It feels like I blinked and my sweet newborn transformed into a sassy 1 year old toddling around! I wanted to share some belated photos from Nori’s first birthday last month. It actually fell on the same day as my grandparents’ wedding, so it was a truly special weekend celebrating both the youngest and eldest members of our family! Since the little lady loves to eat, we went with a sweets and treats food cart theme, and had this decorative corner set up at the same venue as the wedding festivities.
I just adored the soup dumpling (xiao long bao) and rainbow dumpling cookies, tangerine rice cakes, and little peach cake pops and cake toppings to symbolize youth and longevity. Also, I couldn’t help but smile each time I saw these cookie versions of Nori in topknot hats!
Nori indulged in her very first taste of cake and it’s safe to say she was a fan (we swapped in a simple vegan one for the smash). Our talented event stylist Davina went above and beyond with details, including flower arrangements that she did herself, and these gold foil appliques on the Chinese takeout boxes and steamer baskets!
Our Vendors
Event design & styling: Davina of Made and Co. assisted by Sera.
Floral design & venue: The Flower by Yoori in LA’s Koreatown
Photography: James of Perpixel Photography
Cookies and cake pops: Sweets by Keeks
Decorative peach cake + 2-tier cake: Candy Apple Cakes
Vegan smash cake: Sweetlee Made
Custom cart, wall + shelving: Iron Grace Rentals
Laser cut decals & characters: Letters to You
Menu board: Paper Haven Ink
We played the traditional Asian “grab game” where you lay out symbolic items in front of the baby, and whichever one they choose supposedly predicts their future career. It was a fun bit of irony to include the game as I don’t believe careers like a doctor or lawyer are the only paths to success, but I couldn’t help but be amused when the elders erupted into fervent thumbs ups when Nori reached for both the stethoscope and red envelope ; )
Nori’s lola (“grandmother” in Filipino) sewed her this little apron for the cake smash using vintage fabric from her great-grandmother!
