Coco's 1st Birthday Party
On July 20th, as the sun was setting, we celebrated our daughter Chloe’s 1st birthday. The table was set for family and friends who were kind and brave enough to endure Mother Nature’s birthday gift, 100 degree heatwave. For Coco’s party theme, I wanted to do something unexpected, summery and bright…. I decided on a lemon story mixed in with a little pink… pink lemonade perhaps?
There is nothing more special in the summer time (besides those summer sunsets) as the warm, quiet nights when the humidity is just right and the crickets’ music as the soundtrack. Every summer, we put up our string lights to make the evenings that much more magical. For the party, I wanted to jazz them up a bit and strung flowers along all the lights, as if it was raining flowers, and loved the look more than I had ever imagined!
String lights ~ linked here
For the floral arrangements, I wanted something simple but keeping in theme with the party. I added a few lemons into the arrangement, but faux lemons. I rarely use anything faux but when it comes to lemons, it’s the way to go. Because lemons are so acidic, if you puncture them or cut them at all, they release a gas that wilts the flowers. So for arrangements, where they have to be put into the vase and therefore stuck with a wooden stick, I opt for faux lemons instead. ~ Check out my Instagram stories highlights for full video on this arrangement!
In the arrangement:
Hydrangea
Lisianthus
Two different varieties of roses
Faux lemons
And for Coco’s flower crown, I used baby’s breath, small pink roses and faux mini lemons.
Coco’s tutu from Tiny Hanger ~ linked here
For the birthday cake, I decided on one of my summer favorites, lemon yogurt cake. I modified the glaze a bit and made a more substantial “frosting” with yogurt, heavy cream and confectioners sugar… oh and a little sprinkle of lemon zest. I also added lemon curd onto each of the two layers of the cake to give it even more lemon-y goodness! And as always, I loved having my sous chef Levi help me with the cake for his sister!
Lemon yogurt cake ~ linked here
To decorate the cake I wanted to try something I’ve never done before, use real flowers. I turned the frosting a light pink color by adding in a few drops of food coloring which I thought would look better with the pink flowers than just a plain white frosting. I chose to use the garden roses and the lisianthus flowers, washed the flower and the stem and arranged them on the cake. I finished off the cake by sprinkling some lemon zest all over, and loved how the pale pink played with the bright yellow of the lemons.
It was truly the perfect summer night under the stars (and no mosquitos), with some amazing people, good food, good music and the most special of celebrations! Happy 1st birthday Chloe Giselle!
I would love to hear your thoughts…. please feel free to comment here or find me on Instagram @styleproductions!
xxAlisa
