Why Choose A Cake Smash to Celebrate a First Birthday?

Cake smash sessions have risen massively in popularity over the last 5 years.  The words now needs no explanation and is universally recognised as the way to mark the milestone of a first birthday.

But why do parents choose a Cake smash?

Essentially a cake smash brings all of the elements of your baby’s miraculously speedy development over the last year, into one place.  Their ability to sit, maybe stand, pick up objects like a spoon, feed themselves and practice that pincer grip on the sprinkles, all come together in a cake smash.  It’s no wonder they are so popular when the end result is such a cute record of all of those milestones.

Then, of course, it’s the milestone itself. Your baby’s first birthday.  That first birthday is a huge one and kind of marks the beginning of the end for ‘firsts’  There have been so many ‘firsts’ in the last twelve months, and they definitely slow down a little after that!

Don't worry about cake smashes being wasteful, although your baby may make a little bit of a mess, the vast majority of babies don’t totally ‘smash’ the cake. The remaining (usually at least half of the) cake can be taken home and eaten. Babies are pretty good at regulating their own intake of food, so the amount they actually eat during a cake smash is minimal!

We can’t talk about cake smashes without mentioning the fact that at one, your baby is endlessly filled with personality and expression. They literally wear every feeling and discovery on their faces at that age.  There is no hiding their delight at the squidgy buttercream or their inquisitiveness when presented with a wooden spoon.  The way they inspect the jam that’s trapped between their toes and then deem it fit for licking straight off their foot.  This is an absolutely precious time.  And a cake smash does the best job in capturing it all.  Every single exquisite second.  

The Clean Up

One of my favourite bits of the cake smash is the clean up bath afterwards! This is often the favourite bit for babies too! They get splash about in a warm bath with extra bubbles and I'll get some amazing photos.

Want to see what I’m talking about?  Go take a look at my first year gallery and see for yourself.  It’s little wonder that parents love bringing their baby to a cake smash session and even less of a wonder that they cherish and adore the portraits it produces.