Why should babies get to have all the fun? Grownups should have the opportunity to eat cake with their fingers and get a little messy too!
Here’s my list of everything you need to create an adult smash cake photo shoot of your wildest dreams. You’ll have to supply your own sassy attitude … but I’ve got you covered for everything else!
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What You Need for Grownup Cake Smash Success
1. Something to celebrate — anything!
A milestone birthday. Any birthday. Any milestone. (Ahem, like a blogiversary,) Life is too short not to celebrate.
Need an excuse to treat yourself to a cake smash? Let me brainstorm with you:
- A 21st, 30th, or 40th birthday
- Graduating from college
- Finishing a graduate degree
- Getting pregnant
- Getting divorced
- Empty-nester status at last
- JUST BECAUSE!
2. A creative, fun photographer with props to die for
Do your research when picking a photographer. Look for someone who has experience with babies and kids and has done traditional cake smashes before. You’ll want your photographer to be versed in the details, like using colored paper for the “floor” to avoid a mess, and have multiple cake stand options and other fun props.
I found local photographer Becci Hethcoat Photography and as soon as I started to explore her website, it clicked. Her style was exactly what I was looking for: bright, vibrant, colorful, and F-U-N. I reached out and described my vision. Becci was in!
Let your photographer’s creative vision guide the shoot: I gave Becci my color palette and general theme but then trusted her to know better than I do what to do. When she messaged me a quick snap of the setup minutes before my session, I literally squealed out loud. Based on our brief text conversation only, she had translated my vision to reality, from the colors to the handmade poufs to all the glittery stars.
See more of Becci’s work on her Facebook page. Some of her recent cake smashes have been breathtaking — and a watermelon smash too!
3. A gorgeous layer cake with the fanciest sprinkles
Pick a cake that you want to dive into, because that’s basically what you’re going to be doing. Make sure it’s covered in copious amounts of fluffy frosting (plenty to get on your fingers and face) and accented with the prettiest sprinkles you can find. Milky Way Sprinkle Mix from Sprinkle Pop was my choice – silver stars combined with purple, black, and pops of pink and blue. Could there be anything more #NeverDoneWithFun?
If you’re me, your smash cake will also be infused with alcohol in all of its components: amaretto cake brushed with amaretto simple syrup, filled with an extra-boozy amaretto white chocolate ganache and frosted with amaretto buttercream. It’s not a cake for kids but it’s a cake to die for. And that ganache? A couple tasting spoonfuls during the baking process had me feeling a little bit buzzed.
If ever there’s a time to be extra, it’s at a cake smash, so I made my boozy amaretto layer cake into a purple ombre layer cake, frosted it a pretty shade of lavender, and finished it with a shiny deep violet ganache on top. Add sprinkles all over and voila! Cake smash perfection.
Note: If you’re NOT me, even grocery store bakeries make beautiful smash cakes nowadays. The simple but elegant swirled frosting roses are perfect for a photo session if you’re not into baking your own cake masterpiece that you’re going to ruin with your hands.
4. A bottle of bubbly
You don’t actually have to drink it (though the shoot will be more fun if you do!) But a bottle of champagne and a champagne flute are the perfect accessories that take the “adult” element of the session to the next level. I found my rose gold bottle at Walmart, and I have to admit I was obsessed with how it coordinated with the rose gold balloons and pink accents.
Champagne: Pinot-Noir Rose from Walmart — chosen for the bottle obvi!
Champagne flute: Kate Spade New York Cypress Point Crystal Flute
5. A tutu
A celebration occasion, cake, champagne and creative visionary photographer are the essentials. So now let’s think about wardrobe. Since you’re a grown-up, it’s probably not going to fly for you to be topless and/or diaper-clad only. My answer to that: A tutu and an inexpensive tank top.
I was thinking about making my own tutu with tulle…and then I got realistic and realized I could buy a multipurpose glittery silver running tutu on Amazon for less than $15. Better yet, I already owned that glittery running tutu from last Halloween. Who knew it would get multiple uses?
A word of advice: Try on your tutu before the day of the photo shoot. I didn’t — and quickly realized my glittery silver tutu is pretty much see-through when you’re not wearing workout leggings under it. Oops. White underwear and creative photography poses to the rescue!
6. A tiara
Find a tiara that makes you feel like the queen that you are. Wear it constantly until you believe it. A tiara is the crucial accessory for an adult cake smash.
You can go classy with a Austrian crystal or rhinestone prom/wedding tiara, or you can go cheap with a party store version. My party store version had purple and pink “gems” in it. Who needs classy when you’ve got purple?
