What happens when 1,200 people want ice cream… and the ice cream isn't frozen, the staff isn't staffed, and the vendor is panicking? Welcome to event planning, where even dessert can go completely off the rails, but a great event magically still gets served.

In this very first episode of Mayhem & Method, host Jen Santos welcomes award-winning event planner and founder of Beyond the BEO Shanondoah Nicholson for the "scoop" of an ice cream activation that went… let's call it "soft."

What starts as a simple employee appreciation treat quickly spirals into melting logistics, missing communication, and a crash course in "everyone grab a scoop and go." This episode is a behind-the-scenes example of why, and how, even experienced teams can find themselves in sticky situations.

Top Takeaways from Shanandoah & Jen's convo:

• Event pros don't panic—they pivot (and sometimes scoop ice cream for four hours straight)
• Vendor communication is everything… until it somehow isn't
• When things go sideways, it's less about blame and more about fixing the process (and maybe rinsing off your arms later)