Still on a high after last weekend’s baby shower on the West Coast. Originally I thought I wasn’t going to really do any baby showers but God ended up blessing us with two. All my family is on the East Coast so it worked out that we went home for Christmas and could celebrate and my good friend Elizabeth offered to host at her house in LA so we were able to do one here as well.
Having all these ladies together to celebrate a new little lady coming into the world on #InternationalWomensDay was honestly a coincidence but ended up being perfect. It made me realize the strong community I’ve grown while living in LA these past 9 years. Sometimes we get so caught up in work and LA can feel like a lonely city. It was so nice to sit back and see all the ladies I’ve met along the way who are so beautiful inside and out and genuine humans who just wanted to celebrate this moment with me. I will never take that for granted.
Thank you ladies for making this day super special. And thank you to Elizabeth for hosting at your house, Melissa for doing all the flower arrangements and helping with the aesthetic, and my sister for always being there to help with anything. It was an amazing day!
DESSERTS
All the desserts were made by Sweet E’s Bake Shop. They were not only pretty but very yummy. Everyone raved about the cake pops and the cake was so moist and delicious. They give you the treats in a way that they are super easy to transfer over into whatever set up you want to arrangement them on.
CATERING
We were going to just provide the food ourselves then realized ain’t nobody got time for that! And sometimes it can be not only more time consuming but more expensive to do it yourself. And time is money! So we had catering done by The Kitchen in Pasadena who are amazing because they can cater to your budget. The idea of catering seems daunting and expensive but they really worked with us and the food was amazing! We picked whatever we wanted from their menu (we chose brunch options) and they brought it to the house room temperature and we warmed it up when it was time to set up. You can even drop off your own dishes for them to cook the food in so it’s all pretty. We asked them to send the yogurt parfaits unassembled so we could create them in these pretty glasses instead which ended up looking so cute. They do big and small events so from just dropping off the food to coming to your house cooking everything with servers and setting up all the tables. Just depends on how big your party is and the budget you want to spend.
RENTING TABLES AND CHAIRS
The create the long rectangle table we used cheap folding tables from Target that Elizabeth already had. Slap a tablecloth on top and no one will know the wiser. The cushioned chairs are from her home as well. We needed more seating so we rented the round tables and wood chairs from Arcadia Party Rentals in Pasadena. We ended up renting them just two days before the shower and they were super easy and accommodating and also really affordable. They do a drop off day before and a pick up the day after your event and you can choose the kind of tables and chairs you want. Originally we were going to have an indoor /outdoor situation but I’m glad we were able to have all the ladies outside. It worked out perfectly. The dessert table was also a folding table from Target we just covered in some pretty fabric.
PARTY GOODS
Harlow and Grey were so gracious to provide the plates, cups and napkins which really added to the aesthetic. These items are made out of paper but look so gorgeous and expensive and the quality is impeccable. It kept the event luxurious and also eco friendly without having to do a million dishes afterwards! They have different styles and they are all so pretty. They will definitely be my go to for future events. They also provided the “Congrats” cake topper.
FLOWERS
We got all the flowers and garland at the Flower Mart in Downtown Los Angeles. If you are looking for a lot of flowers for an event, this is the place! You can get really good deals which makes it so much more affordable then hiring a florist or even going to the grocery store. I was lucky enough that Melissa worked at a florist back in the day so she was able to create the arrangements after we bought the flowers.
BALLOON ARC
Back in the day I use to help my friend David @popspaceballons with his ballon creations. He hasn’t been doing them as much lately but came out from retirement to create this beautiful balloon arc for me. He’s so talented and I appreciate him so much. If you need a ballon arc for your party in the LA area, let me know and I will get in contact with him! He works fast and can cater the colors to your theme!
VENUE
Many people were asking where the venue was but unfortunately it can’t be rented out as it was at my friend Elizabeths home. (I know gorgeous right?!) She had the perfect outdoor space for this garden themed shower.
WELCOME SIGN
I bought the welcome sign on Etsy as a print so it was super affordable and then I had it printed at Got Print. If you live in LA you can just pick it up from their facilities and they also ship around the country. I got mine printed on foam board and it came out great.
INVITATIONS
I sent out the invitations using Paperless Post. I bought the invites from Etsy and then just used that design for my invite. (They also have plenty of invite designs you can create on your own on the site). It’s super easy to use and you can really cater it to your aesthetic. The best part for me is I was able to keep track of all guest. You can see who opens the invite, who RSVP’s and who can’t make it. If they sent an email message it was all in one place on the site so I could keep all the responses organized. I was able to send all the ladies updates all at once and you can even put a cap on the RSVP’s. It was my first tie using Paperless Post and I loved it. The only thing is it’s not free but its also not outrageously priced. I think it cost me about $20 to send out all the invites.
GAMES
I got all the games from Etsy. I purchased a Bingo game, and some “answer the question” games. We also did a measure the bump game where you just use string and have everyone guess the size of your bump! We didn’t end up using Bingo because you have be mindful to print out the different arrangements so everyone doesn’t have the same pattern! So ya we messed that one up haha
The shower ended up being really easy to put together and I’m so grateful for the help of my friends and sister. Now I’m getting deeper into nesting mode and need to organize all these gifts and get the nursery done! Can’t wait for baby girls arrival! 1 more month!
If you have any questions about the shower, leave them in the comments below!
xx
