What do I need to provide for a cake smash?
Well, depending on the theme of the cake smash photography you choose, potentially absolutely nothing!
There are a few cake smash themes that I am asked to recreate regularly…
Floral/Girly - lots of faux flowers, lanterns, birdcages and vases - usually very white with hints of pink
Wild One - full of wild animals, greenery, logs, crates and usually balloons too!
Some bunny is one - similar to the floral sets I offer but with the addition of some gorgeous rabbit pieces too
So for the above I have loads of gorgeous pieces to create a beautifully unique set (no matter how many times I am asked to make it) and a lot of these pieces also translate well into other themes too. For example ‘girly woodland’ or Winnie The Pooh uses a lot of the ‘Wild One’ pieces just in a slightly different way. The floral set that usually contains a lot of pink and white can be redecorated to lots of other colours - yellow has been a popular one for this!
I also have pieces that I’ve kept from less requested sets such as Strawberries, Lemons, Mermaid, Cows/Farm, Star Wars and Circus so will often have a lot of pieces in my arsenal ready for most ideas. This is also how I keep my sets unique to me as I create them from scratch each time, no two sets are ever the same and may even include pieces we used during your newborn session (if you had one with me of course)!
Who supplies what?
Once you have chosen your theme (more guidance is given on how to do this if you’re struggling once you’re booked in with me) I can advise the pieces I already have to bring this set to life as well as what you might like to supply. In terms of what you might need to provide this will come down to the theme you choose. If the theme is one I have never been asked to create before (which I love by the way so don’t be put off if yours is the first), or rarely create, I will research your own ideas for the theme, hopefully using a moodboard you’ve provided such as Pinterest, and suggest pieces that I would be willing to buy and keep in my prop store vs pieces that you may wish to supply. For example, for the session below, Mum wanted to incorporate a train into the set - I have no large trains and this would have been a very expensive item for me to source for a session where I may only end up using it once. As Mum knew she would have the same theme for her son’s party and use the train again in the decor of his bedroom she was happy to purchase this (and paint) for her to keep after the session. As I wanted to help bring this amazing theme to life, I custom made the mountains in the background (made to match ones in her little boy’s nursery) in addition to the steam cloud of balloons which was hers to keep after the session. Once I know the theme, we can draft a plan for the set and work with yours, and my, budget/ideas to bring this to life and then decide if this is the best route for the session, or if something that I have more pieces for already would be the preferred route.
Sentimental pieces
If you have any sentimental pieces at home that you would love to incorporate into the cake smash set that always helps to make it more personal and unique to you and your child. For example, if you have a lifelong love of Harry Potter or Beauty & The Beast and have accumulated some incredible pieces let’s work these into the set! If your child’s nursery is teddy bear themed then bring some pieces from home or your personal collection to add that extra connection. If you love Halloween all year round be sure to bring some of those amazing pieces to bring extra life to their backdrop. Books are a great one, as well and dolls too, especially for a bit of nostalgia if they are heirloom pieces.
Your portraits
In terms of clothing, I always start my cake smash sessions with beautiful portraits before the cake comes out and things get more messy! So I encourage families to dress their child in something that they love them in that coordinates with the set. This could be something new, something they have had for a while waiting for their first birthday or it could be a vest and tutu where the tutu will be removed for the smash portion. I have put a few examples from past sessions below that matched particularly well while also looking gorgeous!
Cake smash time
For the cake smash portion of the session, I recommend a simple vest - nothing else! I find that outfits that incorporate braces and bow ties for example tend to either irritate a child so they don’t enjoy the experience as much or constantly fall down and you spend a lot of time putting them back up again! With a vest, it is something they are used to, they can be personalised to your child, the theme or both, you can bring one from home if you prefer, it’s a lovely keepsake to put in their memory box and it shows off their lovely arms, legs and those all important cakey toes! All of the below were brought to the session by the families for the child’s cake smash…
Vests
I do have lots of vests that my clients are welcome to borrow, all shown below, however many do choose to have their own made (like the above) so they can be personalised to their child and kept afterwards for other birthday celebrations. I always recommend Becci at BHW Designs for this (I send all of my clients a discount code too) however there are lots of lovely options on Etsy as well! The below are all examples of vests I have here in The Cabin that anyone is welcome to borrow for their session…
Cake toppers
Another item that many families choose to have personalised and bring with them are cake toppers. Again, if you’re planning on using this in your child’s main birthday cake this can be a great option to get the most for your money and some lovely photos of it BUT these tend to only stay in the cake for a few seconds once your child dives in and does run the risk they will destroy it! I have plenty of ONE cake toppers, both card and wood with some custom made for my more popular sessions (such as Wild One). Below is a selection of the ones I have and can use, if you would like one personalised to keep after I can point you in the right direction or you are welcome to use one of mine. Oftentimes if a certain colour would look perfect that I don’t have and all you’d like is the word ‘one’ I will often order this in advance and keep it in my stash! I don’t have any toppers for two and above so if you are booking a cake smash for this age this is something you’d need to bring with you. The below are examples of toppers I have that my clients are welcome to use, if you would like something this simple please reach out to check I have a co-ordinating colour available for your session…
The below cake toppers are all ones that my families (or I on their behalf) had custom made for their session…
The cake
Something you definitely DON’T need to bring is a cake! I work exclusively with the amazing Sam at Mason’s Bakes for every cake used in my cake smashes. We work with your theme/colours to create something unique to your session that looks beautiful (often too beautiful to smash!) and tastes very yummy too! All of the above are examples of smash cakes Sam has made for previous sessions and how absolutely perfect they are every time! We cater for most allergies which we ask about ahead of time and if your child doesn’t smash it to pieces you get to take the leftovers home all boxed up too! I provide a wooden spoon with a personalised ribbon too so you don’t need to worry about bringing anything to help your child smash the cake - perhaps a few small snacks we can hide in the back of the cake if they aren’t interested in the cake itself!
Splash time!
At the end of the session we bring out the bath tub for lots of splashing and bubbles too! I provide the tub, water and bubble bath (if your child has allergies to a certain type of bubble bath please do bring your own with you) so the only thing I do ask people to make sure they bring is their own towel for after the splash so they feel warm and comforted surrounded by their own smell of home.
Checklist
If you’re looking for a simple list ahead of your session to make sure you’ve not forgot anything this is what you may need…
Sentimental/key pieces for the set (to be discussed with me beforehand so I can plan for the inclusion of these items in the set)
Portrait outfit - something lovely to match the set or something ‘on theme’
Custom vest*/one from home if using your own for the smash, welcome to use any of mine
Cake topper for the cake if you’d like something custom*, something more generic can be provided (for age one only)
Small snacks to hide in the cake to entice them if they aren’t interested
Water/milk to wash down cake they’ve eaten and for a comfort break
Dry towel for after their splash
A change of clothes for yourself as your little one is likely to climb all over you covered in cake!
*Be sure to adhere to sellers turnaround times when ordering custom items, some need months/weeks/days - all are different!
I hope this has given you plenty of information on what to expect at one of my cake smash photoshoots in Lincoln and I really hope to see you in The Cabin soon!
Best,
Ali x