Ahh, the much anticipated first birthday. The first birthday party of many to come… The theme: Pink Ombre+Gold Glitter. My thought was since this was one of about two birthday parties in which I get to call the shots, why not make it lovely and do exactly what I want to do [with no regards to the baby’s interests]. You know, because before I know it, she’ll demand (in a high-pitched 3-year old voice) that she wants a “Dora” party or some other equally-awful theme (sorry if any of you had a Dora party for your daughter…) that I would have to really flex my creative muscle in order to make visually appealing (and photo worthy). Back to Pink Ombre+Gold Glitter.. At the time of planning it, I thought I was pretty creative. But then I saw all over Pinterest that every other mommy was doing the same thing…
As a photographer, thoughts of getting the right photo takes priority for every decision in my mind. (any other photogs have that problem!? It’s kinda exhausting! But great too.)
That being said, I HAD to get not only amazingly-delicious, but gorgeous, cupcakes from my favorite gal at Miss Sara’s Cakery in Hastings. And instead of dusting off my KitchenAide mixer and making a cake for Finley that she would inevitably destroy, I paid $60 for a beautiful pink ombre cake (that was a light mint color inside!). Totally worth it for two reasons: 1. It looked amazing in her cake smash photos. 2. She barely destroyed it which meant that we got to eat it!
Who knew helium was so expensive (and that there is a shortage of it)!? After making multiple phone calls to see if various places could fill balloons I’d provide or rent out a helium tank, we ended up buying a disposable tank ($40) that filled close to 50 balloons. I tied various pink & gold ribbon to the balloons and cut them at all different lengths. Cory had the duty of buying washers from Home Depot (much cheaper than party stores!) to hold the balloons down. The outcome was even more than I expected… while Cory was annoyed trying to walk through a sea of balloons, I was in awe. (Helpful hint: if you buy a disposable helium tank, do not fill balloons even a day before the event. It doesn’t last long!)
In addition to the balloons, we had various pink flowers down the center of the tables (with a gold striped table runner made out of wrapping paper). I steered clear of roses since it was Valentine’s Day (seriously, $8 a stem!? No. The roses you’ll see in a photo were for me from my loving husband who remembered it was Valentine’s Day too!). I bought a tassel banner off etsy (here) and did some DIY glitter heart cupcake toppers and a “ONE” banner for the highchair. That was pretty much the extent of the decorations.
It was the perfect little party! We mingled, drank wine, and ate hors d’oeuvres before opening gifts and singing happy birthday to the birthday girl. I totally thought I would lose it during the singing but surprised myself and didn’t. And then my wonderful friend, Amanda, put together a video of the party that was enough to set me over the edge. If I saw it somewhere else, I would think about how much I wish I had a video like that of my baby’s birthday. I’m so lucky!
As if we wouldn’t remember her first birthday well enough, Finley helped us out by achieving another milestone — pooping in the bathtub! Way to go, little lady!
Here’s a photo recap of her big day… (and don’t forget to watch the video at the end!)
lifelove+lucy 