Fall Welcome Baby Shower

Description

One of my best friends is expecting a baby on Christmas Day.  I partnered with her sister-in-law to throw a couples baby shower for the expectant parents.  Caty and Matt are not finding out the sex of their baby so we knew we needed to work within a gender neutral palette.  Who doesn't love a challenge?

Design Inspiration

The shower coincided with the start of the Fall season, which in East Tennessee has special meaning.  The colors of the fall foliage are more vibrant here than anywhere. While we were still a few weeks away from "peak season," we wanted to welcome Fall with an autumnal color palette, that incorporated some of the season's first pumpkins in the decor. To personalize the party, we framed baby photos of the mom and dad-to-be.  We also incorporated these photos on the back of the invitation. In addition to a selection of wines and beer, the drink menu included a "maternity mocktail" that featured fresh mint, juices and ginger ale.  The mocktails tasted better through the custom colored paper straws we ordered on Etsy.com.  For dinner, we served pork tenderloin medallions, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, shrimp orzo, Middle Eastern hummus and vegetables, portobello brie cups, and a selection of cheeses and fruit. We selected a variety of cupcake flavors and had the baker match the icing to the colors in the invitation as well. Printables with a damask design topped the cupcakes and served as perfect menu cards on the buffet table.  The baby banner, however, was a DIY project.  With some colored paper, vellum, scissors, a hole punch, yellow string, and a thin brown marker pen, I free-handed the letters as they appeared on the invitation, cut out the circles and placed them on the string.  I searched online for a matching font, but to no avail.  The DIY banner turned out better than I could have hoped for...and added that personal touch!

Decorating Style

I love traditional design especially when mixed with modern elements.

Project Details

Invitations - Tiny Prints Printables - Gartner Studios Hydrangeas - Sam's Club Citrus Mint Cooler - Allrecipes.com Burlap - JoAnn Fabrics Paper Straws - Etsy

Favorite Items

One of the best values?  The hydrangeas purchased through the Sam's Club website.  Just a little bit of advance planning leads to having beautiful flowers delivered to your doorstep for much less than your local florist would likely charge.  Choosing "bulk floral" over a florist means you will need to provide your own vases.  You will also need to channel Martha Stewart to come up with floral arrangements that suit the party, but it can be a lot of fun! Another favorite of the party?  The cupcake display!  We bought clear glass plates at Target and placed them on top of candle holders turned upside down!  The candle holders were on loan from my mother-in-law.  The fluted tops (or bottoms, depending on which way you look at it!) securely held the plates in place.  These served as the perfect display for the sweet treats!

Advice

Rather than buying new table linens or renting them, we raided our own linen closets and combined them with some store bought fabric that tied the look together.  We purchased 5 yards of burlap which was only $3.99/yard at JoAnn Fabrics.  A few quick measurements and a sharp pair of scissors yielded a table runner for the buffet table, a table cloth for the side board, and a table topper for the drink table.