Violently Happy: Olivia's Wonderland Tea Party

Our kid turned five this week. Every year feels bittersweet. Liv is growing up so fast and I miss my four year old already!

We threw her very first unbirthday party last Sunday at Vincent Lugo Park. Since we are used to spending her birthday out of town celebrating on a small scale, we needed to hire someone to help us plan and organize la fête. We wanted a fantastic experience for Liv and her guests but also to be able to hang out with the adults (and keep our sanity) while the kids were entertained. I found Alice's Traveling Tea Party on Pinterest. Of all the Disney films, I've always loved Alice for it's silliness and whimsical characters. Of course Liv is all about the princesses, particularly of the Frozen variety but every single birthday party we've been to has done that theme. Alice is rad for so many reasons, she's able to solve her problems, remembers to be polite and lets her imagination soar. I mean, she's not perfect but I love her sense of curiosity and adventure. So I began searching for the perfect Alice costume for Liv and was surprised to come up empty at the Disney store. I wasn't fond of the cheap polyester costumes on Amazon so I was stoked to find a custom made dress and eyelet petticoat on eBay. I was a week from it being shipped when I got an email from the seller telling me she tripped on her ironing board and possibly broke her wrist. Just my luck, she had to cancel the order and I had one week to scramble to find something. I took a gamble buying an Alice costume I found online. I ordered a small based on the reviews of the dress sizing larger but sheesh.

Looks too sister-wives, right?

We took Liv to my dry cleaners and had the dress, petticoat and apron altered (which cost as much as the costume!) I was relived to see the result and the total cost ended being less than the original eBay dress. So my next task was finding a photographer. I was going to use the photographer recommended by the party planners but she was unavailable for the date of our party. Luckily I had an ace up my sleeve. I met lovely Jennifer Young back in 2013 when I was at Jihan's studio picking up my birthday balloon. She shot Liv for Jihan's party supply shop and she took these gorgeous shots at the Los Angeles Diner en Blanc. I have been a huge fan of her Instagram feed so I asked if she would shoot Liv's party. I was so excited to hear she was available and able to come down to LA! Lastly, I had my heart set on having a photo booth backdrop. I liked this one I found on Pinterest and commissioned my Superhubs to build it for me.

He bought a piece of plywood from Home Depot and the frames, topiary/roses were from Michaels

Antz version is on the left

I love how amazing it turned out!! Antz is such a crafting genius. Next he made the Alice themed photo booth props and I ordered some party favors. Off went the invitations which are included in the party package.

The party included food and cupcakes so I wasn't planning on getting a cake but as I was at Porto's ordering snacks for the adults, I couldn't resist ordering a small last minute cake for ma fille. Antz put together this rad cosplay photo of our Alice. The morning of the party was a bit hectic for us but I managed to take some shots of the set up. Once the party got started, I was so busy passing out name tags and chatting with guests, I hardly took any pictures. Luckily my BFF Aimee and my friends took photos with their phones. I am so excited to see the photos Jennifer took next week.