DIY Cake Smash

I couldn't resist doing a cake smash for James' first birthday! I think they are so adorable. I considered getting a professional shoot done but thought it would be more fun (and a lot cheaper) to do it myself. I did it the morning after his birthday party so that we could use his cake for the lolly buffet and "happy birthday" candle blow-out. The morning was a great time to do it as he was happy and full of beans (as opposed to tired and cranky which is what he was like at the end of his party).

I was originally planning to do it outside on the grass but it was raining and miserable so I decided to do it in the corner of the living room. Luckily we've got wooden floorboards so I didn't have to worry about hanging a drop sheet. I kept the props pretty simple with left over balloons from the party, a mulicoloured banner and giant letters. Cute, easy and inexpensive. You could also use other props like streamers, pom poms, chairs, chalkboards etc. Just don't go too overboard!

As I'm not the best baker in the world, I asked my friend to help make this gorgeous butter-cream beehive smash cake for James. I then added a few sugar bees (purchased from eBay) as a finishing touch. Photo-wise, I think it turned out really well. It also tasted amazing! James kept breaking pieces off and trying to give them to me - so I gobbled them up (it would have been rude to say no) and as you can see, James loved it too!




I kept him in the same outfit as his party to keep it consistent, plus I think it's adorable. I thought about making him a little crown - but knowing him, he'd rip it off straight away. I also think overalls would have been cute. A lot of bubs go topless for these shoots but I prefer it when they wear fun outfits (for girls I think tutu's are a must!).




This is definitely a two person job! One to take photos and the other to keep them from crawling off. Having two people also makes it easier to clean up! After the shoot, I cleaned James up (jumped in the shower with me) while Rob put the left over cake away and cleaned the floor.



I'm so happy with how the photos turned out and I think James had a great time digging into that cake. I definitely recommend doing your own cake smash if you've got the time (and a good camera) as they are so much fun!

xx