A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER DINNER PARTY BY THE LAKE FOR OUR RELIEF SOCIETY
For the centerpiece of the evening I used a stand up paddle board placed on an iron base to use as a buffet table. I layered the table with with a collection of table cloths and fabrics for a Bohemian look.
For the main centerpiece I used a wooden crate with a wooden bucket filled with sunflowers and vines cut from my yard.
Appetizers served at this lake party
For the dinner party we actually just served lots of yummy appetizers. We served fresh fruit, crackers and yummy fresh veggies.
Wrap baskets of fruit with green vines
We served watermelon and grapes with a yummy fruit dip on a metal tray placed in a grass basket with vines wrapped around it to make it feel special for a dinner party by the lake.
Using my galvanized 3 tiered serveware we filled it with tons of fresh berries and it looked stunning
Sunflower Centerpiece for dinner by the lake
I bought one small bouquet of sunflowers and added wild sunflowers and honeysuckle vines to create a flowy look
Cracker and cheese
We also served delicious cheeses and crackers..a couple of my favorites were Brie and blueberry cheese..sooo yummy!!
K
Ladies by the lake
This is photo of our large group of amazing women who attended
We set up lots and lots of votive candles in rocks around the lake area where we set up our Soiree for a game that we played later.
We played “Speed Friend-shipping” where we had the women face each other and they were given a question to talk about for 1 minute and then they move to the next person and the next person until we went through the whole line.
At the end we asked them to look the last person straight in the eye without talking for one minute and let their souls speak to one another and it was very powerful..some women started to weep and others just hugged one another. It was really such a special evening that couldn’t have gone any better.
We brought lots of rugs and pillows from our houses to lay on the on grass to continue our Bohemian theme.
Setting up lights by the lake
As the sun started to set…the lights began to glow and it was magical! My cute hubby took buckets and filled them with rocks and sand and we took poles and stuck them in the buckets that had hooks on them to hold strings of lights. I used ping pong balls and cut a hole in them and attached them to Christmas lights and it made them look amazing!
It was such a perfect night…I will miss summer!!
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Karins Kottage
Welcome to Karins Kottage! There is always something fun going on! You would think after becoming an empty nester couple that our nest would be very quiet and empty but our Kottage nest is usually more full than what we started out with!
You might find me hosting a birthday party or graduation party and a baby shower on the same weekend or a big outdoor get together with 25 of our friends and family in the backyard or maybe I might be in the kitchen trying out a new recipe for my hubby and I to grill on the BBQ for a quiet night for the two of us. I am passionate about entertaining and setting a beautiful table! I may or may not have an addiction to cloth napkins and fun salad plates oh and goblets too!
I think I will always have a home decorating DIY project in the works as long as my hubby is on board with me haha. We have painted A LOT in the 6 homes we have owned in the 35 years that we have been married as well as re-done multiple pieces of furniture, added wall and ceiling treatments, replaced lights, bathroom fixtures and even tiled floors! I have sewn what seems like a million window treatments for our home as well as for family, made slipcovers, and duvets and even a formal dress or two!
Just popping back in to say I loved this so much I'm featuring it on Farmhouse Friday. Thank you for linking up and I hope you link up again soon. Pinned
Thank you so much I am so excited!!
Wow, I know everyone was as blown away as I am just looking at it! It all looks aaahhhmazing and scrumptious. Thank you for sharing this with us at Farmhouse Friday. love it!
Thank you sooo much! It was such a wonderful night! All the women felt so special and it was so much fun to put together! I need to plan another one soon!
Hugs,
Karin
Oh my gosh, what a beautiful party! I would love to have attended something like this, everything looks wonderful!
I just love the speed friend-shipping idea - genius! Popping by from Farmhouse Friday 262 :)
Awww thank you so much! It was a magical night for sure. So happy to have you stopping by to say hi! I really appreciate it. I need to put another lake party together again soon because it was so much fun!
Hugs,
Karin
What a beautiful party!
What a great party! Love the speed friend exercise! I’m so curious...what was the question you had the women answer? Thanks so much!
Hi Patti! Thanks so much for stopping by! To answer your question- Every-time they moved to the next person they were given a new question... things like, where would your dream vacation be?, what was your first date like? Where did you go to school? Just questions to get them talking to one another. It was amazing!
