Can you believe Baby Wilson’s Backyard Clementine Shower was already 6 weeks ago!? 39 weeks preggo writing this post, on big-time baby watch, and just swooning over these photos from our special day. With COVID protocols making event venues a nightmare to book, Tay and I opted to host our own Baby Shower here in our backyard! My mom and sister helped bring my clementine-themed dream to reality, as we transformed our yard into a citrus wonderland!
Kenzi Rowen documented every last detail of this event, and I’m so excited to showcase these awesome vendors! Truly a team effort showering Baby Wilson that day.
This blog post is not sponsored by any of the vendors listed below. Purely a personal review of my experience with their services. This blog post does contain some affiliate links via RewardStyle. By shopping these links, you are supporting New Cotton Blend at no additional cost to you . Please note that I only recommend products that I personally use; and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.
Dress: Shein
I loved the dress I wore for my shower! Throughout this pregnancy, I’ve had a really hard time justifying expensive purchases for maternity items that will only fit me in this current season of life. 33 weeks pregnant here, I had sized up 1 from my pre-pregnancy size. I fell in love with Petal & Pup’s citrus print dress, but couldn’t bring myself to spend $100+ on a dress I’d wear once. This citrus print dress is a Petal & Pup dupe! Under $30 from Shein! Shoes are Amazon, and run true to size. Click on the photo to shop directly.
Tables, Chairs & Linens: Abbey Party Rentals
We rented two long farm tables, twenty vineyard-style chairs, and gold napkins from Abbey Party Rentals. Not pictured, but also rented, were white linens to cover our buffet table and beverage bar. This was our second event renting with Abbey. If you are local to the greater San Diego area, highly recommend! You can choose to pick up your items at Will-Call, or have them delivered! The quality of these tables and chairs was so clear, and truly were a centerpiece for our backyard set up!
Florals: Trader Joe’s DIY
If there is one piece of advice I can share in this post, its this: Save your money on florals by making your own arrangements! This applies to Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Engagement Parties, Brunches/Dinner Parties of all kinds! I definitely suggest hiring a professional florist for a Wedding; but for a small, backyard event like this – creating your own arrangements is SO doable!
I purchased a set of glass vases from Amazon; then lined them with orange slices, and filled them with greenery, mini wild daisies, and white/peach roses. Use your extra greenery snips as garnish on your place settings. Create a faux garland, by laying large sprigs of eucalyptus down the middle of your table. I also purchased 3 large bags of cuties from Trader Joe’s to display in terra-cotta bowls (a dollar store find!). Grab a bulk bag of oranges to cut in half and display on the table. What cost me approximately $75 at Trader Joe’s, saved me hundreds had I paid for a professional florist.
Woven Charger Placemats: IKEA
Instead of renting chargers from an outside vendor, I chose to purchase these Woven Hyacinth Placemats from IKEA. At $5 each, they laid out the perfect neutral setting for our table. I know we will be using these placemats for several events in the future, so purchasing versus renting made sense for us. Have you read my post DIY Woven Wall Art? A great hack for these exact IKEA placemats.
When designing a tablescape, I try to use household items I already own, and add in some super affordable pieces that I can purchase now and repurpose later.
RELATED POST | Ikea Placemat Hack: DIY Woven Wall Art
Balloons & Backdrop: Creativa Company
Talk about a transformation! Erika of Creative Company, based in North County San Diego, spent a few hours in our backyard that morning creating this masterpiece. I loved the arched wood backdrop, the orange and peach balloon garland, and the rattan peacock chair! I was so impressed with Erika’s styled and skilled eyes to bring this look together. She made the rental process so easy, as it was a one-stop-shop for all the items in this look. The side table, the faux florals, the balloon garland, the arched backdrop, the chair + delivery/assembly/pickup! Could not recommend Creativa Company more. Certainly splurge-worthy for your next event! Check out my post on Instagram highlighting this look. And click here to contact her.
Cake: Cute Cakes Bakery & Café
Another local favorite. When Tay and I bought our home in North County San Diego a few years ago, I quickly wanted to find a local go-to bakery. A place to have in my back pocket for impromptu birthdays, events, or just a coffee date. We’ve fallen in love with their gourmet cupcakes, but this Baby Shower was the first time we hired them for cake. They did not disappoint. While we only had 20 guests at our event, we splurged for a cake that served 40 people so it would be more of a large focal point on the dessert table, and hellooooo leftovers! I emailed my Pinterest cake inspo to the decorators at Cute Cakes, and they helped me create exactly that! We designed a 6×8 two-tiered cake, decorated in a semi-naked style with buttercream frosting and a cream cheese filling. MOUTH WATERING. Again, if you are local to the San Diego area, check out Cute Cakes for your next event!
Cookies: The Sweet Chickadee Cookie Co.
I will forever be impressed by the talent that is The Sweet Chickadee Cookie Co. Another fabulous vendor local to San Diego. I reached out to this artist on Instagram with an inspo photo from Pinterest. She quickly responded with her rates and idea suggestions for our event. I loved the attention to detail in these cookie designs, and the gold accents! Individually wrapped, Sweet Chickadee’s cookies were the perfect favor for our guests to take home. Not to mention, a stunning decorative piece during the event! 10/10 would book again.
Stationary: Zazzle
Early on in our event planning for this Baby Shower, we fell in love with this vintage greens & clementine stationary suite from Zazzle. We purchased our invitations and printed signage from this site, and used this design as a guide for all decor going forward. When creating a vision for an event, I love to use a color palate or stationary like this one as a foundation. By referencing an item of stationary when shopping for decor/florals/rentals, I can confirm that they all flow together in harmony! Click on any of the photos to take you directly to Zazzle.
Orange Slice Garland: An Amazon DIY
Easily my favorite decor item in this whole event – dried orange slices! 100% doable to slice/bake/dry on your own…but if you’re impatient like me, you’ll opt for buying 1lb of dried orange slices from Amazon! The work is done for you. In a 1lb bag of dried orange slices (potpourri grade, not culinary), you’ll have plenty for garland, and many extras to scatter around your tables/countertops for garnish. I made 7 strands of garland to fill the wall in our dining room. Click on the photo to shop supplies for this Amazon DIY Orange Slice Garland. And check out the step by step below.
To make the garland, you’ll need the dried orange slices, a hole puncher, and clear fishing line. Punch a hole in the top center of each orange slice. Tie a knot through the punched hole to secure the orange slice to the fishing line. I spaced my slices out about 10 inches apart, with strands of garland about 7 feet in length for our 8.5 foot ceilings. Use a hammer and a nail to secure the garland vertically at the crease of wall & ceiling. If opting to hang your garland banner-style horizontally, you’ll need 2 nails for each strand of garland.
Calligraphy: New Cotton Blend
A selfish plug for my own creative hobby – calligraphy! I had so much fun making these acrylic and paper signs for my Baby Shower! The acrylic sheets, paint, liquid chalk markers, and easels are all Amazon purchases linked here. New Cotton Blend Calligraphy is a small, side-hustle for me; I love doing something in my free time that is so vastly different from Nursing! Please feel free to reach out here on Instagram if I can help create something for you! Weddings, Showers, Birthdays, Home Decor – send me that Pinterest inspo and let’s talk!
An easy and fun way for your guests to reserve their seat – write their name on a piece of kraft paper, and secure it to a small piece of fruit using a pearled boutonnière pin. Instruct your guests to find their name upon arrival, and place the fruit at their desired seat.
Catering: The Wild Thyme Company
Not photographed, but oh so yummy! The Wild Thyme Company designed the perfect menu for our backyard luncheon. An Artisan Cheese Board displaying French brie, cranberry chèvre, honeycomb, fruit and nuts. A bomb Quinoa Salad with roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes. A refreshing Strawberry Spinach Salad, accompanying mini Caprese and mini Turkey Avocado sandwiches. We’ve worked with Wild Thyme twice now, and love their drop-off and pick-up service in the San Diego area; and the decor they bring to make your buffet table part of the event!
Mama’s Mocktail: Olipop Sodas
While majority of our guests sipped Prosecco and Mimosas, I sipped cans of Olipop Sodas all afternoon! I purchased a 12-pack of these Orange Squeeze sparkling tonics to feature on our beverage table mainly because of the can’s cute aesthetic. I later learned all the health benefits that come inside those adorable cans! Prebiotics that aid in digestive and immune health, vitamin C and plant fiber, caffeine free and low calorie, and low in sugar! A perfect, nonalcoholic drink for this mama-to-be.
Photography: Kenzi Rowen
If you’ve never thought to hire a photographer for your Baby Shower, LET THIS BE YOUR SIGN! Since Tay and I took our Maternity Photos at 26 weeks when we babymooned in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I wanted to have some professional photos taken in my Third Trimester. 33 weeks here at our Baby Shower, my bump was poppin! Kenzi Rowen is a talented Engagement & Elopement photographer based in San Diego. Having Kenzi document this special day welcoming our first baby, and the amazing women in our family that attended, left us with memories we’ll look back on for years. These photos are going in the baby book, STAT! Click here to contact her.
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Reflecting back on this special day has got me feeling all the feels! I am so ready to meet Baby Wilson, hopefully this week (!) and cannot wait to share our little one with the ladies that showered us with love that day. To my mom and sister, thank you for helping create the baby shower of my dreams! And to my beautiful girls, thank you for showering this new mama and baby with so much generosity and affection!
San Diego locals, I would love to hear your experience with these vendors if you choose to work with them after reading this post.
