Summer Dinner and Party Decor Tips

If any of my readers attended this little event, you may laugh... that I'm posting about it now!

This little summer dinner happened a year ago.  I'm so on top of my blogging right?  Impressed?

We put together this little event for church, while I was in the RS presidency.  

My friend Amy agreed to have our group of women from church over, into her back yard, for a dinner in the garden/backyard!

I was, of course, in charge of decor, which I love, and was happy to do!  How fun would it be to decorate her fabulous tree?

It did turn out beautifully, the food was wonderful (I'd rather do decor than food :)), and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner outside together, as friends.

We decorated all in white, as you can see.

I filled mason jars, with queen anne's lace.  It grows everywhere here!  I pulled over along the side of the road and cut a bunch for our dinner.  Also at each table were white votive candles.

We had white lights running down the center of our food table, with such yummy, light summer foods.

I hung white lanterns from the tree.  Some had tealights inside of them.  I put a small plastic cup in there, (or you could use a little jar) to hold the battery operated tea light.  They looked so pretty in the tree.

It was a wonderful night and I had so much fun decorating for it.  I used all of my own stuff, that I have collected over time.  

If you treat your party stuff well, it can serve you for many an event!  

My go to party decor tool is curling ribbon.  That stuff is cheap, and is the bomb!

I like to hang my lanterns and other paper decor with curling ribbon.  In the case of this party I needed quite a bit of strand for the lanterns to hang low.  No prob.  My huge roll of curling ribbon is there to deliver, and I don't feel bad using it, throwing it when it gets ugly, or when I mess up.

I can do a large slip knot, for easy removal, and even make the hanging string cute, by curling it.

See that accordion lantern there on the right?  I got that for .25 one year at Target, Christmas clearance.  Of course I couldn't just buy one... I bought all they had left!!  

These lanterns have double sided stick tape on it's edges that you use up when you collapse the lantern.  You know what I do to reuse these?  I punch a hole somewhere along the 'gather point' and use a brad to connect them, over and over again.  Smart right?  You should totally do that too!