1st Birthday Party

In addition to enjoying all wedding details and organizing just about everything -- yes, this is why I love coordinating wedding -- I absolutely LOVE planning my children's birthday parties!  Love it!  Scouring pinterest, digging through the clearance section at Michaels, I try to match the theme closest to the likes of my children.  

This one year old's birthday theme:  Raspberries & Roses. 

I knew I wanted pink and just had to have roses, and so the planning began! 

Because I enjoy a good DIY party, I did all the decor myself.

To begin with, I found a paper rose tutorial online where I needed to swirl paper to make a flower.  When I tried this, it looked awful.  Absolutely awful.  So, I tried a little pink felt flower instead.
Much better!  

These felt flowers ended up on branches in a mason jar as a centerpiece, on a yarn wreath for the front door, and on the birthday girl's headband. 







To match those cute little roses, I splurged when I bought a pink petticoat/tutu from My Little Stinky on etsy and found a tank/sweater twin set from Target.

Our food and drink were centered around the raspberry theme -- we enjoyed raspberry bellinis and salad with raspberry dressing among many other delicious items on the brunch menu.





I designed all the printables through Microsoft Publisher.



And...I even made her happy birthday banner that hung over the fireplace along with her big R.



We made a smash cake for the birthday girl and white cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting for the guests.



I found the cake bunting in the Michaels clearance bin for under $1!





Above the cake table hung the birthday girl's picture banner.  Each month on the date of her birthday, I took a picture of her with the appropriate corresponding number in the picture.  It was neat to see how much she has grown over the year.



The birthday girl had a blast!
To send off our guests with something thematically memorable, we made some homemade raspberry jam  in these mason jars with R & R labels for Raspberries & Roses.



We cannot believe our little girl is already one!  The brunch was a perfect way to celebrate!
And now on to planning our young man's birthday for this summer -- he wants a tractor party, so I'll be looking for ways to make it original.  Any advice?

Brittany & Ryan's Highlight Video from Blue Sky Films

Back in April in Ocean City, MD, I had the privilege to work with Brittany and Ryan, a couple who are so completely in love with each other -- and very affectionate! Brit's love of pink is almost as great as her love for Ryan. She infused it every where she could -- including her wedding bands.

As you can see from the video, Brittany, a photographer herself, wanted to capture some really great moments.

So, check out the video to see the unique places they went for bridal party pictures.

Brittany and Ryan's Closing Highlight Film from Blue Sky Films on Vimeo.

Thanks again, to Brittany and Ryan for having jpb designs be a part of your special day, and thanks to Blue Sky Films for the amazing work you did!