My mom and I love to throw parties and even more so when it came to celebrating the newest member of our family, Miss Blakely. We loved the idea of bringing together our family china, plus mixing in some new or DIY projects to create a sophisticated, pretty tea party baby shower for my sister Whitney.
Setting the Scene When we started planning, we pulled out all of our old family china (4 generations worth) to determine our color scheme, which lent itself perfectly to soft pinks and gold, with lots of white. If you don't have family china to use, check out the Truly Scrumptious Tea Party Supplies.
We wanted to incorporate a lot of family elements into the shower, so as our guests entered and signed the baby book, they were welcomed by a table of family pictures featuring baby's mom and dad! 
We held the shower on the back lawn of DC Ranch Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. To help guide the way to the main event, we set up our candy bar, guest book and name tag table. We used the chalkboard we had created for my own baby shower two years ago as the focal piece of the candy bar. For the candy, we chose shades of pink and white gum balls, taffy and chocolate. We also added some two-tone popcorn. 
The Tables
Because we were hosting this shower outdoors in Arizona, we knew we were taking a chance with the weather. We lucked out with a nice sunny day, but it was HOT! We added umbrellas to help shade our guests, which wasn't what we had pictured, but they were definitely needed. Mix-and-match table cloths added some dimension to the space, one a soft pink stripe, while the other was a bold floral print. 
Our Centerpieces Our centerpieces were the main feature of our decor, filled with gorgeous roses, hydrangeas and my personal favorite, anemones. We focused on having two table set ups (based on the table cloth). For our more simple table cloth, we featured the Oriental Trading DIY Tea Pot which I painted in pink and gold and stacked on top of vintage baby books that I found on Etsy. These books were such a sweet touch and will be perfect additions to Blakely's nursery. I also loved that the books were in soft shades of pink, yellow and blue which tied in perfectly to our color scheme. For the centerpieces on the tables with the more bold pattern table linen, we chose to use a larger milk glass vase and feature just one arrangement. We also added in other milk glass filled with lemons. 
Fun Activities
While our guests munched on food and sipped tea, we gave them a few activities which led to fun conversation. First, was a Wishes for Baby card that Whitney and Blakely will be able to enjoy for years to come. Next was rock candy, which was a perfect and unique way for guests to sweeten their tea. We added a cute tag which matched our set of printables. Finally, baby bingo! I was a little skeptical because I'm not big on games at baby and bridal showers, but this turned out to be a big hit! Leaving the spots blank allowed our guest to have conversations about what they got Whitney and what their favorite baby items are. It also made gift-opening time very interactive and fun. We used pink jelly beans (placed on tables in cupcake liners) as our bingo markers – but they also served as another sweet treat for our guests. Click on the download template button to get the baby shower bingo cards for free.
The Eats
Since we had a 1:30 start time, we wanted to keep our food light, with a mix of savory and sweet treats. We used one of our favorite bakeries, Ruze Cake House, to create the adorable tea cup cookies and sweet macaroons decorated with an adorable floral print. We also loved how they put Blakely's name on some of the macaroons. Another special touch was our pink and gold napkins, which we personalized with her name and due date. 
Other Details We used other little touches to help complete the look of the shower. On our present table, we added jumbo silver balloons and light pink latex balloons tied together with pretty pink tulle. This was a very easy way to add another frilly detail without too much work. An iced tea table was set up for those who were craving something cool, and we used vintage-inspired pink glasses that tied in the with the colors and theme from the rest of the shower. 
It was such a beautiful day celebrating my sister and her soon-to-be daughter. We loved that we were able to incorporate so many family heirlooms into the shower through our china and milk glass as we toasted to another little girl joining our crew. Be sure to check out the Wishes for Baby, and Baby Bingo card to download and print for your own tea party baby shower. 
Photos by Leah Hope Photography Flowers by The Flower Studio Cookies and Macaroons by Ruze Cake House
