My baby sister is having a baby!!! My goodness how exciting! A sweet baby girl is due June 7th, 2026.
My husband and I already have 2 nieces on his side of the family, Vivian and Juliet, and they are precious angels. Vivian is actually our goddaughter which I am so proud to have this special role in her life. So, my husband and I get the “all girl” thing already. Heck, my entire life is all-girl-all-the-time-all-day-every-day everything girly! Masculinity is not welcome here. I truly am joking. But, I was once a proud young “girly girl”. I am obsessed with femininity and girl energy. Girl power!
So, when we all anxiously found out Melissa was having a girl, what a sigh of relief across the Kolis room! Sorry to the Schreibers, hopefully you will get your boy next time! But….Thank GOD I get to throw an all-pink baby shower!!!! I can handle this one, no problem. Step aside, (but actually mom stay here), we Kolis girls were born for this!!
The Baby Shower Details- Embroidered and PINK
Melissa and Cam loved the idea of going back to their wedding venue of St. John’s Resort for the shower, where we chose the Abbey room- a beautiful balcony space overlooking the atrium (where their reception was). And, rain can’t dampen the affair in ANY way! (which was important for Melissa after a rainy bridal shower and wedding day)
This is the first official Kolis party post-embrodiery-machine purchase so I got brainstorming about all of the things I could embroider and customize right away. I started with making name embroidered pink heart holiday ornaments as party favors for guests, and they double as assigned seating indicators! How fun (also, brides, what a fun seating chart placement, hit me up!). Next up was a large welcome sign, embroidered with “Baby Schreiber.” The welcome display includes a large giraffe from Melissa’s childhood, wrapped in a gorgeous floral wreath and custom embroidered (monogrammed) bow.
You might remember from her engagement and wedding stories that Melissa is our family’s “pink” sister! Well us Kolis’s grew up with “pink juice”. We never drank water lol. Thirsty? You get Capri Sun or Pink juice. It is literally just pink lemonade but Colleen coined the term “pink juice” when comparing it to “orange juice”. It was a camp-Kolis staple! So, I thought it would be fun to bring that element to the baby shower with a full pink juice bar.
Grandmother-to-be Cynthia Kolis was my right-hand woman every step of the way in designing this adorable party. She is extremely crafty and has the eye for cuteness and wow when it comes to parties. She made the BEST girl scout troop leader of all time! So, we HAD to bring in her skills and approval. My parents gifted me a helium tank a couple years back. Best investment ever!
The Dress
Melissa’s baby shower dress is the first maternity dress I have EVER made! We chose this stinkin’ adorable pink beaded butterfly fabric we found online. We love how it looks very upscale and wow, but so elegant. And a matching purse, of course!!!
Little did she know Teddy and Bear were showing up to the event in the SAME dress! Oof how embarrassing! Do you remember how I made Teddy’s couture bridal gown for the wedding? Bear wore a tux from Build-a-Bear but Teddy had a custom couture Sarah Kolis original. Bear is gender fluid we decided so he wore just an old dress he had. And Teddy is a girl but we call him a “him”. Teddy wore a MATCHING pink sparkly dress, custom made by Sarah Kolis!! Don’t they look cute?!!
Baby Shower details and Tips
For the table settings we didn’t go crazy with a ton of items at each setting like I have done in the past, went a little more minimal. Tablecloths I already had from a previous birthday party. Florals in the center of course from The Flower Alley in Novi. Then each table setting had a coloring sheet, their custom embroidered Sarah Kolis holiday ornament, markers were available on the table for coloring, and bingo sheets. The ornament was a fun personalized party favor, but ALSO an ode to Melissa’s signature pink christmas tree that Cam still accepts even after moving in together!
Games were minimal: bingo, guess the candy game, and coloring, that’s it!
We did a diaper raffle and we have Barb Schreiber to thank for the lovely game prizes! Thank you Barb!!! Audrey won the diaper raffle, Claire won the candy count game, and several others won Bingo!
I gave a little welcome speech in the beginning alongside my sisters and parents. I mentioned how I was just thinking about Melissa as a little girl and what I could say about her, I would say she was cute and sweet, very go with the flow, and easy kid! She was also a follower, always following her older 3 sisters around. It is amazing how her “first first” EVER was becoming a mom! She beat us all to this huge life milestone, and we are so excited to support her along the way and love that little girl to death!
The Flower Alley did a phenomenal job. They delivered the most gorgeous pink centerpieces, mini arrangements, large floral arrangement for the pink lemonade stand, and the most unique insanely cute giraffe boa (it started as a wreath but became a boa on-sight when putting it on display. Funny enough I had just seen Kaila the night prior working a wedding so she was working so hard as she always does! Thank you Kaila and the entire Flower Alley family!!!
No Kolis event is complete without photographer Penny with Penny Ralene Photography, she took the most beautiful photos. I love this because not only are the photos gorgeous, but I can enjoy the event more myself not stressing about taking photos!
Carleana with Hairpins and Happiness is the BEST with hair styles, or at least the hairstyles I tend to like! Thank you Carleana for taking such good care of my family!!! (See podcast episode 11 featuring her in the “Dressing Up with Sarah Kolis” podcast episode!)
Cam requested cupcakes for the event, but we also scattered additional desserts throughout the event. They were SO good! Also, guys at baby showers are so funny!
HUGE shoutout to the staff at St. Johns the day of the event. The couple of men that set up the room were very accommodating and Arielle, the catering manager did an incredible job with all things service. A+ to this particular team of people! Thank you lots!
I can’t wait for baby girl to take her first breath in the human world and meet her parents, surrounded by love, care, and changing the world as we know it.
Most of all, I am excited for her to meet her favorite Aunt, Aunt Sarah.
Lots of love,
Sarah Kolis
P.S. if you are coming to a dress fitting this summer, be sure to ask me for photos of the little one, I will GLADLY overwhelm you with cuteness!
P.P.S. We are selling embroidered signage and products used for the shower now! Check the shop page!
