This post is all about garden party inspiration!
Is there a better event than one that’s centered around the garden? Beautiful hues, fresh flowers, pleasant music and outstanding weather — what more could we ask for?! If you are planning, or would love to host, a garden party themed get together, we hope you will find some elevated yet accessible inspiration here. Garden party inspiration for the host is underway!
Decorating for a Garden Party
When deciding how to create your table, focus on a color story that pairs with the season and the fresh flowers accessible to you.
Garden Party Themes: Color Story
For example, if it’s summertime, you may want to choose bolder shades like touches of fuschia, bright yellow, blues, warm reds, etc. In the springtime, pastels are always an apt choice. If you have a garden, you could use the floral hues available to you to inspire the tablecloth, dishware, and the like.
Fresh Flowers
For any garden themed party, fresh flowers are ideal. Certainly, your local market or grocer will have fresh flowers, a neighbor’s yard, or more budget friendly options like Produce Junction are all considerations. You could also purchase small pots (or larger ones) from your local nursery to sit on the table and then plant or gift after your event.
Start with a tablecloth — vintage works beautifully here if that’s your style. For this birthday garden party, I used a block print style tablecloth which boasts my two favorite colors: pink & green, which both celebrate the spring season beautifully.
I then focused on the flowers in bloom in my garden during May, which were peonies and lilacs — two of my absolute favorites. Also, as we all know, their perfume is such a treat.
And while I don’t have any lily of the valley in my yard due to their toxicity to children, I love to celebrate this flower in the spring season, so I represented it in other ways: through antique glassware, my earrings (!), a letterpress card, and a tiered stand I found on Ebay.
Once I had chosen the vases for the flowers and had an idea of where I was going to arrange them for height on the table, I chose my platters which fit the color story. I also played around with some smaller vases and other decorative items to amplify the floral and springtime feel.
Garden Party Ideas: Decorative Touches
Because this was a garden party inspired birthday for my daughter, I made this “1” from a wooden “1” I bought at a craft store. I hot glued dried moss and baby’s breath as a simple decor item to fit the theme.
For favors, I made these simple and lovely handheld ribbon wands.
This party in particular was meant to be held outside, but we had an unseasonably hot day in May — it was humid and in the 90s! I don’t have great shade in my yard, so I, regretfully, moved the garden party inside. Fortunately, it was still a beautiful celebration which felt very garden-centered, so don’t let the weather stop you if the same thing happens to you.
Garden Party Inspiration: Food & Drink
For this event we went with finger foods one might have at a picnic, but slightly elevated. We had a cheese plate as an appetizer and our main menu consisted of mini croissant sandwiches, scones & croissants with lemon curd and clotted cream, tuna tartines with frisée, and open faced cucumber sandwiches. I also threw together Manchego truffle potato chips because they are easy and beloved. We needed a chip with our sandwich bites!
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Because I was hosting and also tending to a baby who is content to only be held by me, we went with wine for this event, though there are many cocktails which would be such a great fit. I chose a sparkling rosé (Sparkling Summer Water) because it felt celebratory and perfect with the color palate and the season, as well as a still rosé and a dry white. For those who did not want an alcoholic drink, we had lemonade in glass bottles.
For an extra touch of color and interest, I froze strawberries and slices of lemons and limes in the ice I used to chill the wine. Frozen edible flowers would be beautiful as well.
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And lastly, this was a birthday, so our dessert was cake-centric. We had a large birthday cake, as well as these beautiful tiny cakes in pale pastel shades. This was a fun offering, as we were able to try various flavors.
Ideas for a Garden Party Theme
While there are many ways you can get creative with a garden party theme, here are a few tips which may be a helpful baseline in your planning process:
- Decide which flowers are in-season, accessible, and meet your budget. You do not need to be overloaded with flowers — just a few small glass vases down the center of the table with buds and greenery will do the trick.
- Based on your flowers, choose the color story for the rest of your event, including the tablecloth or table runner, napkins, dishware and platter.
- Determine if you would like your event to be a sit down meal or if you will be serving handheld options. This will offer you guidance regarding the menu and the table.
- Drinks should feature seasonal options. You can have one or two signature cocktails, or a prepared cocktail / punch / sangria. Be mindful of how much work you want to be doing while your guests are present and decide the drink options from there. Elderflower drinks, lemonades, spritzers, and iced teas are all great options which can be served simply or offered with various flavor profiles.
And there you have it — some simple garden party inspiration for your next event. If you have any other ideas or have hosted your own garden party event, I would love to hear them!
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Hello! I hope you’re having a great day. Good luck 🙂