Honky Tonk First Birthday Cake Smash Session | Studio 120 Photography

January 30, 2026 • Leave a Comment

Honky Tonk–Inspired First Birthday Cake Smash Photography

A first birthday only happens once, and this Honky Tonk–inspired first birthday cake smash session was truly a ONE Night Only kind of celebration. Designed to feel like a cozy country music venue, this session combined rustic textures, warm lighting, and classic Honky Tonk details to create a timeless yet playful milestone experience! SOTP0080 BUT we will get to this session in a moment! I want to share how each of this little guy's siblings made it into the session.

It started in 2016 when I first met this momma with her first born. When I look back at these sessions, I can see how much I have grown as a photographer and it is so humbling and such a blessings that this family has trusted me with each newborn session and each cake smash for their littles over the past 9 years!

Here are a few from Aria's newborn session (2016). This is when I was still doing sessions in my home by rearranging furniture and counting on natural light!

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Then came her One Year Cake Smash! We did both a cake smash and a milk bath with each little one! Again, this was still in my home, but I had a light to work with now! I remember building the carousel and making the pinwheel decor for this session like it was yesterday! AND to this day, her milk bath photos remain some of my favorite to date! (2017)

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Fast forward a couple of years (2019) and baby brother Jett is added to the family! I am now in the studio space that I am still in today - I remember coming up with this "plane" set ideas as a nod to his name, Jett!

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120P0481 One year later (2020) literally weeks before Covid hit and shut everything down, we did his ONE Year Cake Smash a Bath! The hockey themed cake smash was so fun to create, I actually hand painted the "rink" to fit the goal they had featuring their favorite team and used a vinyl overlay to make it reflective like ice! It was so fun!

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Little sister, Ivory joined the family in 2022!

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SOTP0163 One year later (2023) it's time for Ivory's One Year Cake Smash and Milk Bath!

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So.... there was a girl, then boy, then girl, then....you guessed it....a boy in 2024! Meet Nash! For his newborn session, mom wanted to do an in-home lifestyle newborn session BUT she wanted a few poses she had done with the other kiddos that were posed in studio so we did a combo shoot, she came to the studio with baby Nash for some posed solo shots and then I went to their home and did some family lifestyle images!

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SOTP9720Evoto And one year later (2025) we were ready for his One Year Cake Smash Session - which brings us to this very special cake smash session! Well, his name is Nash, so a Nashville nod is obvious, and mom liked the idea of Honky Tonk Nashville....so the idea of ONE Night Only was born! This set came together as a performance stage in a honky tonk bar complete with neon signs, a custom make 3-d printed microphone stand a tiny stool and guitar! But don't forget all the posters that riddle the walls of those bars....had to make some of those too, right? So why not bring in the whole gang and do a tribute to each one!

Now, I can't take credit for the creation of these (AI did that) but the idea was mine and I loved that special touch!

Well, let's get to his session, first a few portraits, then the cake smash and then his bath! (also really fun to do something different for a non-traditional fall vibe - apples and cinnamon!

Over nine years, four siblings, and countless milestones, this family’s story shows how powerful it is to have a photographer who grows with you. From newborn sessions to cake smash celebrations and everything in between, these moments deserve to be documented with intention. If you’re looking for a family photographer to capture your children’s story as it unfolds year after year, I would be honored to do that for your family.

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Honky Tonk First Birthday Cake Smash Session | Studio 120 Photography

Honky Tonk–Inspired First Birthday Cake Smash Photography

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