The Purpose of Celebrating Wilder’s First Birthday
Wilder’s first birthday was an ode to an overflow of God’s blessing and provision in our life. Our little one had finally turned one without much hiccup, although– not without a few dozen doctor appointments, serious sleep deprived nights, and an endless supply of laughs. But above all, it was (& still is) a privilege and joy to have spent this year loving and knowing our son, Wilder. The vision behind Wilder’s birthday celebration was to bless those around us who have weathered the ups and downs with us. So, I wanted to intentionally find a space that would be beautiful with delicious food for everyone to enjoy. Hence, our amazing and natural light filled venue– The Halifax Restaurant at W Hotel in Hoboken.
While not everyone we cherished was able to make it, we loved celebrating with those who were able to join us! I think it’s remarkable how community becomes even more purposeful when families are born. Our family would not be as joyful, loved, or supported without the overflow of those around us. Even our birthday celebration was a labor of love from Jaqie (@jaqiesevents) and so many of our friends who helped out from assembling favor boxes to breaking down the day. From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you. Y’all are the true MVPs!
The planning process was fairly stress free because Jaqie was working closely with me AKA–she was the mastermind. I used 100layercakelet and Pinterest to figure out what “theme” we wanted to use. It was hard not to get overwhelmed from all the creativity online, but I decided on a “Modern Cloud meets Little Prince with a touch of Wild Things” mash-up. See, what I mean by overwhelmed aka indecisiveness from too much inspiration!
However, two days before the event– we got the unexpected news that our chosen photographer would be unable to attend due to a loss of a family friend. We were devastated for our photographer and so saddened by the news. Then, I began wrestling with several real emotions as it was a sudden change and panic to find someone new!
In the midst of my anxiety, while last minute shopping at GAP, I was reminded that God always has something better in mind for us. I’m not sure if it was the calmness of my rock of a husband or my mother who was certain we could find another person or even all the wonderful friends who connected me to photographers, but I knew that everything would work out.
And cut to the ending: it worked out wonderfully and even better than we had imagined! God truly has a way of giving me more than I could even fathom. A special thank you to Sarah Kim who connected me to Clarence Chan who was unavailable on the day, but still at 10 PM connected me to James Anderson. Without their help, we wouldn’t have these amazing pictures to forever remember Wilder’s first birthday. Honestly, if we’re ought to be thankful for social media for one thing, it’s the connections that happen in a matter of minutes!
All in all, we couldn’t be happier with our little prince + wild(er) one and our loving tribe. This celebration means all the more because you were a part of it. This year has been incredible– motherhood, baby Wilder, this space on the Internet… all thanks be to God! And a warm thank you for all joining in our journey and keeping up with the Lees!
