To capture the dreamy, whimsical spirit of our new cuteheads custom dress collection and to commemorate and celebrate three full years (!)  of cuteheads being open for business, we put together a fun and memorable 3rd birthday party styled photoshoot with the help of some of our friends. We took over Fill in the Blank Studios for the day, a beautiful space in The Heights, with clean white walls, exposed brick and concrete floors. The industrial nature of the space was very cool juxtaposed to the light and airy dresses that we designed for the occasion. I knew I was crazy for trying to put together a photoshoot featuring 5 toddlers (shooting with one can be tricky!), and although I was nervous it wasn’t going to be perfect, I was just as excited.

We enlisted local moms, who also happen to be Houston business owners and bloggers, to loan us their children. Weeks prior, we asked each mom to help us design the dress her child would be wearing to make it extra-special. The dream team includes Megan Silianoff of Greetings from TX / Mad Meg Creative Services (her daughter Macy in purple), Lyndsey Zorich of L. Avenue (her daughters in blue), Megan Birkel of Willow Crowns (her daughter in green) and our shoot photographer / Snapshots and My Thoughts blogger Ailee Petrovic (her daughter in mint).

The Lyndsey Dress, available in any color you choose, with the sequin color of your choice. Email us for a quote. 

The Megan Dress: a-line construction with a tulle princess skirt. The cotton from the bodice shows through the tulle to create a delicate layered look. Available in any color you choose with coordinating tulle. Email us for a quote. 

The Macy Dress: luxe cotton dress with mesh at the neckline. Add a handmade mesh flower to the bodice as well. Available in any color and with your choice of mesh color. Email us for a quote. 

Isla wears the Isabella Dress.

We also reached out to Houston business owners to team up with us on decor and party favors.

I happened to meet Ailee Petrovic for the first time on the set of Great Day Houston. We were both there to do different segments, but after that, our paths continued to cross. We became friendly through social media and I was blown away by both her photography and her adorable daughter Isla. I knew I needed them both for this shoot. I’m so glad to say that throughout this year, Ailee has become a true friend of mine and the photography she did for this shoot was above and beyond anything I could have expected. I already can’t wait to work with her again.

I was also introduced to event stylist and planner extraordinaire Meredith of Cake & Confetti through Instagram. We hadn’t actually met before, but I fell in love with her brightly colored work and her creativity. She is deeply entrenched in the #Houstoncreatives community and I’ve come to know her passion not only for her business but uniting and connection creative people, and that’s one of the things I really admire about her. In any case, she created the stunning pastel balloon wall you see in all of the pictures, and watching her work is pretty incredible.

The Monogram Shop, a beautiful store in Houston that features gifts, clothing and more for every occasion, worked with us on custom pink seersucker garment bags, each with the child’s name on it. When we began shooting, the kids got to open the bags to reveal their special dresses and it was definitely one of my favorite moments.

Something Borrowed provided the gorgeous florals; and this is an incredible company. They’re essentially a florals matchmaker. They help you find flowers already prepared and used by someone else for your event so you can buy them at a fraction of the cost. Both genius and eco-friendly. Wouldn’t this make the perfect flower girl dress with that sweet bouquet?

Green Plate Foods provided healthy cookies, fruit snacks and muffins, and the kids were obsessed. I may or may not have had a couple of banana chocolate chip muffins myself. What makes their food so amazing is that each item has a healthy ingredient or two hidden in it, but your kids will never know. Perfect for Back to School lunches.

The beautiful farmhouse wood table and white chairs are from furniture rental company The Foundry, from whom you can rent the most stunning pieces for your events and styled shoots. They describe their company as “a modern twist on vintage rentals” and did you see that table? I just felt cool using it. I want it in my house. It was a perfect addition to the overall look of the shoot.

Have you ever tried to get 5 toddlers to stay happy and look in a certain direction? Note to self: it takes like 8 adults &  lots of loud music. That’s me so fanceh in gym clothes. <3

I wouldn’t describe this day as an EASY day. Were kids covered in chocolate and running wildf? Yes. Sure. Did I go to sleep at 8:30 that night? Yep, sure did. But the shoot was very representative of what cuteheads has been this entire time: an adventure, and a completely beautiful journey that’s introduced me to amazing friends, given me such purpose and passion, and allowed me to be creative in both design and business in ways I never would have expected. And truly, the kids were ROCK STARS. They were all smiles, hamming it up for the camera, twirling in their dresses like little princesses.  There have been thousands of tiny bumps (and a few major bumps) along the road, but that’s entrepreneurship, yes? The saying goes that you should “Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.” And each of the ladies and businesses I worked with embody that notion. Here we all were, moms, business owners, creatives, BUSY, working hard for each other in spite of being up to our ears in commitments and other projects.

It was one of my favorite days ever.

Thank to you everyone who brought it to life and for sharing it with me. It’s as much mine as it is yours. Cheers to collaboration and cheers to each of you. Thank you for 3 glorious years, and many more to grow on.