1. The setup! I knew that I wanted to do pink and white balloons with a simple banner. I wanted the focus to be on my daughter and not on the surroundings. Here was the basic setup that we started with. Some people use a cake stand and it looks so much better, but Madeline is going through a flipping and throwing phase. If you can stop your baby from flipping the cake stand and breaking it, it's worth it.
We made some changes after we did the first few photos. Put the balloons closer together. We took a bunch of shots that were pretty close up and the balloons were too far apart. Also, lower the banners! When you take the pictures you will be on her level so you want the banner to be right on her level. I realized this about half way through.
** Note*** Turn on the heat. If you have them in just a diaper or a tutu they might get cold.
2. Timing. My recommendation on this one is to take the pictures after your babies first nap. Mads was waking up around 10, so we setup the cake smash while she napped. When she woke up she was happy and hungry which was the perfect combination. It worked out wonderfully because that time of day has the best lighting and I didn't have to mess with my camera as much.
2. We put her down and let her adjust. I waited about 5 minutes before putting the cake in front of her. She smacked around the balloons for a couple minutes and tried to take down the banner, but after that she was fine.
3. The Cake!!!! So if your child hasn't had experience with cake before, they probably won't know what to do with it. We had given Mads some cake at her party, but she was still a little timid with it. So. Like any good parent I smeared some icing on her face and put a ton of cake in my hand and let her play with it. I recommend messing with the cake side that is facing your child, then you don't have it looking as messed up in the pictures. She loved it!!!! Me and my husband took turns taking pictures and playing with her. It was so much fun for both of us.
4. The cleanup. is. the. worst. I am very, very clumsy and the icing had some sort of oil in it and it was a bitch to clean up. I was slipping and sliding everywhere. So. make sure you have cleaner on hand. Other things to keep on hand, paper towels, cloth or disposable wipes and a towel. The cleanup process was made so much easier thanks to Anthony. We used as many baby wipes as we could to get the chunks of cake off of the baby. While he was wiping her down I went upstairs and started the bath. Having the bath ready is key! It makes it much easier. Anthony took care of Mads while I started to cleanup the downstairs.
5. The outcome. I love the pictures. It was so easy and they came out beautiful. I love when we can do fun projects together as a family and this was by far the best.
Mommy Disclaimer: I see a lot of crap out there about making homemade decorations, homemade cakes and homemade crafts. Let's be real, if you have a child you probably don't have time to do everything yourself. We bought the cake and most of the decorations. I took my top 2 favorite things on pinterest (the cake smash being one of them) and I made them my own. I think there is too much pressure out there to do as much as you can from scratch. Don't fall for it. It isn't just about your child turning one, it's also about you surviving your first year of parenthood. It's hard, stressful and incredibly fulfilling. When your baby turns one you will feel all of the feelings. Take the time to celebrate your awesomeness and cut yourself some slack. You're a badass.
