Having been a luxury wedding and event planner for over a decade my love for weddings runs deep in my bones. It’s the type A personality in me that loves creating timelines, the dreamer and visionary in me that loves designing one of a kind events and the servants heart in me that loves giving all I have to each of my couples.

It only seemed fitting for me to begin celebrating my sweet little girls marriage day on her first birthday. So when I stumbled across this precious cake knife tradition I just knew that I had to have it be a part of Charlotte’s birthday celebration.

Let’s break the tradition down.

It’s unclear where the tradition came. Although cutting a birthday cake dates back to Germany in 15th century A.D. it wasn’t until Victorian times when the Brides Cake entered a wedding celebration. As far as gifting a cake knife on a first birthday the history is unclear, but when I stumbled across it I knew it was the key to the perfect first birthday gift.

What:
A special cake knife is gifted to a little girl on her first birthday.
Note: I did receive messages that it can also be custom to gift a little boy a cake knife as well.

Why:
The special cake knife can then be used for special occasions leading up to ones marriage day. Birthdays, communion, graduation, etc.

Julia Childs did say that any event without cake it just a meeting. We all know that cake is generally key to a proper celebration so why not have the perfect cake knife for each special occasion.

How:
For Charlotte I will admit that I didn’t have a formal cake knife for my wedding, or I would have passed our wedding set to her. Instead we got her a set from Tiffany’s as her very first blue box.

A few of the options we looked at were:
Tiffany and Co.
Kate Spade , with blue
Kate Spade, with rose
Vera Wang for Wedgewood
Sterling Silver Set
Waterford Diamond Set

Leave it to me to be indecisive about what I want to engrave on Charlotte’s set. For her birthday it was blank, but I think I have decided to simply put her formal name on the cake knife and for her wedding we can then add the name of her groom to the cake server for her set to be complete.

I have also heard of a simple message on the back of the cake server to be a great option. Something like:
Here’s to the first of many celebrations honoring you.
Happy First Birthday! May this cake knife bring you joy each time you celebrate.

In hindsight I may have given Barrett his own birthday cake knife, but will reserve that for his someday bride. Maybe she will have been gifted her very own cake knife.

Our precious cake knife sign came from Honey Bear Pages to match all of our stationery for the party. She has an adorable Etsy shop and is the sweetest! I would highly recommend reaching out to her for a cake knife sign or any stationery needs.

What do you think of the tradition? Did you receive a birthday cake knife, or have you gifted a special cake knife to someone? I would love to hear below!

xo Christina

I can’t believe I am writing this, my little boy is one!

If you caught THIS post you know that we thought long and hard about his name. A piece of that puzzle is that a part of Barrett’s name is a nod to my amazing husband, Blair Bear as his family affectionally called him.

I know I only have a few years to pick birthday themes before my little guy weighs in, so I am taking full advantage! I wanted d bear theme, but everything that is mainstream looked like a campsite, and everything else looked like a baby shower. So I took matters into my own hands.

To start I sketched a very special little bear for my little guy. Hidden in his “fur” is a birthday message from mom and I will cherish this detail forever.

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I loved working with Katie and Co in Houston to bring the paper details to life. The Sugar Cookie Studio is my go-to for adorable, custom cookies and Alicia knocked these out of the park.

Let’s not forget the adorable bear macarons from Macaron by Patisse and the food from Tout Suite. Thank you Cinnamon Lane for lettering the perfect backdrop to our snacks!

I always knew I wanted to make my children’s birthday cakes, but this was quite the tricky situation. 3 days prior to Barrett’s birthday he actually put his tiny finger in my eye and made quite the mark. Needless to say I am eternally grateful that my mom, Barrett’s Gigi, was in town to help! She and her mom, my Grammy, were where I learned to bake. To have her help me with our family secret white chocolate cake and a chocolate mocha cake was just what was needed. I am sure I would have been off on measurements with my 48 hour eye patch! We also made Barrett a gluten, dairy and refined sugar cake… I’m certain he loved it, but will let you decide.

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It was the perfect day with balloons from Big Ass Balloons and bears that we donated to the local fire department.

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Happy Birthday little guy. It is the greatest blessing to be your momma, and I love that the Lord gave me a gift of celebrating others to celebrate you!
xo Christina

Photography, Balloons, Venue and Catering

I have linked all of the party supplies on my Amazon page here!