Pregnant Ashley Graham Jokes Her Baby Shower Was 'Bigger Than My Wedding'
Ashley Graham went all out for her baby shower last week — giving guests quite the nontraditional experience.
On Friday, the 32-year-old supermodel, who recently revealed she is having a boy in January with husband Justin Ervin, celebrated her son on the way at The Foundry in New York City alongside friends and family.
Graham was a vision in red at her special event, showing off her growing baby bump in a custom red sweater dress from Victor Glemaud‘s Fall/Winter 2019 collection. The venue was decorated with “It’s a Mom” balloons and signs, along with tons of food like candy, cupcakes and more.
“In addition to celebrating our baby at our shower, it was important that we showed love to the new moms too!” Graham tells PEOPLE exclusively of the event, which was attended by 100 loved ones. “One of the greatest parts of this pregnancy journey has been making friends with and bonding with other moms.”
“There were six pregnant moms at the shower, who’ve all been a part of my support system,” she adds. “We talk about all of the different aspects of pregnancy and motherhood, especially around taking care of ourselves as well.”
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A post shared by Latham Thomas (@glowmaven) on Nov 9, 2019 at 4:12am PST
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Several guests at the bash shared photos and videos of the exciting evening, documenting some of the more unconventional parts of the shower.
For partygoers, including Gayle King, there were stations around the venue to get free manicures, tattoos and even piercings, as a rep for Graham tells PEOPLE and journalist Derek Blasberg captured on his Instagram Story.
“If you haven’t gotten your ears pierced or a tattoo, you have to do that. There’s so much food, there’s a big cake that’s bigger than the one at our wedding,” Graham told guests during her speech at the shower, which the model’s doula, Latham Thomas, posted on social media.
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Graham continued to joke that the shower was “bigger than [her] wedding” and was “like Christmas!”, later going on to thank all of her guests for being a part of such a special night.
“Thank you all so much. We can’t raise this baby boy without all of you — you’re our community,” she said.
The model spent the rest of the evening dancing and twerking with friends and taking photos with her loved ones. “Some things never change,” stylist Cary Tauben wrote while Graham twerked in a video.
The first-time mom-to-be also shared a picture with her mother and mother-in-law, calling them both soon-to-be “Proud grandmas!”
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Another big ingredient at the event? Frida Mom, a line Graham raves about to PEOPLE after they gifted her with a customized Labor & Delivery Postpartum Recovery Kit.
The “Ashley Graham Edition” box was designed with a custom drawing of the star giving birth and funny quotes personalized for Graham like, “Ervin-thing your vag needs to keep it real.”
“My friends at Frida Mom kept it real and surprised me with their incredible Labor and Delivery + Postpartum Recovery Kit, with must-haves for mommy post-delivery!” she tells PEOPLE.
“I’m so happy we got to bring our community together at baby Ervin’s celebration alongside all of our close family and friends,” Graham adds of her guest list, which also included Frida Mom Founder and CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn.
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The model announced her pregnancy back in August, wishing her husband a happy anniversary with an Instagram video revealing the news.
“Nine years ago today, I married the love of my life,” she began the post. “It has been the best journey with my favorite person in the world! Today, we are feeling so blessed, grateful and excited to celebrate with our GROWING FAMILY! Happy anniversary, @mrjustinervin ❤️ Life is about to get even better. 😘”
In the video announcement, Graham wore a form-fitting green tank dress that showed off her baby bump, while she and Ervin, 31, happily shouted, “Surprise!”
Since making the announcement, Graham has been candid about her pregnancy, sharing plenty of relatable moments on her socials including everything from stretch marks to food cravings.
