Dainty Cake Smash!

In case you couldn’t tell, I take birthdays pretty seriously and wanted Adina’s first birthday to be extra special. We had plans to take family photos in mid-October with Faryl Loew, who did my maternity photos and Adina’s newborn photos. Since it was just a couple of weeks before Adina’s birthday, we decided to add some birthday-inspiration to the shoot and do a romantic and feminine cake-smash! It was so much fun!

Adina had never tried cake before this and at first, she was pretty apprehensive about it. I wasn’t sure what she would think of it and I’d heard stories of some “cake smash fails” that ended in a lot of tears! Adina ignored the cake and went straight for the sparkly “one” cake topper. Once we removed the topper, she was so dainty about the “smash,” just taking a little bit of the frosting and smushing it in between her fingers. I encouraged her to try some more by tasting the cake myself and putting a small piece of it in her hand. Then she started to get into it and got some more cake and frosting on her face.

I loved how simple we kept the shoot, with a neutral outfit and minimal props. I picked up a cake that morning from Whole Foods and decided to get a classic vanilla cake with white frosting and subtle rainbow sprinkles. Mom Tip: I cared more about how cake looked in the photos than how it tasted (since Adina was only going to have a lick or two) and I didn’t want to spend a fortune something that was going to get “smashed” right away. I’m so glad I went with a store-bought cake, instead of a more expensive gourmet option for this shoot and I didn’t feel bad about tossing the cake after we took the pictures. We got a super special cake for her actual birthday party and that was definitely worth it!

Faryl shot our family pictures and the cake smash outside and we got lucky with amazing weather and lovely natural light! We sprinkled some fresh flowers and petals on the ground and Adina looked adorable in her white eyelet dress and dainty flower crown. I really love how the photos came out and I hope they inspire you for your future cake smash!