Jill and I have been friends since I moved to Colorado in 1999. We were both wearing United Airline t-shirts which got us talking about how both of our dads are United mechanics. After that, instant bffs. We both have loved Harry Potter since it came out when we were 11 years old. (Just like Harry Potter was when he received his first Hogwarts letter.) So, now that I know about cake smash photography, I thought it would be a perfect time for Jill to get her Hogwarts letter. It’s 20 years late, but that is OK, better late than never. During her cake smash photo session, Jill received her letter and a special cake that looks like the cake from the first Harry Potter movie. I made her a special Gryffindor tutu, printed Gryffindor decorations, and made some vegan cupcakes for her sister and I to enjoy after the shoot. It was a lot of work but so worth it! Please scroll down for photos and links to the tutorials I found on Pintrest that helped the photo shoot.

Here is a detail photo of the letter, supply list, and personalized envelope.

detail photos

cake detail photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a link to the cake recipies I used. It was a 2 layer cake, chocolate and vanilla.

Cake photo detail
Birthday cake replica from Harry Potter

 

adult cake smash
Imagining life at Hogwarts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for the link to the Gryffindor banner on the back wall.
Click here for a tutu tutorial. It was super easy to make. I just took a long piece of ribbon and got a bunch of tulle (which was super glittery by the way) and alternated the colors. I made it about 3 feet long, folded it in half, looped it around the ribbon and tugged it tight. I really only used the tutorial to see what kind of knot was needed.
Click here for the recipe for the vegan frosting I used on the cupcakes.
For the vegan cupcakes, I used a small batch vanilla and chocolate recipe but used flax seed in place of eggs (3 tablespoons of water to 1 tablespoon of flax seed to replace 1 egg). Chocolate Link Vanilla Link

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet.
I’ll be booking cake smash photography sessions all year from here on out, so if you’re interested, please head over to the contact page and get in touch! 🙂