chanel baby {shower}

Thanks to my three fabulous aunts and grandma, I had the most beautiful baby shower before my son was born. We didn’t know the gender during my pregnancy {best surprise ever in life!}, so my aunts had the challenge of pulling off a gender neutral shower – but {with everything in my life} I didn’t want the cliche “gender neutral” thing of yellows and greens and “baby-looking” stuff. Similarly, I am not one for cliche shower games – I just like to socialize, eat and drink :). Is that so wrong?!?

I believe that a baby shower is a shower for the mama-to-be. Of course the gifts received are preparing for the baby, but the shower is one last gathering for the woman before the baby comes – much in the same way that a bachelorette party or wedding shower is one last fling for the bride before the big day. So, that being said I chose a Coco Chanel baby shower. I went for black, white, grey and pink – girlie, chic and stylish. We posted the invitations and inspiration board before in this post. And yours truly, me at Fleur de Lis, got to design the invitations. It was a wonderful day full of love, style and pampering. I cannot thank my family enough!

During my pregnancy, I ate yogurt with fruit and granola every morning for breakfast – so we had cute little yogurt parfaits at every place setting. I also love wine {very much missed during my pregnancy!}, so my aunts made little wine glass charms for everyone’s mimosa glasses – each with an italian baby name ideas, boy and girl. We ate wonderful brunch foods, and chocolate covered strawberries. Everyone at the shower got to write a message to us parents-to-be and our baby on newborn diapers. Fun!

{images via Tutto Bella and Fleur de Lis}

chanel baby invitation

We showed you our inspiration for a chic Coco Chanel Baby Shower in a previous post. Well, the baby shower took place last weekend and it was beautiful! Photos of all the fabulous details and decor to come …

We wanted to showcase the gorgeous invitations for the occasion. Custom designed and printed by yours truly at Fleur de Lis (a paperie). With nothing but an inspiration board, the idea for the baby shower came to life on paper! We formatted the invitation based on the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle – making the invitations “Jenna’s No. 1 Baby”. They were mailed in custom silver envelopes. The sex of the baby is a surprise, so we went with black, white, and grey for colors with a spash of pale pink – it is a ladies’ shower, honoring a mama-to-be after all!

Invitations absolutely set the tone for any occasion: wedding, baby, birthday, bridal shower, etc.. A mailed invitation let’s people know that they are important in sharing your occasion. Make your invitation more special to your guests than just another email (among hundreds) in their inbox. We always say, a good invitation is the very start to a good party!

chanel inspiration board

chanel baby invitation

chanel baby invitation

chanel baby invitation

If you need custom invitations for your special occasion, contact Jenna and Jodi at Fleur de Lis (a paperie)!

{images via Fleur de Lis & Tutto Bella}

coco chanel for babies

As you may or may not know, Jenna {our sister, owner of Fleur de Lis and contributor to this blog} is pregnant with her first baby! We are so thrilled and we know she is going to be such a wonderful mama!

It’s also important to note that Jenna is our little fashionista and hasn’t given up the heels, her handbags or style … even while 7 months pregnant.

I have several ideas for her upcoming shower {I hope to share all of them with you}, but for today’s potential theme, I’ll give you two quotable clues …

1. “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”
2. “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”

Pregnant or not – we know that Jenna is classy and fabulous, she likes to be different, and one of her fashion idols {besides her fave Audrey Hepburn}, is CoCo Chanel.

Yep, a Chanel-themed baby shower seems fitting!

{These are our brainstorming party ideas so bear with us … not quite the final plan}

Colors: soft greys and pinks, with black & white stripes {we don’t know the sex of the baby, so we are keeping things fairly neutral, with just a splash of pink for the pregnant mama}.

Food: brunch inspired foods… fresh fruit, caprese skewers, egg casserole, asparagus, blueberry coffee cake, rosemary potatoes.

Dessert: White and black cake pops with Chanel No. 5 {Jenna No. 1} design. Candy” bar” with Jenna’s favorites which include, jelly beans {black, white and pink}, licorice, snickers, Hershey’s kisses and swedish fish inside glass candy jars. Frosted pink donuts.

Drink: Prosecco {Jenna’s non-pregnant favorite}, pink lemonade {her pregnancy craving} with black and white striped straws.

Table Numbers: Chanel-inspired perfume labels displayed the table number, but instead of “Chanel No. 5” it will have “Jenna No. 1.”

Centerpieces: Black or clear vases with white flowers and peonies. Even single vases with a single bud would be beautiful and for a “baby” touch, baby bottles would work as vases too.

Invite: Ask guests to wear black and white, and of course pearls. Black and white color invite with signature Chanel quilting, black & white stripes, and maybe a splash of pink due to the “ladies only” feel. All corresponding paper products will match with “Jenna No. 1” on it or will have Jenna first initial in the mirrored-image style, just like the Chanel logo.

Decor: Black and white striped fabric on dessert table or as a background to dessert table. Blush pink colored poms hanging from ceiling. Pearls. Brooches. Jenna’s baby pictures in small frames on each table.

Activities: Jenna is not one to like shower games, so I love the idea of doing “diaper notes,” where guests leave notes on different sized diapers for Jenna and Will to ready when they have to change their little one.

{images via The Fashion Shows, Trendy Rose, Cake in Bed, Hostess with the Mostess, Belleza e Luce, See Jane Design}