My amazing mom and sister hosted the most beautiful outdoor baby shower for me a couple of weeks ago and I was left speechless! I will soon (very soon) be welcoming my third little bundle of joy and our family couldn’t be happier. Being that this is my third baby and second son, I actually wasn’t really planning on a baby shower. For one, we had planned for this baby, so I made sure to keep all of the main baby essentials, not to mention, I store all of my children’s clothing that’s in really good shape or just too cute to giveaway. Plus, the fact that it was my third, I didn’t want people feeling obligated to have to buy us anything.
*Caro's Crafting Bullet Journal of the event.
Over the course of the pregnancy, I was actually quite surprised at how many people asked me about a shower and when I was doing one. When I would give them my response, they thought I was being silly. Regardless, I really wasn’t planning on one, especially when even a “small” shower doesn’t exist because I have a large Cuban family and so many friends who we consider family…who am I kidding? Well, my mom and sister totally surprised me!! My sister asked me if I would be available a certain date because she knows that between all of the birthday parties my kids have, summer vacations, etc., they would have to seriously “save the date”. I didn’t think twice about it, but she went on to tell me what it was for and that everything was already taken care of. I WAS IN SHOCK!!!!! I’m usually the one in my family giving surprises and can keep a good secret, especially about something like that. So yea….super SUPER surprised, happy, emotional and beyond thankful!
They told me to make a registry and where and when to show up…that was it! If you haven’t already noticed, every party that we have ever hosted, whether it’s been a party of mine, my mom’s or my sisters, we have always planned and organized TOGETHER..every detail from start to finish. This was definitely a first for me, but I was soo excited to see what they had planned. The only surprise was that everything turned out even more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined, especially because of all of the details that were entailed and because most of them were DIY.
To save money, we made our own "Save The Dates" and "Formal Invites". They were printed on white card stock and placed in neutral tone envelopes.
Purchase these stock photos via TWG Designs (she can also custom make any invites you want for a great price!). CLICK HERE for TWGDesigns.
Like every party, the last few days leading up are the most stressful and filled with the most work because of certain details. For example, if you’re having fresh flowers and making arrangements, you need to buy them by a certain day so they open up right. Well my shower was on a Saturday, so Thursday after work, I showed up to my mom’s house and told them literally “USE ME AND ABUSE ME”!! I told them that I understood that they didn’t want me to help, but I also know how anal and detailed we all are and that they could probably use my help. Well, I’m glad I showed up! I ended up leaving at 1:30am and took a half day the following day to finish up whatever they needed or would let me be a part of.
*Pinterest Mood Board was created.
When I got to the house that Thursday afternoon, I was blown away with how much they had done especially the week of and all under my nose. Let’s just talk about the flowers for a minute shall we? My sister had been saving different wine and beer bottles to use as center pieces and accent arrangements all throughout the party. They were filled with fresh eucalyptus, wild flowers, pink and white peonies, yellow roses and blue thistles to name a few…simply stunning! Every arrangement was different and more beautiful than the next. They were so fresh and soft, yet somewhat masculine for the baby shower..it was perfection.
The next detail I ABSOLUTELY loved was the “Flower Market” my sister had created by using different wooden crates and a big metal galvanized tub. My sister’s original thought was to set up all of the flowers she had bought like an actual market and then have the guests make their own arrangements and wrap them in craft paper as they left the party. But reality set in when thinking more about 50 or so women making arrangements and not having enough of certain flowers, etc. So the next best thing that she created was already making premade arrangements wrapped in craft paper inside individual mason jars to take home. This is when I showed up and was able to help. My mom, myself and my sister each took different combinations of flowers and went to town…this was a lot of fun to do and looked really beautiful when it was all done!
