Charlotte's web first birthday party

We celebrated Charlotte's first birthday on Saturday and things could not have gone more perfect. The weather was 70 degrees, the first Saturday in awhile it's been so warm, there was hardly any wind and both my parents made it into town. I hired my friend Lacee Muller of I heart Cupcakes to help me bring my ideas to life for Charlotte's party. A Charlotte's web theme was a no brainer and we used the food and décor to bring the barnyard chic idea to life. We started with the invites which had pigs on the envelopes and on the invitations which encouraged people to "get our your barnyard best." We went with a pink, white and red theme which kept it just girly enough to be cute while the red balanced out the farm feel. Lacee sent over an list of all the items she could make and I picked out what I felt would work best. We invited about 40 people but I only ordered a dozen of each food item which ensured we had enough food to satisfy but not enough to go overboard on an afternoon party.

we filled these jars with strawberry milk for the kids

lacee took the extra cake she had and put it into jars with icing which was a hit!

we had everyone sign a copy of Charlotte's web in lieu of a guest book

habanero lemonade

my mom made charlotte's party hat

we had one year photos done by Lisa Pummel photography and displayed them at the party

The food table was the centerpiece of the room. On the other side of the living room guests were greeted with a gift table and pictures from Charlotte's one year photo shoot. This is also where we had the favors which were animal crackers which guests could grab on their way out:

Our house has an awesome outdoor space so I took advantage of that and the nice weather as well. I had Lacee get us two hay bales and bought a little circus tent from Ikea for a "pig pen" area for kids. When I ordered balloons from Party City they had these little air walker balloons so I got the pig and cow and tied them to the hay bales:

We put a tarp down with a blanket on top to create extra seating there as well.

When it came time for the smash cake we brought Charlotte outside and put her in the high chair where we all sang happy birthday to her:

She was a bit overwhelmed but she had a wonderful time overall. She got so many presents too!

Some of which we opened after her afternoon nap and most we saved for the next day.

We really could not have asked for a better turnout for Charlotte's first birthday party. I really want to thank all our friends for coming. We don't have family that lives in town so be surrounded by friends who have seen us through from pre-pregnancy until now is so important. I was very grateful that my mom and dad joined us as they were a big help getting everything together for the party as well. My dad was the one who made the bacon so if you enjoyed that you have him to thank for it! Of the two kegs and 13 gallons of beer we got, only 2 gallons remained the next day so we have some party friends for sure! None of the food was left either at the end of the night so it's a good thing we got some packs of hot dogs and buns for our after party guests.

For those who enjoyed the habanero lemonade here is the recipe. Jordan made it spicier adding a whole pepper and I tweaked the recipe using frozen lemonade concentrate:
http://www.localappetiteny.com/watermelon-habanero-lemonade/

I know we set the bar high as far as first birthdays go but it was my dream to do this for Charlotte. If you know me you know I love birthdays so to be able to throw a party like this was so much fun. I really can't say enough about Lacee and her organizational skills. I could not have put this together if it hadn't been for her. Best of all I stayed within my budget and was able to throw a wonderful party without breaking the bank! I highly recommend contacting her and saving yourself the stress of baking all day before the party. I did the veggie cups, pigs in a blanket, mini almond butter and jelly sandwiches, favors and house cleaning and that was enough for me!