Mother’s Day Brunching for a Cause

A few months ago, I met Christy Turlington and got to hear her own birth story, as well as the story behind the birth of the nonprofit she founded, Every Mother Counts. I was deeply affected by what EMC is doing to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for moms and babies around the world, and knew immediately that I had to find a way to get involved. I talked with my friends at Minted, who are longtime partners of the organization, and together we decided to host a brunch in honor of Mother’s Day at my house, and invite some of our favorite women in media and the arts. We would use it as an opportunity to share the mission of Every Mother Counts with our guests, invite them to support the organization just by buying their mom a great Mother’s Day gift… and of course, post about it to share all the inspiration and EMC’s vision with all of you! Click through for all the lovely details of the day shot by Wynn Myers, as well as lots more info about the amazing things that Every Mother Counts is doing and how you can get involved this Mother’s Day!

Ever since I became a mom almost 2 years ago, I’ve felt especially drawn to causes that support mothers and children, and I think this was part of the reason why Christy’s story resonated so much with me. To hear it for yourself, hop over to this clip from the documentary she produced that so movingly conveys the needs of women around the world, No Woman No Cry.

Cheerful Bloom invitations by Sara Brown for Minted, calligraphy by Stephanie Fishwick.

A few things I learned:

• Approximately 287,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. That’s one woman every 2 minutes.

flowers by The Nouveau Romantics.

• Pregnancy is one of the leading causes of death in women ages 15-19 in the developing world. Nearly 70,000 young women die every year because their bodies are not ready for parenthood.

china from loot vintage rentals, cake stands from minted.

• The United States ranks 50th in maternal mortality, even though it spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world.

And one of the biggest takeaways? Almost all of these deaths are preventable when given the right resources and training. Providing women around the world with what they need to prevent these deaths is Every Mother Counts’ greatest mission.

Here’s why we partnered with Minted on the brunch:

Minted is already donating 2% of all their art sales to Every Mother Counts, and in honor of Mother’s Day, they’re increasing that donation to 20% just for Camille Styles readers. To give this donation in honor of a mother in your life, simply enter CAMILLEEMC at checkout between today and April 23rd. When you receive the art print, you’ll also get this downloadable card to let the recipient know that a donation was made in her name.

We thought it would be really special to invite some of our creative women friends to join us for an early Mother’s Day brunch at my house, to share the vision behind what Every Mother Counts is doing and empower them to get involved and support the cause.

We kicked off the festivities with a build-your-own mimosa bar, dressed up with bowls of citrus, berries and mint for fun garnishes.

dress from Madewell.

Since it was a celebration of motherhood, I couldn’t resist letting Phoebe join…

And Natasha (Minted’s PR director, and my dear friend) brought along her sweet Francis. Natasha and I really bonded over email while we were both going through our first pregnancies…and then it was so crazy that Phoebe and Francis happened to be born within 24 hours of each other!

Then when they finally met for the first time, Phoebe tried to make out with Francis.

Back to the brunch…

The Nouveau Romantics team transformed my backyard into a garden party worthy of Downton Abbey (my inspiration for this look) using loads of vines and flowers that they wrapped around the wooden beams framing our terrace (can y’all come and make my terrace look like this every day, please? thanks.).

Once everyone had a chance to pour a mimosa and do some mingling, we gathered everyone in the living room to screen the documentary, and hear a few words from Dr. Cara Osborne, who works with Every Mother Counts in Haiti. She’s also a Certified Nurse Midwife (and mother of two), and has worked to improve maternity care internationally for more than ten years. It was a really amazing experience to hear about the needs from someone who has been in the trenches, as well as get her perspective on how even a small donation can make a huge difference.

We gave each guest their own beautiful art print to keep or to gift to their mom…

…this print, ‘The Fields’ by Hooray Creative for Minted, is one of my very favorites.

When you order an art print using the CAMILLEEMC code between now and April 23rd, this is the card that will come with it, to let the recipient know that a donation to Every Mother Counts was made in her name.

*designed by minted community member Sara Hicks Malone

Then we sat down to a yummy springtime brunch from the Word of Mouth team. I just might recreate this exact menu for our family’s “real” Mother’s Day Brunch this year:

It was such a treat to get some of my favorite girls together for a fun little break in the middle of a workday. Some of them knew each other, but many were meeting of the first time. You never know what new friendships and collaborations might be born as a result!

• Tables and china: Loot Vintage Rentals
• Benches: Liv By Design
• Table runners and menu cards: Minted
• Flowers: The Nouveau Romantics
• Food: Word of Mouth Catering

We piled croissants, sweet scones, and sticky buns with pecans on these milk glass cake stands, which doubled as family-style service and drool-worthy table centerpiece.

To make these raspberry bellinis, combine a splash of raspberry purée, a couple fresh raspberries and mint sprigs in a glass, then fill to the top with champagne or prosecco.

Raspberry-rose and lemon-thyme jam, and orange marmalade to accompany croissants.

I only hope I can grow up to be as beautiful (inside and out!) as my mom and mother-in-law!

And I truly hope that our brunch inspired you to make a difference in the lives of moms around the world this Mother’s Day. Remember: even a little donation goes a long way! Three big ways you can help the cause:

1. Share the link to No Woman No Cry with your friends and family to raise awareness of the great needs of women around the world.

2. Make a donation by gifting your mom a Minted art print this Mother’s Day, and entering CAMILLEEMC at checkout between today and April 23rd. Minted will donate 20% to EMC!

3. Spread the word! Share this post on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, tell your friends and email the link so others can find out about this opportunity to give their own moms a beautiful gift, while helping give the gift of life to mothers and babies who need it most.

Click here to see more of Wynn’s work.