Gender Reveal pArTy

As promised, I am back today to share with all of the details of our big gender reveal party.  I must say, even though some people claim these parties are narcissistic and/or lame, this was one of my favorite parties to plan, host, and attend.  Everyone was so excited by the idea, and biting into that cupcake with most of our loved ones surrounding us was really a special moment that I will always remember.
So, on to the details.  I had promised Josh that I would keep this party pretty low-key, mainly from a budget standpoint, so I had to be smart with what I chose to do!  A few weeks back I sent out this invite via email.  All along, I had planned to go with the stereotypical pink/blue color scheme.  This happens to be one of my current favorite color combos anyway, so I didn't feel the need to mess with a good thing!  When guests arrived, the first thing they saw was our front storm door, decorated in streamers and ultrasound pictures (and a crazy cockapoo anxiously awaiting their arrival...bonus points if you spot Chipper!):

At our front entrance table, I put out some pink flowers in a vase filled with blue water.  We had asked guests to wear pink or blue depending on their guess as to what baby #2 would be, but I didn't think everyone would participate (surprisingly, pretty much everyone did!).  We supplied pink and blue beads to anyone who did not sport their color or who needed a little extra pizzazz!  Finally, I added a little pink/blue fun to our mirror

Across from the entrance sits our dining room and main party staging area.  This area got the most pink/blue treatment.  I took a boring white tablecloth and jazzed it up a bit (tutorial coming tomorrow, so check back if you are interested).  I also hung a cluster of pink and blue balloons from our ceiling fan.  Finally, I scattered some more small vases filled with blue water and pink flowers.  Here is the area, waiting for the food to arrive (hence the food signs which I will explain later!)

Our only other decor piece was a little banner I made for the mantle.  I had looked at several wives' tales about pregnancy and gender.  On each disc, I just typed up the wives' tale, my answer, and the gender predicted based on the answer.  I glued those to some scrapbook paper circles, and then strung them on ribbon and hung them:

Aside from decor, the other big party element was the food.  We had our party at dinnertime, so it was important to serve something substantial (not just a treat bar as I seemed to see was done at most gender reveal parties).  I came up with some gender-themed names for the food choices, and while I did not take any pictures of it, I can tell you the menu (I listed it by what we called it and then put in parentheses what it actually is in case there's any confusion):

• Chicken Tatas (Chik-Fil-A Nuggets)
• Weenies under the Covers (Pigs in a Blanket)
• Po-tata Salad (Potato Salad)
• Beanies, No Weenies (Baked Beans)
• Melon Mix (Fruit Salad)

The main food attraction, though, was obviously the cupcakes (baked by Carolina Cupcakery).

completely white...no clues!!!

 When we did the ultrasound, we had the technician write the gender on a sticky note and seal it in an envelope.  My sister dropped the envelope off at the bakery in the morning, and a friend of mine picked up the cupcakes for us (good thing too because it turns out the bakery left the sticky note attached to the receipt, so she knew what we were in for before anybody else!).  Before we bit into our cupcakes, I had everyone pose for a Team Blue picture:

and a Team Pink picture:

And then it was time.   In case you missed it on Friday, here's what we saw when we bit in:

TEAM BLUE!!!

I shared some reaction shots on Friday, so you can check them out here if you want to, but I did want to quickly share two other important details of this big day: Colton and Chipper's wardrobe.  Colton was proudly sporting his big brother t-shirt.  We had ordered it from Etsy and used it to tell my parents that I was preggos again, but he hadn't had the chance to wear it since, so I'm glad we got one more use out of it (plus he looked pretty darn handsome as always!)

And Chipper wore a pin, saying "I'm the big brother."  Amazingly, he kept it on all night!

Well there it is...a super long post with tons of details.  Like I said at the beginning, it was one of my all-time favorite parties and a day I will always, always remember.  Now it's time to get ready for baby boy #2!!!
And for more of my fun party ideas and photos check out my website: Dream Bashes