I cannot believe our baby girl is ONE! On her first birthday, we flew to Texas to celebrate and for her to finally meet more family members. Our trip was basically a huge family re union because we hadn’t seen most of our family, including our siblings, in over a year due to the pandemic. For that reason we kept the party to family only and it was the sweetest day. Since most of our family are in Texas/Oklahoma, it was much easier for us to come to Texas than it would be for everyone to come here. I was thankful that my parents let us use their beautiful home to host the party. Everything was all planned remotely and I wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. I had most of the decor items shipped to Birmingham to make sure they fit my vision; my carry-on was full of party decor. We started the day with her baptism (post here), then had her birthday party. I was very excited with how her party turned out. It was just like I had envisioned.
My Vision:
Party planning is something I very much enjoy. I actually did an event planning internship for a major sports venue after graduating college. I also have experience over the years with planning our wedding and at my various jobs (marketing and non-profit). We didn’t really have a set theme for her party, although I was drawn to pink gingham and floral touches. When planning her party, I first saw the high chair banner and knew it was what I was looking for. This was my starting point. The high chair banner, birthday hat and “happy birthday” banner for the cake are all from Little Happies, which is a local company that makes the cutest handmade party decor. I highly recommend them and know they’ll be my go-to with party decor.
Originally we wanted to have the party outside, but there was too high a chance for rain. We put everything inside and the rain ended right before her party, so it was perfect. My cousin Katherine took these gorgeous family photos and I just LOVE how they turned out. If you live in Midland/West Texas, I highly recommend her for photography (website here).
About Her Backdrop and Cake Table:
I wanted to have a backdrop where people could take photos and where we could move the highchair for smash cake photos. I was inspired by the “Scarlett” sign above her crib. Originally I wanted to get a backdrop with faux flowers like her room sign, but that would’ve been extremely expensive or would be something we’d have to rent. Since I was planning from Alabama and wouldn’t be able to see it in person until the event, it was easier for me to find a fabric backdrop. I found hers on Amazon and went with the 9×6 foot size and it was perfect once we added the balloon garland. We did have to fold the width since it was too wide for our space. I knew my parents wouldn’t want me to tape the backdrop to a wall, so I got a photography stand and put balloons around it to hide the stand. Note: the stand is not sturdy unless you fill the empty sandbags that it comes with with sand. We assembled a balloon garland to make it more festive and hide the stand. I was very happy with how it turned out.
For the cake, I wanted to come up with a pretty way to display it. My parents have a gorgeous dining room, but I felt the cake would get lost on the large table. We ended up using the large table for gifts, party favors and punch. Years ago, my dad made a table backdrop for my nieces birthday party and we used it for Scarlett’s as well. When we ordered her cake, we basically asked for them to recreate the cake they did for my shower and make her smash cake with rosettes. The cake was delicious and beautiful. I highly recommend The Flour Shop if you’re in the Flower Mound, Texas area. To add some personal touches, we used some antique pitchers from my great-grandmother for arrangements. I arranged the flowers myself; this blog post explains how I arrange flowers.
Displaying Milestones:
Lastly, I worked hard to get milestone photos for the past 12 months, I was not about to miss a way to display them. It was so fun to see them all lined up numerically, too. I ordered these numbers and clips and my sister-in-law let me borrow this gorgeous antique frame that was her grandmother’s. We used some gold leaf paint to dress it up a little bit. I stapled 3 ribbons to the back and then we stapled foam board to the back. I absolutely love how it turned out. I don’t plan to do number photos anymore, but will probably use this same frame to display my favorite photos of her at her next party.
Thank you so much for checking our post out. I had the best time party planning and already have a theme in mind for her second birthday. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Shop Scarlett’s Party Decor:
Invitations | Backdrop stand | floral backdrop |One Banner | balloon garland| High Chair Banner | 1 Party Hat | Bib: Dillard’s (we had it personalized locally) | Milestone numbers | High chair | Milestone frame is antique | Cake: Flour Shop in Flower Mound, Texas | Cake Topper | Happy Birthday sign behind cake c/o | My Dress (sold out) | Scarlett’s romper (personalized locally) | | Cake Plates
Everything looks amazing!!
Jennifer
Curated By Jennifer
Author
Thanks, Jennifer!