Monday, April 14, 2014

An Elegant Garden Theme Dinner for Thirty

We did it... our spring dinner in the clubhouse was another dinner party success!!!

The decor's garden theme inspirations.
Now, for those of you who might not know, we live in a beautiful, community in Bolivia, N.C. called River Run Plantation. It is where our Spring Dinner Party, for thirty guests, was held in our wonderful clubhouse.

I'm part of the social committee of which I have been asked to be in charge of planning and purchasing the decor for our very special gatherings and on rather tight budget.

And since our budget doesn't allow for fancy china and crystal the dollar store, my printer, a variety of crafts and some of my donated additions managed to make it look as pretty as could be.

I painted flowers on dozens of glasses and bowls and made music sheet posies with silverware tucked inside!

Allysum was planted in white painted peat pots and votives got accents in colors to match by some who volunteered to do some arts and crafts.

It all looked so pretty, just as I'd planned.

My "honey" and I were in charge of the menu.
I volunteered him to make his fabulous chicken francese and thankfully after hours of prep and cooking I'm happy to say that the meal was a huge success!

Most photos were taken during the day....though I wish you could have seen it at night!

The tablecloths were gathered and knotted to show the floral pattern at each end.....a brilliant idea by, Eileen, one of our members of our fantastic set up crew!

For our, last three, celebrations for Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day we made our own chair covers.....
this time we invested a mere $2 ea. for these universal beauties.
And since they were a bit too long and I feared that someone might trip on the overflowing satin, we tied each, at the bottoms, in pretty alternating knots. 
They were all then accented with mossy, green, organza bows.

Centerpieces were created from dollar store finds. Mossy faux painted pots were adorned with herb printed cards and tied with bright green ribbons.  Live, white ranunculas, faux additions and bright green spanish moss was then planted in each. Flickering lanterns on shepard's hooks and a trio of butterflies added the finishing touch.



 Art created by residents always enhances the room and fit it just perfectly....don't you agree?


  Wisteria grows wild all over the south, so fresh picked it made the room's column a real focal point. Even the wind chime had colors that so perfectly blended with the decor of the room.


My umbrella was perfect to hold this display and decorated a door in a really nice way.

Butterflies were added almost everywhere!

What a day it was, as you can see outside!

A pot from our yard was set in the entry

 that mimicked the theme of the centerpiece decor.


My angel, my Tanya, sat nearby too!

This was a little vignette creation that I brought from home that held a candle votive inside.

Lots of moss and votives were placed in the room.

Even my straw summer hat got a garden themed look with a little bit of added glam.

A butterfly stepping stone just propped in place added more interest to a rather plain space.

This was a gift from my long lost, friend, Pammy, that never fails to make me smile...
just the way she always did!

One last look at the room's decor and I hope that you enjoyed it all!

Now, I must conclude my post with a very special "thank you" to all of my team...Carolyn (our 1st lady in charge), Carol, Josephine, Sharon, Ann, Eileen, Kate, Hannah, Susan, my daughter Tanya and my husband Ralph for crafting, decorating and cooking and of course the clean up which all made this dinner such a great success!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,

JP
and Gucci, too!


Visiting Southport,  N.C? be sure to stop by my booth @ the Northrop Antiques Mall and see what I may have there for you!
 
A very special "thank you" to Brooke from creativecountrymom  for chosing this post to be one of those featured at her party.


  Sharing this post at these great parties

rustic-refined  

craftsalamode  

savvysouthernstyle  

jenniferrizzo  

onemoretimeevents  

lifeonlakeshoredrive

myturnforus  

frenchcountrycottage  

rootedinthyme  

staceyembracingchange  

diybydesign  

ivyandelephants  

astrollthrulife  

creativecountrymom  

myuncommonsliceofsuburbia  

stonegableblog  

kathewithane  

adelightsomelife  

thededicatedhouse  

redheadcandecorate  

bystephanielynn  

24 comments:

Christine @ Rustic-Refined said...

