5 Design Tips to Style a Summer Tabletop

Elegant table setting with flowers and golden cutlery for event

We're so excited to share these tips from this talent packed lineup of amazing wedding vendors! The sweetest and most photogenic treats by Sweet & Saucy, simply beautiful design by Nicole George Event Planning & Design, gorgeous florals by Inessa Nichols Design, paper goods by Design by Laney, on point, stylish rentals from Archive Rentals all perfectly photographed by Liz Erban Photo.

Wedding invitation with lemons and greenery, rustic aesthetic

Be sure to check out the full gallery and read on for all of these tips from Nicole George Event Planning & Design.

Can you believe that Summer is FINALLY at our fingertips? With cities slowly reopening across the country, we're itching at the opportunity to host a chic gathering where we can finally (and safely) get our creative juices flowing and bring people together again. For us, that will certainly entail an intimate summer dinner party! Teaming up with Inessa Nichols Design and Archive Rentals, we created our take on the perfect summer tabletop design adding in a flair for the unexpected atop some of our favorite design aesthetics. Although there will be many and all reasons to celebrate when this pandemic subsides, here are some tips of how to style your summer tabletop!

1. AL FRESCO STYLE DINING

Elegant wedding table setting with flowers, candles, and white chairs

We are firm believers that intimacy and ambiance go hand in hand! Al fresco dining under soft lighting with your friends, family, coworkers, whoever, is ultimately always more cozy when the setting is just right. Communal dining is the perfect way to create a "family-style" vibe to bring people physically closer together while also encouraging sharing all the yumminess (and libations) in front of you! In the spirit of summer, we opted for a white and light wood family style setting to add a sense of elegance to a typical backyard experience.

Elegant table setting with flowers and candles for special event

2. CREATE AN AMBIANCE

Elegant table setting with candles, flowers, and lemons

Coziness is key! Utilizing candles and soft lighting sets the tone while soft textures encouraging a comfortable experience allows your guests to feel at home. When we're hosting gatherings, indoors or out, we always lay out blankets, pillows, and extra yummy candles accompanied by soft lounge-y music in the background. Even with a structured tabletop, creating cozy nooks with lounge furniture is a great way to encourage conversation well after dinner is over!

Stylish chairs and floral arrangement create a modern cozy interior

Candle lanterns and flowers on a wooden table decorates a living room

Cozy interior with modern chair and floral arrangement

3. DON'T BE SCARED OF VIBRANT HUES

Elegant table setting with floral name tag and pink fabric

Summer palettes have a range of feel good tones that can lean on the quirky side just as easily as a refined design based on your signature style. Although summer shades are traditionally bright and vibrant, they can equally be warm and neutral when accompanied by pattern and texture. My go-tos are warm terra cottas and mustards balanced by neutrals, always with a pop of pink when appropriate! For our tabletop, Inessa Nichols' floral design ran the gamut of perfectly vibrant and wild yet cohesive adding the perfect touch of organic meets modern.

Elegant table setting with floral accents and guest name on plate

Vintage blue bicycle with a woven basket full of colorful flowers

Orange and coral flowers arranged in a pink vase, simple elegant design

4. MIX/MATCH PATTERN and TEXTURE

Elegant table setting with flowers and gold cutlery for a special event

To play off of vibrant summer shades, we love how textures convey a sense of nostalgia. With our tabletop design, we were drawn towards soft cotton linen in the napkins, metal plates that reminded us of camp, and woven wicker chargers that practically made its way into every summer experience growing up. Archive Rentals' chic patio lounges were full of pattern and texture and mixing together pieces of different genres made us think that our grandmothers would pop out of nowhere with fresh lemonade on a hot summer day!

Cozy living room with a striped couch and decorative pillows

5. ADD IN A POP OF DETAIL

Delicious mini layered desserts with white frosting, ready to eat

Whether it is curated desserts or cozy lounges designed for star gazing or a backyard movie, creating an "experience" for your guests is what they will remember. In our design, we customized name tags, added in summer-inspired desserts (mango tarts anyone?!), Archive's customized bicycle for a cute photo op, but the possibilities are endless. As long as it's personal and fun, your guests will have a blast!

Delicious mini lemon meringue pies on a vintage glass plate, closeup

Elegant display shelf with flowers and baked goods, perfect for a party

Overhead shot of cocktail glasses with golden straws on wood table

Bottles of rose and Prosecco, cocktails, and a wooden tray

Woman holding champagne glasses on a gold tray for a celebration

Thanks for taking a peek at our Summer tablescape design - we hope that this inspires you to throw a fun and cozy gathering to celebrate enjoying our friends and family once again!

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