It’s summertime, which means one thing: the parties are now poolside. We absolutely love our backyard space, and it’s perfect for entertaining friends and family in the beautiful LA weather. Though hosting might seem stressful, it definitely doesn’t have to be. With my three tips to planning the perfect summer party, you’ll give your guests an affair to remember (and you’ll actually be able to enjoy it too!)
1. Create a table that emulates the season.
A color scheme is key when creating your perfect table setting. With the summer sun as my backdrop, I went for a color scheme of lemon yellows (and real lemons too, on the vine of course!) mixed with soft greens. Without really meaning to, suddenly the table looked like Southern Italy, so I ran with it and added more and more patterns and really filled the table up, with fruit, different textures and a hand-painted tablecloth. I am so over minimalism: when it comes to entertaining, I’m a maximalist all the way! The tablescape reminded me of dinners out during our honeymoon in Positano, packed and pretty and over-indulgent.
2. Use fresh blooms.
Everyone knows I absolutely adore fresh flowers! When entertaining outdoors, I always grab a few seasonal florals that are easy to work with. Our local flower market has a great variety, so it’s always a treat to go and stroll the aisles. It totally works to put them in mismatched vases, pitchers, or anything else you might have. I even sometimes incorporate fresh produce into my arrangements, which ads an unexpected pop of color to the table. Here, I topped the table off with olive branches thrown into an urn (that was actually left here by the previous owners of our house, so I gave it a new lease of life!). Pro tip: Try to hold off on flowers until the day-of, to avoid them dropping in the heat and humidity.
3. Serve up sips and sweets.
I wanted to switch things up, so I served cocktails and cake. Because if it’s your party, then you make the rules! My talented friend Laurel – the founder of Sweet Laurel Bakery, whipped up some of her ridiculously cakes and brownies (you can buy her cookbook here). A big added bonus? They’re super healthy (no dairy, no grains, no refined sugars – just pure yumminess!).
I hope you get inspired to throw your own cocktails and cake summer party! Shop my top tableware items below and let me know your summer hosting tips.
xx,
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YUMMMMM! The cake looks “to die for” …….