I realize it's been waaaaay over a year since Annie Louise's birthday party, but I just had to post some pictures here since this blog is pretty much the way I keep everything together.
So, here goes...my sweet Annie Louise's "BIRD"day party for her first birthday! I will let you know that I started planning for this party when AL was about 6 months old. I compiled all my ideas, made a big birthday to-do list and tackled everything as I could. I bought things when I could (this saved me from spending a large amount of money on one trip), and I tried to do as many things as I could myself (along with my mom's assistance - she's a mastermind)...hello, DIY!
As far as the theme goes, we obviously went with a bird theme. But I also wanted it to have an old-fashioned, eclectic feel. I wanted the main colors to be bright and colorful, but I didn't want anything to be too matchy-matchy, think - lots of colors and lots patterns!
My biggest tip would be to hire a photographer, if you can. Our good friend and photographer,
Joy Chambers, took ALL of these photos, and I have hired her again for AL's 2nd birthday. It was so nice to be able to actually enjoy the day and not worry about getting pictures of everything...not to mention, she's a PHOTOGRAPHER, so she takes amazing photos. Just my two cents.
Now, all my planning and hard work in pictures for you to enjoy....
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| we had the party in our back yard - this was the sign that led everyone to the party! |
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| the party sign was a large piece of cardboard that my mom painted (she's good, huh?) |
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| we had lots of various snacks & desserts - these were white chocolate covered oreos...and the cute "towel" is actually an antique embroidered pillowcase! |
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| a party just isn't a party without printed napkins, right?! |
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| welcome table - bird masks made out of craft foam, quilt squares for guest to sign, bird fans (it was hot!) & favor bags for the kiddos! |
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| water bottle labels with the same motif & font as the invitation and other paper goods! |
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| decorated birthday hats - I just bought regular birthday hats & embellished them with pompoms, paper birds & 1s |
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| felt bird garland for the umbrella |
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| the birthday girl herself! my mom made her onesie to match our theme & the skirt was made by our friends at Bella Vista Baby (they did AL's nursery) |
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| I wanted people to remember all the things from AL's first year - so, I made a picture garland of "Annie Louise's Year of Firsts" - I put various pictures from her first bath, first trip to the beach, first Halloween, etc. All the guests loved seeing all the photos and taking a trip down memory lane! |
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| My dad made this awesome bean bag toss game, and we painted it to match the theme! I wanted there to be lots of games & activities for all the kiddos! |
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| this was the dessert/sweets table. we draped a large piece of fabric against the house and used quilts, buntings, and lots of different pieces of fabric to decorate the table! |
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| sweet birdie picks we used to decorate mini cupcakes! I just purchased little wooden picks, and we cut out birds out of paper and glued them to the picks...they turned out so cute! |
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| this was over the food table - tissue paper poms and balloons in different sizes & shapes! |
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| cupcakes + picks! |
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| month-by-month pictures of Annie Louise |
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| felt birds hanging from the umbrella |
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| we had quite the crowd, and it was SO much fun! |
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| bird cookie favors for all the guests to take! |
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| year of firsts garland! |
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| quilt squares for guests to sign - I'm working on having these made into a quilt for AL |
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| smash cake! |
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| AL's highchair all birthday'd out! |
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| trying to get all the kiddos together for a picture is HARD work! |
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| my pride and joy - styrafoam 1 covered in tissue paper rosettes...very time consuming, but VERY cute! |
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| getting ready to attach the cake.... |
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| face first...no hands! that's my girl! |
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| I would say it was a successful party.... |
Feel free to leave me any questions about any of the details...I would be glad to help you!
party details:
photographer: Joy Chambers Photograph
invitations, water bottle labels & napkins: The Write Impression
smash cake, cupcakes & cookies: Virginia Claire's Cake Shoppe
"bird"day onesie: Mattie Mae Designs
bird skirt: Bella Vista Baby
decorations/food: LeeLee & SheShe (that would be me and my mama)
PRECIOUS, Lena!!! I love every detail.
ReplyDeleteLena, this is the cutest party! Annie's outfit is just adorable. I can't wait to see what you do for her second birthday!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the midst of planning my daughter Hadley's birdie themed first birthday party and yours has served as a great source of inspiration! Looks like a blast was had by all!
ReplyDeleteAw, I ran across this on pinterest while looking for ideas for my Ann Louise's first birthday. She's adorable and the party was so cute, and obviously, I love her name!
ReplyDeleteWow i am planning a bird themed birthday for my 3 yr old and this is inspiring. What other games/activities did you do besides bean bag toss?
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