A Sneak Peek into Milestone & Cake Smash Sessions

This is what an in-home cake smash session looks like: I come to your house, bring my seamless paper, lighting set up, a cake stand, camera, and of course the good vibes! I find an open space in your home to set up, moving furniture if needed (usually the living room, dining room, or an open play room).  Baby gets to enjoy their birthday session in the comfort of their own home and a quick bath all before going down for naptime! While you clean up baby I’m cleaning and resetting your space. This is the recipe for a studio worthy cake smash session all within the comfort of your own home!

Why do a Cake Smash at home?

Not having to travel means less transition time and more time to focus on you - Lets remove the chaos that comes with having to get ready to leave the house at a certain time, with everyone in a good mood.

A lot of families worry that their home isn't good for photos but I promise you do not need a Pinterest-perfect home for a cake smash session. All I need is open floor space. My backdrop and lighting create the studio look regardless of what your home looks like.

Clean up is so much easier - Babies get notoriously messy during cake smashes and icing is everywhere. Naturally it’s hard to keep baby contained and get them cleaned up without getting icing on you too! A cake smash at home means you aren’t left with just baby wipes to contain the mess, you have a sink, can run baby a bath, and change clothes in the comfort of your own home. 

What about the cake? 

My motto here is let’s keep it simple. I'm serious… the cake’s getting smashed anyway. Sure a beautiful cake makes for a beautiful cake but why the investment just for it just for it to be smashed and not even fully enjoyed?  I say save the beautiful cake for the actual party.

If the thought of being in charge of the cake brings you anxiety, then go for it but there are other options!

• Consider using a basic store bought cake - A lot of times you can talk to the bakery and have them prepare a no frills cake. Or if you’re the last minute type, grab one off the shelf. They often have plain cakes you can add your own topper to. Plus IMO grocery store bakeries have stepped up their game… they have cute cakes that would work great for a cake smash.  If they don’t fit your theme you can always modify the cake!

• Keep it simple with a cupcake - Nothing says you have to go all out with a cake, a simple cupcake for baby and big brother is all this family needed...

• Use a box cake - This mamma used a strawberry cake. I think it worked particularly well because the cake was so light and fluffy making it easy to spread, break and get those messy cake photos!

• Choose and make an alternative cake recipe - For some families, the motivation to make your own cake smash cake has more to do with finding a healthier option. I’ve heard of smashing a block of tofu but if that’s just too granola for ya, here’s a sweet potato cake recipe a client of mine used that turned out great!

One other important thought about the cake. In my experience with cake smashes, cakes that have some color tend to photograph better. White icing on a white cake will blend in with my white backdrop. Just something to think about! I encourage you to incorporate a color into either the icing or the cake for the best photographic results.

Want to ditch the cake all together?

• If the weather is nice an outdoor milestone in a water bath is always fun instead! I'll bring the galvanized bucket, room temperature water, and we'll make it happen!

• If outdoors won't work, why not set it up inside and just give them what they love?

Decor 

I want you to know what you’re getting when you choose to book your cake smash session with me. I do not do elaborate backdrops and scenes. Instead, it’s my style to keep baby the true focus of your cake smash session therefore we keep decor simple too! Here’s some options I recommend and a few options I would steer you away from.

What works well: 

• Banners & Garland : a lot of times this can be the same high chair banner you’re planning to use at Baby’s birthday party. I personally love the look of tassels and flag banners (see the images in this post for inspo!).

What I don’t love: 

• Balloons: Can I be honest? They just don’t always cooperate well and I feel like they’re more hassle than they’re worth. The other decorations you select are more likely to be in ALL the photos. If getting that shot with a #1 is at the top of your list, we can totally make it happen. Just know that I’ll likely need your help to manage positioning the balloon just right. Between your help, a little tape, paper weights, and photoshop we can get it, it just may not be the main feature if that makes sense.

What should Baby wear?

This is one area where I would encourage you to put some extra love as an exceptional outfit can help elevate your final images. Check out the images on this post for inspiration but rompers, bloomers, overalls, or diaper covers work beautifully. When it comes to the outfit though be sure to have Baby try it on prior to photo day. Depending on fit you might need to modify the outfit by tightening up straps so that it fits securely. When it comes to feet, bare feet are best!

What if Baby cries?

First off, this is likely to happen at some point so don’t worry… we’ll take our time, comfort Baby and be prepared to go at his or her pace. We’ll start by capturing some milestone photos prior to bringing out the cake. Once the cake is out some babies love every second, while others need a little extra time to warm up—and that's okay! My approach is usually to wait and see what they do. If they act uninterested in the cake we can model tasting the cake and offer tastes to see if that builds motivation to explore it. 

A few more thoughts...

Food play is literally part of what I do as an OT so I’m prepared to pull all the stops and make it fun! Another helpful hint here is to practice beforehand! Especially if your child has tactile sensitivities, you don’t want their cake smash to be the first time they’re experiencing a messy, wet, moist texture. You need your baby to know during their session that getting messy is fun! Be sure to set Baby up for success by engaging them in fun messy play prior to the cake smash session day. I recommend this to families ALL. THE. TIME. Not only will it help make cake smash day less stressful but it will help to promote healthy sensory development. 

Lastly, parents often wonder whether to keep Baby hungry. I actually recommend offering a small snack beforehand. A hungry or overly full baby usually isn't the happiest baby. We want them comfortable and ready to play and having a snack prior can help be sure they’re in a good mood all around!