“A girl must be two things: classy and fabulous.” The famous words of Coco Chanel!
I created a color palette of black, white, and light pink – everything from plates, menus, the cake, and centerpieces.
The event took place at the lovely Branches in their waterfall garden, and were fortunate to have a beautifully sunny and warm October day! It was so warm in fact that only half hour into the party, we needed to bring in large umbrellas for shading to provide comfort and some heat relief to the guests.
Guests entered the garden to find a table with escort cards designed to resemble Chanel perfume bottle labels.
Custom designed bookplates with an area for guests to write a personal message sat on a bistro table with the latest ultrasound photo of Faith. I was completely amazed that with 71 guests attending the shower, Faith did not receive one duplicate book for her library!
An area was created to display the hors d’oeuvres consisting of fruit, vegetables and crudite, and antipasta including fresh mozzarella, eggplant, artichoke hearts, and roasted peppers.
The tables were draped in black satin pintuck linens with pink pinktuck napkins. We choose a pocket-fold for the napkins to display the layered menus. Empty bottles with Chanel-inspired perfume labels displayed the table number.
The centerpieces were crafted using Sweet Akito roses to form a lovely pink ball atop a black urn. In lieu of traditional favors, my mother and I decided to make a contribution to the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at Monmouth Medical Center, the hospital where Faith will be born. At each placesetting, a small card informing guests of our decision was attached to a March of Dimes awareness bracelet. It was touching to hear how many of our guests appreciated this gesture.
I requested that the guests bring their gifts wrapped in black and white, and was so pleased to see that most of them did. Some guests even got especially creative with their wrapping.
Guests were also asked to dress in black and white – with pearls encouraged! It was a request, but I also knew my guest list where most of our family and friends wear black at weddings, etc. so this was not something too out of the ordinary or drastic of a request.
The exquisite chocolate cake with mousse filling was made by Elyse of By Little Hands, the same fabulous woman who created Cibella’s Jolly Holiday cake. I sent her the inspiration board I created for the shower, and left it in her hands! It was delicious! She will also be creating the cake for Luca’s upcoming party with a flavor I am super excited about (I am going to leave that surprise, for now!)
The shower was a wonderful success and loved by everyone, but most importantly my sister. At the start of the shower, I toasted the soon-to-be mom, wishing her well, a healthy daughter, and of course, a quick delivery! Faith is scheduled to make her official appearance soon, and I cannot wait to meet her! Welcome to motherhood, Melissa – I know you are going to be a wonderful mommy!
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