A flower-powered first birthday party

One-year-old Ruby Stokes is no shrinking violet and her parents, Tash and Arie, wanted her first birthday to be as striking and distinctive as she is. Tash had the idea of arranging a flower wall in their Hamilton home and the party theme just blossomed from there. Florist friend Chloe from LeFleur came to help with this and together they achieved the wild look by simply taping a variety of different coloured flowers to a wall. This was Tash’s favourite element of the party and provided the perfect backdrop for photos. Photography is both Tash and Arie’s shared passion and profession (they have their own wedding and portrait photography business, Black Robin Photography). A display of shots the couple had taken to document Ruby’s first year were added as another focal point. Tash also hung the first onesie Ruby ever wore next to an illustrated artwork that depicts how small she was when she was born. All guests had to do was stop and smell the roses.

Ruby and her buddies played with toys and on bikes while adults snacked and chatted. The party invitation asked guests to bring gifts for donation to Foster Hope, an organisation which helps kids transitioning into foster care. “Ruby is very lucky to have everything she needs and this was a really nice way to pass it on. We were lucky that our friends totally got behind it. Handing over a bootload of goods to kids who really needed them was such a nice feeling” remembers Tash.

Guests could treat themselves at both a table of savouries and a table of sweets. There were healthy snacks, like vege sticks and hummus, as well as tried and true party favourites like sausage rolls, cookies and, of course, lollies. The cutlery and plates were sourced from Pop Roc Parties, and the banner and drink dispensers were from Kmart.

Tash made two cakes: a chocolate one with a ‘One’ cake topper from Poppy & Chi for everyone to eat, and a mini vanilla one especially for Ruby to smash. This spectacle provided great entertainment, and - planned or not - the crumbs even coordinated perfectly with Ruby’s birthday outfit, which was made for her by Sloan.co.

FORGET-ME-NOTS
Tash’s tip for party planners: make sure you have a photographer. “Parties fly by so quickly, I’m glad that I have photos to look back on.”