Earlier this month, we celebrated Baby Pizza’s dol, which is a traditional Korean first birthday celebration. I kept telling myself we were going to have a simple party, but it started getting more elaborate once we started planning, and somehow we ended up with a guest list of over 100 people. With large families on both sides and friends who are like family to us, it was hard to narrow down the list!

When we had Lil’ Pizza’s dol, we had a winter wonderland theme since she has a winter birthday. And because Baby Pizza’s birthday falls in June, I really wanted the party to give the feel and excitement of summer. I was picturing ice cream, lots of bubbles, good food, good music, and kids just running around outside. I found a park through our park district that included a shelter and a large playground right next to it. With some additional rented tables and chairs, the venue felt simple, yet perfect for what I was envisioning.

Two weeks prior to the party, I started to look at the weather religiously and everyday it would show rain and thunder in the forecast. I started to call around to find available indoor venues but everything was booked. I was able to secure a place as a back up a week before the party. I also informed guests to check their email the morning of the party for possible location change.

I woke up early the day of the party and immediately checked the forecast. The forecast was showing that the chance of rain and thunderstorms was 100% during the time of the party. I informed everyone of the location switch, changed catering arrangements, cancelled the rental tables and chairs, and got to the venue 30 min before the scheduled time of the party. You could imagine the chaos of those 30 min of trying to figure out where everything went in a new place, but we managed to make it work. We missed some of the detail shots and didn’t use all of our décor the way we intended, but it all worked out. And while I was completely bummed that we had to switch locations, it rained throughout the party which assured me that we made the right call.

Here are some pictures from the day!

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My friend helped me figure out the layout and décor. If left to myself, I would have endless Pinterest fail projects. Thankfully I am surrounded by friends and family who can help make the outcome so much more beautiful. :)

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Baby Pizza was all smiles for most of her party.

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All handmade décor from the ice cream garland, to the banner, tassel garland, traditional dol towers, gold glitter letters, and cake topper.

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I saw a cake on 100layercakelet’s IG and knew I wanted to make one just like it!

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Centerpieces for the tables

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We switched Baby Pizza into the traditional Korean clothing called hanbok for the doljabi.  During the doljabi, you lay out several items in front of your child and whatever she chooses determines her fortune. She chose the string which means that she will have a long life.

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This was the party favor. An ice cream cone filled with cotton candy.

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My sister helped me design tattoos and even drew out Baby Pizza’s face.  It was so cool to have our own personalized tattoos and it was pretty simple using this tattoo paper.

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The drawing of Baby Pizza’s face was too cute to not use again. We used it to create stickers for the favor boxes which included dduk (Korean rice cake).

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We didn’t get a picture of the whole table, but we had an ice cream bar which was a big hit with everyone.

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Happy Birthday to my sweet Baby Pizza!  My niece snuck in between us to help blow out the candle.