Hellobee

This is a guest post from my friend Jenny, who I met at summer camp in the 6th grade!

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Evan’s birthday party was such an amazing event. I remember at one point getting teary-eyed because I looked up and realized that our closest family and friends were all there to celebrate with us. The thing that touched my heart the most was that they had also been there for us throughout the entire year. The best part of the décor were their smiling faces.

The Dol

Non-Koreans often wonder why Koreans seem to have such extravagant parties for their children’s first birthdays. The“dol”or“doljanchi” is a celebration of life and a tradition born out of an era in Korean history when babies often didn’t survive to their first birthdays, due to malnutrition or illness. In modern days, we’re fortunate not to have such concerns thanks to medical advancements, yet the celebrations continue. For us the dol wasn’t about throwing a big party… it was just about gathering our family and friends to share in our love for Evan and to commemorate the amazing year we traveled together.

The Theme and Colors

It all started with this little paper elephant. I’ve had Martha Stewart’s elephant punch since before Evan was born. I always knew I wanted to use this one day for my baby boy. I finally had my chance. I designed a logo out of it and used it throughout the party. I also incorporated safari photos from our trip to Africa into the décor.

The colors I wanted to use were light blue, light green, yellow and silver/grey. I was inspired by my dress and a pack of paper!

The Invites

We searched everywhere online for invites, but we just didn’t find anything I loved. So we decided to make them ourselves. Here’s what we came up with…

We put a paper belt to keep the pieces together and also to hide the elephant. When you first see the invite all you see is Evan, but when you raise the belt, you see the baby elephant! We also included an advice card for people to fill out and bring to the party for a chance to win prizes.

The Décor

I had a vision of what I wanted the centerpieces to look like, but it took a lot of searching to find the right pieces — the vintage luggage, the stuffed animals, the grass, etc.

The Food

My husband Andy, Evan and I love to eat, so we had to make sure our guests were well fed. We had the Kogi Truck serve all-you-can-eat Korean style tacos. Even my mom’s friends knew about them and were excited!

The coolest thing about the party was that our talented family and friends made special dishes for us. We had everything from Aunt Teresa’s famous 14 carrot cake to Grandma Ahn’s spinach salad.

We also had a donut station where The Fry Girl made fresh mini donuts. These are one of Oprah’s favorite treats, so I knew they’d be a hit!

We also had a sweets buffet! Our planner Sophia did an awesome job of making it look picture perfect. Evan’s Aunt Sandy made yummy cake pops. You can check out Sandy’s blog for a tutorial on how to make them yourself!

We had two machines that made different flavored coffees, hot chocolate and teas.

The Floor Pillows

I really wanted to make a comfortable floor seating area for families to sit with their babies, so they could spread out and the babies could lay, crawl or walk around. We actually made 20 floor cushions!

The Canvas Bags

I made a bag for each of the baby guests personalized with their initial on the front, and Evan’s logo on the back. A lot of the things were the same (organic puffs, bubbles, blow up ball, book), but some things were personalized based on the baby’s age/gender (bib, toy, clothes, crayons, DVDs). I really wanted to make each bag special for Evan’s best baby buddies.

The Doljabi

The“doljabi” is a traditional event at each dol, where items representing the baby’s future are lined up. The baby is encouraged to pick one of the items which then signifies what their future will hold. Guests were able to predict which one Evan would pick for a chance to win prizes. Evan chose money! It was so funny because he went right for it and started fanning the bills.

My very talented friend from Dohl Posters and More designed a board illustrating the items Evan would choose from.

The Thank You Cards

The Happy Ending

It was pretty stressful trying to plan the party, especially because I made so many things by hand. Luckily I had so many supportive family, friends and a team of awesome vendors to help. There were many all-nighters, glue gun burns, paper cuts and countless trips to Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics, but it was all worth it in the end. I always say… love is in the details… so everything we put into creating this event was just a product of our love for Evan. 

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Vendor Reviews

I’m just so thankful for the wonderful vendors we had the privilege to work with, and also for all the help and support from our family and friends. Let me know if you have any questions about birthday bashes! I’d be more than happy to share the truckload of info I’ve learned throughout our planning process. If I was able to pull this off, then you’ll surely be able to do something even bigger and better! Just arm yourself with a bunch of Michaels coupons and a good pair of scissors, and you’ll be on your way!

Venue: Warner Studio

My #1 priority for finding a venue was to find a place with good light. I’ve been to so many events in banquet halls and restaurants where the lighting made it hard to take good photos. I found the perfect solution~ have the party at a photo studio! I fell in love with the bright open space and lighting of Warner Studio.

Food: Kogi Truck

We wanted to have Korean food but not the typical buffet. We wanted fresh food but not restaurant food catering. Hence the perfect solution was the Kogi Truck! All-you-can-eat Kogi truck tacos with minimal waiting was a hit!

Dessert: The Fry Girl

The freshly made mini donuts were sooo delicious! The Fry Girl was an awesome vendor. She’s a favorite vendor for celebs and I could see why! I wish I could have her come to all my events. The donuts are just so yummy.

Cake: Mike’s Bakery

Mike was great to work with! He’s so talented and easygoing. His custom cakes are awesome! Best of all, his cakes are delicious! Please let me know if you’re interested in working with him and I’ll give you his contact info.

Coordinator: Petite Productions

My dear friend Sophia from Petite Productions was a dream come true for us. With a resume that includes coordinating events at the St. Regis and unbelievable organizing skills, what more could we ask for? Sophia was amazing. She helped tie everything together so we didn’t have to worry about anything on the day of the event. I admit I’m probably a tough client to have because I’m such a perfectionistl and I even drive myself crazy with my attention to detail. However, Sophia was so good at handling me, hehe. We must’ve traded what seems like hundreds of e-mails, but Sophia never missed a beat and made sure everything was accounted for. I’d highly recommend a coordinator like her for your next big event!

Invitations and Other Paper Crafts: Me!, Paper Source, Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics

I absolutely love paper, fabric and anything to do with crafts. I had so many ideas I wanted to incorporate but I just didn’t have time. I’ll just have to save them for another event.

Photographer: Youkeun Oh

We got to work with Youkeun several times throughout the year, and I just can’t say enough good things about him. I’d highly recommend him to capture your family portraits and important events. He’s so talented! He works so hard to get the right shots and he’s also just so nice to work with.

Videographer: 29 Frame

We love 29 Frame!! They edited Evan’s first year video for us. I can’t wait to see how the video of the event turns out too.

Balloons: Kiki Event

We considered doing the balloons ourselves but I’m so happy we ended up working with Kiki Event! They’re so professional and easy to work with. Check out their website and portfolio for some great balloon décor ideas.

Doljabi and Memory Boards: Dohl Posters and More

My super talented friend Sooki designed the doljabi and memory boards for us. She’s just so creative and wonderful to work with. If you’re planning a party and want to make boards to display then please consider working with her. You’ll be so happy you did!