The fun I had planning every detail of my own wedding is what got me started in this business of working with other brides and the unique set of details they’ve chosen for their own events. So when the time came for my baby shower, it felt like a rare opportunity to create a small-scale version of my wedding all over and I jumped at the chance to design every detail – all the way down to the custom shoes, of course. That being said, the great success of the party was all thanks to the team effort of our official hosts, my mom and mother-in-law, as well as my three sisters, who each played an important role (while graciously letting me still hold the reigns).

Cake by Party Favors in Brookline, MA // Flower arrangements by Blooms of Hope in Belmont, MA

The theme came together easily by starting with décor items we already had, such as our collection of 20 Muffy Vanderbear dolls. Popular with little girls in the late 80s and early 90s, these collectible bears boast an incredible wardrobe of intricate costumes for every theme and occasion. For the purpose of our little boy baby shower however, we turned them into a vision of the classic teddy bear with just a simple blue ribbon. We also decided to re-use the same vintage cut glass vases from my wedding, supplementing them with a large lot of matching bud vases found on eBay. From there, the blue hydrangeas, grosgrain ribbon, and crocheted doilies all fell into place as part of this precious “granny-chic” motif.

I loved designing all the paper-goods for the shower, which included drawing a Muffy bear illustration to be incorporated across the suite. On each invitation and thank you card I hand colored the ribbons and flowers with colored pencil, for that extra custom touch. Since vintage cards often featured little rhyming poems, I wrote one for the front of the invitation, as a play on the classic “April showers bring May flowers” proverb. Finally, all the gold foil letterpress was done in my studio using a hot-stamp machine, which tied together nicely with the other gold accents at the party, such as the custom engraved pencils and chocolate-bear favors.

As for the shoes, since I was the client and there wasn’t the formality of a wedding to consider, I knew this was my chance to go over-the-top with an avant-garde design. (Rest assured I purchased a set of Muffy bears from eBay in order to avoid beheading ones from our own collection.) And while the shoes were a huge hit, nothing could surpass all the love and advice showered upon my little baby bump. Thanks again to my planning team, the vendors we used, and each and every guest for making it such a lovely and memorable day.

Katie and her grandma, Rose Snow, at Flora restaurant in Arlington, MA // Beatrice dress by Alice by Temperley, gold skinny belt from Eddie Bauer, David Yurman jewelry.