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How to pull off Anne Sage’s modern animal-themed baby shower

January 28, 2020
modern gold bar

Isn’t this bar wallpaper DIY so fun, Cakies? Designer Anne Sage painted it as an unexpected way to channel her wildcat baby shower theme across the venue. If you follow Anne, you probably know that she’s due with baby #1 in about a month. Being a creative type, she was all about decking out her space, Light Lab, for her LA pals to celebrate in. (They had already celebrated with family a bit before.) Read her tips for pulling off this modern animal theme while perusing Vanessa Tierney‘s photos below!

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Anne says, I approached this as an opportunity to set the tone for all the memorable moments I can’t wait to create for my daughter. My mom always did an amazing job making birthdays and holidays feel special when I was growing up, and this is just the first of many times I get to do that for my own child!

Of course, most leopard print party supplies on the market are more suited to bachelorette parties than baby showers (think lots of hot pink accents and inappropriate innuendos, ha!) so I had to get creative with the decor. Society6 had some inexpensive posters ($19 a piece!) in an abstracted animal print that we framed to hang behind the drinks table. I picked up baby wildcat posters for the kitchen area, also from Society6. Framed artwork is such a unique decor option to bring personality to events, and the nice thing about these is that I can use them in the nursery too!

a modern animal-themed baby shower for Anne Sage animal nursery prints a modern animal-themed baby shower for Anne Sage 22018 Poster (spotted pattern behind drinks table) / Baby Tiger Poster (Bengal tiger) / Baby Lion Poste / Baby Tiger Poster (Siberian tiger) / Baby Leopard Poster / Baby Cheetah Poster baby shower balloon installation baby shower balloon installation

For most of the planning process I didn’t have a theme, but as the pregnancy has progressed it’s become clear that the person I’m carrying definitely has a very strong will and is going to give us a run for our money. I’ve started thinking of her as my little wildcat—so a stylish, modern animal print theme made perfect sense! I kept it subtle + sophisticated with a palette of earth-tone neutrals and touches of pale blush.

To maximize our budget for flowers, we did the balloon installation ourselves. We enlisted a few friends to help, and while it was time-consuming—it took 4 people about 2.5 hrs to blow up and assemble—it definitely wasn’t difficult. I got all the supplies from Amazon. They have a wide selection of balloon colors to suit any palette; and they also sell special tape for making balloon garlands. An electric balloon pump is a must as well, to save your lungs. All told, I think I spent about $120 on supplies, and I was thrilled with how it turned out!

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Cute drinks table! Guests got to combine Jardesca and prosecco with their fave fruits and herbs.

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All the flowers are from the talented hands of our friend Jeany at Lovesome Blossoms. (Pro tip: Enlist friends with special skills to contribute in some way to the shower, as their gift to you. A win-win for everyone!) She’s a master of the wild, organic arrangement, and she nailed our palette with a mix of roses, anemones, and anthurium. All the containers she used were from my personal collection (hoarder alert) which meant we saved our budget to have that many more blooms. And I still can’t get over that epic floral install she did over the dessert table—somehow she built that on a piece of 2×4 wood??!!

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They enlisted Valerie Confections, who they had at their wedding, to serve up a variety of sweets and their famous coffee crunch cake!

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As far as food, Junior at Ask 4 Tacos set up shop in the parking lot (and turned out to be a major steal). Congrats to Anne + Ivan! See more from their baby shower in our inspiration gallery!

Photography: Vanessa Tierney / Event Design: Anne Sage / Venue: Light Lab / Flowers: Lovesome Blossoms / Desserts: Valerie Confections / Cocktails: Jardesca Aperitif / Framed Artwork: Society6