Today, we are so excited to share a party styled by Kate Landers that was especially dear to her heart: her son Noah’s first birthday! We’ll let Kate take it from here to fill you in on all the great details:

Planning a first birthday party for a client is an incredible experience, working with parents to help design a perfect milestone celebration for their little one. When the time came to plan our son Noah’s first birthday party as not only an event stylist, but as a mother as well–it was far more emotional than any party I have done before. Let’s just say it really tugged my heartstrings, and was an extraordinarily emotional yet most rewarding and delightful experience. I have fallen head-over-heels in love with motherhood, and the great gift of our son Noah was something we knew we wanted to celebrate in a special way.

We went with a vintage teddy bear theme, based on the fact that Noah loves to snuggle and tackle his 4′ teddy bear (the “vintage” part was honoring my love of all things “shabby chic”, and the unicycle was to keep it whimsical). I love soft colors and wanted to keep it age appropriate–he was turning 1, after all! We went with pastel shades of yellow and blue, accenting the color of the bear.

With months to plan, I wanted to take the time to add a handmade element. So my husband Ryan and I (yes, he is the most amazing husband in the world for reasons beyond his willingness to help me with party projects) hand crafted fabric party hats, trimmed with handmade yarn poms and ribbon.

We had an intimate party with family, short and sweet to keep Noah from getting too overwhelmed. Serving a ruffle-frosted birthday cake (Noah had his own smash cake too, of course!) and beverages was simple and easy, and  guests loved being able to take the extra sweets home. Festoon-trimmed party horns, petal “baby block” favor box centerpieces, banners and place cards were all fabulous PAPER party products that added many of the most darling and personal touches. They worked together seamlessly to reinforce the theme and color scheme.
 
Of course, I just KNEW my dear friend Kim from The TomKat Studio would have the perfect party products for Noah’s first birthday celebration. From tableware and bamboo flatware to paper straws and baker’s twine, she literally had it all. The 36″ white balloons were SUCH a hit with Noah, and we loved loved LOVED the plastic French square bottles we filled with candy for favors (and used as last-minute vases, too!). In addition, Kim went out of her way to get me everything extra early, and threw in some surprises (like pastel yellow and blue sprinkles) that I adored. Thank you Kim, for helping my vision for Noah’s first birthday become a reality–something far sweeter than I ever could have dreamed of.

Party Supplies: The TomKat Studio Shop
Party Styling: Kate Landers Events
Photography: Liza Voll
Linens: Sweet Tea and Linen
Paper Goods: Loralee Lewis
Cookies: Bambella Cookie Boutique
Fondant Toppers: Edible Details
Candy: Hammonds Candies
Chocolate Covered Oreos: Le Bon Bon LA
Yellow Dot Boxes: Pamela Smerker Designs
Party Horns: Oh Goodie Designs
“Noah” Party Hat: Shawna Brockmeir Styled Events

Shop our yellow and blue party supplies here!