Guess How Much I Love You Themed 1st Birthday

10/27/2018

Story Park, Alhambra Room

Written by GCE coordinator, Carol…

On October 27, 2018 (exactly 1 year from her birth), we celebrated our 2nd daughter, Coralee's (aka Cora), 1st birthday at Story Park in Alhambra, California. As many of you know, a baby's first birthday (“dohl” in Korean culture) is often celebrated with elaborate planning and detail. My husband and I contemplated whether to have a 1st birthday party or not, but how could we not do one if we did one for our first kid? With two kids, I told myself that I would do less this time around, but somehow I ended up doing a lot more DIY projects. While it was a lot of work, all the small personal touches made this party so much more special.

For Cora's birthday, I based the theme around the book Guess How Much I Love You. The story is just so beautiful and simple, but effectively shows the love the two share for each other. It depicts our love for our little girl. With this theme, I utilized elements of grass, white, and wood.

The grass table top was something I imagined would be perfect for this theme. I also haven't seen it done much so I was excited to try this.
I purchased the artificial grass online and cut it to fit the 8 ft. table.
The backdrop lettering consists of laser cut words "Love You to the Moon & Back: by NGO Creations.

Last year, we had a real cake made in addition to cupcakes. The cake ended up coming home with us and it felt like such a waste. Unless you do the cake cutting early, more than likely, the cake doesn't end up getting eaten (especially if you have a table full of cupcakes and other desserts, like we did). So, for Cora's birthday, I decided to make a faux cake. Believe it or not, the 3-tier cake is made with Styrofoam and plaster. I molded the bunny cake toppers and moon with clay and painted them. The moon was then doused in gold glitter. The wooden picket fence was the finishing touch. While this cake took more time than I anticipated, it is one of my favorite elements of this theme. (Note: We did have a small mishap during the setup with the backdrop so the cake fell into some cupcakes - thus, the smudge on the right side.)

Pretty desserts make such a difference in how your head table looks. We hired a talented baker, Sweetleemade, to make us cupcakes, banana pudding shooters, macarons, sugar cookies (circle scalloped and stamped with Coralee's name), and mini donuts. Not only does it need to look good, it needs to taste good.

To add to my theme's look and use of wood, I purchased disposable bamboo wood plates and cutlery for the place setting. The favor was a chocolate in a wood-looking box, which was tied with twine. Each table had white linen with a burlap runner.

To top it all off, I grew all 20 centerpieces in my house. I loved the idea of having grass as the main look for Cora's party, so I played around with wheat grass since it is easy and quick to grow. This is an example of the extra work I added to my list. I started with seeds, so I was very nervous as I watched them grow. It took about 1 week to fully grow. I grew them in wood planters and added a white picket fence around each.

Guests were welcomed with this sign, which I cut gold vinyl with my Silhouette machine. I put the lettering on a blank wooden board and added vines to the outer border.

The Welcome Table is another place where you can add various elements to coordinate with your theme. Guests were asked to write a message for Cora in the Guess How Much I Love You book, which she will be able to cherish forever.

Guests were also given raffle tickets and asked to guess which item they think Cora will choose during the doljabi.

Other elements of the Welcome Table included:

A matching grass table topper just like the head dessert table;
Gifts for the kids - Because Cora's birthday was just a few days before Halloween, we decided to give out glow sticks so that kids could use them on Halloween;
An empty frame strung with string and her monthly pictures hung with mini wooden clothes pins;
A plush bunny doll from the book Guess How Much I Love You;
Small votives with silk flowers; and
Various pictures of Cora throughout the year in white picture frames.

The doljabi is a Korean traditional activity where objects representing various things are placed in front of the one-year-old. Whatever object the child chooses represents their future. This is a fun activity because guests were asked to guess what they think Cora will choose. The talented Krystalhanna made the doljabi items out of felt. Every parent chooses different objects. Cora's doljabi items consisted of all objects pertaining to her future career:

screwdriver - engineer // pencil - teacher // volleyball - athlete // artist palette - artist // stethoscope - doctor // gavel - lawyer

Surprisingly, Cora took a long time to choose an object. Daddy had to even bring the items closer to her. A few tears were shed, but eventually we decided that the first item she touched (stethoscope) was the winner.

Cora's Korean dress (hanbok) was bought straight from Korea while a close friend was vacationing there.
Cora is half Chinese and half Korean, so its nice when she she gets to embrace both cultures.

Speaking of outfits, I wore matching dresses with both girls. The dresses are from Ele Story. We have on the Enchanted Lace Dress. I loved that the mommy dress was a maxi with sleeves. She makes all kinds of Mommy & Me outfits.

Finally, I want to share the invitations I designed and made to go perfectly with the theme. I had the invitations made into magnets so that people can easily put it on their fridge (if wanted). I personally designed the invitation, RSVP card, and thank you cards (not pictured) using pictures from the book. I also used kraft envelopes to match and had addresses printed in white.

All in all, it was a perfect 1st birthday for our baby girl.

Tip: Always use a big candle for the cake, like the candlestick pictured above.
Even if it seems ridiculously big at the time, they are best for pictures and easy for the baby to look at/blow.

And, of course, none of this possible without great vendors.

Thanks to...

Venue: Story Park
Photographer: Jeffery Cho Photography
Videographer: Chris D. Kim
Photo Booth: Third Eye Photo Booth
Desserts: Sweetleemade
Faux 3-Tier Cake & Topper: Graceful Charming Events
Calligraphy Name & "Love You to the Moon & Back" Signs: NGO Creations
Doljabi Items: Krystalhanna
Balloon Artist: Peppermint Mill
Audio Rental: SSR Sound
Catering: Delicious Food Corner
Matching Mommy & Me Outfits: Ele Story
Hair & Makeup: Krystie Jean
Custom Invitations: Graceful Charming Events
Event Design: Graceful Charming Events

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