Wow! You really outdid yourself and your guests...and on a budget! It looks just beautiful.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

You did a beautiful job setting those tables, Janet! Especially on a budget. You've shown it can be done! Love the color scheme you did and the flowers.

farmhouse-story said...

wow! it's all so pretty, jp! love the colors!

Gail @Purple Hues and Me said...

This is so fabulous! You and your friends did an amazing job putting this together. Very creative!

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Just beautiful!! So many great ideas! Our church does a Harvest Tea where each hostess picks a theme to decorate their table. My theme this year is going to be a White and Gold Christmas.....
Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas!!

Hugs,
Deb

Debbiedoos said...

What a stunning party theme. I did not realize you live in the Carolinas too! What a great party,must have been the talk of the town.

Rosemary and Thyme said...

Wow Janet. You did an amazing job. Everything is so cheery and bright. A beautiful spring gathering. Pretty amazing for having a limited budget. The menu is full of my favorite things. Your hubby sounds like an outstanding man. Happy Easter sweet friend.

Hugs,

Janet

Sarah said...

Looks like a lovely party. Your garden theme is perfect for a spring party.

Unknown said...

OMG I cant believe you did that on a tight budget,just Fabulous!
Lee

Rita C at Panoply said...

JP, I'm visiting from Brooke's Creative Country Garden Party. Your party touches are outstanding! There's nothing I love better than a soiree pulled off on a dime (..er, Dollar Tree, in your case!) Every little detail, just wonderful. Congratulations on such a lovely job! (No wonder they want you on the social committee!)
Rita C at Panoply

The Charm of Home said...

JP you did a wonderful job with that! Happy Easter!

Bonnie said...


What a grand affair. You did a great job. I am sure your guests had a fabulous time.

chateau chic said...

You did an absolutely gorgeous job for your dinner!!! It's all so beautiful and springy. Love the color combination you used, and I love that idea of tying the tablecloths at the ends.
I'm sure it was a delightful evening!
Mary Alice

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh! What a wonderful event! I especially love the colors you used. You are a featured post at this weeks 'Home Sweet Garden' party too. ♥ Brooke

Kathy said...

This is an absolutely beautifully done event- loved it! I am delighted that you shared with A Return to Loveliness,
Kathy

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Hi! I am new to your blog...but you are going on my Blogroll. Your decorations are fabulous. I love to go to luncheons where people put lots of thought into the decor. By the way, our Bentley is a twin to your Gucci and I LOVE the Carolinas. In fact, going there for a bit this summer!

Shabby chic Sandy said...

I love what you did with the decorating--love the purple and green and how natural everything looks. The Wisteria looks so pretty--I wouldn't have thought to decorate with it. Beautiful!

Karen said...

You all did a beautiful job. It looks like a spring fairy tale.

Lori @ Dining Delight said...

What a great job you did decorating for this event! Love the colour scheme and all the details! Bringing so many "perfect" objects from your home shows how much you enjoy this type of thing and that you have a real knack for it! Reminds me of a Victorian Tea our church used to put on - we each brought dishes from home for the various tables - if you wanted to get away from the paper plates you could try that route but the disposable items you've used are lovely in colour and how you've added to them. Chair covers always "dress" a room too so good planning there! I really enjoyed seeing this!

DD

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Love your party colors and decorating on a budget can be fun and creative. Your painted cups are so cute, bet the party is a success.

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

Hi JP, I just found your blog and have LOVED seeing this wonderful dinner celebration! We live in a 55 plus community in Pa., we built our home a year and a half ago and LOVE living here and taking part in all the activities. Your clubhouse is lovely. We use ours alot too. I love the decor you all did for this dinner, the theme and colors are beautiful! I hope you'll stop on over and say hi. I am going to browese a little now on your blog! Pinky

Motoristin Mutsi said...

So, so amazing beautiful! Have no words to desribe.

Crafts a la Mode said...

JP, Beautiful work!!

Christine @ Rustic-Refined said...

Thanks so much for joining us at the Table It Link Party and I hope you can do it again!

P.S. I am STILL loving the purple, green and white colors. I think I am going to try and see if I can do the same colors in my next tablescape...thanks for inspiring me!