I’m going wild for Jenny Pak‘s Whimsical Gold Safari First Birthday for her son Josiah! She beautifully balanced elegant gold calligraphy, sophisticated cakes from Bitter Sweet Pastry, and charming boyish accents like animal figurines. On top of the Doljabi celebration being a special milestone, the venue itself was extra meaningful to Jenny and Tony: it was their wedding location six years prior! How neat! See more thoughtful decor and exquisite photos from Dowoo Lee below – they’re roaring with inspiration!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Fondant gold lion cupcake topper + wood slices, burlap table runners and gold painted safari animal figurines
• Naked layer cake and gold “Josiah” and “One” laser cut calligraphy toppers
• Calligraphy chalkboard table numbers, welcome sign & escort cards
• DIY Gold ribbon highchair garland + safari animals with mini party hats and gold wrapped presents
• Jumbo plush giraffe, animal face painting and safari party hats

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Jenny…

Location: Le Jardin, Cantigny Park and Gardens, Wheaton, IL

Theme: Elegant & whimsical gold safari theme with black and white
details

The venue was very special and meaningful because my husband, Tony and I had our wedding reception at Le Jardin 6 years ago! We were so thankful to come back to this beautiful location to have Josiah’s 1st birthday party. Le Jardin had picturesque windows overlooking the gardens that surrounded the restaurant.

We wanted to have an elegant, yet charming and whimsical party for our birthday boy…

• Burlap table runners, wood slices, and gold safari animals for table decorations
• Our florist was so talented! We had beautiful white flowers, which included peonies, hydrangeas, rosemaries that were arranged in mason jars and other small vessels.
• We added the element of calligraphy: escort cards, table numbers, and gifts & cards signs, which all matched! They were written on black tent cards/chalkboards which had beautiful white calligraphy
• The guests were all welcomed by the 4-foot giraffe which had a welcome sign around its neck. The giraffe added charm to the party!
• Kids guests were given party favors that came in mini kraft gable boxes, which all came with personalized name tags and safari animals.
• There were 2 cakes: one 2-tier naked cake, with rosemaries and “josiah” sign for added decoration, one stucco buttercream cake with gold elephant and “one” sign.
• Our invitation designer made the gold silhouettes of safari animals, which appeared throughout our designed elements. (“Josiah” sign, party favor labels, and Josiah’s “My First Birthday” poster)
• There was a table designated solely for Doljabi, which was adorned with traditional Korean items such as brush, pendant, Josiah’s hanbok shoes, and gold ring.
• Our church high school students who wore safari hats helped us with face painting and balloon making, which made the party so much fun!
• My favorite part of the party was decorating Josiah’s high chair, which included the safari animals that wore DIY party hats, DIY gifts wrapped in sparkly gold paper, mini smash cake from Whole Foods, which was adorned with the gold, sparkly “1” sign, and DIY ribbon garland, which matched the one on the cake table

We were so fortunate to work with such talented vendors and designers!