn't expecting an answer. Nope. I got a reply almost immediately that they were opening the doors right now and within seconds, they did.
Walking into Shhh was beautiful. There was an elevated plexiglass platform that we walked on. Inside of it were flowers and greenery that were beautiful! After attending a good amount of all inclusive events, I have been a little spoiled by their cups. The cup we were given was a little underwhelming. The Shhh sign, same thing. The major focus point for pictures had a cutesy little swing but I could not understand if the fete name SHHH why would the 'sign' be missing an H? The decor wasn't to Natalie's standards and that was a bit disappointing. I am quite familiar with her level of decor and to walk in and see what Shhh TT had to offer made me sad FOR her! I know what this woman puts into her events/brand so to see this let me know that she had a local ground team who failed her. That's it. It wasn't something that she herself put her hand in or else it would have been a horse of a different color.
Now, would I do Shhh TrinidadTT again? YES.
I was asked if I would only do it again because it's Natalie. That's a yes and no. That is how much faith I have in her. I believe once she saw what happened in the first year she would go back to the drawing board and return with both hands swinging! The issues I had were fixable and were honestly petty and minute. There were no major hiccups that would cause me to blank future years of Shhh TT. Take for instance, her DJ was honestly one of the best if not THE BEST that I've heard in Trinidad! Sadly, this was the only DJ that knew how to keep the momentum without killing the same 10/15 songs. There was a nice mix of old, new and plenty in-betweens. That in itself says a lot (for me). I HAD A TIME!
Question is, will she be bringing Shhh back to Trinidad or will it be a one hit wonder like Shhh Miami?
KES IZ WE DROPPING AT 12
