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An Engagement Dinner in the Library

November 8, 2021 By Juliet 27 Comments

And so the adventure begins …

Candles and flowers beside fireplace

Kyle is engaged!

Well, he’s been engaged for nearly two years.

Timing is everything and the engagement happened just before the pandemic lock down.

Things like engagement celebrations, picking a date and a venue

… all the things, got delayed.

Sigh.

Newly engaged couple with engagement ring

Thankfully, weddings are back.

In fact its a wedding-palooza!

We attended our first rescheduled wedding at the end of August.

And we have four more on the calendar – so far – in 2022.

Three of them in our family.

What an exciting year it’s going to be.

But back to Kyle.

And his fiancé, Melody.

Engagement Photo

@mayaloraphoto

Their wedding is finally scheduled for March.

And it’s coming right up.

It was long past time to invite Melody’s family over for an engagement celebration.

And, to make things even more festive, a wedding wine tasting.

Mouton Rothschild Wine Bottles

We settled on a date in early October and planned a casually themed dinner on our back patio.

Jim’s travel schedule intervened and the dinner was pushed back a couple of weeks.

The delay combined with a change in the weather – cold with rain in the forecast – forced a last minute decision to move the dinner indoors.

Our outdoor dining table seats 12, but our indoor table seats only six.

Uh oh.

We got creative and decided to turn our library into a dining room for the evening.

Moving the furniture out and a rented table and chairs in.

Several weeks ago I shared Snowberry’s library room reveal.

Here’s how it looked before I waved my magic wand and transformed it into a dining room.

Home Library with blue velvet sofas and book shelves

Wait a second.

Turns out I had no magic wand.

All the party rental company’s were fully booked for the weekend.

Remember, it’s wedding-palooza.

In a state of panic I reached out to Lindsay of Lindsay Lauren Events.

She helped plan my niece’s California baby shower several years ago

while I was living two states away on Fidaglo Island.

In a stroke of good luck for me, Lindsay didn’t have a wedding this particular weekend and said she’d be happy to help.

Whew.

And here’s where the magic wand comes in.

Lindsay’s magic wand.

Next thing I knew she’d secured all the rentals, flowers, and calligraphy that had eluded me.

Rented dinner table and chairs
Party rentals
Maggie investigating …
Party rental table and chairs in library

Monica, of Monica Vargas Photography, who takes most of my blog photos, came over to capture the before-dinner scene.

So, without further ado let’s take a look at the

library-to-dining room transformation.

The place settings were simple and clean … white and gold … with black and gold flatware.

Party Place Setting

The tablecloth is gold velvet.

Yes, gold velvet!

Who knew such a thing existed?

Not me.

Party Place Setting
Party Place Setting

And bleached ferns.

Yes, bleached ferns tucked into the napkins!

Fabulous.

Lindsay and I exhausted all options for place card calligraphy … or so I thought.

Lindsay pulled another rabbit out of her hat and surprised me with these scrolled place cards by Blushtype.

Aren’t they beautiful?

Table place setting and flowers

Sheela from Sarah’s Garden Design created the gorgeous florals.

Sheela brought a bin full of brass candles sticks and brass rimmed bud vases.

She and Lindsay interspersed them with the larger arrangements in brass urns down the center of the table.

Pure magic!

Dinner party table with gold table cloth and autumnal flowers

Ta da!

Dinner party table with gold table cloth and candlesticks

I love the soft, autumnal colors of the florals.

Roses, dahlias, anemones, ranunculus, white Veronica, among others.

The hit of the night … chocolate cosmos.

Vase of flowers on table

 

Brass candlesticks and autumnal flowers

 

Table setting for engagement party

The bride-to-be remarked that the candles didn’t drip wax.

Oh my gosh, she’s right!

I left a message for Sheela inquiring but she hasn’t responded.

Trade secret?!

Dinner party in library

 

Dinner party table setting in gold

One of the (many) benefits of library-as-dining room scenario …  dining fireside.

Amazing ambiance.

We had to crack the windows a little … the fireplace puts off a lot of heat.

Candle sticks on table in front of fireplace

Before dinner Jim presented two special wines to the happy couple.

Wines from their birth years.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux.

1990 and 1992 vintages.

Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux
Mouton Rothschild Bourdeaux

Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux corks

Just before dinner Jim decanted both bottles.

The candlelight highlights any sediment in the bottle to avoid it getting into the decanter.

Decanting Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux
Decanting Mouton Rothschild Bordeaux

I took a video of Kyle and Melody pouring their wines for the guests.

I’ll share it in my Instagram stories.

There was much discussion around which wine, the 1990 or 1992, showed better.

Opinions changed throughout the evening as the wines opened up.

At the end of the evening a tie was declared.

Table setting in the library

Lest you think I sat back eating bon bons while Lindsay and Sheela did all the work

… while they were setting the gorgeous table, I was slaving over a hot stove.

Here’s what was on the menu ~

  • Grilled Ribeye (ok, Jim made this … he uses the sous vide method prior to putting the steaks on the grill)
  • Baked Salmon with lemon, garlic, and butter sauce
  • Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
  • Herb Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes
  • Skillet Rolls with Garlic Butter
  • Apple Crisp
  • Homemade Vanilla Ice cream

I have so much gratitude for Lindsay and Sheela … event and floral designers extraordinaire.

Aren’t they gorgeous woman?

As well as brilliant, funny, talented, uber-organized, clever, thoughtful, resourceful …

you get the idea.

