Smiling twin boys sharing their first birthday cake during a vintage airplane-themed cake smash in Southlake, DFW.

Time truly flies—especially during a baby’s first year! For these adorable twin boys’ first birthday photoshoot, their family chose a vintage airplane theme that perfectly captured the excitement of watching two little adventurers grow.

With airplanes flying overhead, antique suitcases ready for travel, and a beautiful globe waiting to be explored, this airplane-themed twin cake smash was filled with personality, laughter, and twice the fun.

A Vintage “Time Flies” First Birthday Theme

The phrase “Time Flies” made the perfect centerpiece for this twin first birthday setup. The soft mint background was decorated with vintage airplanes in muted shades of blue, orange, yellow, and brown. Stacked suitcases, wooden crates, miniature airplanes, a globe, and warm string lights completed the nostalgic travel-inspired scene.

Rather than using bright primary colors or a heavily cartoon-style design, this setup featured soft, earthy tones that gave the portraits a warm and timeless look. The boys’ matching cream shirts, tan pants, bow ties, and suspenders coordinated beautifully with the vintage airplane theme.

The final result was playful enough for a first birthday celebration while still feeling classic, cohesive, and elegant.

Twin boys playing with wooden airplanes and a globe before their vintage airplane-themed cake smash session in Southlake, DFW.

Why We Combine a Custom-Designed Backdrop with Real Props

One of the most important elements of this airplane-themed cake smash was the combination of a custom-designed backdrop and a carefully selected collection of real props.

One-year-old babies love to crawl, explore, pull, and move everything around them. If the entire background were constructed with physical props, babies could quickly become distracted by all the decorations behind them. They might crawl away from the cake, pull items out of place, knock over suitcases, or completely rearrange the set.

With two active babies, a fully three-dimensional setup could become messy within minutes, making it difficult—and sometimes impossible—to continue photographing the session safely and successfully.

A custom-designed backdrop solves this problem by creating a rich and detailed environment that babies can see but cannot pull apart. The vintage airplanes, layered luggage, travel details, and soft mint sky establish the complete “Time Flies” story while keeping the back of the set clean, safe, and visually consistent throughout the session.

We then add a small number of thoughtfully selected real props, such as vintage suitcases, wooden crates, miniature airplanes, and a globe. These physical elements bring authentic texture and dimension into the foreground while giving the babies a few safe and intentional objects to touch and explore.

This combination is especially helpful for a twin cake smash photoshoot. It gives both babies enough open space to sit, crawl, interact, and enjoy their cake without becoming overwhelmed by too many decorations. The custom backdrop builds the imaginative world, while the real props bring that world to life—all while keeping the twins, rather than the decorations, at the center of every photograph.

Individual portraits of twin boys exploring toy airplanes, a vintage suitcase, and a globe before their airplane-themed cake smash in DFW.

Individual Portraits and Twice the Personality

A twin cake smash session is not only about photographing both babies together. It is equally important to create individual portraits that show each child’s unique expressions and emerging personality.

Before introducing the cake, we photographed the twins together in their coordinated outfits. We then gave each boy his own time in front of the camera, incorporating travel-inspired props such as a vintage suitcase, wooden airplane, and globe.

Although twins share so many special milestones, they often respond to the camera in completely different ways. One may be curious and adventurous, while the other is full of smiles and ready to entertain everyone.

Photographing them both together and individually creates a more complete story of who they were at this wonderful age. Parents receive beautiful matching portraits of their twins as well as special images that celebrate each child separately.

Twice the Fun During the Cake Smash

For the cake smash portion, the twins shared a simple white birthday cake displayed on a rustic wood cake stand. Its neutral design complemented the detailed airplane backdrop without making the overall scene feel too busy.

Once the cake arrived, the real adventure began!

The boys explored the cake together—tasting the frosting, reaching across the cake stand, watching each other’s reactions, and occasionally becoming more interested in the nearby globe. Their interaction made every moment unpredictable, funny, and completely genuine.

That is what makes a twin cake smash photography session so special. It is not simply two babies eating cake at the same time. It is the way they imitate one another, compete for the same interesting object, exchange curious looks, and turn an ordinary moment into their own shared adventure.

We allow plenty of time for babies to warm up and explore naturally. Some babies immediately reach for the cake, while others prefer to study it carefully or need a little encouragement. There is no correct way to do a cake smash. The sweetest photographs often come from allowing each baby to react in his or her own way.

Twin boys laughing and playing together in a white bathtub during the splash finale of their vintage airplane-themed cake smash session in Dallas

Ending the Session with a Twin Splash

After the wonderfully messy cake smash, the boys finished their session with a splash in a little white bathtub.

The splash portion is often a favorite part of a first birthday session, especially for babies who already enjoy bath time. It also allows us to capture more natural smiles and playful expressions after the cake smash.

For twins, bath time creates even more opportunities for genuine interaction—from splashing each other to laughing and snuggling together in the tub. These two little travelers gave us some of their biggest smiles during their splash.

It was the perfect ending to a joyful first birthday celebration—and a practical way to clean up after all that frosting!

Planning a Twin Cake Smash in Dallas–Fort Worth

Planning a cake smash for twins takes additional preparation. The set needs enough open space for both babies, and the cake and props must be positioned so that each child can participate comfortably and safely.

At July Angel Photography, every cake smash session is thoughtfully styled around the family’s chosen theme and color palette. The backdrop, outfits, cake stand, cake topper, coordinating props, and splash setup can all be planned in advance so that the finished gallery feels polished and cohesive.

A session can also begin with family, sibling, and individual baby portraits before moving into the cake smash. This gives parents a complete collection of photographs celebrating the twins’ first birthday—not only the wonderfully messy cake moment.

Book Your DFW Twin Cake Smash Session

The first year with twins may feel like it passes twice as quickly, but photographs preserve all the tiny expressions, emerging personalities, and sweet connections between them.

If you are looking for a twin cake smash photographer in DFW, July Angel Photography offers customized first birthday photography at our Southlake studio. We welcome families from Southlake, Grapevine, Colleyville, Keller, Trophy Club, Fort Worth, Dallas, and surrounding North Texas communities.

Whether you love this vintage airplane theme or have another creative idea in mind, we would be happy to design a personalized celebration for your little ones.

Contact July Angel Photography to begin planning your twins’ first birthday cake smash—and capture twice the smiles, twice the personality, and twice the adventure.