Recap // Cora's 1st Birthday Party!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Ahh, Cora's 1st birthday party...it was a such a wonderful party and so much fun to plan. Definitely stressful at times during the planning process, but nevertheless fun. And the real fun didn't come into play until every single element was completed and in its proper place. Like I said in my post yesterday, family and friends really came together to pull this party off. Everyone had an integral part in making the party plans come to life.

I think any child's first birthday is a really big deal. I mean, you only turn one once, right? Gotta make a big deal about it. And it's no different in the Korean culture. I've covered Cora's 100th day celebration and did mention that we'd do a big bash for her first birthday since both occasions are important. So with that in mind, the underlying theme of the party was, well obviously Korean.

There was Korean food that was catered, the Korean custom of Cora picking out objects that would somehow tell us of her future career (she picked a calculator first, but then quickly picked up everything else in the line up), and of course Cora's Korean traditional outfit. But seeing as how I rarely get to throw a big party, I wanted so desperately to incorporate a French theme to the mix. Crazy, I know. Korean and French? Weird, but I was dead-set on having both at this party. So I figured, after much time researching on Pinterest, that a French-themed dessert bar, complete with a black & white awning would be the thing to have. And not to stop the French-theme there, I also decided that we had to have some kind of Photobooth. I found some amazing ideas (like this one and that one), but after much deliberation, Steve decided to take on the unbelievable (and aaamazing) task of painting (on a giant canvas) a Parisian perspective of the Eiffel Tower. Now, I know you're probably saying that that seems like a lot of effort for just a birthday party. And you'd probably be right, but we also thought that we could put it in Cora's Playroom as wall art. So that settled it! A photobooth wall AND wall art for her playroom.

I'll stop talking about it all and let you see for yourself how it all turned out. Enjoy!

That tassel garland really completed the whole French dessert buffet look, don't ya think? I followed Stephanie's DIY tutorial on creating the tassel garland and it was easy peasy, so I highly recommend making it for your next fête.

Towers of rice cakes that symbolizes a life of prosperity for Cora. These are faux rice cakes since real ones would've cost a fortune.

We, of course, had some bubbly for the occasion, but also provided some Pink Citrus Lemonade with fresh cut up strawberries to add.

The hubby's masterpiece. Still can't believe he created this in 4 hours! I really should get on him to paint more, huh?

My parents having some fun with the photobooth. That mustache looks awfully natural on my dad, no?

This little girl had a blast walking around in her traditional Korean Hanbok.

This was the best family photo we got of all three of us.
The Awning

Supplies for the awning: scissors, pen, disposable cup (or anything circular), stapler, Command Medium Hooks, duck tape, and fabric.
Cardboard was the route I went. It's easy, cheap and well easy. I didn't really have any DIY instructions to go by, so I just kind of came up with my own way. Of course, I didn't document the process at all because I was in such a rush to get it done. My apologies for that! I'll try to explain how I did it here as best I can. If you all really want me to, I can make another one and document it for a future post, just let me know!

I cut tiny holes on that flap and had the Command Medium Hooks go in there.

Ready to go up!

Had to end the party on a sweet note. The fun goodie bags are from Waiting On Martha (love Mandy's shop!) and the printable stickers are from Michael's. The goodie bags were filled with yummy macarons from Praline Bakery.