Our sweet girl turned one in May last year, and I wanted to do an inexpensive DIY cake smash and first birthday shoot, so I scoured Pinterest for ideas! Cake smash sessions can be pretty expensive in our area, so I decided to do it myself and save some money. Don’t be afraid to have your own photo shoots and cake smashes with your babes!! It’s nice to have the professional first birthday pictures, but if you don’t have the extra money to spend, you can totally do it yourself and make it amazing! Whatever you chose to do, it will be so special.
I took all of these pictures with my phone! 🙂
I didn’t really have a specific “theme” in mind, but I knew I wanted it girly- lots of pink and florals:) I am completely obsessed with all things floral. Pinterest and Etsy both have lots of great ideas. I actually really love how everything turned out and it was SO easy!!
Here are the deets:
I spent less than about $80 on everything (cake, outfit, and decorations). I already had some of the supplies, like the cake stand, white balloons, felt leaf garland, and high chair cover. The cake was a plain, naked 6″ cake and cost $25, and I added the fresh flowers myself (they cost about $5-7 from the grocery store).
The wooden cake topper is from Etsy, floral crown from Etsy, and Charlotte’s dress was from a Facebook BST page. (I linked everything at the bottom of this post.) Etsy is one of my very favorite places to shop for parties and celebrations! You can find basically anything on there, and in every price range.
**(The pink pinafore dress shown in a few of the pictures was one I had already had. I had planned on having C wear it but it was way too small:( I managed to get a few pics in it before her birthday, but it was soo tight!)
I created the greenery backdrop using a stick I found in our backyard, and fresh greenery from the grocery store. The pink flowers were .97 at Walmart. Walmart surprisingly has some really nice, inexpensive faux flowers! You will also need twine to hang the stick, and invisible fishing wire to hang the greenery/flowers. Basically all you do is tie the fishing wire to the end of each piece of greenery or flower. It’s up to you to decide the length and the spacing! You can do it so many ways. What’s awesome about this decoration is that you can keep it up in your babe’s bedroom even after their birthday! I still have Charlotte’s hanging in her room, and it still looks perfect. I love how it added just a little something to the blank wall.
For the little “cake table” setup, I just used a white cloth curtain as a tablecloth, added a vase of greenery ($7 at the grocery store), the cake, a cake stand from the Target dollar spot ($3), and the “Darling, you are one” print I found on Etsy ($5). I hung the floral hanging behind it, and that’s it! Very easy and very inexpensive:)
A naked cake is so perfect for a cake smash because there is minimal frosting mess to clean up! At first, Charlotte was very hesitant and cautious about her cake. I loved how she was so dainty, only grabbing small pieces and tasting, and poking it with her fingertips. After a while, she was more comfortable and started taking bigger bites. She absolutely loved it and it was so fun to watch her first bites of cake.
Let me know if you have any questions about anything! I would love to hear from you. I LOVE planning parties and celebrating my girls! I’m already busy thinking about what I’ll do for Charlotte’s 2nd birthday! (How will she be 2 in just a few months?!!)
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XO,
