Harper's Wild & ONEderful Celebration
I still can't believe we have a ONE year old daughter. I know everyone says it, but you never really believe how fast the time flies until it's your own child. We had such a fun time celebrating her first year of life, and I thought I would recap all the sweet details from her party! As we headed into summer this year, I started to plan Harper's 1st Birthday.
Growing up, my parents always had a small gathering of family at our home for our birthdays, so I wanted to continue the same tradition. I had plans in place and invitations sent, and then; football throws it all on it's head. Scott was offered a new coaching position at a new University so my plan of having her birthday at our home was out of the question if I wanted him to be in attendance.
Harper's dress. This is actual wallpaper in my Aunt & Uncles home. It is just gorgeous and the perfect backdrop for some sweet detail shots of her birthday get up. I wanted to get a few shots of her precious little outfit before it was covered in cake and icing :)
I snagged this cute little number right before her birthday so it's still available! Buy it here
So, out of the kindness of their heart, my sweet Aunt Cindy & Uncle Don graciously let us move our celebration to their home. It was much closer to Scott's new job and their house just happens to be filled with some the most beautiful vintage furniture around, it was a perfect fit! I wanted to share some of my favorite details with everyone, and hope you enjoy them as much I did creating them! *All photographs were taken by Marci Cochran of Marcellaneous Photography. I love every image and am so glad she took time out of her Sunday to capture every detail of the day! Thank you so much sweet Marci!
THEME:
After countless hours on Pinterest, I really wanted a "theme" that wasn't overdone or played out. With Harper being born in West Virginia and it being her first birthday, the states' slogan was it, with a little play on words: Wild and ONEderful! I highlighted the idea with her party favors, "Wild" honey that Scott and I purchased at the state fair. I picked up some mini honey jars from Jo Ann Fabric (they come with pre-cut string and fabric: game changer), and a "Wild Flower-esque" feel with the stunning floral arrangements from Rooted By Design (more on her wonderfulness later). I crafted her invitations from cotton rag paper from Silk & Willow with stamps from Verde Studio - they even had a "baby girl" collection with a vintage carriage and floral stamps.
EATS:
With Harper's party being at 2pm it put us between lunch and dinner, so I opted for light fare and lots of sweets! I knew the first things on the menu had to be my mother-in-laws cookies! We have her bake these for every special event, and I've yet to make it over the food in time to snag one, they always go quick! She made thumbprints and meltaways, using hints of blush but as soon as the pictures were taken: they were gone!
I contacted Rachael at Honeycomb Baking to order custom sugar cookies, sent her a few pictures of what I wanted, and she absolutely exceeded our expectations. My father even commented on how beautiful they turned out, and anyone that knows him, knows that is HUGE! She not only incorporated the theme in each cookie, but the color palette was perfect. She used edible gold flakes on the two guests cakes, which added such a fun touch to the table!
I also had a few cotton candy sundaes for the kids to grab; I used a few depression glass pieces I found at a vintage shop in Pittsburgh to display the treats on the table
Inside, we had traditional bites, chicken salad sandwiches, fruits, veggies, an assortment of meats and cheeses, and refreshments. My Aunt has a beautiful collection of Franciscan Desert Rose tableware, so we used a lot of her pieces to display the food and drinks. I love the pattern and it paired really well with the theme, I even used a plate as part of Harper's "place setting" at her high chair!
FLORAL I may have a slight obsession with flowers, and with us changing the location of the party, I was afraid I would have to nix the idea of flowers at her birthday; because finding a florist on short notice could be tough. Our sweet friends at Farley Furniture built a great reusable frame that would house a hanging centerpiece for the dessert table. I really wanted hanging Amaranthus, my go-to seeded eucalyptus, with pops of fun "wild looking" flowers. Thankfully, I found Raiko at Rooted by Design: She made THE most beautiful piece, which stretched almost 3 feet, and it fit perfectly atop all the sweet treats. It was filled with roses, stock, blue thistle, and tons of beautiful flowers, and she covered the entire base in moss. and even in the midst of her busy wedding season, she made all my flower dreams come true. She is uber talented and really brought my vision to life.
Four other arrangements dotted the party, one of which was arranged in a vintage urn I found at a flea market, which greeted guests as they arrived.
I am a firm believer that flowers can make or break the look of an event and Raiko did not disappoint when it came to Harper's arrangements. If you are in need of a florist in the Morgantown area, I would highly recommend her!
CAKE
My mom always made my cakes when I was a little girl. From mermaids to clowns, she decorated them all and they were always the centerpiece of our parties. I had her make Harper's cake and it turned out wonderful. She used a "cupcake" mold, making it small enough for her to tear into, and sticking with the color scheme, she used a neutral tone for the icing. We set it atop this blush cake stand and added the coveted single candle. Harper LOVED it and everyone enjoyed watching her dig in!
FUN R+O EXTRAS Too many times during parties and events of years past, I have taken on tons of projects and ended up being burnt out and overworked before the party even begins. So I made a conscious effort to limit the DIY-ing for this one, but I did manage to squeeze in a few fun details even when I cut back :)
We made this whimsy banner that hung outside near the entrance. I used an old window from Scott's Grandmother and added some L brackets at the bottom so it could serve at a sign.
I also made two gold lettered signs, one that we used at the food table and the other was made from the directional arrows we used on our wedding day. We peeled off the lettering and replaced it with new. It's nice to know we've used it during some of our best days!
One of my favorite details of the day, would have to be Harper's "guestbook". I used Artifact Uprising a few years ago to make our wedding album and fell in love with their products. I made this book from one of their photo books, each page has a year and each year (I hope) I will bring it out for all of her party guests to sign until she's 18. Hopefully it will be a fun keepsake for her and something she can look back on forever!
I LOVE this reuseable banner from Rifle Paper. We used it at our baby shower, and also the day we brought Harper home from the hospital. Here's to using it for many birthdays to come!
I ordered these delicate and fun laser cut wooden pieces from Blessed Blondies on etsy. I wanted a cake topper that I could reuse (are we seeing a pattern here?) and a small wooden token for Harper. They are even prettier in person!
I also wanted to incorporate this gorgeous swing I purchased from Adelisa & co. - getting the swing in my possession took me a few times of waiting for a restock and it selling out in minutes - but it was worth the wait! We tied it up to my Aunt & Uncles grapevine and got some priceless shots!
Among the stars of the day, were my Aunt and Uncles vintage furniture. We used so many things throughout the party, from the antique buffet with marble top which housed all the treats and eucalyptus, to the vintage Welch jelly jars that served as drinking glasses, to a treasured bunny carriage as an playful accent - each piece had so much character and meaning and I was so excited to use it all!
Harper's birthday was a success and we loved having our family together, if only for a few hours, to celebrate our beautiful little girl. A HUGE thank you to our family for a wonderful Sunday afternoon filled with love, laughs, and lots of fun presents. Thank you to my sweet Aunt Cindy and Uncle Don for opening their home to everyone and moving way too much furniture, Harper's Nana and Mim for the baking and crafting, and to my dad & brother for being set up crew/delivery boys/babysitters during the party planning.
(I'll be posting all the birthday picture fun on my personal account later this weekend) Thanks for following along! xo Lauren
