Mademoiselle Adelaide Celebrates in Paris

From the minute Adelaide was born (IT'S A GIRL!), I was planning her birthday party in my head, heart, & Pinterest boards. Not because I was wishing away her first year; but because the thought of celebrating her life, my daughter, felt like the most amazing thing to me.

I set out trying to think of a sophisticated yet feminine yet age appropriate theme. I am not and never have been a crazy Disney/cartoon/baby-ish stuff person. Even as a child I preferred to do or play with more adult things. Then I realized that I love French and I love Paris. And well I hope that Adelaide is fluent in French as a young child (if Ryan would ever hook up the DVD player then I could play her my French baby lessons!) and I just know she will love the language & the culture especially when I take her there for an entire summer to travel around France. SO Paris-themed it was!

I may or may not have gone all out with this party. In my mind, I wanted to create Paris (in Kentucky) to give it somewhat of a real feel. With a southern twist of course ;) Thankfully at Chateau Collins, also known as my parents' house, there is a pool. Insert Le Seine. Making my Rive Droite & Rive Gauche a little more real.

Now no trip to Paris is possible without a passport which is why Mademoiselle Adelaide so graciously sent all of her family & friends one...

Arriving in Paris, guests were greeted with adorable wreaths made by my sister-in-law Amanda to say BONJOUR and let everyone know Mademoiselle A was turning ONE!

As I mentioned early, I wanted to simulate how Paris is actually set up. The Rive Droite (right bank) is famously known for the main drag known as the Champs-Elysees. Lining the streets are various shops & cafes until you reach the Arc de Triomphe. So in our Rive Droite, we had the yummy French fare set up along with delicious cocktails and "shops".

French favorites that were served included the crepe station, the croissant bar, caprese pops, French fries, and fruit flutes. Specialty drinks served were pink champagne, pink margaritas, & pink punch.

On the other side of the Seine, the Rive Gauche (left bank) sits doting years of history. This is typically where the artists, writers, and philosophers hail from. While many of the local Parisians enjoy wading in the Seine, they also enjoy being creative on the left bank. So I decided to set up a few easels so the mademoiselles and monsieurs could get their color/draw on.

Shana helped me set up a Parisian photo booth complete with mustaches, berets, glasses, poodles, Eiffel Towers, & Arc de Triomphes. The memories a photo holds is unparalleled.

Notoriously known for the Eiffel Tower, I collected many many of these little gems to set throughout the house & patio. Also I scooped up several picture frames with Paris accents to show how Mademoiselle Adelaide had grown over the last 12 months. And well I just couldn't resist anything that seemed Parisian so every little detail screamed France!

When it came time for dessert, I felt like cupcakes were way easier for kids & adults...and more convenient than cutting a cake. I wanted it to still reflect the theme so I contacted Brooke Jung (I went to high school with her sister-in-law and know her husband) who does AMAZING work! She created an Eiffel Tower of cupcakes. She also made a tiny cake for Mademoiselle Adelaide to blow out her 1st candle :)

For favors, I wanted to keep with the Paris theme but also do something a little different. Of course chocolate was a must so I ordered Eiffel Tower chocolates for the goodie bags. That covered Rive Droite. To cover Rive Gauche, I found little Paris coloring books with French things to color. They were super cute and educational with French vocab! For the older guests, I found some colorful berets that I thought they would enjoy (along with their chocolates!).

There is nothing more special than celebrating life with those that you love the most. Adelaide will always know how wonderful her family & friends are to us, and I will always remember this beautiful celebration of her!

**More pics to come**