Hi everyone! I had my baby shower last month in Chicago where most of my friends & family live, and it was absolute perfection! As you know, I'm having a baby boy, but I really didn't want to go the 'blue' route, since the gender reveal was so focused on all things pink and blue. Instead, I really wanted to do a more bohemian/rustic theme, incorporating lots of eucalyptus, wood & bright neutrals. It turned out exactly as I envisioned! I sent lots of pics/videos to Sonny (he stayed back in Texas with the dogs) & he said it reminded him so much of our wedding. Hey what can I say I guess I have consistent taste, haha!
My dress is from the ASOS Maternity line (linked here!) & surprisingly the fabric was so stretchy & comfy! I was only 28 weeks at my shower, because I didn't want to be flying too far into my 3rd Trimester, so the belly was super baggy on me. I took it to an alterations place down the street from my house & she took a few inches out & it turned out perfect! I made the welcome sign as well as the Donut Board (pictured below) with my Bestie a few weeks prior to the shower. I flew to Chicago for my friend Megan's baby shower 3 weeks before mine, so it gave me a chance to DIY these signs for a fraction of the cost of buying them or trying to ship them from Texas! All I did was create stencils using my Brother Scan N' Cut & then we bought some wood from Home Depot, stained it with Verathane Weathered Oak & painted the stencils with some white paint.
I brought Dr. Seuss' book, "Oh The Places You'll Go" to use as a sign in book for everyone who attended the shower. One day our little guy can read all the well wishes from all the people who love him so much!
The Donut Board may or may not have been the reason I chose 'brunch' as the food menu! It was so cute & lately donuts have been sounding so good to me (normally I'm not a sweets person) so it was a win win in my book! My best friend's Dad was nice enough to install the pegs for us, which was for the best because power tools were involved, lol!
We had lots of sweet treats as well as salad, chicken milanese, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, quiche and more (all my favorites!).
Would you believe me if I told you this naked cake was $19 from Walmart?! I couldn't believe it! And we got so many compliments on how good it was too! Everyone thought it was from a professional bakery because it was so moist (cringe-worthy word, but so true!). My Mom was getting quotes from other bakeries for $75+ & then decided to give Walmart a try & we couldn't believe how cheap it was. I had a naked cake for my wedding, and I wish I would have used Walmart instead of the price I paid!
With good food you need good drinks, right? I loved the idea of having a "Momosa Bar" & it went with the brunch theme so well! I designed the Momosa Bar sign & got it printed at Walmart for only $20. I loved that I designed everything myself, so that I could match all the fonts as well as the eucalyptus/rustic theme. I'm sure nobody notices these OCD things but me, lol! I ordered the gold rim carafes from Target & the plastic champagne flutes from Amazon. My mom made sure there was at least 1 bottle of non-alcoholic champagne for me & my pregnant girlfriend, Megan, to sip on!
The table arrangements were absolutely beautiful! My Dad was nice enough to make the wood slabs for each table & then we ended up seeing almost the exact same thing for purchase at Target. He saved us a lot of money, but it's good to know you can purchase them, if needed, to achieve the same look! I made the Baby Benso toppers with my Brother Scan N' Cut, Hobby Lobby gold glitter paper, and popsicle sticks!
The white and gold plates were from Amazon as well as the gold plastic silverware (not pictured). The custom Baby Benso napkins are from Etsy. The custom cookies also doubled as party favors & are from a local baker, Grandma Smiley's Cookies. I also used her for my bridal shower because her cookies taste amazing! I created the 'Predictions for the Baby' pictured above & had them printed on cardstock at FedEx, then cut them out at home (as well as the games we played). I saved all of the guest's predictions, so it'll be interesting to see if anybody guessed baby's arrival date!
The photo backdrop was definitely my favorite part of the shower & the part that caught everyone's eye! Hey, I'm a blogger & I love a good photo op, what can I say?! Haha! The balloon garland and 'Oh Baby' cutout were both from Etsy; my sister in law did such a great job assembling the arch! She also 'borrowed' the weeping willows from a tree in her neighborhood, lol! I was having the hardest time finding faux vines because they all looked so fake & cheap. She took matters into her own hands & made a late night trip to the tree in a black ninja outfit, she's the real MVP! Haha!! I ordered a photo booth stand from Amazon & it worked perfectly to hold everything in place!
Since I live in Texas, but had my baby shower in Illinois, I wasn't able to open my gifts in front of everyone. All of the gifts had to be shipped to my house ahead of time. My mom came up with a good idea for me to pose with all my gifts in the nursery & have the photo framed at the shower, so everyone could see what we got & how loved our little guy is already! I'm still amazed at how much stuff he has & how spoiled he already is!
That wraps up all the details on my Rustic Baby Shower! We are less than 8 weeks away from meeting our miracle baby & we cannot wait!!
FAMILY/FRIEND GUEST PHOTOS:
