Noa's First Birthday — ariel loves

Noa is officially one year old! I still can’t believe it! We had a pumpkin themed first birthday party for her and it was wonderful, whimsical, and so memorable. We were so moved to have family and friends join us from all over NY, NJ, and MA to celebrate Noa’s special day. It was amazing to feel all the love for our sweet girl and she had the best time partying with all of her friends and family!

Party Planner

Do you enjoy party planning? Or does it stress you out? I’m somewhere in the middle! As a busy mom of two, my plate is very full and my time in limited. That’s why I am grateful for any help I can get when it comes to party planning! Over the summer, I learned about Partify Planner and knew I wanted to work with them on Noa’s party. Partify is the first platform that enables you to easily find, book, and purchase everything you need for your child’s perfect birthday party. Partify offers one-click themed packages or customizable experience that lets you choose the venue, entertainer, food, decorations, cake, invites - you name it. Their service is free - just answer a few questions, and you will get an offer for a package with the best vendors to suit your needs. Partify also offers VIP services like a Day-of-Event Helper and a “Surprise Shop” where guests can select their own party favor.

It was so easy to plan this birthday party with Partify! I shared my vision and details for the party on their website and they took care of the rest! My personal virtual party planner came back to me with venue options and options for food and entertainment vendors, which saved me so much time! We were in touch via email and phone in the weeks leading up to the party and she answered all of my questions promptly and thoroughly! I’m also so glad we used one of Partify’s Premium services and had a Day-of-Event helper. She was at the party from start to finish and assisted with set up, clean up, took pictures, coordinated with the vendors, and made sure everything went smoothly. Thanks to our Day-of-Event Helper, I was actually able to eat the food, talk to our guests, and be present with the birthday girl!

VENUE

Since our NYC apartment is too small to host more than a few guests, Partify researched venues in our area and shared several options with me. We were looking for a local venue that was available on our date, could hold a large group, and accommodate the needs of many different ages from newborns to ninety-year-olds. One of the venues that Partify found - The Great Room - had everything we were looking for! It was spacious, bright, close-by, and was comfortable for adults and children of all ages. Partify booked the venue and was in contact with them regarding questions and details about our party.

DECOR

I started thinking about Noa’s first birthday a couple of months in advance and used the fall season as inspiration for the theme since she’s a November baby. I decided on a pastel pumpkin theme and we went with a white, blush and peach color scheme, with touches of green and gold. We used decorative pumpkins that I’ve collected over the last few years as decor. My mom and I also put together fall-themed floral and pumpkin centerpieces for the tables and the buffet.

DESSERT TABLE

The main feature of the room was definitely the dessert table! We decorated the area with a gold foil “ONE” balloon and white, peach, and blush colored balloons. On the table itself, we included assorted pumpkins of different sizes and colors, as well as some framed photos from Noa’s cake smash shoot. For dessert, we served pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies and pumpkin cake pops. The most eye-catching desserts were of course Noa’s beautiful cakes, topped with a glittery gold “one” cake topper. Where to begin with the CAKES!!! I never thought I could be so excited about a baked good, but these sweet treats brought me so much joy that they practically deserve a blog post of their own!

We had two cakes at Noa’s birthday party - one large, two-tier cake for the party guests and a smaller smash cake for Noa. I sent the cake studio Noa’s party invitation as inspiration and they absolutely nailed it! The pastel blush, gold, and peach colors were perfect! I just loved the delicate pumpkins and flowers that adorned the cakes and the special gold touches. They even matched the calligraphy on Noa’s invitation perfectly to personalize her cake with her name on it!

I didn’t want to cut the cakes because they were so pretty...but they tasted as good as they looked! We got hazelnut cake layered with sea salt caramel buttercream and dark chocolate buttercream. Nine Cakes knocked it out of the park and totally exceeded my expectations! Noa was able to have her cake and eat it too!

ENTERTAINMENT

Partify shared several options for entertainers with me and I chose to work with a woman named Karen. She had a great way with children; she was sweet and interactive, playing favorite children’s tunes on her guitar and singing in English and Spanish. She also brought music shakers, bubbles, and a rainbow parachute with her. The kids went nuts over the bubbles! What is it about bubbles that they love so much?! Haha! Although I’m sure all of the entertainers that Partify recommended would have been wonderful, I loved that Karen offered face painting in addition to music, so after we sang “Happy Birthday” the children all got their faces painted. All of the kids were captivated by her music and games and loved the face painting!

We also opted to use one of Partify’s premium options called the “Surprise Shop,” which was a big hit with the little ones at the party! Our Partify planner set up a festive tent with an amazing selection of toys like puzzles, puppets, Water Wow coloring books and more. At the end of the party, all of the kids got a chance to look around the Surprise Shop select their own party favor. They absolutely loved it! Of course Adina took the liberty to pick our her own toy as well as Noa’s ;) This was such a lifesaver for me! With all of the other details and items on my to-do list, this was one less thing to think about and it was so much fun for everyone!

OUTFITS

Noa had to look extra chic for her big day so we went with this sequin and tulle dress and these glittery shoes, an outfit fit for a princess! (By the way - her dress is currently 50% off and would be perfect to wear during the holidays!) To complete the look, Noa wore a gold and white polka dotted bow and looked like a real life doll! In true Ariel fashion, I could not resist coordinating Adina’s and my outfit with the birthday girl. Although Noa totally stole the spotlight, I wanted Adina and I to look extra special for the occasion too. Adina wore this sequin tulle dress with charming critter ballet flats and I wore a beige sequin top with jeans and metallic flats. All of us ladies looked extra sparkly for the occasion!

THANK YOU

Thank you to all of our family and friends and the fantastic vendors for making Noa’s party so magical! A special shout out to Partify for helping bring our pastel pumpkin patch vision to life and making the whole party planning process so easy and stress-free! If you live in NYC, I highly recommend using Partify for your next party! It was seriously so convenient and easy! I’m also thrilled to announce that Partify is giving Ariel Loves readers a special offer of 50% off the Day-of-Event helper service. Just use code ARIELLOVES when you book with them!

I hope you enjoyed these photos and got some inspiration for your next party! Happy first birthday, baby girl, you are so loved!

XO,

Ariel

Thank you to Partify for partnering with me on this post. All opinions are my own. The shop-able items below contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!

VENDORS

Planner: @partify.planner Venue: @greatroomofbk Cakes: @ninecakes Cookies: @sweetartsweets Cake pops: @cakepopsbymaggie Catering: @orangegrill Music + Face painting: @karinaval1 Balloons: @shopstudiopep by @bannerandbow Decor: @target + @partycity High Chair Garland: @lynne.and.lee