Keep in mind that because of all of the parties we have thrown, we have our own “party inventory” of different sizes and colored crates, chalkboards, vases, mason jars, cake stands/trays, wooden centerpieces, etc. Believe me, the list goes on! I have bought big storage boxes over the years and just take really good care of our pieces and store them away safely so we can continue using them. Having said that, my sister had written the most adorable quotes and sayings on different chalkboards using a chalk pen (TOTALLY recommend!!) and had them placed all throughout the party. My sister did buy an oversized chalkboard on an easel that welcomed our guests. After she wrote the message, I helped her staple a faux eucalyptus arrangement she had made to one the sides that cascaded along the chalkboard. It was beautiful!
My mom and sister ordered a rustic/vintage looking partition they found online, which my sister wanted to use as a prop to hold up floral crowns she had made. The partition actually came with a pretty striped linen fabric, but we actually cut it out and left it open. We hung twine across the entire opening and then individually hung each crown for everyone to take and wear when they walked in. It was topped with one of the fun chalkboard signs my sister had written.
My sister brought down her white wooden desk from her room, which she used to set up all of the desserts. She also MADE 3 delicious cakes, lemon bars, cheesecake bites and peanut butter cookies from SCRATCH. I made my famous individual fruit trifles and we had chocolate covered oreos, twinkies, marshmallows and lollipops from our favorite local vendor, Wendy’s Chocolates.
One of the biggest surprises were the wooden rental pieces for the bar, food and chairs for the tables. These were big statement pieces and so beautiful! They were adorned with delicious catered food and the chalkboard signs and florals my sister had created. It was a very beautiful shower and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It had been raining in Miami for the last two weeks straight and it finally let up a few days before the shower. We prayed soo hard and God delivered!
This beautiful day, surrounded by those I love most, was very special to me and my family. I will never forget the way mom and sister made me feel. Baby Matthew is already soo loved and I cannot wait for him to get here. Enjoy the DIY process pix and seeing how everything came together (More pix below! Vendor lists, timeline lists, scroll down)!
Lots of Love,
Sylvia
Hey everyone, It's Caro...
Before we scroll down to more photos, I'm just going to list a couple important things that made the shower possible (vendors, timelines etc.)
CHALK BOARD/IVY/CROWNS/BOTTLES/INVITES
These are items you can have done weeks in advance. The crowns, bottles and signs were done fairly early. We did all of our props a couple weeks in advance, but bought or organized pre existing items a month prior. The only thing we were waiting for that came late was our partition for the crowns (which will be used for many things). By the time you reach one week before your event, try to have all the non perishable decor DONE!
FLOWER TIMELINE
Preset buckets of water and have ice on standby. Styrofoam coolers worked best as the chilled water lasted for the two days.
have bottles, mason jars and any other items for flowers, filled with water and set on the table.
For bouquets have craft paper and string or twine of your choice on standby. I bought my craft paper in the dollar section at Micheal's (step by step blog post to follow).
Buy/Pickup flowers on Thursday morning (party on Saturday).
Place flowers in bucket(s) of ice water.
Begin with centerpieces. Followed by bouquets.
Keep flowers indoors until a couple hours before the party. The heat can cause major wilting.
CAKE TIMELINE
Baked all day on Wednesday (party on Saturday).
Froze and refrigerated all items for storage of perishables.
Friday defrosted cakes, filled, layered, stacked.
Saturday added fresh cuttings of flowers just an hour prior to party.
VENDORS
EVENTS by BEA: Catering, Rental Furniture (Fun fact: Sari Sosa (Sylvia's wedding planner back in 2010, she's basically family). CLICK HERE for EVENTS by BEA.
CARO'S CONFECTIONS : Cakes, confections, dessert table, floral crown, flower arrangements/set up. CLICK HERE for CARO'S CONFECTIONS.
BERKELEY'S FLORIST SUPPLY : Local wholesalers who supplied all the beautiful blooms and greens. CLICK HERE for BERKELEY'S FLORIST SUPPLY
WENDY'S CHOCOLATES: Chocolates and candy gifts. CLICK HERE for WENDY'S Co.
JILL KAHN PHOTO: Event photographer and custom photo books. CLICK HERE for JILL KAHN PHOTO.
Please enjoy some of the party pictures below...
When the dessert table is set, you know you've reached the end!
XO,
Sylvia & Caro