One thing I love about newborn sessions is that there isn’t much planning involved. With all the focus on that sweet, tiny baby, a mama just needs to figure out: 1. what everyone will wear, and 2. what time of day your house has the prettiest lighting (and your photographer will help determine that on the day-of, so really, it’s just #1!). For Charlie’s newborn session, I decided on our outfits a few days before the shoot and remember it being a little hectic, so this time, I made a note to start brainstorming for Azelie’s back in January. As I scrolled through Pinterest for inspiration, I kept finding myself drawn to sessions in which the mom was wearing a white dress. Especially for our first daughter’s newborn session, I loved the idea of putting together a fancier look for a few shots. After all, I hoped it would be the first of many times she and I would dress up together!

Guessing my three-weeks-postpartum size while 37 weeks pregnant is not the easiest task, so I reached out to my friend Lauren at Eternal Ivory for help. She and her husband opened the online little white dress boutique after she had a tough time finding unique, beautiful white dresses for all of their pre-wedding events, and they’ve curated such a lovely selection. You may remember that she kindly provided my sister Dana with her bridal shower dress last year, and it was so beautiful! I fell in love with the Rachel dress, thinking the eyelet would make a sweet backdrop for Azelie in my arms, while the midi length would add the especially feminine feel I was going for. As a bonus, the top is nursing-friendly, so as soon as regular activities resume, I know it’s going to be one of my Sunday staples. Here are a few of my favorite mother-daughter shots that Ally of Ally and Bobby Photography captured!

A few more Eternal Ivory styles that I think would look gorgeous for newborn or family photos, or any event that calls for a white dress even after your wedding, include the Amelia, Anderson, Elodie, Lina, and Sydney. Lauren is a wonderful resource for questions about styling or sizing, which I especially appreciated during a time when I knew my size would be changing drastically and I wouldn’t be able to try on my dress as soon as it arrived. As a new mama, it just feels good to have someone in your corner during that time, telling you you’re going to look great :) Lauren generously offered an Eternal Ivory promo code to Something Pretty readers–take 15% off your order with the code LisaKirk15. Planning my special occasion outfits for post-quarantine life has felt like a very hopeful activity lately, so I encourage you to do the same!

P.S. See another way I styled my dress for our social-distancing Easter photos here!