The Smash Is Over — Now What?

The cake is destroyed. Your baby is covered in frosting from forehead to toes. The balloons are scattered, the banner is crooked, and there is icing on surfaces you did not think icing could reach. Congratulations — you just had a perfect cake smash session. But what happens next?

Step 1: We Handle the Mess

First things first: you do not clean up anything. That is our job. We have warm washcloths ready for the baby and a changing area where you can get them back into clean clothes. The frosting on the floor, the cake carnage on the stand, the smears on the backdrop — all of that is on us. Just grab your little one, wipe them down, and breathe.

We have been doing this since 2009. Our studio cleanup routine is down to a science. You will be out the door within five minutes of the last photo.

Step 2: Celebrate the Birthday

Many of our families schedule their cake smash session on or near the actual birthday, then head straight to a birthday party or family gathering afterward. The session is usually the exciting first event of the day. Your baby just had a private party with a custom cake — everything else is a bonus.

Pro tip: bring the baby's regular clothes in a zip bag. A frosting-covered baby in a car seat is a situation you want to avoid.

The calm before the storm — everything is styled and ready before the smash begins.

Step 3: Wait for Your Gallery

Your fully edited gallery will arrive in your inbox within two to three weeks. Mini sessions include 20–30 edited images; family sessions include 40–60. Every image is professionally color-corrected, retouched, and exported at full resolution.

We know the wait is hard. You just watched your baby do the most adorable thing in history and you want to see the photos now. But the editing process is where the magic happens — where the colors pop, the skin tones glow, and every detail of the set comes together into something you will want on your wall for decades.

Step 4: Share and Print

Once you receive your gallery link, the images are yours. Download them all at full resolution and use them however you want:

• Social media. These are the posts that break your personal like record. Frosting-covered baby faces are universally adored.
• Wall prints. A framed cake smash portrait in the nursery or living room is a daily reminder of this milestone. We recommend at least one large canvas or framed print.
• Photo books. Pair the cake smash images with family photos from the rest of the first year for a beautiful milestone book.
• Thank you cards. If you had a birthday party, a cake smash photo makes an unforgettable thank-you card.
• Grandparent gifts. Nothing melts grandparents faster than a professional photo of their grandchild covered in frosting.

The messy moments are the ones you will treasure most.

Step 5: Start Planning Next Year

We hear it every time: “Can we do this again next year?” Absolutely. Many of our families come back for year two, year three, and beyond. Each year's session captures how much they have grown, and the collection of images over time becomes something truly special.

Some families even turn it into a tradition — same month, same studio, different cake, bigger kid, bigger mess. The year-over-year comparison photos are always a hit.

One More Thing: Save the Outfit

That little outfit your baby wore — the tutu, the bow tie, the crown? Keep it. Even if it has frosting on it. Wash it gently and tuck it away. Years from now, when your kid is starting kindergarten or graduating high school, you will pull out that tiny outfit and the photos from this day and it will all come flooding back.

That is the whole point of what we do. Not just the photos — but the memory they preserve.