How to Hold a Cake Smash

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A cake smash is a lot of fun and you will come away with some awesome photos to remember the event.

Follow some simple tips and ideas to make the most of the occasion. How many photos do you have in your albums of small kids with cake all over their face?  Pretty cute hey!

Many people are now turning this impromptu photo opportunity into a formal occasion, which is now known as the cake smash.

There is something pretty adorable about it which is generally held at the time of a child’s first birthday.

What is a Cake Smash?

Well it’s not really too far from what the name suggests.

A cake smash involves  an over sized cake and then letting your 12 month old, well, smash it!  Whilst of course taking lots of gorgeous pictures.

In a nutshell, that is pretty much it.

These cake smash pictures were submitted by Jennifer of Pink Elephants & Lemonade.

Jennifer had been asked to make the bunting for this gorgeous girl’s cake smash, and she created a delightful ladybug bunting to match the cake.

Tips for Holding a Cake Smash

• Regardless of whether the shoot will be occurring inside or outside, it would be advisable to have a floor covering for easy clean up.  A white plastic table cover would work perfectly.

• Have something simple in the background to add some color.  Don’t go overboard with this as you want to make sure the standout feature is the cake and your child!  Bunting, helium balloons or tissue paper pom poms would work perfectly for this.

• Take time to think about your child’s outfit.  This will be covered in cake and cream, so may be stained after the event!  Bare tops look great in photos, but if yo would prefer your child to wear an outfit, make sure it is a plain color as you don’t want to distract from the cake.

• Will your child be wearing a disposable nappy?  If so, it would be a great idea to wear a nappy cover as disposables don’t look that great in the photos!

• Don’t worry about being too fancy with the cake as not much of it will be eaten.  You could try making one yourself, or pick one up from the supermarket and decorate with your own frosting.  Here is a recipe for vanilla frosting that you could use and change the measurements to suit the size of your cake.  Don’t use fondant as this is too hard for children to smash.

• Photographers generally recommend you use vanilla rather than chocolate cake as this tends to look better in photos.  It’s also a good idea to use sponge cake as this breaks up easily.

• Don’t worry if your child doesn’t immediately respond to smashing the cake!  It is a new experience for them and it may take a while for your child to warm up to the experience.

•  Consider having a ‘clean up’ photo shoot too.  What could be more adorable than having professional photos of the child surrounded by bubbles after the cake smash!!

Are you intending on holding a cake smash, or have you done one?  What was your experience?

If you would like to coordinate some custom made bunting to your photo shoot, contact Jennifer at her Etsy store as I’m sure she would be thrilled to make something perfect for your special occasion.

Happy cake smashing