An Animal Print Safari First Birthday

While the bulk of the work we do is related to weddings, we do love to create beautiful setups and lasting memories for other types of events. We "went wild" when Katie reached out to us for help planning and designing her son's first birthday party! Since it was going to be an outdoor celebration with guests aging from little babies to grandparents, we came up with a safari theme which is suitable for all ages. We used a simple color palette of browns and tans, with pops of lime green and orange, mixed with wood textures and animal prints.

Check out some of the images from Benjamin's Safari-themed first birthday party, as seen through the lens of the talented Cronin Hill Photography. You can also see more of this party on the Hostess with the Mostess blog, one of our absolute favorites. It is an honor to see our work featured with them!

Invitation design by Eutopia Events • Photo by Cronin Hill Photography

Invitations: We custom designed the invitations to reflect the theme of the celebration, and carried this design throughout the other party stationery: the labels used on the goody bags, drink labels, menu sign, and memory book sign.

Photo by Cronin Hill Photography • Cakes, cupcakes, and cookies by Cakes by Amanda

Desserts: The cake, cupcakes, and individually packaged sugar cookies were created by Cakes by Amanda. We gave her the theme, color palette, some props we were using, along with some inspiration photos and let her run with it. They matched the rest of the décor perfectly! The cupcake liners even had animal print on them.

Drinks: Another way we showcased the safari theme was through the beverages. We had two drink dispensers filled with juice — one orange and one green — and appropriately named them “jungle juice” and “swamp water.” We also took mini bottles of water and simply covered the labels with animal print duct tape and put them in a zebra striped galvanized tub with ice.

Design and Styling by Eutopia Events • Photo by Cronin Hill Photography

Tables: Each table was set with reusable plates in orange and lime green, a zebra striped napkin, wooden utensils, and clear cups adorned with jute, twine, and cute paper straws. A simple strip of burlap was used for the table runners over khaki colored cloths. The centerpieces were a mix of small and medium sized potted tropical plants from a local garden supply that we easily covered with burlap. All of the chairs were rustic, wooden, folding chairs that used to be part of a traveling carnival and were supplied by Eutopia Events. Little stuffed monkeys and safari pith helmets hung from various chairs to decorate the space, as well as to play with and take home as favors!

Design and Styling by Eutopia Events • Photo by Cronin Hill Photography

Goody bags: Boys and girls ranging in age from just a few months old up to age 12 attended the party. Each child was given an age appropriate activity bag filled with safari themed goodies! Some of the items included were jungle animal socks for the little babies, safari themed coloring books, bubbles in orange and green, safari animal stickers and toys, safari craft projects, and puzzles. Each bag was made of brown kraft paper and was decorated with a strip of animal print paper and a color coordinated name badge.

Just hanging around! Photo by Cronin Hill Photography

Other décor elements: A burlap, animal print backdrop was created to display pictures of the birthday boy throughout his first year and hung behind the desserts. Green, orange, and zebra striped paper lanterns were used to decorate the inside of the tent.

Benjamin with his mom and dad. Photo by Cronin Hill Photography

Thank you to the fabulous vendors who helped make this party such a roaring success!

– Birthday Boy’s Party Hat: Etsy
– Event Planning & Design, Chairs, Invitations & other various props: Eutopia Events
– Photography: Cronin Hill Photography
– Cake, Cupcakes & Cookies: Cakes by Amanda
– Catering: Backyard Grillin’ Company