Fall Table Setting: Antonio Dinner

My family makes Wish Lists for Christmas.  Last year, my sister put Northrop Dinner on hers.  So I made up an invitation and wrapped it as one of her gifts.  She cashed in on it last weekend.

I have close to 300 photos (surprise, surprise) of the "event", including days before food prep, drinks, appetizers, the meal, and the table setting.
So I figured I'd break it up into more than one post.

You're welcome.

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, and what I did could work for any fall gathering, I'll start with the table setting.  

I think I'm pretty good at organizing myself, so that I'm not slammed with things to do the day of a party.

I have all kinds of lists going and I know what I can do ahead of time and what can wait.

The centerpiece bouquet was done two days before.

I purchased one bunch of Gerbera Daisies and one bunch of Alstromeria.  The rest was gathered from the yard and the neighbors' trees.

I had enough to do the centerpiece, plus the wall vases and another big bouquet for the sideboard, which I'll share in another post, for less than $10 bucks.

I used copper containers that I already had for both of the bouquets.

The evening before the dinner, I got the table all set.

I had a piece of burlap that I knew I wanted to use as a runner.  

The rest just sorta came together as I went.

I used a fabric doily, (for lack of a better word), that I found at a junk store in the center and put the bouquet on top of that.

(I'm totally obsessed with the fabric on it.)

Next up, I brought in some amber bottles that live on The Dad's dresser and popped some flowers and rosemary down in them.

Two of the mason jar candles that live on the patio in the summer.

Four votive holders that I wrapped with some paper tape.

Four gourds/squash that I had in a bowl in the living room.

Rattan chargers, green and white dishes, white napkins, wine glasses, water glasses, salad and dinner forks, and steak knives (that I put on the table right before dinner for the sake of the little fingers in my house).

For the name tags, I cut little flags out of an empty graham cracker box, glued on white paper over that, punched a whole for twine, and tied them onto a sprig of rosemary from the yard.

I hand wrote the names.

Here's how it all came together.

Check out the broad in the mirror rockin' her bathrobe.

And here it is, the night of the dinner, all it up with candles.

The paper on the table is the menu I printed out.

I'll share more on that in a separate  post.

And there ya go.

Photo overload much?

I'll be back to share the menu, how I prepped almost everything ahead of time, a fun new cocktail, and some super cute DIY lights.

Please see my sidebar for the parties I link up to.