Spring-themed Baby Shower [Plus Budget Breakdown]
Our baby was due to arrive at the end of Spring and we were holding our baby shower at the start of Spring. So I wanted the baby shower to be Spring-themed: think greenery, blush tones, with a touch of gold (much like our wedding motif, ahh I am so feminine, it's so predictable, but I love it). To start, I prepared my vision board of how I wanted the party to look like and feel and then commissioned one of my best gal pals and creative extraordinaire, Shine - who somehow made the party look like I spent $5,000 on the party when I only spent a fraction of the price.
Planning The Baby Shower
Traditionally, someone plans and hosts a baby shower for you, but these days and especially in our crowds, it is totally normal to plan your own shower. I found this weird at first and didn't want to do it. But as my pregnancy went along, my husband and I were overwhelmed by the amount of love and generosity we received from the people around us. We received love and gifts long before we even thought about a baby shower. And so we decided we wanted to host a party so that we can in turn feed these loving people some good food and host a fun event for them. We decided to host a party for everyone all at once - our friends from church, from university, from work.. and this is how we ended up with 80 people on our guest list.
For a party with a big guest list, there would be no way to do it on my own. But we are so blessed to be surrounded by amazing friends who are also so talented and creative. While Shine was in charge of decor, Margaux became our host, Rizza was in charge of games, Tom and Leeann were in charge of the venue and kitchen.. and then the boys helped us with the set up, became impromptu photographers and in charge of the music, etc. It was honestly so stress-free! I can't thank them enough!
The Food
I always think that with any party, you should spend approximately 80% of your budget on food. You don't want your guests to go hungry. And food is something that everyone will look forward to and enjoy. So I made sure to have a variety of food so that there's something for everyone. On the menu: Filipino dishes such as palabok, lumpia shanghai, and pork barbeque; cheese platters; fruit platters; pizza; sliders; sandwiches; chicken wings; and a dessert buffet. We ended up with SO much food left over that everyone got to take home a little food for later.
I have my friends to thank for making the set-up look so professionally done. And also, my "suppliers" like Ate Pippin who baked a gorgeous cake and delicious cupcakes and barely charged me anything (huhu I cry!). I mean, how beautiful is that blush cake with gold dusting? It tasted so good too!
The Party Favours
To continue on with my Spring theme, I chose succulents as party favours. The tiny pots I bought from Ebay at about $1 each and the soil and succulents came from the garden. My friends Greta and Anna helped me with these. How blessed am I to have so many amazing friends??
I wanted fun games and chose about 5-6. Rizza was so kind to arrange the games, the materials and the prizes. I'm pretty sure her kind and generous heart refused to let me pay for most of the cost so I don't know the ACTUAL cost for the games... Just got to thank God for friends who give so much love!! The crowd favourite for the games has got to be the Preggy Limbo Rock. I didn't know how flexible my friends are!
The Decor
The reason that the place and set up looked so extravagant even though it didn't cost me much, was because my friends are so resourceful and most of these things were borrowed - from the table cloths, the backdrop, the vases... the greenery were freshly picked from the garden.. the flowers are fake and from Kmart.. the table centrepieces were placed in empty wine bottles.. you get the idea! Again, all credit to the event stylist, Shine. To add some personal touches, I brought some photos from home. And Jeremy, who was in charge of music and visuals (unplanned and impromptu, thanks Jeremy!) - asked if I had some photos in a USB which I happened to have from the beach-themed maternity photoshoot - and we suddenly had an unplanned photo slideshow for the party.
The Budget
Tabulated below is the budget breakdown for the party. Remember, we had 80 guests whom we wanted to shower with food, love, and fun. However, we couldn't outgive them as they gave us SO much more love than we could ever ask for. This would have cost us a LOT more but our friends gave and contributed so much that the party cost was heavily discounted.
We have a million people to thank - not just for the love and generosity that everyone showed us during the baby shower (for the set up, the planning, the execution, the gifts, their presence) but for the love they give us everyday - for being part of our lives. Our baby girl is SO blessed to be surrounded by a community of people who care. I can't thank God enough!
Always,
31 comments
Such a wonderul baby shower and the food was really amazing!
ReplyDeletexx Rena
www.dressedwithsoul.com
Your baby shower looks so cute!
ReplyDeleteJennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
How nice to have this party for friends and family and your details are fun and pretty. Wow that is amazing the bulk of the funds were spent on food. And you now have lovely photos as a keepsake.
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
I love the decor, it seems like everyone had so much fun! :)
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xoniomaniax.blogspot.com
I love the decor with the balloons, I always wanted to create one for a special event!!
ReplyDeleteYiota
pinkdaisyloves.blogspot.com
That balloon decoration is so pretty! It makes for the perfect backdrop. I can tell by the pictures that this was a super fun baby shower!
ReplyDeletehttps://sundaydahlias.com
You look beautiful and it looks like such a fun party! Your friends did a wonderful job with all of the decorating! :) Congrats on a successful baby shower!
ReplyDeleteHope that your week has been good and you have a nice weekend ahead of you! There's a lot of smoke again around here but we are safe from the bushfires.
Away From Blue | Handbag Gift Guide
Such a lovely baby-shower. I love the set up and decor.
ReplyDeletewww.fashionradi.com
This special event looks so beautiful! Love the decor, you dresses and even the food ♥ ☁ ☂
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You look so lovely, best wishes!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
marisasclosetblog.com
What a lovely occasion! The gentle-coloured balloon installation is SO beautiful and creates a really lovely photo backdrop :) Have a fabulous weekend!
ReplyDeleteaglassofice.com x
This is such a cute idea for a baby shower! Everything looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteKathrin | Polar Bear Style
Oh, how wonderful! It is a pity we, in Russia, do not have such a tradition-to arrange a Baby Shower
ReplyDeletehttp://www.recklessdiary.ru
It is great that you started planning the baby shower early on - especially with a budget! It is a bonus when the party looks bougie when you saved a lot of money in reality! The food you served looks delicious! Glad everything worked out well!
ReplyDeleteNancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Oh you looks so gorgeous...
ReplyDeleteI am loving all the balloons
and that cake looks amazing and yum!
Ann
https://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com/
The concept is beautiful, I love the doughnut wall it's absolutely gorgeous and cute. Thanks so much for sharing these images with us!
ReplyDeleteLaura xo
www.shehearts.net
Ohh everything looks really pretty and cute <3<3
ReplyDeleteYou look so beautiful, GLOWING!!! Everything looked perfect. Have a great week hun!
ReplyDeletexx- Nina
http://www.stylingwithnina.com/
Happy Tuesday!
ReplyDeletexx Rena
www.dressedwithsoul.com
This baby shower looks so cute! I love all the amazing decorations, and the desserts look delicious!
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These pictures are lovely, love your dress!!
ReplyDeletehttps://julesonthemoon.com/
Congratulations on your baby shower Looks like a dream xoxo Cris
ReplyDeletehttp://photosbycris.blogspot.com/2019/12/ghostmoon-bags-out-of-this-planet.html
Your baby shower looks so cute! I love all the little details and the balloons on the backdrop. And you look beautiful!
ReplyDeletex Kara | http://karascloset.net
This was such a beautiful event. Love how you budgeted out everything too!
ReplyDelete- Avalon from www.simplyavalon.com
Love everything! Congrats!!!
ReplyDeleteThis theme is so happy and bright, love it! Succulents as party favors is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your baby shower with us.
Loren | plaidandsugar.blogspot.com
thats really cool
ReplyDeletehttps://zoomlabakalimm.blogspot.com
https://www.instagram.com/atelyetuta/
You look beautiful and are glowing! The shower looks amazing and so well put together. I know you must’ve had such a great time spent celebrating baby. I planned my own shower too :) It can be easier because you know what you’d like and as far as a registry goes, you know what you’d want for baby. Happy New Year, you have something really exciting to look forward to!
ReplyDeleteXo,
Jalisa
THE STYLE CONTOUR
Thanks for sharing! The photos are stunning *_*
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Oh wow what a beautiful baby shower! I hope you had the most amazing time. That balloon feature wall is amazing, you looked so stunning in your dress xx
ReplyDeleteGemmaEtc.com
What a gorgeous shower, and you are look absolutely stunning!!
ReplyDeleteMake Life Marvelous
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I read every single one. :)