Patio Entertaining - a Romantic Summertime Tablescape

It's May which means the patio entertaining and backyard picnic season is officially here. Hubs and I, we both love to entertain as he gets to showcase his grilling skills and I get to showcase my creativity with the decor and table setup. All these years in US we never had a patio, a tiny little balcony was just our outdoor tete-a-tete spot since we lived in apartment buildings for the last ten years. Now that we are proud owners of a house and a decent-sized backyard that we consider our summer escapade on a long day after work, we always have a reason to party in the backyard. For instance the day I shot these, Riri and I ended up having our dinner here. The smell of the peonies and the aromatic candles made for a good company. 
Honestly, I had everything at home except for the candle holders and flowers that I had to order for the tablescape. I tried to make the most of what I had in hand, even the leaves from the peonies that ended up on the runner. 
There is no rule of thumb when creating a tablescape. Just a few supplies, a whole lot of your creativity and some PINSIRATION and you can have a whimsical setup in no time. 

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.









The first step in curating any tablescape is to decide the theme. A theme could be character-based, story-based or color-based. Having a theme not only will make your prep work easier, but your shopping gets streamlined too. As obvious, my theme for this tablescape was blackand white with a pop of color and spring. I wanted to achieve a more romantic look for the base, hence the stripetable runner,  gold candle holders and pretty pink peonies. 
For starters have a focal point, it facilitates branching from the center out. The entire table runner and its content make my focal point. I used one of the smaller lanterns' from my porch lantern set as the focal point. Fresh fruits and flowers are a great way to bring in the natural organic element to your focal point. Additionally their bright colors make the tablescape even more eye-pleasing. Little details like that fun metal critter bug make the focal point all the more interesting. 
The classic-casual order in which the plates are placed is charger first, then dinnerplate, then salad plate, then bowl ( if using one), otherwise topped off with the napkin. I prefer melamine over porcelain when entertaining outdoors, it just makes a more outdoor-friendly material and is break-proof too. You can place multiple glasses for water, beer and or wine.  It is totally okay to mix and match your metals- it is your tablescape afterall and should be entirely reflective of your personal taste and style. I mixed gold, copper and white together and the result is just as whimsical as one metal set up would have been.  What do you think? What are your favorite colors and patterns to use when entertaining outside?  SHOP THE POST 
JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.