kirbie tachograph: EAT DRINK PRETTY: Real party: a rustic baby shower (for my BFF!)

Monday, September 24, 2012

EAT DRINK PRETTY: Real party: a rustic baby shower (for my BFF!)

On Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for my best friend, Kristin. ?She is having a baby girl in mid-November and her friends and I wanted to throw a very special party for her. ?Kristin has LOTS of friends and there were about nine gals that all helped out. ?We had the party at my new house, which worked out well because I still have a couple rooms that are unfurnished, so they made for nice, open spaces for pretty decor.

We had a subtle rustic theme, inspired by Kristin's nursery. ?We incorporated branches, lots of browns and a little splash of red, playing on the accent color in her baby's nursery.

One of my favorite elements was the chocolate dessert table, especially the beautiful chocolate cake that served as the centerpiece.

Best part of all, Kristin enjoyed the shower and had a great time mingling with her friends and family.
When guests arrived, they first saw the wish table. ?We asked people to fill out a card with a special wish or piece of advice for Kristin and her baby girl. ?We then hung them from twine with clothes pins. The wishes were hole-punched and tied with twine for Kristin to take home (Kristin hosted my baby shower and I stole this idea from her!).? I took maternity photos of Kristin a couple weeks ago, and displayed them in a rustic-looking frame and in an old window.The paper items were super easy and DIY. ?I used paper doilies, and folded them over with a touch of glue on brown paper. ?I wish I had better handwriting! The drink table for mimosas, sparkling juice, coffee and lemon water. ?I found cute, red and white striped paper straws on Amazon.? I wrapped red baking twine around the coffee cups for a little color.? All the flowers were from the Mpls Farmers' Market, they were mostly dahlias and were absolutely beautiful. Each mason jar was wrapped with thick twine.? I made a DIY burlap bunting that said "Baby Girl". I wish I had a better photo of this, it turned out way better than I expected. ?I used stencils and white acrylic paint and regular glue to adhere the triangles to twine, it was tied on each end with cream ribbon.? My friend Melanie brought long tables and all the chairs. ?We put white tablecloths with a burlap table-runner, and topped with a couple mason jars filled with flowers.? The menu is always one of the most important elements of any party.

We served brunch and included:

Four different types of quiche
Fruit salad
Croissants and pastries
A cheese platter with baguette and crackers
Roasted potatoes
My friend Libby made all the quiche and they were a huge hit. ? The beautiful momma-to-be. ? Kristin loves chocolate and while we were planning her shower we almost booked it at a chocolate shop inside a mansion in St. Paul. ?We ended up deciding against it because it is a new venue and doesn't seem to have it together yet, so instead we had a chocolate-themed dessert table.

The back-drop was simple white foam core with brown ribbon taped on it, inspired by Live the Fancy Life.
This cake was as delicious as it was beautiful. ?Our friend Amy (who lives in DC and couldn't make the shower) ordered it from Queen of Cakes. ? Yummy, mini cupcakes from Sweet Retreat.?Kristin got tons of awesome gifts.