Kristin's Shower
Baby it's you, you're the one I love. Thanks Bey.
I wanted to share some details on the baby shower that I threw for my dear friend Kristin. Baby showers can be a toughie in terms of decor (that isn't full of ducks or images of cartoon babies) so I wanted to share some tips. My goal was to create an event that felt innately like the sweet mama to be...
THE GAL
Before anything about the shower, it's important to talk about the future mom. Anyone who has the pleasure of knowing Kristin, will talk about what a sweetheart she is. Her kind spirit is something that always surrounds her. She's creative, empowering, and has the best laugh when she finds something genuinely funny. There are so many aspects about her character and heart that will make her the best mama because they have enabled her to be an attentive, loyal friend. I am deeply grateful to be able to do life with this beautiful gal and that we got to celebrate a new adventure in her life.
TABLESCAPE
Kristin's style is very simple and chic. She lives in neutrals and has a penchant for the color white, leafy greens, and anything feminine. With all this in mind, I decided to go with a line of greens down the center of the table. The bulk of it was made up of salal leaf, seeded eucalyptus, and some fern leaves with other smaller sprigs mixed in.
I started by laying down the fern leaves as they took up some great real estate. I then layered in the eucalyptus and salal and finished it with the smaller, lighter variety. Give yourself some time to do this so you can play with it. Start with your base and slowly build...you will see the holes and the stems that have to be cut or changed. I intentionally arranged some so that they would slightly come down in between place settings.
TIP: I wanted to have a rustic, free look. If you are looking for something a bit more linear, use a thin fishing net to keep everything organized.
DECOR
I aimed for the tablescape to be the main focal point since I knew we would be spending a significant amount of time there. But, you of course need other details to fill in the rest of the space and create some dimension in the room as well. I used blush peonies to bring some color and sweetness. Visually, flowers bring so much life so even if the arrangements are uber simple, utilize them in some way.
The other main decor piece were little gold frames that held different quotes that had the word baby in them. I did a fun internet search for quotes and lyrics that spoke to a baby shower well. The frames themselves were a great find at TJ Maxx-they had all different sizes and were inexpensive at $4-9. It was fun to watch guests read the quotes and take photos of the little frames that were scattered among the greens and around the venue.
TIP: Mix it up with the quotes: some heartfelt, some fun. I had everything from Beyonce lyrics to lines from literature which adds to the treasure hunt of reading them all.
FOOD/DRINKS
For drinks I did a 'momosa' bar. I had different types of juices and bowls of fruit for people to play with and then add in either champagne or sparkling juice/water. Most grocery stores have a nice variety of both so I got everything from a grapefruit juice to your typical orange. For fruit, I chose strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries as all are a nice addition to the juices I went with and hold up well. Sliced lemon and limes were there to add flavor or just to garnish. Make sure to think of the mama-to-be when shopping. Kristin has been craving lemon for most of her pregnancy so I made sure to have a lot of citrus present.
For food, I decided to go with different tea sandwiches. They are a fun way to play with different flavors and not serve anything that's too heavy. On the side, I had dips, cheeses with crackers, and sea salt chips with an avocado dip. I will do a separate post with those recipes!
TIP: I prepped a lot of the tea sandwich elements the day before so that the morning of the shower all we had to do was assemble them. This takes off some pressure and allows you to skip the time consuming washing/peeling/chopping.
ACTIVITIES
Because Kristin is a genius, she preferred not to do any shower games. I did a happy dance that we wouldn't have to put candy bars in diapers (yes, that happens at showers). Instead, we made custom onesies and had all guests fill out a 'wish sheet' for the babe.
I got a collection of iron-on patches from Etsy and packages of onesies in various sizes from Target. Each of the gals were able to pick a patch to iron-on; it was fun to see the different spots they chose making them truly one of a kind. For the 'wish sheet', I just put small sentiments with blanks for them to fill out about about/for the baby. I thought it would be a sweet showering of love for Kristin and Matt to read together.
TIP: For the onesies, bring a tabletop ironing pad to protect the table you set it up on. This was an easier set up than having an ironing board in the middle of the space.
THE GUESTS
I used Paperless Post to send out the invites. It allows you to design the invite and communicate with the guest list as a group. I typically love paper invites, but thought I would try this method for the shower. For favors, I got various beauty items from a mask to some yummy lotion. Simple and fun.
Other than that, the guests were a collection of the most amazing women. From blogging to owning businesses, they are living out what it means to chase down dreams while building community. I am lucky to know each of them and grateful they were able to come celebrate our friend.
Tip: Surround yourself with fun, magical women.
A huge thank you to Venue 3 Two for partnering with me on this post and providing their beautiful venue. Their staff is the absolute best and made everything flow seamlessly. All opinions and content are my own.
Sincerely,
Ashley
*I partnered with Venue 3 Two on this post but all content and opinions are my own.