When this fabulous lady contacted me about celebrating her 35th birthday with a good old fashioned grownup cake smash I was SUPER excited! I have known Ashley for several years, and even had the pleasure of photographing her wedding many years ago (back when I used to photograph weddings…) Also – I love this recent trend of adult cake smash sessions. I know it’s cute to see a little one having their first taste of cake and making a giant mess. But I think we often forget to continue to celebrate ourselves over the years.

Birthdays are a great opportunity to take stock of our lives – and remember to celebrate all of our accomplishments! Even if we aren’t doing exactly what we thought we would be doing at a certain point in our lives (life can definitely be a roller coaster!) Taking a peek back to see how far we really have come is so good for us.

Ashley and I popped into a local Anchorage park and definitely got a few strange looks from people walking their dogs. One poor fellow actually tripped and fell – he was so busy staring at us he forgot to watch where he was going! Which, to be honest, made us laugh even harder.

You add a little champagne and it’s a party! My little tip to you though – champagne through a straw – not so easy…

But happy birthday and cheers to 35 miss Ashley – you make it look good, that’s for sure!