A Chicago Designer Throws a Dapper First Birthday Party

There’s an art to putting together a kiddie birthday party. Just ask Chicago designer Vana Chupp. As owner of Le Papier Studio, Vana illustrates custom silhouettes of children, parents and pets and transfers them to everything from stationery to dinner plates. Celebrating family milestones is the heart of her business, so we knew that she and her husband, Aaron, would make their son John’s first birthday a momentous — and beautiful — occasion. Check out the party’s inspiring food and decor in our photo gallery. Under the expertise of event stylist Kelly Lydon of WH Hostess, the party theme was “Movie in the Park,” and highlights included a movie, dessert buffet, a preppy design scheme and striking silhouette artwork to forever mark the occasion.

The dessert table held a spring-like display of cupcakes, cake pops, sugared donuts, macaroons and birthday cake. Topiary trees, bunting and a banner with birthday boy John’s silhouettes (one for each month of his first year) added zest and personality.

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— Story by Kelly Aiglon; photos by Kelly Allison Photography