Sweeter Than Honey // A 1st Birthday Party

Celebrating our boy's first birthday was oh, so sweet! Bumblebees are one of his favorite things to spot when reading books, so we settled upon those yellow + black honey-makers as a theme. I've always called him my little love bug, so that made it feel even more apropos! 

Let's get to the details, starting with the good stuff – the food! 

ON THE MENU //

Bee-Bee-Q PULLED PORK

CORNBREAD with homemade CINNAMON HONEY BUTTER

SPINACH SALAD with APPLES, CRANBERRIES, ALMONDS + WHITE CHEDDAR,

served with a HONEY DIJON VINAIGRETTE

BUZZY BEE FRUIT SKEWERS with PINEAPPLE, BLACKBERRIES + BANANAS

And, of course, the drinks!

SWEET AS CAN "BEE" LEMONADE

The yellow + white cloth napkins, the black + white party straws, the yellow chevron cups – party details are my jam.

ROOT BEE-R

and for the grown-ups, the real deal ;)

Saving the best for last - dessert!

BIRTHDAY CAKE

VANILLA ICE CREAM served with HONEY and a sprinkle of SEA SALT

OREOS (the springtime Oreos with yellow frosting were a perfect fit for the party!)

I loved making a sweet little smash cake with the #1 candle for my boy. Of course, he wanted nothing to do with it. (insert crying laughing emoji here) Go figure!

Take a peek inside the cake - I alternated layers of dark chocolate and yellow cake mix to create a bumblebee effect. I love the way it turned out!

As an activity for our guests, I filled an apothecary jar with honeycomb cereal and had them guess how many were inside. As a fun touch, I cut the golden cards for guessing into the honeycomb shape. The winner got to take home a big jar of organic wild-collected raw honey. 

I purchased yellow tulips, daffodils, geranium and white ranunculus with yellow centers to use as decoration. Fresh flowers within your party's color scheme brighten the atmosphere in a simple, yet beautiful way. All of mine were purchased at Trader Joe's – my favorite budget-friendly place to buy gorgeous blooms!

Speaking of which, aren't these billy balls (craspedia) flowers coming out of these tree stumps just the cutest? All thanks to my mom! They added such a fun touch of whimsy to our celebration.

 And a close-up on the party favors – a little jar of honey for each family of guests in attendance.

As my friend (and party-planner-extraordinaire) Kathryn says, love is in the details. They bring me such joy! I cut little hexagonal honeycomb-shaped stickers out by hand and found some yellow + white baker's twine to tie on for an extra sweet finish.

Best part of all? No question: being together with those we loved to celebrate our boy. Such a gift.

We were busy as bees in year number one of his life! Turns out the first year of parenthood is an emotional roller coaster, and I know the ride has only just begun. So grateful for God's sustaining grace through it all.

If you have questions about party details, please ask in the comments!

Thanks for being here (or should I say bee-ing here?). Have a bee-autiful day! (I couldn't help myself!)