Rowen's first birthday party...part 1

I took a ton of pictures....of course! So I am going to let them do most of the talking. Since I took quite a few, I am going to break up his party into a few different posts! Saturday morning...well let's rewind a bit! I'm a procrastinator. I always have been! I actually started making everything for the party about 3 weeks ago so that I would have everything ready to go a day or 2 before. It was a nice thought at least! I didn't start baking his cake and the cupcakes until about 8:30pm on Friday night. I got done with all the baking/icing around 2am Saturday morning!! I was exhausted BUT I was super excited about how everything turned out especially his smash cake. Saturday morning I woke up around 7:30am and made 5 trips down to my car with everything for the party. Brent stayed home with Rowen( they headed over about 30 min before the party started )and I went ahead to the church where I met my mom and grandparents and we got everything set up. We had his party in the courtyard at our church and I thought it was a perfect setting. His party was pumpkin themed and the colors were orange and white with lots of splashes of burlap! These following pictures are of the food and decor! 

Food table( bottom right )with a "happy birthday" banner I made from burlap.

This is my most favorite thing I made for the party. His "year of pictures" banner! It turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Those are burlap squares with scrapbook paper under his picture. It looked great if I do say so myself!

One corner of the courtyard( the top left pic )was dedicated to the presents/present opening part. I got hay bales for guests to sit on and one for us and the birthday boy. I made the pennant banner for his highchair and all the cupcakes and his smash cake too!

I have a ton of mason jars because my grandmother is a master canner :) She brings at least 10-12 cases of her canned fruits and veggies every time she and my papa visit so I decided to use those for the drinks. I tied twine around the top to add a little something and tossed a paper party straw in each one. The party started at 11:30am so we served lunch...turkey and ham sandwiches, fruit, and chips. 

I painted dots on the wooden forks( top left )and placed them in a mason jar that I glued a piece of scrap fabric to. That was a night before detail that I added. I made the chip bags( top right )by cutting 3/4 off the top of the bag with craft scissors and then stamped it with a pumpkin stamp that I found @ Michael's on the $1 aisle. I displayed his party invitation with a burlap border and placed it on the food table. 

Love his party hat and will post more about that later! It looked super cute on him :) I made his smash cake myself. It was vanilla cake with vanilla frosting that I dyed orange. I knew I wanted to add some kind of topper but didn't really have anything in mind. I just thought of this little "1" pennant and it's held up by skewers. I thought it turned out to be very cute! Brent came in to the dining room when I was placing it on the cake and said "allll right!". It made me excited that he liked it especially since I just thought it up a few minutes before.

The cupcakes were pumpkin with cream cheese icing and vanilla with vanilla icing. I was up icing those yummy treats into the wee hours of Saturday morning. I also made the toppers! I made everything for the party except the paper straws and his party hat!! I even made the elevated platters the sandwiches were on...from plant pots and their drip trays. I was super excited to see everything come together just as I had imagined it in my head! Next post...the birthday boy!!! Get ready for some serious cuteness!