Table for Twelve

After weeks of preparing, it's finally...finally here- our very first Table for Twelve!  I've been assembling this post for many moons so I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to share it with you all.  I hope you're able to use the information and photos below as a resource and inspiration.  My goal was not only to create a party you'd want to throw, but to give you the tools to actually throw it.  Creating a comprehensive party guide is no easy task, so if you see anything you'd like to re-create and need more instruction as to how we did it, I'd love for you to contact me!  

If there was a star of the show, it would have to be our beautiful table itself.  I wanted to create a space that balanced natural textures with a bit of glam.  The materials we used to achieve this ranged from burlap and plain brown paper to lace and sparkly jewels.  More than anything else, I wanted the feeling to be whimsical, which is why I chose swirly, twirly stems as the base for the centerpieces.  After anchoring the branches in wine bottles I spray painted gold, I added a few hanging jewels and flowers.  We created a few levels in the center of the table and covered them with small candles and miniature flower arrangements.  Overall, I was thrilled with the final look. 

Since I don't have the space to store a dozen new place settings I tried to keep things beautiful but disposable in as many cases as possible.  The plates, silverware and cups all came from Party City and the napkins (or as the Italians say- mapines) came from Ikea.  Since I wasn't thrilled with any of the disposable silverware options available, I came up with the idea to print an image of vintage silverware on paper bags and hide the silverware inside.  This effectively turned my biggest frustration (turns out no one in the world makes real-looking disposable gold silverware) into my favorite part of the table.  Success!

In the interest of space and in an effort to create an opportunity for dialogue, I decided not to list all the recipes we used in their entirety, however i'd be THRILLED to e-mail any and all to those interested.  Click here to shoot me an e-mail if you want 'em and I'll get them to you in a jiff.    

Need a few more pictures of all that goodness?  I thought you might.  Let's break things down a little further.

I didn't want to overwhelm the night with activities, but I did want to leave a few fun options for those interested in participating (which turned out to be everyone as we're a pretty fun crew).  Using only a closet, a tray, two curtains to create a background, a few props and my Mac computer, I created a homemade photo booth that ended up being a definite hit.  It seems I'm a regular Macgyver.  Check out the hilariousness that ensued below.

I put together a pretty neat setup of everyone's favorite candy and made personalized bags for them to fill.  I even managed to find adorable little candy scoops at World Market!

I'm a big believer that, in the end, it's the details that make a party really memorable.  Here are a few things I felt added a special touch.

I was so thrilled with how our party came together and hope you were able to take away a few ideas for a Valentine's Day party of your own!  If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know!  To view even MORE pictures from our night-O-fun check out our brand new Flickr account by clicking here.  Since a good time was had by all, I thought I'd leave you with a few action shots of the girls that helped me make this all happen.  Have a lovely weekend, everyone!...aaaaand, scene!