We’ve been celebrating #BabySweet since we found out that they would be joining this circle of life. For weeks, we’d imagined the relationships he or she would manifest in a myriad of ways, but always in a celebratory way. That’s what drove us to create an experience for the gender reveal, and it was nothing short of that as we watched her little cousins and friends running around without a clue in the world that life for them all was about to get a little bit sweeter! Same for us, we’d savored the moment of finding out that “SHE” would be joining us until this very day!
Mr.Sweet and I have always acknowledged and celebrated the most monumental and minuscule happenings around us, and that’s what keeps us grounded and basking in the glory of things larger than life. I remember when we first started dating and how we’d celebrate the 5th of every month. Here we are 11 years and five months later, celebrating that mustard seed of love and faith into four years of marriage and now our first little miracle. This kind of adoration for life and growth is exactly what helps us thrive as a Sweet Family. It’s what we like to share with our family and friends. So, when we thought of the circle that will always be here to greet and nurture #BabySweet, we wanted to make our gender reveal a grand introduction of the love, heritage, and community that will foster our baby. To say the least, it’s an honorable experience to host.
My husband always asks me how I put together parties and events for family and friends. “What is your thought process?” he says. It’s simple. Our families are huge, and our circles of friends are uniquely different – all coming from other locations and backgrounds. Some with kids. Some single. Some older. Some younger but all ready to unite with love and mingle. So, I create experiences that are worry-free where everyone can relax and enjoy themselves. You know, leave their stress as the door. That’s one thing I’ve been heavily focusing on during my pregnancy is leaving any level of bad energy at the door. I set a goal to learn Baby Sweet’s gender in joy to set the tone for what may come. I imagined telling her all about it one day through pictures, video, and now this blog post. I imagined her cousins, little friends, aunts, and uncles all telling her how cherished she was before the world ever caressed her back or heard her billowing cries, or experienced her dynamic demonstrations of life.
First, I started with a gender-neutral theme, and that was easy since Mr.Sweet gave us the best last name! Ice cream, pastel colors it is since we’re technically celebrating in the summer, which will one day be Baby Sweet’s half birthday since she’s due in December. Plus, we choose to celebrate the gender on my mom’s birthday! What a sweet treat for her 7th grandchild! We’re no strangers to sharing happy days in my family, and this is one way that you can always keep life exciting! I’ve always celebrated my birthday with my parent’s anniversary.
Next, I picked an easy location – our house! Since this was the first house we ever bought and Baby Sweet’s first home ever, we figured it would be sentimental to our narrative. Then, we choose to bring people into our day-to-day experience. Each summer, we do upgrades on the patio, so we decided that we’d allow our family and friends to experience just that. It also saved us a bit of money to enjoy our patio oasis vs. rent a location.
Then, we decided that we’d need a few enhancements to set the scenery! Magari Events designed all the balloon architecture. The designs coupled with Alphalit Nashville’s “SWEET” light” welcomed family and friends right on into the party! Margari Event’s also created an incredible backdrop for the backyard. If you do nothing else to set the tone of your party, you need balloons galore!
We rented an outdoor living room to enhance the patio. It was the perfect addition as we wanted the party to be indoors and outdoors and provide all the space needed for mixing and mingling.
Then, we booked Cocktail and Key to provide guests with their gender deciding factor. They were able to choose from various mocktails and cocktails, all personalized for Baby Sweet’s gender reveal. The ornate cotton candy drinks were a hit with both kids and adults! After we learned that we would be welcoming a Baby Girl in December, Krystal designed a drink that would change pink! It was so delightful!
For food, we choose Slim and Huskys – the first Black-owned restaurant on Broadway here in Nashville! People come to Nashville and stand in line for this tasty pizza and culture. One day Baby Sweet will be able to talk about this to her friends. I highly recommend choosing memorable things to incorporate into your day.
Our friend and owner of Cake My Day Nashville made the cake. You know it’s good when not a piece of cake is left over. As a special treat for the guests, we had cake pops, and not one was left.
Learning the gender was a real treat! Since we’re living in a virtual world, we went live on IG and Facebook so that extended family and friends could be a part of the celebration. We gathered everyone in the front yard with poppers and smoke to learn the gender of Baby Sweet. Everyone was so excited as we counted down the moment until we found out about our girl! You can order yours here.
A few extras that we incorporated were small fans for guests and bubbles for the kids. These were a hit too.
Lastly, always get a photographer! This moment in time deserves proper documentation. I never have regrets about any special moments in my life because I try to document them well in real-time and through photography and videography.
