EXPECTING your first child is a cause for celebration.
But while most will settle for some cake, balloons and a few party games in the living room, for others it is the ultimate excuse to throw an extravagant party.
Last week, mum-to-be Meghan Markle jetted to New York for a lavish baby shower that included a candy-floss machine, thousands of roses and a harp player – all in one of New York’s priciest penthouse suites.
The total bill was £330,000. But it seems costly baby showers are not only for royalty.
From flower walls to balloon ceilings, JENNY FRANCIS and ISABEL DEIBE meet the women who say their big parties were worth every penny.
Jess and Keaton
FULL-TIME mum Jess Ranger spent £6,284 on her baby shower. Former sales executive Jess, 24, lives in Bedford with her partner Keaton Washington, 24, a firefighter, and their son Taylor, now four months.
She spent 12 weeks putting together the lavish event, which included a white dress code, 500 helium balloons and a doughnut wall. Jess says:
When I found out I was pregnant in February last year, I was determined my baby shower wouldn’t be run-of-the-mill.
I wanted it to be memorable – different and extravagant. I invited 13 friends and decided on an all-white theme.
There were specially designed white and silver invitations, costing £40, and I had place cards made in the same theme.
I didn’t want anyone coming in a different colour, as it would ruin the pictures.
One of my friends kept saying she only had black dresses – but they knew if they showed up in a different colour they wouldn’t be in the pictures.
For the venue, I chose the Treat Street Restaurant in Bedford, because it’s my favourite.
I found a company that made massive balloon table runners and immediately booked it.
I stuck with the balloon theme and ordered 500 white and silver helium ones.
As for the meal, I chose starters of chicken wings and had a main course of chicken waffle burgers, vegan hot dogs and New York deli sandwiches.
But the dessert table was the main event. I paid for balloon arches and a balloon wall and had the table loaded with carrot cake, personalised cookies, cupcakes, popcorn, cake pops, chocolate strawberries and even a doughnut wall.
I wanted it to be that everywhere guests looked there was a picture opportunity worthy of Instagram.
Also, I got clear B.A.B.Y. letters that were filled with balloons. They cost up to £600 to hire but I hadn’t seen anyone else have these before and they were beautiful.
I hired an inflatable photo booth and had a gender reveal at the party. Guests were given confetti cannons and fired out blue confetti to discover the baby was a boy.
I made personal gift boxes that were filled with make-up, personalised jewellery and thank-you gifts worth £80 each for guests to take home.
People expect more from a baby shower these days.
I believe in go big or go home, and I proved that a normal girl from Bedford can show a royal just how stylish a baby shower can be.
I’m inundated with requests from other mums-to-be for help with their baby shower.
Shower cost
Restaurant hire & meal: £400
500 balloons: £1,500
B.A.B.Y letters & balloons: £600
Videographer: £1,000
Confetti cannons: £70
Inflatable photo booth: £600
Easel hire: £200
Name cards: £40
Invitations: £40
Celebration cake: £65
Dress: £149
Gift boxes: £1,000
Professional make-up: £50
Balloon table runner: £200
Games: £40
Dessert table:
Cookies: £50
Doughnut wall: £80
Cupcakes: £50
Cake pops & chocolate strawberries: £50
Table decorations: £100
TOTAL: £6,284
Laura and Juan
LAURA GARCIA could not wait to celebrate her first pregnancy. Laura, 34, and partner Juan Perez, 30, who work in facilities management, had help planning the £4,305 bash from sister-in-law Lina-Maria Perez, 24.
The couple, from Islington, North London, say the ten-hour do was a great way to party before they are due to become parents next month. Laura says:
Having a baby is the last big event before parenthood starts – it had to be impressive.
We wanted it to be a party for everyone – men included – so we invited 50 people.
My sister-in-law Lina-Maria helped me plan the whole thing.
We didn’t want the typical boring shower, so Lina started by choosing a theme.
It was centred on the colour pink and focused on stars and clouds.
We got most of our ideas from Pinterest because we wanted it to be beautiful.
Good food was important, so we hired a chef to create elegant Mexican food. We had bespoke foil to wrap it in, with mine and the baby’s names on, and also ordered loads of Colombian canapés.
It’s not a party without a bar – but Lina went one step further with the ultimate cocktail table.
It was decorated in green foliage and fruits and the bar staff made each guest a different cocktail based on how they were feeling that day. Of course, decorations were important too. I had a huge flower wall and even a balloon ceiling, which looked amazing.
The desserts were a big part of it too. We had a large cake, cupcakes, macaroons, cookies and sweets. There were also lots of games for guests to play.
We handed out baby vests for people to decorate and gave out party bags that were full of beauty gifts – and baby bottles filled with sweets. The party didn’t stop 7 until 1am, it was epic.
Shower cost
Catered food: £1,050
Cake and dessert: £500
Colombian canapés: £350
Flower wall & balloons: £460
Furniture hire: £300
Party favours: £200
Alcohol: £1,200
Bar set-up: £120
Other decorations from Amazon: £100
Dress, Asos: £25
TOTAL: £4,305
Ella and Mark
PARAMEDIC Ella Wilson, 33, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was inspired by the Kardashians. She had help from mum Deborah Chipper, 54, a swimming teacher, and her sister Lauren Houldsworth, 27, an HR adviser.
Ella, who is due to give birth any day now, was joined at the £5,680 bash by her partner Mark Bowker, 47, who has a loans company. She says:
We don’t know if we are having a boy or a girl, so stuck to neutral creams and golds. I planned my outfit to be neutral to match.
In all, it took three months to plan. We knew we wanted a flower wall right from the start because they make the best pictures for social media.
Lauren made it her mission to find the perfect cake. She came across a cake-maker on Instagram who made tiered Victoria sponges.
She made us a bespoke cake covered in edible gold and beautiful flowers.
My mum and sister visited loads of different venues to make sure it was perfect. They settled on Beauford House in Chelsea.
They also went on a candle-making course and created special candles for everyone, using my favourite perfume.
Shower cost
Cake: £300
Flowers, flower wall & decorations: £1,000
Food & champagne: £1,200
Favours (popcorn, candles, sweets): £400
Table stationery: £200
Venue: £250
Louis Vuitton bag: £1,590
Midi dress, Oh Polly: £40
Boohoo Wrap: £30
Valentino heels: £670
TOTAL: £5,680
When I arrived on the day, I wanted to cry – it was everything I dreamed of. Not only was it beautiful, it was bigger and better than anything else I’d seen. We had mini-sandwiches, cakes and champagne.
The tables had specially designed stationery with people’s names, gold butterflies, glitter, gold rose petals, napkins, napkin holders, pens and gold and white paper for games.
Mark bought me shoes and a bag to make sure I felt really glam for the big day.
By the end, I was exhausted – partly from the excitement, partly from posing for pictures.