The sweetest way to celebrate your newlywed status? Why with a dinner party of course! Because whoever said life post nuptials is anything but pretty clearly hasn’t check out our sister site – SMP Living. With the massively talented Glitter, Inc. behind the scenes and Live View Studios and Six Foot Photography capturing it all to share, we’ve got this delish day in The Vault!
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From Glitter, Inc…A few months back we had this crazy idea to style a very Southern dinner party, meant especially for couples. The inspiration? When my husband and I were first married, we couldn’t wait to use all of our newly acquired dishes and bowls, and play hosts. Now that we’ve moved to North Carolina, making new friends has been a priority. It doesn’t really feel like home until you have family, and for us, good friends are family. Thanks to those awesome friends, we were able to bring the Newlyweds Southern Dinner Party to life.
If you’re thinking about throwing your own dinner party for family and friends, we’ve rounded up a few tips for hosting your favorite dinner ever.
A dinner party should be above all else, fun. You could burn the casserole, forget the napkins, drink entirely too much champagne, but if everyone laughed straight through the night, you’ve thrown one very successful dinner party. Invite friends, old and new. Forget seating charts, but do send an invitation – it makes the night feel extra special for both you and your guests.
If weather permits, take your party outside. It add a bit of time to your busy day of planning to bring the tables, chairs, and stacks of china outside, but a Southern party under the stars always feels memorable.
Based on all our own imperfect dinner parties over the years, we chose to keep the décor light; furniture like farmhouse tables and vintage chairs and sofas borrowed from friends and neighbors, hand-me-downs, mis-matched collections of grandmothers’ china, simple white napkins, a fun drink and dessert station, and food. So much glorious food.
I grew up believing that every great party had great food. (Thanks, mom!) Whether you spend a day cooking a feast, or you have everything catered in, serve food people will love and remember for years to come. For the event, the menu – handwritten and printed on paper bags – was used to hold Le Farm’s famous crusty white chocolate chip bread (one for each guest). And the menu itself – Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Peppered Honey and Fried Rosemary, Pork Loin with Pecan Bourbon and Spring Carrots, Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Pickled Spicy Shrimp, Country Butter Beans with Cornmeal Oysters, Roasted Beets with Asher Bleu Cheese, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows, and a Caramel Apple Tart and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream for dessert – packed a serious punch.
In keeping with the Southern theme, we went with a sweet southern spritzer (champagne, peach nectar, and blackberries), and homemade lemonade.
A Southern dinner party in spring or summer deserves all of the gorgeous native flowers it can get, so Carolina jasmine, spring peonies and wild southern clematis were the stars of our show. Because the flower centerpieces felt more natural, we used DIY gold-dipped candlesticks (white candles spray-painted about halfway up with hold spray paint) scattered throughout to add candlelight to the dinner. Along with each guest’s white chocolate chip bread, they received a small jam jar with a handmade tag that read, “jam-packed with love.”
After you’ve welcomed your guests, said your toasts, and served the food, don’t forget to enjoy your party. Eat, drink, and be merry!
Photography: Live View Studios | Cinematography: Six Foot Photography | Design + Styling: Glitter Inc. | Floral Design: Serendipity Designs | Catering: Belle's Catering | Invitations + Calligraphy: Bella Joviality | Venue: The Bradford | Desserts: La Farm Bakery | Models: Annie Watts Photography | Vintage Furniture Rentals: Greenhouse Picker Sisters
