This Rustic Milk and Cookies Party {Pink First Birthday}, styled by Stephanie Gardner of Pretty Lovely Events, for Mya’s first birthday is just too sweet! I love all the girly pink, polka dots & ruffles paired with vintage frames + doilies… and the best part? You wouldn’t have guessed, but the party budget was kept at $100!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Vintage cookie bar with flavored milk, a tiered cookie platter & a pink polka dot cake
• Dry Cookie Mix mason jar party favors + Pink tulle wreath with a cookie “M” monogram
• Burlap dessert table runner, French Provincial nightstand with pink lemonade & doily garlands
• Antique high chair painted blush pink with doily name banner + Framed chalkboard “1”

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Stephanie…

When one of my best friends and fabulous baker of Stacked Studio Cake Designs, Lauran, asked me to style her little girl’s first birthday party, I couldn’t resist! She gave me the freedom to run with the theme of my choice and I knew she would create some adorable sweets to go along with it! It was a small family gathering at her home, so we kept it casual and cute and settled on a milk and cookies theme with a girly rustic vibe. We also decided to keep it at a $100 budget!

The printables from Allison Powell Designs were truly a jumping off point for the decor. They were sweet, but the chocolate brown brought in a vintage feel. I incorporated rustic, country elements such as a weathered white dresser for the dessert table, an old French Provincial nightstand for the lemonade bar, shutters to display photos from Mya’s first year, windows I had found at a thrift shop, paper doilies, and burlap.

Leading to the backyard, I made a wreath out of ruffled pink tulle and made an M monogram out of Cookie Crisp cereal. For the cookie buffet, Lauran made a pink and white polka dotted cake complete with milk bottle and chocolate chip cookie accents. I bought Cookie Crisp cereal and used that to embellish the cupcakes served along with assorted homemade cookies. We served vanilla , chocolate, and strawberry milk in old Frappacino bottles Lauran had lovingly collected for a long time with pink striped paper straws!

I wanted to style a backdrop area for Mya to eat her smash cake because we all know that’s an important element of a first birthday party. I painted an antique high chair blush pink and made a doily banner with the birthday girl’s name. To dress up the wooden fence of the backyard, I used sheer blush curtains that I’d had in my room as a teenager and added streamers of crepe paper, pom pom trim, and lace to fill the space in the middle. A refurbished lamp, wooden crates, vase of flowers, chalkboard, and mirror from my vanity added a collected feeling to the space.

Guests were given a mason jar filled with dry cookie mix and topped with pink gingham fabric and a recipe as a sweet favor.