First birthday cake smashing is the newest trend sweeping the nation. Increasingly more popular over the last 2-3 years, moms everywhere are celebrating their little ones turning the big O-N-E by letting them dig in to a pint-sized cake and documenting the adorable messiness that ensues! The messier they get, the better. Cake smash sessions can be a bit unpredictable, but are always so much fun. Read on to find out more about what to expect, a few tips for cake smashing success, and our favorite local cake vendors.

CAKE SMASH SESSION 101

How does it work? You bring the baby & the cake, we will put together a coordinating setup and provide the clean up! Easy peasy. Upon scheduling your cake smash session with Uniquely You Photography, we will chat about your first birthday theme/color scheme ideas, then, about a week before the session you will send us a photo of the cake design you provide to the baker, and from there we put together an adorable setup that coordinates with your cake design. We also provide you with a list of recommended local bakeries and Etsy vendors and include some tips on how to make your session run smoothly.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW…

The images from a cake smash session are always 100% priceless, but it is not uncommon for babies to want absolutely nothing to do with their cake! Part of the fun of cake smash sessions is seeing each reaction and capturing the priceless expressions. Some babies refuse to touch the cake and usually need a little help from mom “smashing”, others will poke at the cake curiously, opt for a taste of the frosting, but ultimately decide they aren’t particularly impressed with the mess, while others ham it up, dig right in and absolutely destroy the cake within a few minutes! You can expect first birthday sessions to last anywhere from 15-45 minutes depending on individual needs. No matter what the cake smashing style is, we’ll capture all the action shots as well as the messy details (always some of my faves)!

Raise your hand if you’re ONE!

THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

We’ve been there, done that. Consider these things to help make your cake smash a success!

THE CAKE: Leave it to the pros. Smaller cakes for first birthday sessions are very reasonably priced and just end up looking better for your session. Choose a cake design that is fun and interesting to look at – bring on the sprinkles, stripes, ombre, and polka dots.

THE FROSTING: Opt for a soft/buttercream frosting that is easy to dig in to vs a fondant that’s tougher to break. Medium to light frosting generally photographs nicer than bright colors. (White cake usually looks better than chocolate.)

THE THEME: If you have a theme, that’s great. If not, that’s perfectly fine too! You don’t need an elaborate theme and setup for the images to be perfect. We’ll do our best to coordinate a cute setup, but ultimately the focus is on your little one having a smashing good time.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Remember when I said not all one year olds will love the cake? Frosting is very sweet and the texture of cake is odd to little ones – it doesn’t hurt to practice a little bit at home a few weeks before your session to see how they respond. This could be a good indicator of what might happen during the session and help them to be a bit less apprehensive come session time.

OUR FAVORITE LOCAL BAKERS

We are lucky to have some very talented cake vendors right here in Lincoln! Some of our favorite places include…

Butterfly Bakery (402) 499-0620

Le Cupcake (402) 423-2253

Goldenrod Pastries (402) 486-4183

Cupcakes & More (402) 261-6214

Reserve your session now

If you are looking to celebrate your little one turning one with a cake smash session in Lincoln, Nebraska we’d love to work with you! Take a peek at our cake smash portfolio for more images from recent sessions. Send us a message using the contact button above and we’ll get a date reserved on the calendar. Enjoy some of our favorite cake smash moments below!

Reid wasn’t too sure about his cake, but he loved the bobbers!

Cake from Butterfly Bakery

Pumpkin cake from Butterfly Bakery

Graham obviously had some fun!

Messy cake toes. :)

Very Hungry Caterpillar cake from Butterfly Bakery

TJ went to town on his cake! Completely adorable!