A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs

Happy birthday, Ivy! This darling little girl was born last year during the famous annual Whitney Race and upon her arrival, Heather immediately knew what her first birthday portrait theme would be: horse racing! I always love a chance to break out this uniquely Saratoga Springs backdrop and setup, and to do so in honor of a Whitney Race baby was even more special to me. Ivy’s mom not only used the theme for her portraits, but planned the entire birthday party around this theme too! SO fun. 

Before our cake smash, I met Ivy, Heather, and Lee in a wildflower field that they’ve grown to love over the last year. It’s a field the family frequents to gather their fresh fruit and veggies, so it holds a lot of meaning to the three of them. Ivy had the cutest little blue and white dress for our portraits in the field. She looked absolutely adorable, and everything just had this soft flowing vibe to it. 

After our time in the field, we headed back to the studio for Ivy’s first birthday portraits. Heather loved my vintage high chair and big ONE letters made of metal, so we made sure to incorporate them in our studio time. Heather chose the sweetest blue linen dress for Ivy to wear during her smash. She actually pulled some of the pastel orange and peach out of the backdrop for her cake, too. Such great attention to detail! It really helped everything for the smash come together. 

Ivy was gentle with her cake but had a blast. I loved seeing her little smile come out as she touched the icing and even got to play in our bath after the smash. She was utterly adorable and I had a great time with her and her parents marking this major milestone! Happy first birthday, Ivy! 

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A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs NY with New York cake smash photographer Nicole Starr Photography

And they're off! A Saratoga Springs Race Track Themed Cake Smash

You want to know the funny thing about our first year with our son? Most of the baby friends we’ve made were all born right around the same time as him. We have had playdates where literally all of the babies were born within days of each other, and some of us were even down the hall from each other at the hospital! It’s funny how it works out like that, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s been amazing being able to connect with other parents whose babies are going through the exact same stage that our son is in, and it’s truly been one of the best parts of this first year — you know, in addition to the thousands of incredible moments and laughs that Grayson has brought to us, of course!

So we decided to get a bunch of the babies together for one big cake smash!

Because we live in Saratoga Springs, New York, I’ve been eager to design a backdrop to go with the Saratoga Race Track that is so popular every summer when the town is flooded with people that visit just for the horse races. All of these birthday babies live right here in town, so of course we did a Saratoga Springs race track theme for their joint cake smash!

We dressed them up in the most dapper outfits with little bowties and hats on the boys, and ruffles on the girls. How sweet are they?!?!

Meet Grayson, John, Charlotte, and Corinne. Birthday buddies in Saratoga Springs.

We put four babies in front of four cakes, and it was hilarious watching them attack their cakes (or their neighbor’s cake!).

Corinne was truly the master smasher, and she demolished her cake! This sweet girl was all over the place, up and down and crawling on and off the set. She was absolutely amazing and we had so much fun and so many laughs watching how excited she was!

Haha! I just love how Charlotte is going in to swipe Grayson’s cake topper here!

John was a little hesitant to dig right in, but he made the most amazing expressions and he was very careful not to get too messy. I love how he crosses his little legs and tastes his cake with just one finger of frosting at a time!

Grayson wasn’t really into his cake. He was more interested in his cake stand or in his friends’ cakes! Either way, he was a happy boy surrounded by cake and babies! (Ha, that’s basically how I would describe myself! He is definitely my son!)

Charlotte was very dainty and methodical with her cake. She stayed put and focused on just her cake (but sometimes her neighbor’s, too!). She loved just reaching in for one tiny little bite of frosting at a time, and was happy as can be!

These four were an absolute blast! I loved this session, and I can’t wait to watch them all together as toddlers this year!