When my first born turned one (over ten years ago, HOW?) cake smashes were just starting to hit the scene! Schnucks even offered free mini cakes with the purchase of a sheet cake. I was so excited! I remember getting him a chocolate cake and thinking how cute it would be.
Oh, Tori. Young, naive Tori. First of all... he hated it. Until he decided he didn't. Then he went so crazy. The chocolate cake was a huge mistake in hindsight. It looked like he was eating dirt, or mud, or p-o-o-p. My pictures, while still precious to me, aren't quite what I had envisioned. And the after-effects of all that chocolate cake... well... let's just say it was actual p-o-o-p!
Fast forward to NOW. Cake smashes are of course so ever-so-popular, and I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve to make your memories perhaps a little bit less chocolate-ly than mine!
The theme! Themes are half the fun of a cake smash session! A lot of moms choose to match the party theme, which is fun because we can use your already purchased decorations in the set! Others choose for a more simplistic smash, which is totally fine too! I have done so many themes, from unicorns, to "wild one", to lumberjack, baseball, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", donuts, Harry Potter, and more! In fact, I LOVE helping plan themes, so if you need any help with this part, I am your girl!
The CAKE! (The best part, amirite?) 95% of my cakes come from my girl, Melina, at Sweet Designs Bakery. We have been working together a long time and between the two of us, we have worked out the perfect smash cake. Size, not so big where it swallows up the baby, but not so small that you can't decorate. Flavor, ONLY white cake. None of that chocolate madness that I experienced above (unless specifically needed, like a for "tree bark" cake!). The icing? Soft, sweet and perfectly smashable. Can she make an allergy-free cake? You bet! AND she delivers, meaning that YOU have one less thing to worry about the day of your session. Give us your theme and we take care of the cake! All of it. Even boxing up the leftovers and sending it home! EVEN the clean up!
The session! What can you expect? Well, you can expect a total mess, for starters. Babies don't mess around when it comes to cake! So you'll want a change of clothes for yourself and for babe! I do have a bathtub that we can use to clean up baby though. A lot of moms worry, "what if my baby hates the cake???" It happens sometimes! I take regular milestone pictures beforehand, just in case the baby wants nothing to do with the cake. But I do have tricks to at least get a few pictures of your baby with the cake! Very rarely do I have a baby in studio that wants absolutely nothing to do with it. I have plenty of ways to encourage some interaction.
Oh the memories I have! My kids' cake smashes are displayed just outside my studio and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't pause to look at them. To admire those sweet, sticky little faces (and hands, and TOES!). To reminisce at their chubby cheeks and bald baby heads. To remember the look on their faces when they realized they had a WHOLE cake to themselves! They will never turn one again. But in these three picture frames hanging on my wall, I can always remember how joyful they were at this important milestone. Let me help you capture this same feeling (without the cake that looks like p-o-o-p!)
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