Last fall I had the opportunity to help shower my sweet sister in law as she prepared for the arrival of my little nephew. It was in Napa at my parent’s house and so lovely. Every stinkin’ detail was adorable and made possible by many helping hands. The photography by Sarah Anne Risk is out of this world lovely. If you’re in the bay area I could not recommend her enough. The harvest colors and pretty textures are perfect inspiration if you’re planning a party this fall.
In these pictures I was about 27 weeks pregnant with Aubrey although didn’t know it was a girl at the time. I thought my nephew was going to have a partner in crime, he still might, haha! I hear little girls that have two older brothers can hold their own. Now because I live on the opposite side of the country, I relied heavily on vendors and family support in order to plan this from afar. I had most of the items shipped straight to my mom’s house so I wouldn’t have to pack items. We dolled out the tasks between family, I was in charge of making it lovely, the design and look of it all. I went with linens by La Tavola Linens (Beckett Sand in Kings Drape), chairs, tables and blue goblets by Encore Events Rentals. I made some of the table arrangements and then a sweet family friend made the others.
I loved the idea of a party favor for guests that was practical and welcoming. We filled beautiful wood berry baskets with a the napkin, local honey, some rosemary-infused California olive oil and an orange in celebration of both the sweetness of little ones and the harvest season. How cute it looked sitting on each place setting.
When planning a party don’t assume the inexpensive option is to rent items. Always check the cost difference between buying items vs renting, especially if it’s an intimate party. Alyssa had about 27 guests. In our case, the pretty scallop plates were plastic and found on Amazon and the chargers I bought on clearance at Pier One Imports. It ended up being much cheaper to buy chargers at about $2 each compared to renting them at about $10 each. I loved this herringbone rattan pattern and have used it for many parties since. It’s no longer available online but I tried to link some similar ones below that will add a textural feel to a tablescape.
I used vintage canning labels I found on Etsy to cover regular old tin cans to be used as vases. This added a vintage feel and played on the harvest theme. How adorable are they!? You can easily buy these different kinds on Etsy.
A moment of silence for this adorable dessert table. Isn’t it amazing what linens do? I bought this stripe fabric, Magnolia Home Fashions Brunswick denim on the cheapo from an online fabric site and simply draped and pinned it to a 5 ft folding table from Walmart. I do this with a lot of my parties because the options are endless and it adds instant charm to have a tablecloth that goes all the way to the ground. I got the vintage-inspired pictures above the dessert table off Etsy here and here and hung them on the glass window with your trusty command hook. Add some pretty flowers, a darling set of vintage blocks, vintage-inspired metal sign and the cutest pair of shoes and you’ve got baby shower perfection.
The cookies were made by Aujanes sweets on Etsy. She was able to work with a last minute order and shipped them directly to my parent’s house. I love to get a plain cake and decorate it. The finger bite treats were made by family.
Alyssa’s dad is an amazing chef and therefore the spread of delicious food options was astounding. He and Alyssa’s mom made some amazing dishes and the table they put together was beautiful.
How cute is this little family captured beautifully by Sarah Risk!? I can’t recommend her enough for family pictures and events. These are precious memories and I’m a firm believer in giving away this task to an expert. Life is too short and too hard to not wildly celebrate the lovely. Welcoming new life is a lovely thing indeed. Now come to find out, Alyssa is a baby whisperer when it comes to sleep and now trained to be a sleep consultant. That little dude of hers is the most well scheduled baby of all time and I can’t recommend her enough. If you’re looking for help sleep training your baby, please contact me and I’ll pass along her information.