Ask event planner Blythe Hill to describe her favorite childhood birthday party and the Lexington, South Carolina, native doesn’t bat an eye. “When I was five,” says April-born Blythe, “my mom made me an Easter bunny cake. All my friends showed up in their Sunday best, and we ran around hunting for candy-filled eggs. I think we all wish we could go back to those times when we believed in magic like the Easter bunny.”
Blythe knows something about magic-making. A hospitality and tourism graduate of the Culinary Institute of Charleston, she’s rooted herself in the city’s food and entertaining scene for more than a decade. She has served as marketing director for Holy City Hospitality (including 39 Rue de Jean, Good Food Catering, and the Historic Rice Mill Building), and while working with King Street Hospitality Group, she helped to open private, posh venues The Gadsden House and 95 Broad.
In 2016, Blythe shifted gears to become the lead planner for Yoj Events, an outfit known in town, in print, and across the blogosphere for colorful, festive parties and weddings that run smoothly—and with one heck of a bubbly spirit. Last year, she became a partner in the business.
On a Saturday last spring, Blythe and her husband, Martin, threw a party for their daughter Millie’s first birthday. “Birthdays are a big celebration of life,” says the new mom, “and I wanted her first to be filled with joy, bright colors, yummy food, and, most importantly, the people we love and who love her.” In this feature, Blythe shares some takeaways from that most magical celebration.