I really love everything you did,,, first for the ladies how you showed them how much you appreciated them... and second,,, all the beautiful decorating you did... it was all so lovely, and cozy.... the colors were beautiful... and I am a huge fan of Sunflowers....
I would never have thought to string lights like that.. and you table,, wow so cool.... I love your view also. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful out door get together...
Hugs;
Alaura
Alaura! Thank you so much for your sweet comments! I really appreciate you taking time to read my post! We really had an absolute amazing time together! So many fun ideas all came together with lots of help from everyone! I think it really allowed the women to bond and enjoy just being outside and relaxing! I think I need to plan another one soon! 🥰
Sincerely,
Karin
What a beautiful setting! I love the idea of 'speed friendshipping' too, what a fabulous ice-breaker idea - pinned for later!
Thank you so much! The speed friend shipping game turned out so much better than I thought it would. It was a powerful experience for so many! Thank you for pinning it!
Hugs,
Karin
How did you create the fruit tier platters on the pole? Were they welded or something else. Any help would be greatly appreciated
It is a 3 tier stand that comes that way. I will post a link to one similar.
Karin
What a fun post! Looks like a great party - loved the paddle board idea, will have to try that at our next beach party when I am home in the Pacific Northwest.
Caron, We had so much fun putting this together! It felt like we brought everything out of our houses (mostly mine haha) but it was so worth it! Pillows, rugs, all my galvanized metal serving dishes and my paddle board! It was so much fun!
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Just popping back in to say I loved this so much I'm featuring it on Farmhouse Friday. Thank you for linking up and I hope you link up again soon. Pinned
Thank you so much I am so excited!!
Wow, I know everyone was as blown away as I am just looking at it! It all looks aaahhhmazing and scrumptious. Thank you for sharing this with us at Farmhouse Friday. love it!
Thank you sooo much! It was such a wonderful night! All the women felt so special and it was so much fun to put together! I need to plan another one soon!
Hugs,
Karin
Oh my gosh, what a beautiful party! I would love to have attended something like this, everything looks wonderful!
I just love the speed friend-shipping idea - genius! Popping by from Farmhouse Friday 262 :)
Awww thank you so much! It was a magical night for sure. So happy to have you stopping by to say hi! I really appreciate it. I need to put another lake party together again soon because it was so much fun!
Hugs,
Karin
What a beautiful party!
What a great party! Love the speed friend exercise! I’m so curious...what was the question you had the women answer? Thanks so much!
Hi Patti! Thanks so much for stopping by! To answer your question- Every-time they moved to the next person they were given a new question... things like, where would your dream vacation be?, what was your first date like? Where did you go to school? Just questions to get them talking to one another. It was amazing!
I really love everything you did,,, first for the ladies how you showed them how much you appreciated them... and second,,, all the beautiful decorating you did... it was all so lovely, and cozy.... the colors were beautiful... and I am a huge fan of Sunflowers....
I would never have thought to string lights like that.. and you table,, wow so cool.... I love your view also. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful out door get together...
Hugs;
Alaura
Alaura! Thank you so much for your sweet comments! I really appreciate you taking time to read my post! We really had an absolute amazing time together! So many fun ideas all came together with lots of help from everyone! I think it really allowed the women to bond and enjoy just being outside and relaxing! I think I need to plan another one soon! 🥰
Sincerely,
Karin
What a beautiful setting! I love the idea of 'speed friendshipping' too, what a fabulous ice-breaker idea - pinned for later!
Thank you so much! The speed friend shipping game turned out so much better than I thought it would. It was a powerful experience for so many! Thank you for pinning it!
Hugs,
Karin
How did you create the fruit tier platters on the pole? Were they welded or something else. Any help would be greatly appreciated
It is a 3 tier stand that comes that way. I will post a link to one similar.
Karin
What a fun post! Looks like a great party - loved the paddle board idea, will have to try that at our next beach party when I am home in the Pacific Northwest.
Caron,
We had so much fun putting this together! It felt like we brought everything out of our houses (mostly mine haha) but it was so worth it! Pillows, rugs, all my galvanized metal serving dishes and my paddle board! It was so much fun!