Wednesday, April 13, 2011

first birthday: it's in the details

I started planning BG's first birthday months ago. It didn't take too long to narrow it down to a "spring" theme and from there I came up with "Spring has sprung, Ella's turning one" and ran with it. Colors, decorations, and food ideas to go with that theme were easy to come up with and I had a blast getting it all together.

My friend Jessica did the invitations for me and they turned out perfect. I could not have loved them anymore or found an invite that fit my theme any better.



We had the party at my grandparent's house in Savannah. When we got there on Thursday, it was COLD and I was freaking out about the weather, but the day of the party the weather was amazing. We had the party out on the back deck with the food and drinks inside.


Not a bad view huh?

The back porch:



Breaking it down a bit more..

I printed out Baby Girl's monthly age pictures and framed one of her one year pictures to put out. The terra cotta pots were a big part of my spring theme.

My friend Emily made that amazing wreath and had the tablecloth done for me as well. How awesome is that wreath?!? We loved it!

I put water bottles outside because it was actually pretty hot. The labels were made for BG's party by my friend Sarah. They matched her invitation perfectly.



We put out a copy of Guess How Much I Love You to serve as a guest book. I love the guest book idea and I am so glad we did it. The notes people wrote in there will mean a ton to her some day.


Gifts' table


We didn't serve sit down food, but I did want to have a few tables where people could sit down with their finger foods and talk. I used live flowers and pictures of BG's one year shoot for the centerpieces. Oh, and I scored those amazing bird houses out of the T*arget dollar bins.




We set up the food and drinks indoors. We used my grandparents' dining room table for the main food; finger sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, fruit, crab and shrimp dip, and about a billion other finger foods were laid out. My Grandma and Aunt did an amazing job on the food. I didn't have to lift a finger in this department.

I painted the one canvas in the background to match the theme. We rolled plain pink plastic silverware to put in the terra cotta pot. And my friend Karah made the amazing "Happy Birthday Ella" banner.

The favor station:

Each of the kiddos went home with a flower cookie made by my parents and a terra cotta pot with a bag of seeds to plant later. The favor tags were also made by Emily and said "Thanks for coming to celebrate with me as I SPRING into year two! Love, Ella". This picture was taken before the party as those water bottles went out on the porch.

We set up the dessert table in the breakfast nook area:

I made a few of the poms but then realized my Mom was way better at them so she ended up making these. They would have been the death of me. Karah made the adorable cupcake toppers and a friend of mine from high school made the cake which was oh so delicious.

I ordered the candy from Economy Candy. I cannot say enough about their excellent customer service. I had these set up to go to our house but then realized we would have left for Savannah before they ordered. A few emails to them and not only was the candy headed to Savannah, but she gave me a cheaper shipping price and two day shipping! Then I messed up one of the colors and a girl called me at home to make sure before she shipped it out. Amazing customer service!

My friend from high school makes these cakes as a "hobby". She's crazy. She needs to go into business. This cake was awesome. I gave her number to quite a few guests that day!

This is the tv cabinet that holds the tv that should have had my slideshow playing on it. But since that didn't happen, I had to put something cute on it, so I made this banner to go on there. I think it turned out pretty decent.


Some other touches on the end table; framed invitation and another picture of BG I took in Savannah a few weeks ago.


And.. the most important detail of all..

BG's dress was made by one of my Twitter buds. I love this SheSheMade dress and it turned out just like I wanted.

She changed into her SheSheMade t-shirt for smash cake time.


I got so many ideas and so much help from my amazing blog/Twitter buds. Maybe it's just where I'm from but we usually don't do tons of details and stuff like this for kid's parties around here, but I am so glad I did. I loved every bit of the planning and making process. I heard multiple times how great everything looked and how much fun everyone had. Love it. I'm so, so glad that Baby Girl's special day turned out so perfect.


And even though this was a ton of pictures, there's way more. To be continued...

25 comments:

Jen Watts said...

What a PERFECT first birthday!! I know I'll bookmark this for ideas for my baby girl- love the flower pot idea and so many others!!

Kara said...

I love Ella's party! Your grandma's house is so lovely and southern! You did such a good job! It is simple-not too much, just enough and so sweet and pretty! Ella looks adorable! You're right, the internet makes it easier to get party ideas!

Melanee said...

you did a fantastic job! i love how almost everything at her party was done by a friend or loved one so it was all personal and done with love. and that backyard was great for an outdoor party. fun times!

Unknown said...

WOW...what an amazing job!!! I'm sure Ella had such a wonderful time!

KM said...

Great Job Mama!!! All the decorations looked GREAT. I really liked all your ideas. The pots with all E's pics....I LOVE that ideas! And of course she looked so stinking cute in all her She She Made.

~KM

Newlywed Next Door said...

I love the flower theme! So cute! I love all the blogger involvement too! :)
The cake looks YUM!
Can't wait to see more.
xoxo!

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

The invitations are adorable!!! Love the cake, and decor...so pretty. Hope it was a wonderful time for you!

Lauren said...

SO cute!!!!!!! :)

K said...

LOVE the decorations! What a cute theme! And BG is ofcourse adorable in her pictures. As always!

Karah said...

I love everything!!! It turned out all so great. :) Ella looks precious as always. Im so glad I could be a part of it. :) xoxo

Suze said...

You put on an amazing birthday for sweet E! Everything turned out just LOVELY! I love E's dress , soooo precious!

Margaret said...

Girl I know I have been MIA but I still read every single post-this birthday party was adorable! I love all of the beautiful flowers. I see the poms and banners on other blogs too and think I need to write it down-where do I get the stuff to make em? Congratulations on a wonderful first year mama!

The Shabby Princess said...

It looks perfect!! So cute. I LOOOOOVE the theme.

Ashley said...

It turned out perfectly! You did a great job! Love the spring theme, and as if she couldn't get any cuter, that dress was perfect!

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

Um, you did AWESOME! SO so so beautiful!!

Mojito Maven said...

Adorable, friend! ADORABLE!

Melissa @ I Pick Pretty said...

Hey there!

What a gorgeous party, and I'm so impressed that you, your family & friends did so many of those perfect details yourself. I love the party favor pots in particular - as well as the birthday girl in pink, of course. Well done!

Cara S. said...

What a sweet party! I love all the details, you really covered it all!! Happy Birthday Sweet Ella!!

Jillian said...

YOu did an awesome job!! I love everything!!

Emily and Andrew said...

You did such a great job!!!!! I bet we have been two crazy party planning mamas the past few months! The details are what make a party and yours was awesome!!!! I am already planning the next one in my head!

Emily and Andrew said...

You did such a great job!!!!! I bet we have been two crazy party planning mamas the past few months! The details are what make a party and yours was awesome!!!! I am already planning the next one in my head!

lg2006 said...

OMG her party was SO cute! I love all the color schemes and decorations and cakes! really cute just like BG!

sarah @ life {sweet} life said...

OH my word girl, you TOTALLY outdid yourself! I l-o-v-e all of the details...SO cute! And of course BG looks adorbs...but HOW is she one?! Time is going by too fast. :( Such a fun day!

Rachel said...

I am slow with the blog reading this week and I'm just now getting around to seeing this post. Ohy my word, what a cute party!! The invitations, the theme, the decor, the CAKE! It was all perfect. What a lucky girl little Ella is to have you for a mom :)

d.a.r. said...

What a precious and perfect party!!! Ahh, so cute!

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin