BABY BOEGEL IS A...at home gender reveal party

Say what you will but I've become a firm believer in celebrating throughout pregnancy however I darn well please...my best friend gave me the important advice early on that, although I hope to have one more baby in the future, nothing is guaranteed and I should treat this pregnancy as if it's my only chance to experience it all, however I want to. I KNOW gender reveal parties can be a topic of debate but I couldn't think of a more fun way to find out the gender of our first baby with the people we love!

Unlike many people, we chose to wait until our 20 week scan to find out the gender. That 20 week wait felt like a peice of cake for a good while but those last few weeks seemed to INCH by. Yet another reason I loved throwing this party, it was a way to keep me distracted from the wait. I LOVE any excuse to throw a party and just get together with some of our favorite people so this felt like a no brainer for me...Brad wasn't so sure but he was a good sport all the same and looking back, I'm so grateful to have the memories. From the jump I knew I wanted to do something gender neutral and was inspired to go with a mostly green theme by my one and only craving this whole pregnancy: olives!

Once we had the results in our hands (eek!) it felt so real and was agonizing to not just peek but the reward of being truly surprised was worth it. Now, in hindsight, I might entertain the idea in the future of Brad and I finding out together intimately first and then having a get together to share the news with our loved ones but I don't regret the way we did it this go around either. There can be so many built up hopes and expectations around pregnancy and being surrounded by the joy of friends and family during such a pivotal moment helps ease the come down from any of those pre-existing feelings. We are so very grateful to everyone who came over to celebrate with us on this exciting afternoon.

I found the most perfect (non maternity) dress for our party...little bit of pink, little bit of blue, little bit of green on major sale here. Although most everything else decor-wise was green, I wanted to add some color into our balloon garland. I did the balloons myself (with the help of a friend) and they were truly a breeze with this customizable kit off Etsy.

I threw together an easy spread inspired by the olive theme and the most amazing whipped feta dip and was thrilled that almost everything got eaten including the cutest cookies from Midwest Cookie Co. She is my go-to gal for special event sugar cookies for just a special little touch...they also made the perfect favor for all our guests. Our big reveal balloon was also an Etsy find and though it proved difficult to get filled, I love that the kit came with everything including the personalized decals, the tassels, both colors of confetti, and the pin to pop.

We set up and sent out a zoom link to friends and family who couldn't make it into town so that they'd be able to join in on the big moment with us in real time. I am just so grateful that baby boy is already so loved and spoiled. We were truly overwhelmed by everyone who were in attendance, both in person and virtually, to take in the big moment with and get geared up to welcome baby boy Boegel this summer.