I was caught off-guard when my family started singing “Happy Birthday” to my daughter on her first birthday and I promptly burst into tears. I didn’t realize how overwhelmed I was by the fact that the first year went so darn quick. Yes, everyone warns you. But until you’ve experienced it yourself, it’s hard to comprehend. Planning a cake smash session is a fun way to celebrate and preserve the details of your child’s first birthday.
Read on to find out how to plan your cake smash session!
Booking a Cake Smash
Obviously, the first question is do you want to have special portraits done to remember your little one’s first year? Some families opt to do a traditional, outdoor family session to mark this event, with a few individual photos of the soon-to-be one-year-old. This is absolutely fine and a great way to get family pictures at the same time.
A cake smash session is different. It has two parts that make it unique. The first part is first-year portraits where your child gets pictures individually, wearing an outfit we can choose together. This can be from the client closet or something that you have purchased on your own. The second part is the actual smashing of the cake. It is always so exciting to see how your little one responds to adults encouraging them to make a mess!
Planning a Cake Smash: Your Vision
Once you’ve decided you want to book a cake smash session, it’s time to chat about your vision. I will send you a prep guide and a questionnaire where you can throw some ideas out there and submit Pinterest inspiration pictures, if you like. That will be our starting point. From there, we will chat about the cake and decorations. I will make all of the purchases of any additional props needed and included in your session fee is the cost of the cake. I will pick it up from a local baker and bring it to the session. One less thing to worry about!
Outfit Selection
As previously mentioned, you can bring your own outfit for the cake smash or you can shop in the client closet for your session. For boys, a lot of parents choose to do simple jeans and no shirt. For girls, ribbon tutus are popular with a matching onesie. If you are interested in seeing what I have for outfits, just let me know when you are booking your cake smash session. I will be happy to send you pictures of what I have available in your child’s size.
Let’s Smash Some Cake!
The day of your session, you will walk in to see your vision come to life. The props and decorations will be set up, outfits laid out and we’re just waiting on baby! As soon as your little one is dressed, we’ll grab some one-year portraits while they are still nice and clean. Then, it will be time to change into their cake smashing outfit and get to it. It is always so interesting to see how little one’s react. Some have never tasted sugar before, so they go all in. Other little ones are not aware it’s cake and sometimes the parents have to model eating a bit of it for them to understand (the job is hard, I know). And sometimes, there’s crying. But at the end of the day, it’s a fun experience to celebrate your little one turning one.
If you’re thinking a cake smash might be the perfect way to celebrate your little one’s first birthday, check out my cake smash portfolio. I usually encourage parents to book this session when their little one is 11 months old so they can use the pictures for their first birthday, so definitely reach out around 9 months to make sure that everything can be arranged in time.
