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When your best friends are expecting a baby, what else would you do, other than throw a great party?! Megan (who many of you have seen running around working her tail off at our weddings) and her husband, Chris, shared their good news with us in July and we knew we were planning an event to celebrate. Knowing the couple would be honored with many showers, we pitched the idea of a Gender Reveal Party and they took to it…which meant I got to work! (At this moment, I would like to thank my mother for instilling a love of details and extreme crafting into our upbringing! This event was so much fun to put together!)
(A huge THANK YOU to Shane Irwin Photography for attending and photographing the event and honoring the couple with a maternity shoot!)
I found the inspiration for their event on Etsy in the PrintasticDesign Shop, falling in love with the bold colors and details of the invitation and custom banner. Our black Ikea frame set it off nicely and we had our jumpstart!
Working with the gray chevron pattern and the bold pink and blue, I began plans for the event’s design. We decided to host the event at our home and worked for weeks on the setup/styling plans/preparation.
Despite the bitter cold of the October day, we forged ahead with the event setup. Blue and pink paper lanterns were strung in our trees in the backyard and I reserved bright linens, tables and chairs through Southern Events. Our new patio heater and fire pit came in handy!
On the day of the event, guests, as they entered, were asked to mark their gender ‘guess’ with a rubber stamp and sign their name. The mat was framed and given to the parents-to-be as a keepsake of the special day.
They were asked to flaunt their gender ‘guess’ by choosing either a bright pink hairbow or a dapper mustache to wear for the evening! 🙂 (Arguably, one of my favorite details!)
Custom table runners (thanks Mom!) were made for the dining tables and because the event would carry over into the late evening, we decided on candles/candlelight as centerpieces.
Blue and pink M&M’s were ordered with sweet event-specific phrases and placed at each seat, serving as party favors/dessert with the mustache and hairbow chocolate suckers.
I found a super cute template for guests to write ‘Wishes’ for the new baby and placed them at each seat for guests to fill out and give to Chris and Megan.
After dinner, guests were encouraged to play cornhole and enjoy drinks.
As the evening turned dark, guests gathered around for the big reveal! Glow sticks were going to tell us whether baby Saunders was going to be a boy or girl and we were so excited to find out!
Megan and Chris ‘broke’ their glowstick first and then asked each guest to break theirs….they glowed BLUE! We were going to be welcoming a He-Saunders into our lives!
Overall, the evening was a great success! Surrounded by so many sweet friends and family, our dear friends were able to share their great news with everyone at once!
Congratulations Chris and Megan! We can’t wait to meet Tyler ANY DAY NOW!!
Emily, the party was absolutely beautiful and wonderful! Everyone had a great time, and it was just more than we could have ever hoped for! We appreciate and value our friendship with you and Clay so much.