Cake Smash

INFORMATION GUIDE

what is a cake smash?

Cake smash photoshoots are a fun and adorable way to celebrate a child's first birthday. They are all about capturing the joy and excitement of a little one as they dive into their very own cake.

BOOKING: A $100 retainer secures your spot. Book two months in advance to guarantee your date and have images ready for birthday invites and thank you cards!

BEST TIME: Schedule when baby is 10-11 months - just before walking! (If already walking, we'll have an extra lively session!)

CONSULTATION: A complimentary planning call is included to choose your theme, colours, and cake design - and to explore all the beautiful ways to display your images, from wall art and albums, to canvas and fine art prints and boutique cards. Your photos deserve so much more than to live on a flash drive!

PROOFING GALLERY is ready within 7-10 days. Final retouched, high resolution images delivered in 2-3 weeks via download.

THE SWEET ONE COLLECTIONS

At Sweet Pea Portrait Photography, we capture the joy of your baby's milestones with a personalized, thoughtfully styled cake smash experience. Each session is designed in collaboration with you - whether your style is clean and minimal, soft and timeless, or a stylized theme set. Every detail is created to give your little one a beautiful space to simply be themselves. The result is a heartfelt heirloom gallery filled with sweet, fleeting moments you'll want to remember forever. Please note that RAW or unedited images are not provided. All final images are fully edited to reflect the studio’s signature style and quality.

Each Collection is thoughtfully designed and includes all elements listed. Sessions are not customizable.

Sprinkles $275

A simple, beautifully styled cake smash experience for your little one. This session includes a thoughtfully guided 60-minute experience with pre-cake portraits and cake smash, set within a custom-designed and professionally styled setup, along with a custom cake and 6 hand-edited images. Baby only.

Signature Sweet Slice $450

Our most popular session! A complete, baby-focused cake smash experience designed to capture both playful and tender moments. This session includes a thoughtfully guided 60-minute experience with pre-cake portraits, cake smash, and a whimsical bath splash finale, all set within a custom-designed and professionally styled setup. A custom cake is included, along with 15-hand-edited images available for download.

Celebration Smash & Splash $650

Your full session experience, created to capture the entire story of this special milestone. This extended 90-minute session includes pre-cake portraits, cake smash, a deluxe custom cake, a beautifully styled bath splash, and family and sibling portraits, all within a custom-designed and professionally styled setup. You'll receive your full gallery (30+ hand-edited images), preserving every meaningful moment from your session. This collection also includes a custom slideshow to share with friends and family and one digital birthday card.

Sugar Free Smash $275

A beautifully styled cake smash experience for families who prefer a no-sugar option. This session includes a thoughtfully guided 60 minute experience with pre-cake portraits and cake smash using a faux cake, set within a custom-designed and professionally styled setup, along with 6 hand-edited images. Baby Only.

ADD-ONS

Keepsake Collection

A curated selection of your favourite images

from your session, professionally edited in the

Sweet Pea Signature style and delivered in

a private online gallery.

Mini Sugar Rush - Additional 5 Images - $140

Sweet Sugar - Additional 10 Images - $250

Sweet Indulgence - Upgrade to your full gallery - $350

Sweet Indulgence includes a complimentary slideshow and a custom

digital birthday card featuring your child's portrait from their session.

Digital Files are $35 each

Options to Add to Session...

Bath Splash Add-On - $50

A beautifully styled milk or bubble bath finale to complete your baby's session. Available with Sprinkles and Sugar-Free sessions only.

Deluxe Custom Cake - $50

A beautifully detailed cake designed to coordinate seamlessly with your session's styling, adding an elevated and polished finish to your setup.

Family Photos Add On - $150

Includes timeless family portraits, thoughtfully guided and styled to complement your baby's session.

Sweet Mini Album - $150

A charming set of three 3x3 custom keepsake albums - perfect for parents, grandparents, and special friends - featuring your favourite session images.

