Hi. My name is Danielle, and I love to host.

And when I say I love to host, I mean I REALLY love to host parties. Small parties, big parties, themed parties, just because it’s a Tuesday parties.

Once in a job interview for a communications director position I was asked “How are you at organizing events? Give an example of an event you hosted that people enjoyed?”

I started with, “my wedding was my masterpiece” …and continued on.

I got the job.

I think sometimes this shocks people, because I am such an introvert and happy little hermit AND I’m an enneagram 5, not a 2, but I love seeing all the small pieces and logistics come together and form this beautiful in sync thing. (Aye-o there’s my 5!)

Being a hostess is hardcore in my DNA though, there’s a long line of Taylor women (My mom’s mom line) who have for generations intensely planned get togethers, holidays and parties for as long as I know.

There are:
Nice dishes
Amazing Food
Decorative Linens
Fresh Flowers

And because neurotic and quirky can also run in this long line of family hostesses there are also:

To-do Lists
Budgeting Spreadsheets
Timelines with Activities
A handler assigned to keep us from getting out of control.

Kidding… but actually, not really. I had FOUR for the event you’re about to see. (oops! 😂)

So when my sister announced she was expecting, you can now imagine I JUMPED on the opportunity to host her baby shower. If you want me to be really real, I probably would’ve fought anyone who tried to take this event from me. Sorry, not sorry.

When planning this event, Daniel, as always, was the calm to my storm and the sounding board of reason of making sure this party still reflected my sister and her loves and likes and not mine.

Originally, since this shower was mid-October, I wanted the color palette to be super dark and moody with a very traditional theme.

Daniel’s response, “That doesn’t sound anything like your sister at all.”

He was exactly right, it wasn’t anything like my light and airy, pink-loving sister and sounded very much like everything I would want.

So, quick pivot in the beginning of planning and I found a theme that fit my sister and the time of year MUCH better.

Woodland Fairytale.

And y’all, if I do say so myself, it turned out BEAUTIFUL!

The location I picked was under one of the Pecan tree’s in my parent’s pasture. This particular Pecan tree we used is the one my brother-in-law Levi scurried up while Alexis and him were dating to hang wooden swing he had made her.

It’s also the tree he proposed to her under.

And where all her show heifers are buried from her FFA livestock showing days.

Sorry. That was morbid.

I can’t NOT be me, okay?!

Here’s the thing. Oklahoma in the fall is second tornado season. It’s either going to be knock-you-over winds or 80°F there is no in-between.

So I was really pressing my luck planning for an entirely outdoor event in mid-October on the Oklahoma prairie.

Fortunately, it ended up being hot with a light wind. Unfortunately, that meant the bugs were living their best life that day. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Planning this shower I was transported back in time to the struggles I had planning my own wedding. Where I grew up there are minimal options to rentals and party places, and sadly a lot of what is available is outdated.

Our two close big cities are Joplin, Mo., or Tulsa, Okla. Joplin falls under the ‘not a lot of options’ and Tulsa either will NOT deliver to us or their delivery fee is crazy, I get it, but it adds to expense quickly.

On the bright side, one of the nice things about being a wedding photographer is all the wonderful vendor connections and I’s much rather support friend’s businesses than try to source new ones. So I rented/purchased/sourced almost everything from here in Owensboro or Southern Indiana and hauled to Oklahoma in a very full box trailer.

That left food and flowers on my Oklahoma list.

I purchased all the flowers from Trader Joe’s in Tulsa, as well as a lot of the unique dips and crackers. The fruits/veggies all came from SAM’s Club in Joplin and the specialty fruits, (Kiwiberries, anyone—which by the way are DELICIOUS) came from Whole Foods in Tulsa.

Laurannae Baking Co. in Broken Arrow made the cake, cupcakes and macarons.

For the cake, I wanted it to be whatever my sister was currently craving. When I asked her a couple of weeks before, “Hey what’s something you’re really craving lately,” she said, “I could just really go for something pumpkin-y chocolate.”

Thank goodness for that craving because this pumpkin chocolate cake and cupcakes were EXQUISITE.

The, also delicious, gold flecked macarons were Lavender, London Fog and Raspberry.

Bailey, of Bailey Marie Studios made the beautiful calligraphy Disney quotes you see framed throughout this post. These all now hang in my niece’s nursery.

Hi, pretty sister!

I’m a big fan of charcuterie boards, I make them for EVERYTHING. They were perfect for this snacking shower and really double for decor, too.

Yep, this is the chair I use for a lot of my boudoir sessions. Also, currently being used as my living room furniture. It works for all occasions.

My dad, pictured below in the blue long sleeve button up was a tremendous help decorating for the shower. In parties past he’s always been the one making some of my crazy visions come to life. Daniel wasn’t able to attend the shower, so it was nice having my dad around. He also hauled everyone to and from the house to the tree so they didn’t have to walk.

These two. Two of my closest people in the world. They kept me sane, on time, and did so much behind the scenes work. I literally have tears coming down my face as I think about how thankful I am to have had them there with their limitless energy.

Also, I don’t think any of the three of us ended up wearing makeup to the party, guests showed up 45 mins early. 😂

The sunset matched the party and Lexi’s dress.

This balloon decorated swing is my dad’s work at making sure everything was whimsical enough for my standards. 😉

My sister’s best friend and my fam.

My vendor team for my sister’s Woodland Fairytale

Day of Coordinators/Best Pals
Suzi Burleson – The Frilly Filly
Amanda Gray – The Gray Wildflower

Calligraphy Quotes – Bailey Marie Studios
Linens – Welborn Floral and Events
Glassware and Mum Planters – Petal & Pine
Mums – Ruby Branch Farms
Cinderella Pumpkins – Edge Brothers Produce
Cake, Cupcakes & Macarons – Laurannae Baking Co.

Other
Flowers – Trader Joes
Moss and Glass Crown Votives – Amazon
Invitations (which I forgot to photograph) – Minted.com