Elle was born on a Friday evening. I don’t even think I realized what day it was, to be honest. I had gotten to the hospital the night before to be induced and had completely lost track of time, but for the seconds I was counting waiting for contractions to let up.
With our precious girl in tow, we made the drive home from the hospital on a Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday. It didn’t dawn on me that this was foreshadowing in a sense…but Super Bowl Sunday has been a big day for us, two years in a row now. Last year, it was the day she came home. This year, it was her first birthday and the date of her first birthday party.
I’ve been asked why I didn’t plan a Super Bowl/First Birthday party and do a dual celebration. Honestly, it didn’t dawn on me (this will come as no surprise to many…sports are more Michael’s thing than mine). When thinking about what the theme of Elle’s first birthday party would be, it struck me how just days after our sweet baby was born it felt as if we were living in a botanic-elle garden, since so many lovely friends and colleagues sent us flowers to celebrate. This was in the back of my mind as I was planning this floral first birthday, and inspired most every part of the day.
From the floral wreath on her invitation designed by Inslee, an artist I’ve followed for years, to the flower crowns made by the first person I hired to be on my team at Spanx many moons ago (a renaissance woman who can truly do it all), to the build your own bouquet bar cart that’s still set up because I love it so, it was beyond thrilling to get to collaborate with an A-list of creatives to bring my vision to life.
I was also glad that this talented team was flexible since, as the story goes, our team, The Falcons, happened to make it to the Super Bowl.
While we ended up celebrating Elle’s floral first birthday a week late, the party was just as I envisioned: flowers everywhere, family and friends surrounding us and a cake table that I am still thinking about.
Here are some photos from the day, if you’d like to take a look! Special thanks to Mary Catherine and Heidi for tag-teaming the photos and Michelle and Jared for knocking the florals out of the park.
Party Invitations
I reached out to a friend, Inslee, an artist I’ve followed for years for help with designing Elle’s invitations. I gave her my vision and she came back with a few mockups for me to choose from. The floral wreath was exactly what I had envisioned and executed the floral first birthday theme perfectly. You can work with any graphic designer or paper shop to help bring your party invitation idea to life!
Elle's First Birthday Flower Shop
How to create a flower shop you ask? It’s easy! I used a bar cart as the flower station to house all of the supplies. The cart was flanked by a chalkboard explaining the station by telling guests to come over to make their own bouquet. I had mason jars and flower pots filled with individual flowers that guests could choose from. I recommend somewhere like Trader Joe’s to pick up a variety of florals at a relatively inexpensive price. Off to the side I had kraft bouquet sleeves and some twine so the guests could insert their flower selects and tie the bouquet off for easy handling!
Create a Flower Crown
Creating a flower crown is easier than you might think. Grab any fresh flowers (or faux!), some flower wire, flower tape, and have a pair of scissors on hand (this kit actually has most of the supplies you need). Begin by cutting the flower wire to the length you need for whatever size head you are working on. Tie it into a circle and begin wrapping the florals around the wire, using the flower tape to adhere. Work your way around the whole crown and viola!
Cake Time
I think Elle’s first birthday party began my affinity for cake stands. Shop some of my favorites below!
See(d) You Soon!
As a parting gift for our guests, we had seed paper flowers that housed flower seeds! A fun eco-friendly party favor to continue the floral theme beyond the day.
Do you go all out for birthday parties? I’ve always loved birthdays and wonder if other people do too!
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