Entertaining | September 2016

A Feast for the Eyes

Fresh and floral fall inspiration for

your next tablescape

 

 

Story by Michelle Hope  | Photos by Casey Hilder

 

 

 

Fall is just around the corner and we want to inspire you to create something special for your dining table. 

 

Stephenson Farms in Como, Mississippi, has rustic charm the perfect custom-built dining table that hosts 28 guests. We took the opportunity to get into the fall spirit and dress this long, dramatic table for a feast. John Mark Enterprises helped us with adding fresh florals, the central design element for our tablescape. We asked him to share some tips and advice on building floral arrangements that will really wow your guests!

 

The low-lying flower boxes I used were made by a retired missionary, Bill Bradford. These boxes are perfect to arrange flowers in for a tablescape because they are not bulky, they look good, and you can also still talk with people at the table without looking around the flowers. When designing these boxes, it’s great to use the same technique — big flowers first and then work your way to the small flowers. 

 

In these boxes, I started with pumpkins and gourds. I look for the funky, abnormal looking ones. These will add a fall feel to any tablescape. It’s best to use an uneven number — we used three good-sized pumpkins per box. Just fill in the blank spots with a little greenery at the end. I like to pull my greenery from the yard because there’s always something green in our yard year-round. This gives a personalized element to make each arrangement unique.

 

To add another personal touch, you can always incorporate place cards and menu cards.  Votive candles are always an asset and add ambiance to any dinner party. We had a separate drink station, where we used yellow glasses for another added pop of color. 

 

Aside from the gorgeous florals that were the focus of our tablescape, we kept it simple and clean with white plates and dusty blue napkins. The typical bold colors of fall were paired with dusty blue, which softened the look. 

 

You don't need a lot going on when you have show-stopping florals. Guests had plenty of room for adding drinks and food from the buffet later with the minimalist design.

 

We hope you are able to gain some creative inspiration from our tablescape and take these tips and put them into action! 

 

SOURCES

 

Venue

Stephenson Farms

 

Floral Designer 

John Mark Enterprises

901.218.9749

 

Event Designer

Michelle Hope

socialbutterfliesevents.com

 

Featured florals in 

This Tablescape 

 

Lily

Grevillea

Amaranthus

Spider Mums

Snapdragons

Hydrangeas

Bells of Ireland

Roses

Curly Willow

Hypericum Berries

Alstroemeria

Tips from the Floral Designer

 

• When arranging flowers, start with the largest flower and work your way down to the smallest flower in size. 

 

• It’s all about layering — the more you layer, the moredramatic effect you will get from the arrangement. 

 

• After the flower arranging is done, add greenery to the base and something airy to the top. In this case, for the greenery we used Seeded Eucalyptus and Amaranthus. We let both hang down out of the tall arrangements for a real “wow” effect. 

 

• To create an airy effect and add height, I used Curly Willow and Bells of Ireland, which were shooting out from the top. Tall arrangements are great showstoppers because you can use a lot of flowers, but when you are sitting at the table guests can still communicate with each other without the flowers blocking their view.