Baby Shower: Emily

I had the honor of photographing Emily Owen's baby shower a couple of weeks ago but I had to wait a bit to share the pics with you because it was being given major love over at Lil Sugar and Style Me Pretty Living. Now that their viewers have had a chance to ooh and aah over this adorable afternoon.. I wanted to share my favs of the day with you all!
This day was brought to you by the the fabulous Rachelle of Wiley Valentine, Emily's sweet sister Sara and her very good friend Lindsay. They had a lot of help putting it together.. making it incredibly obvious just how excited everyone is about the upcoming birth of her baby girl!
I oh-so-heart baby showers.. and this one was wildly special. Hope you love these pics.. as they were taken and worked on with much love! ---
So I had to start off with the gorgeous invite.. designed and printed by Wiley Valentine. This particular photo doesn't show off the detailed yumminess of the invite.. but trust me.. those girls know their paper.

One of my favorite things about this shower was the Mobile Signing station. Guests were asked to personalize a cut-out wooden animal figure to hang from a DIY mobile for the baby's nursery. So sweet!!

And the other uber-creative and awesome concept was hosting a tea bar as part of the shower, where guests could take home some loose leaf tea as their party favor.

And of course.. there were drinks. And food. And it was all beautiful. Anyone who has ever planned any type of party knows how much work goes in to figuring out what and how much to feed their guests. So to go beyond that and make it all look so great, takes a huge deal of creativity, love and hard work. By the way.. it all tasted even better than it looks. Seriously.

Before you knew it.. lunch was over and it was time for dessert. And I loved how quickly the table was converted in to the dessert station. Again.. just being thoughtful and creative with the space that you have.

Finally.. after all of the sweet details.. come the sweet faces.

That sweet lady lookin up at Emily is Wendy, Emily's mom. She was gracious enough to open up her gorgeous home for the shower. And all I have to say about those two is.. I don't know them all that well.. but I know I love them anyway. They are that kind of people. Oh.. and that pretty thang next to Emily is her sister Sara... who, by the way, gave THE sweetest toast. Their sisterly bond is precious.. and that baby girl is gonna be lucky to have such an awesome auntie!!

Anywhoo.. it was time for gifts! Have to confess that there were moments that I had to remind myself I was there to work! I was so taken in by the adorable girlie clothes and thoughtful homemade gifts! 

Obviously.. Emily loved it. Even the dog loved it! Everyone there absolutely loved getting to celebrate the soon-to-be rockstar momma! And I just had to end the post with a quick snapshot of the guest of honor and her hostesses. (btw pretty sure Emily could define pregnancy glow!!) 
On a personal note.. I'd like to share that I know that I may not be the most skilled photographer out there. But what I might lack in skill.. hopefully I make up in enthusiasm and passion. When you look at my photos of an event I hope its obvious how happy I was to be there! I'm sharing this because there were a lot of uber-creative and talented women involved with this event. And it was intimidating to be the one responsible for documenting their work. But as I put this post together I couldn't help but do it happily and confidently.. knowing that I did my best to capture what made the day so special. And in my opinion.. what made it so special was all the time and energy that went into showing Emily how adored she is and how excited everyone is that there is going to be a mini-Emily in the world!! So.. as long as this post has shown you that.. then I think I did my job well. :)
And to add an exclamation mark to all of that.. here is a list of people who helped the gracious hostesses make this event possible:

Shower Design & Concept by Rachelle of Wiley Valentine

http://www.wileyvalentine.com

Hand Letterpress Shower invitations, paper goods by Wiley Valentine

http://www.wileyvalentine.com

Florals by Michelle Shaw of Four Petals

mishelleshaw@gmail.com

Backdrop design & mobile station by Jesi Haack 

http://www.jesihaackdesign.com/

Lasercut animals, laser cut stir sticks & "We are Wildly Excited" sign by Amber of Pitbulls and Posies

http://pitbullsandposies.com/

Vintage Sofa vignette by Found Vintage Rentals

http://www.foundrentals.com/

Handmade "The Owen Family" book by Sarah McDonald. Watercolor pages, handbound

Sarah is a Wiley Valentine designer

http://thinkcreatelive.com/

Chinese Take out box noodles & Kale Salad by Nili Stevens of Nili Stevens Inspired Living

http://www.nilistevens.com/

Handmade Giraffe Fabric art by Molly Jay 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/mollyjay

Emily. You are going to be such an amazing mother. I cannot wait to meet your daughter.. and I cannot wait to hear the nursery lullaby album that Joel will put together (cuz you know that has got to happen). So very happy and lucky that our worlds collided. Thanks for being awesome. And thanks for getting knocked up. :}