A birthday reverie

We had a birthday reverie to celebrate Reverie's first year of life over the weekend. Reverie, whose name means daydream or pleasant thoughts (we pray gospel-centered thoughts for her according to Philippians 4:8), was born on the first day of spring, which I attempted to conceptualize into a springtime daydream theme comprising of clouds, stars, and flowers in a palette of white, rose gold, and silver. The event was a combined birthday and housewarming our local loved ones attended, the first we held since moving into our new home. We've had rainy weekends lately, so we were thankful for balmy, cloudy weather the day of the event.

I envisioned the gathering to feel like an intimate dinner party, which we accomplished by setting up a long communal table for guests in our cozy backyard. I incorporated fresh flowers by arranging greenery and white flowers in rose gold terrarium centerpieces, flanked by greenery garlands running the length of the table. Sprigs of greenery dressed up casual place settings accented with rose gold cutlery and star studded paper straws.

We wanted the food to be tasty, aesthetically pleasing, and kid-friendly. Charcuterie boards abounding with assorted cheeses, baguette slices, crackers, salami, and seasonal fruit interspersed between centerpieces allowed guests to sample bite-sized appetizers within reach. For lunch, guests enjoyed all-you-can-eat tacos and quesadillas with all the fixins'. We had a lot of fun bringing to life daydreamy desserts, including cotton candy clouds (cotton candy on paper straws); star pops (birthday cake flavored cake pops dusted in edible rose gold glitter and silver star sprinkles made by a friend); daydream de leche and starberry shortcake cupcakes (dulce de leche and strawberry shortcake cupcakes from here); coconut cream dream and banana cream dream pies (coconut cream and banana cream pies from here); and a two tiered earl grey cloud cake (earl grey cake with vanilla buttercream frosting made by a friend), which I adorned with fresh flowers and a rose gold "reverie" cake topper. The sweet treats were styled alongside rose gold terrarium centerpieces, simple arrangements in vintage milk glass vases, and dessert labels in elegant silver calligraphy. The backdrop is a white sheet hung on a photo booth backdrop stand, on which we hung a rose gold "happy birthday" balloon sign amid metallic star and cloud garlands.

To add to the ambience, we played light-hearted music throughout the afternoon. For entertainment, our friend who taught preschool music classes facilitated an amazingly fun song and dance session for the kids. We also had the kids take turns hitting a couple of silver star piñatas for candy prizes.

Reverie had a blast being passed around that afternoon as she ate everything within reach, oblivious to the festivity occurring around her. I find much joy in planning events; we throw a first birthday bash for each of our kids, and while they will not remember it, our hope is to celebrate the precious gifts God has given us in our children alongside our amazing community. Thankful for our village who come alongside us in raising our kids in the knowledge of the Lord, and for all the loving hands who helped make my vision for the celebration come to life over the weekend. Reverie's actual birthday is tomorrow, and I'm totally wistful that she's already turning one. More sentimental mama heart ramblings to come in the next post.

P.S. Serene's and Valor's first birthday parties:
Valorous knights
Serene's woodsy one-derland