I recently hosted a casual birthday dinner for my daughter-in-law and youngest son's fiancee. I wanted to use what I had but yet make it a little personal, which was the challenge since they are very unique in everyway. I love decorating the tables so I started there.
I only put a stoneware server of several dips and a big bowl of chips on the table that they could enjoy as they were waiting for dinner to start. We had a casual dinner of make-it-yourself tacos, burritos, and quesadilas that they constructed in the kitchen. I pulled in some rustic placemats in brown to tie in with the theme of country for Joanna as she grew up in the country and loves her horses.
I didn't do the traditional birthday cake because I knew their families would take care of that so I did a simple desert buffet of cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies. I decorated it simply with another 'green' placemat, a 'rustic' round placemat, my beautiful orchid plant I recieved for Valentine's day, antique brass horses, goodies served on a platter matching dinner plates and a green shaped leaf plate.
For the table I pulled out the placemats and napkin rings we made for Kendall & Jodi's wedding rehearsal dinner, tying into the theme for Jodi since she is passionate about living green. I had the casual plates that I purchased on clearance last summer to use for our deck and I love the red touch. The little red square dishes are Rachel Ray dishes and they are great for dips. I also re-used the green stemmed glassware from the rehearsal dinner.
This Pretty centerpiece is so great because you can include flowers and candlelight in the one piece. I used a bouquet of fresh flowers with red blooms to tie in the with the plates and added the red candles. The white flowers add a touch of spring to lighten and keep it casual. I have several of these centerpieces that I RENT for special occasions, they are beautiful on round tables.
Cupcakes simply decorated with 'green' and 'brown' icing, adding simple cut out horses and ladybygs to top them off and tie in with the subtle themes.