A Nautical Inspired Baby Shower

Surrounded by anchors, sea shells, and all of the beautiful shades of blue, this Nautical inspired baby shower made for the cutest celebration!

This baby shower for a baby boy, Ryder, really took the typical mimosas and diaper games to the next level. The sweet mama-to-be is over-the-moon welcoming her second child – and first boy – to their little family and a more sophisticated shower seemed appropriate for this experienced mom.

The invitations set the tone for the entire baby shower with their soft aqua ombre design complete with navy blue anchors and a non-traditional calligraphy font for the writing. The anchor was chosen to represent that no matter what storms someone might go through, the anchor will always be there to hold you in place. This baby boy, who hasn’t even been born yet, was absolutely the anchor that this mama and her family needed to weather through the storms they had recently been through. ​Of course with anchors comes all of the Sea-Life and Nautical themed decor that one can dream of – and the theme took off from there!

Much like a wedding guest book, I love the idea of having guests write a little something for baby and the mama-to-be.  I went with a play on a message in a bottle having each guests write a little semi-prompted message to baby Ryder then rolling it up and leaving it in the bottle for mama to read at a later date.

With the unexpected mid-May rain that we experienced, this baby shower went from being an outdoor event to an exclusively indoor event requiring a lot of rearranging and  set-up to make it happen! But with some swift actions this room was emptied out of its normal furniture and the 8-foot farm tables and cross-back chairs were set-up in order to acomodate all of the 24 guests.

Each of the three tables donned a unique centerpiece that all fit the nautical theme of the shower. With one table having two large pieces of driftwood with a few petite flower arrangements, another table was draped with vintage nautical rope down the center, and the mama-to-be sat at a table with three large floral arrangements in the center in the soft aqua color of the party. The arrangements were sitting atop a taupe runner adorned with a wooden “R” for baby Ryder and a few scattered seashells.

Each place setting for the guests had a soft wicker charger with two tables hosting navy ones and one table hosting a natural shade. The chargers were topped with a dark gray lunch plate and salad plate, also. For the assigned seating the guests place setting each had a starfish along with a customized piece of sea glass with the guests name written on each one in gold. Each place setting had a knot-tied napkin, full silverwear settings, and finished-off with both a water goblet and standard wine glass in a deep sea green.

I love having a fun interactive station at events that allows for guests to get-up and mingle while they create something fun and personalised to their preferences. For this mimosa bar I made sure there were the typical fresh fruits for garnishes but also a few new and unexpected items like candied lemons and oranges as well as fresh clementine segments. With juices like orange juice, grapefruit juice, and pomegranate juice every guest was able to customize their drink to create some fun flavors.
Since not all guests are the drinking kind there was a non-alcholic beverage station available also with a mix of drinks like lemonades, elderflower sparkling water, and cucumber-mint limeade. To keep with the theme, a beautiful octopus painting hung above the drink area.

 Keeping the food simple and buffet style guests dined on  kale & quinoa salad, a farro & sunflower seed salad,  blueberry brocoli salad, fruit salad, along with proteins like chicken skewers, shrimp skewers, and mushroom vegetable skewers. For the first half-hour of the baby shower guests got to nibble on some bites like a cheese & charcuterie board and a hummus platter.

Desserts are such a crucial element for any party so the dessert buffet was full of delicious treats all fitting in the days theme!

With a baby boy due within the next couple of weeks, the mama-to-be deserved a beautiful shower full of love and laughter with all of the pretty little details making the day extra special for her!

Planning such a fun and pretty baby shower was such a joy to do! From the beautiful shades of blue, all of the gorgeous aqua vases, the little details, and the happy mom at the end of the day, it was such a pleasure to see this all come together so beautifully!