A Baby Shower Tea

Last month, Meredith and I were asked by the ladies in our church to be in charge of planning and catering a baby shower for the lovely Mrs. Prueitt! This was my first time coordinating anything, and I cannot tell you how much fun this was! Mere and I spent these last few weeks organizing our ideas, shopping for supplies, cooking, baking, and getting it all finished for the shower this past Saturday. The theme we picked for Mrs. Pruiett's shower was a ladies' luncheon/tea (notice the hats in the above picture :) ).

Here is a picture of the main dining table. We were so happy to have Meredith's grandma with us this past weekend! She beautifully arranged all of the flowers for the tea making the whole setting very elegant and tea-like. :) She even pressed dainty flowers from her own garden in between each plate...they looked beautiful! Also on the table was a place card for each guest, a folded lavender napkin (folded beautifully by Mere's brothers, Elliot and Oliver:) ), and a little bootie filled with dinner mints. Since the Pruiett family is expecting a little girl, we incorporated a lot of different shades of lavenders and pinks into our decorations. On Friday, Meredith and I prepared the dishes that we were going to serve. On the menu was chicken salad and croissants, turkey and spinach pinwheels, pasta salad, cheese and crackers, a vegetable platter, and fresh watermelon. On the day of the shower, we set everything out and made some very pink strawberry punch to go with the iced tea and water.

Once everyone had arrived, Mrs. Alexander shared some thoughts of encouragement and a lovely prayer for Mrs. Pruiett. She shared from Psalm 128 and I was really encouraged with these verses: "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive plants around your table. Behold for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord." (vs.3,4) Mrs. Alexander encouraged us who were not yet married to continue to fear the Lord and trust Him with the size of our future families. The Pruiett's are expecting their sixth child, and it is a beautiful thing to see God's blessing on their family as they continue to seek the Lord's will for their lives.

After lunch, all of the ladies picked up their chairs and relocated to the living room for baby games! We had asked each lady and young lady to bring a baby picture of themselves for a guessing game. It was called "A Face Only Mama Could Love." Everyone had to guess who was in each picture, and it was tough! Hannah Girotti got the most right! We also played a measuring game where each guest had to cut a piece of yarn to wrap around Mrs. Pruiett, and whoever was closest to the actual size of her waist won. Mrs. Winter and another young lady came the closest.
Once the games had been played, the ladies gathered around to open baby gifts. Everyone say "Awwwww!". :) Mrs. Pruiett's daughters, Isabelle and Noelle (pictured here), are both excited about their new baby sister!While the presents were being opened, Meredith and I were busy clearing the main table while preparing for dessert and tea.
For dessert, we decided to make a New York-style cheesecake, a German Chocolate cheesecake, lemon bars, and chocolate covered strawberries. We also had the Winter girls make some chocolate chip cookies as well.
Here is a picture of the tea table. Meredith and I thought the mismatched teacups atop doilies and plates added charm to the table. :)

Time for tea!


Here I am with Sarah and Hannah Girotti, Meredith, Noelle, and Isabelle. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to see the Girotti family again!

Planning this baby shower was such a wonderful experience for me! But the real encouragement came when I saw everyone fellowshipping and celebrating together as we anticipate God's newest blessing in the Pruiett family. ~Alli