Hattie Mae’s First Birthday | Overview

Since I was young Charleston has held a special place in my heart. I can’t recall one event or single reason but the city makes my heart flutter. I adore how one place can invoke so much emotion from its building architecture, sounds, smells, window boxes, food, friendly faces, it really just feels like home. We don’t live in Charleston but it is certainly a place I would want to live even for a little while. 

Because this place brings me so much joy I want to share it with my daughter and what better way to kick off that love affair than with a Charleston themed first birthday party.

I spent months planning this birthday party and every detail was thought through. This blog post is the first of three blogs that I will talk through all the details about Hattie Mae’s party. So, let’s jump right in… 

I want to tell you about the party as if you were a guest walking up to the event for the first time. We started the setup by installing a white event tent in our backyard. It came with the white wall and faux windows which I think elevated the event. To jazz up the tent I made some tissue paper garland to attach to the strings holding the tent in place. This also acted as a safety precaution so no guests got tripped on the cords. 

While the tent seems extra large it was still a tight fit with all of the food and our loved ones so we opted to leave the gift and favor table on the outside of the tent. This also gave a quick place for guests to drop gifts and empty their arms for a good southern welcome hug. 

When you entered the tent, straight ahead you were greeted with our mini Rainbow Row. I have to say I think this was my favorite detail of the party. I created the Rainbow Row designs for her invitation and to see them brought to life was the very best. The buildings were of course tied together with a rainbow balloon arch across the top. This gave for the perfect picture backdrop for the cake smash and also guests to take their picture with our birthday girl. 

On the left side of the tent you will find the food table, a beverage cart with the sweet treats, and a kiddos table. I wanted to create a special place for the cake and cupcakes so I thought a cute bar cart adorned with a custom hand towel, flowers, and a print of her party Life Logo would do just the trick. 

For the food table we had a huge spread that ranged from charcuterie to shrimp and grits. It included a little something for everyone so no one left hungry. I wanted to make sure the little guests also felt included so on the kiddos table I used my pampered chef tray with the freezer bottom and created a spread of small pre-cut fruits and veggies. The littles could either hangout at the table and graze off of their tray or the parents could get a plate and take it to their seat. Either way, I wanted to make sure they knew they were loved and give the parents a helping hand in the food prep. 

To make the little guests feel even more loved, I also included custom party cups with a straw and ribbons on the lid to make enjoying the punch a little easier. Since there were only four littles we also gave each one a bubble wand to play with and take home as well as providing a few other little toys to keep themselves entertained. 

On the right side of the tent you will find the drinks area. Depending on the event space and guest count I usually try to keep food and drinks together but with a larger crowd (30+ people) I separate the two so everyone isn’t crowded in one small area. For the drinks we wanted to keep it simple with water, sweet tea (of course), and my famous party punch. I will list the recipe below! 

Party Punch Recipe

• 1 White Grape Juice
• 1 Pineapple Juice
• 1 Ginger Ale
• Orange Sorbet
• Frozen fruit for decorations 

Dump all the liquid together in a drink dispenser, fill almost to the rim with orange sorbet, then top it off with frozen fruit. The sorbet and fruit aren’t necessary for the taste but it makes it a little more fun. Another way to serve the punch would be like a buffet. Have your guests scoop the sorbet into a cup, then pour the liquid mixture (white grape juice, pineapple juice, ginger ale) over top of the sorbet, and garnish with frozen fruit.