Pinterest. Doesn’t it always start this way? I have always dreamed of hosting a romantic bohemian chic outdoor dinner party, complete with perfectly imperfect décor and perfectly perfect strong women with diverse backgrounds and talents as guests. A mélange of mix-matched rugs, pillows in varying textures and sizes, and antique china danced in my head. I dreamed constantly of my Midsummer Night dinner. The 1908 painting, Midsummer Eve, by Robert Hughes seemed to capture the essence of the evening I envisioned.
So, as with all great ideas, I scoured Pinterest for further inspiration and brought in my friend Kristin Rapisardi, owner of Lustre Theory. As the owner of an event styling business, Kristin has an attention to detail that is beyond extraordinary.
ACTUALLY, WARDROBE STYLING AND EVENT COORDINATION ARE VERY SIMILAR IN NATURE. BOTH REQUIRE AN EYE FOR STYLE, ATTENTION TO EVEN THE SMALLEST OF DETAILS, AND FEARLESSNESS!
After coming up with the concept and design, finding a partner in crime to help bring my vision to life and deciding our style, we realized that our passions have yet another thing in common…we both have a lot of really cool stuff! Over the years, you begin to collect things without even realizing their commonality. Between the two of us, we were able to compile quite the impressive mix of amazing finds; antique Wedgewood china, vintage glassware, intricate sterling flatware, silver candelabras, cloth napkins in just the right shade of blush, crystal goblets, and the cutest little bar cart you ever did see. We decided to use recycled wooden pallets for a table that would be covered with varying cloths and prints.
Guests would dine and lounge on rugs and pillows scattered around the pallet. Kristin created all of the invitations and menus for the evening. As usual, they were uniquely perfect and captured the essence of our Midsummer Night theme. She also created floral hoops that hung from the low-hanging branches of nearby trees.
For the rest, we reached out to local vendors! We are so blessed to know such talented women in our area, who not only support one another, but celebrate each other’s success! These are the people I am happy to call my tribe. All of us working together to help our dreams become our realities is so humbling and such a beautiful testament to women in business. These are #girlbosses at their finest! Invitations went out and for the next few weeks, Kristin and I LIVED in a state of midsummer madness as we scavenged, collaborated, and planned!
Blue Steel shared the most beautiful lighting that dripped from the trees and seemed to suspend us all in their magic. Black Iris provided the floral arrangements scattered across the tablescape in varying shades of whites, soft pinks, greens, and lavender. They brought an air of romance and nostalgia and played well with the Wedgewood and silver. The Peacock Chair and hand crafted macramé from The Bohemery Company was the icing on the cake! We draped these delicate works of art from trees and doorways. My dream was quickly becoming a reality! The lush yard next to my home became a place of bohemian decadence. All of this was captured with an artist’s eye, as Skylar Wyatt of Skylar Wyatt Photography took her place behind the lens. Somehow, she has a way of capturing every little magical detail of a special event.
As twilight descended, our guests began to arrive. These women are people I admire with diverse backgrounds and of varied talents and gifts, especially chosen to share in this unique evening fit for a movie set or romantic classic novel. Laughter bubbled throughout the forest on the other side of the lawn and came back to us as fireflies dancing through the night. Rosé was poured, toasts were given, and everyone seemed suspended in time. Shoes were cast aside. Dresses to make this wardrobe consultant swoon dotted the landscape as women flitted between the trees and across the dew-kissed grass.
Everyone found their place around the table and by the time dinner was served seemed as if they were cherished friends from a thousand lifetimes, though some of them had met only that night. An array of mouthwatering delights were passed and passed again. More rosé was poured and our softly illuminated evening seemed even more magical under the darkness of the night around us as stories were shared and we laughed casually draped across pillows of silk and fur. This was a dream come true. What started as a wish, an idea, a vision, had become a reality that still seemed like a dream….looking back I wonder if it really was.