I love ambiance.
Like an old farmhouse table in the middle of a meadow
out under the stars.
With nothing but flickering candles and the moon shining through the trees for light.
And the sounds of crickets playing a soft harmony
as the music in the background.
But it is also about more than ambiance around you
It is the weathered tabletop left bare and set with elegant china
with touches of gold playing against old patina.
And it is the way that the flowers bring a soft romantic touch as they march down the table.
Each element plays a part of the song
and all together- they create the ambiance.
September is a perfect time of year for hosting an outdoor gathering
and for playing up my favorite mix of rustic and elegant.
And since I am backwards (according to some)
I don’t start withe food- I start with the setting and the ambiance.
For this table styling,
I thought about that delicate dance between
late summer and early autumn.
When the days are warm and the nights are chilly
the leaves are just starting to cover the ground and the smell of fall
is getting heavier in the air.
a peek behind the scenes as I worked |
I wanted that storybook romantic charm mingling with simplicity.
Fresh greens
warm copper tones
elegant gold detailed china
soft purple roses
seeded eucalyptus
The bouquets are small and sweet – placed inside copper mugs.
They are heavy on the eucalyptus and I mixed in a few stems of globe amaranth
and roses.
For the place settings- it was simple elegance.
I brought out some of my favorite gold dishes
mixed with a gold flatware
and those soft purple wine stems.
A beautiful and delicious dessert to delight-
a 3 layer stack of white cake with a fresh blackberry topping.
Yum.
Normally I use blueberries but since we have been picking bowls and bowls of blackberries
all summer long
there were plenty to add to the cake to not only make it gorgeous
but also delicious.
As a finishing touch-
you can add a few white pumpkins to bring in a touch of early fall if you like
or stay with fresh floral for celebrating late summer
and
then sit back and enjoy!
Simple, elegant and beautiful and
your guests will love it.
Hope everyone had a great weekend- Happy Monday everyone.
sources
Dishes- Birch Lane- Serafina
Gold flatware- Mikasa
Copper mugs- Balsam Hill
Fresh greens, flowers & cake (undecorated)- Whole Foods
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serena says
Oh, that's lovely! Makes my heart sing just reading about it. Thank you!
Anonymous says
The food always tastes extra good when the setting and ambiance puts you in the mood, perfect!
Barbara @ 21 Rosemary Lane says
What stunning images Courtney! A beautiful table setting…it looks so inviting. This is my favorite time of the year.
XO Barbara
Okio B Designs says
Gorgeous! Would love to pull up a chair there.
Jeanine
ℳartina @ Northern Nesting says
STUNNING! I love the beautiful floral arrangements in the copper mugs!
S H Elliott says
Vôtre table est très belle. Très Jolie!
Sheila
Jennelise says
Absolutely stunning! I love everything about your September table! 🙂
Jennelise xo
martinealison says
Bonjour chère amie,
Rien n'est plus agréable et conviviale qu'une belle table dans le jardin l'été lorsque le jour commence à tomber et que la chaleur fait place à la douceur de la nuit.
On se sent disponible et sensible aux éléments qui nous entourent.
Très belles photos.
Gros bisous ☼
cat says
i love the budding eucalyptus – looks like a winter flowering variety – those buds will get bigger and bigger and explode into puffballs 🙂 (from australia here 🙂 )
Unknown says
You have quite the talent for table styling, I have to say. Its always so beautiful and pretty to say the least and you always hit the ambiance right on the nose.
Lauren Baxter | Lovely Decor
xx