Posh Picnic Table Dinner Party

October 9, 2017

I am throwing another dinner party at the house in a few weeks. I have lived in this new house for almost two months. My goal is to entertain regularly throughout the fall, winter, spring and summer. So far, I had a dinner for 44 friends and family when bestie AM was here…then a few weeks ago I had another alfresco dinner for 18 of my work friends. In two weeks, I am having a few people over for I think a “Paella Party” (exact menu tbd!). Anyhooo…going back in time a bit, I wanted to share with you the posh picnic table dinner party tabletop I pulled together a few weeks ago. Idea was to throw a casual backyard barbecue feeling casual gathering…I of course had to crank it up a notch to design my table into a posh picnic table for a lovely al fresco dining experience in my courtyard! I used my COCOCOZY Plaid Solid fabric in blue and white as the table runner and then the layering began…

BUILDING THE PICNIC TABLE SETTINGS

For 18 people, you can go a few different ways on setting tables. You can do two different rectangular tables, round tables of 6 or in this case I decided to seat everyone on one long table in the courtyard at my house. The long table is dramatic and lends to everyone feeling like they are together at one dinner party – or should I say posh picnic!

I love setting a beautiful table…I love layering all of the elements. This fall, I am all about the blue and white tables. So for this table, I found a bolt of the blue and white COCOCOZY Plaid Solid fabric over at our COCOCOZY office and just cut it up to make a long table runner down the center of a long table.

One trick I use is that I layer in regular napkins on an angle as “placemats”. These act as a decorative element the table. In this case I used some blue floral napkins that have a casual picnic style vibe.

Then came plates and a mix of striped and solid napkins.

The party started at sunset at 6p with cocktails for over an hour as people trickled in. A few speeches about our great team and then the buffet style dinner was served at around 7:45p. My good work friend KS was in charge of the music…he did a great job. TN, our assistant, was in charge of logistics…she did a great job too. It was a team effort. Everyone had a wonderful time! The last guest left at 11:30p. Success!

My theory is if you set a beautiful table, they will have a good time. Theory proven once again with this one!