Upgrade your purchased collection by adding on an additional 20 images and you'll receive a beautiful slideshow set to music - perfect for sharing with family and friends. You'll also receive a complimentary custom digital birthday card to send to family and friends after the big celebration!

Sweet Memories Collections

Preserve Your Memories - curated keepsakes at exceptional value

Tiny Treasures Keepsake Collection

$225
A petite keepsake collection, thoughtfully designed for sharing your baby's first birthday with friends and family.

INCLUDES:
24 custom thank you cards with your favourite image
5 additional digital images / 5 matching archival 5x7 fine art prints

The Keepsake Collection

$500
A deluxe set for families who want sweet keepsakes and display-ready pieces.

INCLUDES:
10 additional digital images / 10 matching archival 5x7 fine art prints
(2) 8x10 archival fine art prints
(1) 5x7 tabletop framed print featuring your favourite image from the session
(3) 3x3 custom mini albums
your images set to music in a beautiful slideshow

Before Your Session

This is an exciting time! Your've booked your cake smash session and you're ready to celebrate your baby's first birthday with an adorable themed shoot, but you're wondering what to expect. We want this to be a stress free experience so read ahead to get our best tips for success.

THE SETUP

Included is a phone consultation to discuss stying and available props and setups. We will discuss your vision and personal style requests.

THE OUTFIT

No need to shop - I've got you covered! My extensive client closet is filled with adorable outfits, headbands, bows, suspenders, and bow ties - everything you need for a stress-free, luxury cake smash experience.

THE CAKE

I collaborate with a talented local baker who designs each cake to coordinate beautifully with your session theme. Her cakes photograph perfectly and taste even better! Our smash cakes are 4" or 5" in diameter and come with 3 layers of vanilla cake and 2 filling layers of vanilla buttercream.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Session Tips

Take a test run first.

Prior to your session we suggest taking a test run with the cake and icing they'll be having for their smash session to give the chance to explore. It helps to familiarize them with it so it's less intimidating. We also want to make sure your baby isn't allergic to any of the common ingredients.

Bring their favourite snack.

In the event your little one doesn't enjoy the cake we suggest bringing small, familiar snacks to hide in the cake. This will help us get shots of baby digging into the cake! If baby has a favourite treat, bring that too.

Don't forget a drink!

This one is very important! If baby is very interested in his/her cake they will need something to wash it down with. It's a commonly forgotten item so mark it on your must-do list!

let's get messy

DURING YOUR SESSION

cake illustration

Don't Expect Them to Dive Right In

Not all babies are excited about their first cake experience and it can take a bit of time for them to warm up to the idea. We start the session in your baby's portrait outfit before introducing them to the cake. After the portraits we will change into our cake smash outfit and begin the fun!

Be Prepared - It's Gonna Get Messy!

Some babies will dive right in when we introduce the cake and others might need a little help and encouragement from you to get going. You should expect to get your hands dirty by helping your little one dig into their cake! You may have to demonstrate how to take a bite or taste the icing. Feel free to engage and step out of the frame. I'll communicate with you during the process, sometimes it can take bit of team work! We will have plenty of towels on hand but feel free to bring wipes or anything your baby might need, especially if he/she has sensitive skin.

AFTER YOUR SESSION

What's next?

HOORAY! YOUR SHOOT IS COMPLETE.

After your session, I'll carefully go through all the images and select the very best ones. Images will be uploaded into a private proofing gallery, where you'll be able to view and select your favourites. Your portrait package includes a set number of digital images. You're welcome to select more than what's included in your package. Once you've made your selections your images will then be hand-edited with care and attention to detail. Timeline for proofing gallery is approximately two weeks and two to three weeks for final retouching.

PRINT & PRODUCT OPTIONS

You'll also have access to beautiful print and product options - from keepsake albums to framed wall art - so you can display these memories in a way that suites your home and style.