Recently, we set up balloon garlands for not one, but two baby showers! We were thrilled to help the mothers-to-be celebrate their new babies, but setting up two baby shower balloon garlands at two different venues would certainly be a challenge.
The most logical course of action was to see if we could set up early at either location. Fortunately, one of the venues would allow us into the space the night before the party. This was especially helpful since both showers were to begin within an hour of each other the following morning!
Once the first issue was solved, we wanted to attempt a new way to assemble garlands so that the majority of the work could be done at home.
Let’s Get These Parties Started
We pulled out some of our 94-gallon plastic bags and started inflating and assembling the garlands for the first arch. This shower was for a sweet little boy, due in April. Rather than opting for the traditional baby blues, the mother chose a palette of green, gold, and white. These gorgeous hues fit spectacularly with the winter woodland theme. There were also forest greenery and woodland creatures centerpieces at each table!
The garland was made primarily of 12″ white balloons and 10″ green balloons, with a handful of 10″ gold balloons. We decided to randomly tie the colors into pairs, and twist two of those pairs together to make varying colors.
An old infant play yard turned out to be a surprisingly useful tool during this process. It’s the perfect place to collect balloons as we inflate and loop them together!
We then chose to experiment with a fishing line instead of our usual garland strips. A clear fishing line would hold the garland segments together once they were placed into plastic bags. Garland strips can sometimes make balloons pop out of place when they move in and out of the bags. We didn’t want to deal with that frustration on such a busy weekend!
This first garland is composed of 5″ green, white, and gold mini balloons tied into varieties of singles, pairs, and quads. After the first baby shower balloon garland was fully inflated, the balloons were loaded into two plastic bags and we began work on the second one.
Two Is Better Than One
We created the second garland using doubled balloons. This is when you place one color inside another to create an opaque look, with modified shades of the same color. In this photo, you can see a black balloon was placed inside of a pink balloon to create a gorgeous dusty mauve. The same was done by layering peach balloons inside of white balloons to create a subtle creamy-white hue that offset the sandy white and pearl colors.
Once again, we assembled quads using varying combinations of the four colors, using 9″ and 11″ balloons to create each set. 5″ balloons in each color were also inflated and tied into sets, much like with the previous garland.
Next, it was time to tie the sets together to create the two separate garland segments. The client wasn’t sure if the garland should be assembled over a fireplace, or along a much larger brick accent wall, so we made sure we had enough balloons to fit whatever the final size was going to be.
One half of the garland tied together with fishing line and waiting to be packed away, while the other half is already stored in the plastic bag used to transport it to the venue. Splitting the garland in half makes loading it into the car much easier, and assembly at the venue requires just a small strip of fishing line to complete the garland!
Ready, Set, Setup!
For the first shower, we arrived at the venue at 8 pm the night before to begin assembly. As we build the garland we also offered to help with any additional décor setup. It was fun getting to know the family as we decorated together!
The confetti-filled balloons were inflated onsite and attached with glue dots, as were the 5″ bundles. The grandma-to-be added BABY blocks and mylar baby balloon to the setup. The following morning, we stopped by the clubhouse for a final check of the work. After a few last-minute touch-ups, it was off to the next venue to set up garland #2!
Take Two
At the second venue, the manager agreed that the fireplace would not be the best place to hang the baby shower balloon garland.
This meant the garland would be assembled with both halves since it was now going over the large brick accent wall. The grandmothers-to-be were thrilled when they saw the color palette in person! They were pleased with how well it fit with the theme of the shower. Once again, we had a mom-to-be who wasn’t a big fan of the bright pinks typically seen at baby showers. The beautiful muted mauve gave just the right touch of pink without clashing with the mother’s personal preferences!
As soon as we helped hang the adorable burlap sign under the garland, our work was complete!
We can’t express how much it meant to be a part of the expectant moms’ big days. Thank you both for trusting us to add that special touch to your celebration!
