how we survived: the cake smash

serious about smashing

There are lots of haters on the cake smash idea. "It's so contrived." "Why would you do a photo shoot just to wreck a cake?" "I smashed my cake; I didn't need anyone to tell me to do it."

[That last one was Mike]

To all of you (except Mike, who did come around) I say, "I don't care!"

The cake smash is fun. The cake smash provides you with hilarious pictures for your daughter's yearbook page. The cake smash includes cake, which you are obligated to eat off the floor. 

So, it should be of no surprise that I had been planning Avvie's mini-photo shoot for quite some time. Not that you really need to do any heavy planning for this, which is kind of the beauty of it. Here is all you need:

A one-year-old baby: Check! 

A open space with natural light, if possible: We relied on the kindness of our cousins, the Schwartzes. Thanks guys!

A plain white backdrop (or fancier if you desire): Our photographer brought one with him, but you can always use a bed sheet if you need to.

A cake: I had known for quite some time that I wanted to use Mini Melanie. I had met Melanie herself through my friend Liz and her mini-cakes and truffles are just beautiful. She worked with me to create a masterpiece: a 4-inch pink ombre cake with a special, cake smash-friendly, low-sugar chocolate cake inside. Not only was it tasty, but the colors really popped in the photos.

An outfit: I adore Etsy for customized clothing and I loved the onesie and tutu I ordered from Bump and Beyond designs.

A photographer: Of course you can do it yourself, but when your friend is super talented and has shot Jon Hamm (!!!), you have him shoot your cake smash. More on Seth here!

Did you guys do a cake smash? I want to see photos!