A beautiful white venue + pretty pastel desserts + the cutest little birthday girl = the perfect recipe for a darling Pastel Pink First Birthday Party! Janet Kim wanted to create something truly special for her daughter’s Dol celebration, so with some help from Pretty Little Events, a few amazing vendors, and a bit of crafty DIY (check out the adorable photo props below!), something special is exactly what she got. ;) I’m loving all the chic whites accented with pops of light pink from the sweets & florals — so ethereal & pretty!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Pink swirl smash cake with a gold lace crown topper + gold foil pink macarons, mini cakes & parfaits
• First year photo table, DIY photo booth props + traditional Korean doljabi game with homemade items
• Pink & teal two-tiered birthday cake with crown topped silhouette & gold baubles + a custom silhouette maker
• Customized frosted glass backdrop & white lounge area with tented ceiling & sleek chairs

PARTY DETAILS as told by Janet…

I wanted to make this party very special since it was my daughter’s first birthday party, or
dohl as we like to call it in Korean culture. As part of this tradition, we gather friends and family for a doljabi ritual where you set a variety of symbolic items in front of your child and urge them choose one of the items. The item selected is supposed to foretell some element of their future, whether it be a successful career, wealth, good health or longevity.

I decided to make my own custom items and put a fun modern twist on the ritual. I created a mini version of one of my favorite books by David Sedaris “Me Talk Pretty One Day” to represent a career as a NY Times best selling author, a mini gavel made out of clay to represent a career as a judge, a mini rolling pin to represent a career as a Michelin-rated chef and finally a stack of bills to represent a prosperous life in the top 1% income earning bracket. Obviously, these tongue-in-cheek descriptions were intended to be playful while honoring this age-old tradition.

I also wanted to set a playful mood so I made some fun DIY photo props for guests. I bought some wooden photo props at Michaels and had fun painting them and accessorizing them with jewels and ribbons. I used paper straws to cover the wooden handles for the final touch.

I also had a great time styling the photo table, which featured various photos that captured special memories of my daughter and family. I particularly loved the photo of my husband cupping our daughter in his hands when she was a wee little one at only 2 weeks!

Sally, the event planner I worked with did a great job bringing all of the other elements together including the head table with the most beautiful cake made by Sweet and Saucy Shop! My friend Mimi Lee of SuperMimi Design did a beautiful job with all of the party printables. They really made the event feel customized and special!

We also featured a silhouette artist at the event and I received a copy of all of the guests who got their cutouts done, which I saved in Maddie’s time capsule for this very special day!