My favorite Amazon Prime tiara options:
Austrian crystal: EVER FAITH Silver-Tone Austrian Crystal Wedding Headband
Rhinestone: Lovelyshop Rhinestone Crystal Tiara
Plastic: Princess Tiara Set, Assorted Colors
7. A boa
A boa wasn’t on my original list but Becci had one waiting for me in her studio (purple, naturally – see how she gets me?) and it was exactly the accessory I needed. Using it as a prop had me feeling more comfortable in front of the camera almost instantly — a little camouflage, a little attitude, a little pop of color all in one inexpensive fashion accessory. Don’t skip this!
Boa: Cynthia’s Feathers Chandelle Feather Boa in Regal Purple (more than 80 colors and patterns to choose from!)
8. Balloons
You’re celebrating, so there’s got to be balloons! Stop at the dollar store on your way to the photo session and grab a couple of helium balloons that fit your theme (you can’t go wrong with silver or gold stars). You can easily stage them behind you in the studio for an extra flair of the festive.
Or think about a balloon garland! I really lucked out with Becci — she’s multi-talented enough that she makes her own balloon garlands for shoots! I was in awe of the purple, silver and pink creation she put together for me … it complemented my accessories perfectly! And when she told me she did the whole thing in less than 30 minutes, I was suitably amazed.
Of course, I’m a blogger and I didn’t know exactly what Becci had planned … so I came prepared myself with my own letter balloon garland, spelling out FUN AF — naturally. I found a custom word balloon letter banner option on Amazon in rose gold, and I was sold instantly.
Banners start at just $10.95 and are customizable up to 25 letters, with or without colored tassels (I opted for none), and also come in gold. (I was a little bummed silver wasn’t available, but I ended up loving the rose gold accents so much.) This banner was so easy to inflate; no helium required, and I had the whole thing photo shoot ready in 10 minutes. It’s reusable too (if you have another occasion in your life where “FUN AF” is appropriate…)
9. A pro makeup application
This was a last-minute decision and one that totally made the whole shoot. I decided to visit The Gnome Colony, a local downtown Glen Ellyn boutique run by a former professional makeup artist, Michael Perich, who also owns his own cosmetic line. Ladies, if you’re local and want to feel like a goddess, pop in to see Michael. All his makeup is complimentary, and I left his store looking and feeling like a million bucks. There’s nothing like a few minutes of pampering, a little ego stroking, and some expert contouring to boost your confidence tenfold.
If you’re not local, department stores and makeup stores like Sephora and Ulta often offer mini-makeovers at no charge too. Buy a lip gloss or mascara if you feel like a free-loader. And relish your moments feeling like a model!
10. Some sparkle and shine
A cake smash should have glittery accents. Just sayin’. So add in some obnoxiously sparkly jewelry; adorn your set with inexpensive glitter or metallic party accents (the party store and the dollar store are your best friends for this); and maybe even incorporate some glitter-blowing. This is your time to shine, so do it literally and figuratively!
I learned from Becci that glitter-blowing is often a photographer’s trick, which suddenly made SO MUCH MORE sense. I had honestly thought she was a little crazy when she suggested it. Who voluntarily invites glitter flung all over their house? So even though glitter-blowing might not involve actual glitter being blown (because you end up making the silliest face to make it work), my absolute favorite photo from the shoot was the glitter shot. Are you surprised?
Earrings: JUESJ Shooting Star Long Tassel Dangle Earrings
Necklace: Suyi Dainty Multilayer Stars Choker
11. All your smiles, sass, and a sense of humor
What really makes the cake smash, more than all of the other things I’ve already listed, is your attitude. You can’t take yourself too seriously, and you can’t hold back. Go into it ready to have fun! Put on some music in the studio if that gets your head in the game and vamp it up. Pout. Laugh. Smile. Pretend you’re a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat and get into it. This session is about celebration … let your personality shine through! And don’t be afraid to get messy!
12. A whole lot of baby wipes to clean it all up at the end
When it’s over and you’ve got melting frosting and cake crumbles E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E (I legit found some in my bra later on), reach for the baby wipes! It makes starting clean-up easy, at least so that you’re presentable enough to go to a sink to finish washing away the frosting.
A note: I decided to keep this cake smash session “classier” and opted not to stuff my whole face in the cake. There was a tremendous amount of food coloring in my #NeverDoneWithFun purple ombre layer cake, and I’ll be honest: I had visions of going to the office the next day with my hands and face still stained violet. For me, hands in the cake was more than enough. Suddenly I had a better appreciation of why babies don’t really like cake smashes — it’s sticky and gooey and messy as hell.
So that’s it. Everything you need for some good, old-fashioned cake smash fun as an adult! Have you done one, or would you do it? Let me know in the comments or on social media with #NeverDoneWithFun. What would your ideal “theme” be?!
Keep following on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration for fun.
