I wanted to write a quick blog post to share all the little but mighty & meaningful details from Hendrix’s “One Is Berry Sweet” 1st Birthday. I can’t believe it took me almost a year to finally get this blog post out. SMH. In fairness, I did cover a few details from it in my “2019, I am coming for you” blog post. Perhaps I am also just finally getting to it because I have been consumed with wrapping up details of the Halloween Boo Crew party we are about to host and are just starting to plan her 2nd birthday, so parties are fresh on my mind? Who knows. Either way, I hope you enjoy and get some creative inspo for your next event or party!
How ironic was it that my jammies matched the color theme? My coffee bar chalkboard is one of my favorite ways to add a personal touch to my events. Here I am erasing away and the party hasn’t even started. I accidentally wrote in her birth weight and height, not her measurements from one year old. Whoops!
Now, that’s better and more like it! This “milestone” chalk art was a great way for me to document several of her favorite things & accomplishments from her first year.
While were are here, can we just appreciate the photos of all of the sweets below? All which were made from scratch by her Nana and, yours truly. The mini homemade apple pies are my grandma’s secret family recipe & were given as the party favor for our guests, along with the cupcakes.
My husband and I had a red velvet wedding cake and there is a ton of meaning to that flavor so we wanted to have it for Hendrix’s birthday (not to mention they were the perfect color & coordinated with her berry theme).
This gorgeous cake came out of a bunch of chaos, and I love it. It was my first time making a “naked” cake and I’d say it came out stunning, wouldn’t you? The addition of fresh flowers and berries added the perfect dainty feminine touch I was looking for.
The elegant paper plates (yes they are paper) came from one of my favorite tableware sources, Sophistiplate. I knew I wanted to set the table for the party but didn’t want to be trapped for hours doing dishes afterwards. After-all, isn’t brunch best when you can pig out and then veg on the couch?
One of, if not my favorite, decorative accessories for a party is flowers. I know they may not be the cheapest and you may not feel like you have the “know-how” to arrange them, but I promise you, Pinterest is your friend and is great for inspiration. I always choose monochromatic tones and use LOTS of greenery to enhance the arrangements. I also love to use different styles of vases and vary the height of them to add dimension.
Sweet touches like printable gift bag tags, banners, and welcome signs are a great way to keep a cohesive theme going throughout the party space. Check out these relatively generic gift bags that I added tags to. In addition, I enlarged a version of the birthday invitation and mounted it in an acrylic standing frame on the favor table, which doubled as a welcome table in the foyer.
You might have thought after hearing how much I love flowers that they were they way to my heart (and although very close) food is really the way! Ha! In order to hold the guests over until brunch, we served a simple charcuterie board filled with tons of delicious cheeses, fresh meat, & scrumptious fruit.
A mimosa and juice bar is never a good idea at brunch (said no one ever)! We had several bottles of champagne for the guests to chose from… even a non-alcoholic version from Ready to Pop. Add fresh fruit, a few different juice types, some flowers, balloons, and decor and you’ll have the perfect setup that will draw everyone in and keep them coming back for more!
Cake time! Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Hendrix. Happy Birthday to you!
I used our Rettel Craft Paper Roller as a big family birthday card. Each person signed her a wish and we are saving it for her to read one day.
One of my best tips of advice is get all of the kids and “necessary” (aka the pictures you want to look relatively put together and pretty) out of the way BEFORE the party starts. As seen here… I am still in my jammies trying to get Hendrix to smile, and failing miserably.
Eventually she warmed up some and we got some pretty cute pictures I’d say! This girl melts and warms my heart all in one!
Balloon garlands are probably one of the most economical decorative accessory you can get to make the biggest impact for photos. They are brilliant for backdrops!
Photography: Crystal Swass of Blue Anchor Love Photography
Party Styling & Decor: Yours Truly @the_floridagirl
Sweets: Nana and Moi
Custom Gift Bag Tags, Birthday Invitations, Floral Signs, “One is Sweet” Banner, “Eat”, “Drink”, “Be Sweet” Banners, and Floral Signs: Shauna @stayinghomesawyer