Within 2 years, my closest friend was engaged, married, and expecting her first child. I made all the promotional materials for these life journeys.

Her Save-the-Dates reflected her flower child nature.

I’m a huge sucker for a theme. When I found a discovered a café nearby called the Whistle Stop — housed in an old train station and train car — I knew I’d use it for something. The “Next Stop: Marriage” theme is ridiculous, but I couldn’t help myself.

Sparrows symbolize freedom, love, and commitment.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to follow up the train station bridal shower. I’m happy with the Ladies In Literature Baby Shower, which took place in a used bookstore. I printed out images of strong female protagonists in books (like Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen, Harriet the Spy, Leira from His Dark Materials, etc) and propped them up among the books. We had plenty of literature-based games. Kerry and I met in the honors college of Penn State, so nerdiness was par for the course.