Tag Archives: tabletop

Dec 05, 2017

Today, we are sharing a very easy and affordable way to turn your tabletop into holiday perfection. It’s so easy we were able to whip this up in our office before a little holiday Soiree lunch. We used things readily available, and often lying around. This time of year when decorating at home or the office, I’ve found that I often have to trim bottom branches of the tree, or pieces fall off the pine garlands.  Taking these and doing something different with them instead of tossing them is what inspired this idea!

My kids love pears, so we always have them around the house. So, we took pears, and the extra tree trimmings and spray painted them gold.  Of course, Copper (our new favorite metallic), rose gold, or silver would all be lovely as well.  I took the color inspiration from the plates I wanted to use, so if you’re stuck making that decision, look there for an idea (or a napkin, table linen, or whatnot).

While you may not favor them for everyday table use, colored candles can be an easy way to add an out of the ordinary pop of color. I’ve been seeing them more and more at local gift store, etc, but our favorite source for them is Creative Candles.

The rest is up to your imagination to play… We took a very small dish for stacking our centerpiece, but a large clear bowl, or something with embellishments would all be really lovely. I always like mixing candles- votives with tapers, etc to fill up the table, use enough so that a bright overhead light isn’t necessary.

And, of course, there are so so many ways to embellish or “juge” up each place setting. I always find that this is one of the main ways at our weddings that makes guests feel special. Seeing their name written in a special way, or on a unique item (a leaf, a stone, or maybe even a ribbon used to tie the napkins). These looked great mixed on the table, and were straight from the yard- a simple camelilia bloom, or a sprig of your favorite greenery.

We’d love to see some of your favorite tabletop designs, share with us some of the ones you were proud of, or loved creating.

12.05.17   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Interior Design, Parties | Comments >>

Photo by Corbin Gurkin

In honor of our recent appearance in the Martha Stewart Weddings feature on creative table numbers, we wanted to share a few ideas from our weddings that were a bit hit. Because, you know we can’t resist every little detail. For a fall wedding in Aspen, Colorado, die cut wooden cards were perfect for our sophisticated rustic wedding. Lettered Olive does all of our printing (and can do yours as well), but you can also find many of these on Etsy.

Photo by Liz Banfield

Many years ago (before you were readily able to find agate slices) we found this green agate at the gift market show in NYC. So, we scooped up enough to have our caligrapher hand paint the table numbers on them.

Photo by Liz Banfield

One thing we always have to think about when designing our tabletops is how crowded they may end up- for example, if we do offer bread service we incorporate it into the meal because there is never room for the b&b plates!  To eliminate crowd on these tables, we ordered metal house numbers to hang from the overhead chandeliers…

Photo by Liz Banfield

For a beachfront wedding in September that was high on style and metallic accent colors, we had sheets of metal cut and our calligrapher painted the table numbers on them. These marble card holders in a neutral color we found have proven to be so useful and versatile.

For a golf themed wedding hole flags printed with the table numbers were a thoughtful addition to the tables and offered a bit of height in the tent…So cute, right?

Photo by Liz Banfield

For those that prefer something a bit more along the traditional route, cards that were painted with the numbers were draped by ribbon from the chairs.. We just hot glued button mums to the ends of the ribbon to hide the cut ends and jazz them up a bit. You could use many different flowers or other decorative items here.

 

11.07.17   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Entertaining, Event Design, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Aug 01, 2017

I LOVE the motto- Use What you Have… dig in your cabinets to set a lovely table, die old stained linens giving them new life, and go cut in your yard or garden for simple and lovely centerpieces.  Here, tips on how to use what you have from our Life is a Party episode featuring Marty Whaley Adams and Mrs. Whaley’s Garden.

See the full episode on our YouTube channel and be sure to subscribe for more releases!

8.01.17   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Entertaining, Etiquette, Event Design, Flowers, Parties, Uncategorized, Videos | Comments >>