Event and Floral Designerss at set table

Lindsay Lauren Events & Sarah’s Garden Design

I reached out to Lindsay in a panic.

She took my panic and turned it into a stress-free evening in a magical setting.

Did you know that events planners are not just for weddings?

Oh no, they design and plan many other types of events and celebrations.

Even small dinner parties like mine.

Couple sitting on bench

All’s well that ends well.

We had the loveliest evening celebrating with Melody’s family

Oh, and just as we sat down to dinner it started to rain.

And it poured.

So the last minute change that drove us inside turned out for the best.

Like it was meant to be.

Dinner table in front of fireplace

To see more of our engagement dinner party, head over to my Instagram.

I’m sharing a beautiful Reel created by Monica.

And several Instagram story videos and behind the scenes photos that I took throughout the evening.

Including an amusing story about the fish I made for dinner.

Oh, and next week I’ll have a post about our at-home wine tasting that happened before dinner!

Oh boy!

A huge thank you to ~

  • Photography: Monica Vargas Photography ; Monica’s Instagram
  • Planning & Design: Lindsay Lauren Events ; Lindsay’s Instagram
  • Florals: Sarah’s Garden Design 
  • Rentals: Pleasanton Rentals ; Pleasanton Rentals Instagram
  • Calligraphy: Blushtype ; Blushtype Instagram

PIN THIS POST AND SAVE FOR LATER ~

Engagement Dinner Collage Pin

As always, I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

Cheers from Snowberry!

 



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Filed Under: Home & Decor, Recipes & Cocktails, Uncategorized Tagged With: Dinner Party, Engagement Dinner, Fall Tablescape

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda H says

    November 9, 2021 at 6:03 am

    If you are able to find out, please do follow up with details of the dripless candle. I have bought some so-called “dripless” and let me tell you it was false advertising! Lovely post, thank you.

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:12 pm

      I’ll keep on the case, Linda … this is a secret we all need to know! xo

      Reply
  2. Kirsten Bell says

    November 9, 2021 at 7:40 am

    What a beautiful dinner! I love the place cards, and how special To have wine From their birth years! It looked like pure magic!

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:12 pm

      Thank you, Kirsten … the place cards were really special and a nice surprise. I was going to write them myself when I got word that Lindsay was able to find a calligrapher. A really nice, extra touch! xo

      Reply
  3. Leslie Watkins says

    November 9, 2021 at 8:48 am

    Absolutely perfect! And so meant to be!

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:11 pm

      Thanks, Leslie … it really was mean to be! xo

      Reply
  4. Renae says

    November 9, 2021 at 9:52 am

    ABSOLUTELY stunning, my friend. I love ev eVery single Gorgeous DETAIL.

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:10 pm

      That means so much coming from you, Renae … the queen of the Tablescape! Thank you! xo

      Reply
  5. crystal says

    November 9, 2021 at 10:29 am

    Juliet this was amazing. a velvet tablecloth? I didn’t know they existed either. I am obsessed with the bleached ferns and the name tags were perfect. The color scheme of yellow was so perfect for your room. Wow what a feast you prepared!!! thank you for sharing this very special day with all of us.

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:10 pm

      Crystal … I’m with you, I can’t get over the velvet table cloth. I may have to buy one to keep on hand … it’s just too good. Thanks for stopping by! xo

      Reply
  6. Paula@SweetPea says

    November 9, 2021 at 10:37 am

    What a beautiufl engagement dinner table! Everything is stunning.

    Reply
  7. Mary Evans says

    November 9, 2021 at 2:02 pm

    AbsOlutely breathtaking. The menu sounded delicious also. Perfect in every way,

    Reply
    • Juliet says

      November 9, 2021 at 2:05 pm

      Thank you so much, Mary. It was such a special evening. Stay tuned for part two … the wine tasting! xo

      Reply
      • Juliet says

        November 9, 2021 at 2:05 pm

        Thank you, Paula … it was an evening I’ll never forget! xo

        Reply
  8. Heidi says

    November 9, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    Hi Juliet,
    Wow, everything is just gorgeous and it looks like you had the perfect evening to celebrate a happy occasion.
    congratulations on putting it all together so beautifully, and to the happy couple!

    XO Heidi

    Reply
  9. Mary Anne Russo says

    November 9, 2021 at 5:01 pm

    So stunning! It looks like all had a great evening! Congratulations!

    Reply
  10. Libbie Burling says

    November 9, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    Juliet,

    This is all so beautiful! What a lovely occasion to celebrate. Congratulations to you all.

    Reply
  11. Marieza says

    November 9, 2021 at 10:02 pm

    Absolutely exquisite, Juliet! They are fortunate to have you create such a beautiful event in their honor, and I’m sure they will treasure it forever.

    Reply
  12. Rosemary Palmer says

    November 10, 2021 at 3:14 am

    What a lovely evening – worth the wait for sure. And gold velvet – swooning over it.

    Reply
  13. Kimberly Snyder says

    November 10, 2021 at 6:35 am

    absolutely stunningly beautiful as always, juliet! Thank you for sharing !

    Reply
  14. Cindy says

    November 11, 2021 at 8:18 am

    So beautiful and exciting! I loved everything you chose. March will be here before you know it!

    Reply
  15. melba says

    November 11, 2021 at 11:51 am

    So happy for the wedding! the pandemic hit when we were going to get marry also and we just did a last minute impromptu exchange of vows. we got tired of waiting. we hope to do a ceremony on the new farm if we find one on this crazy market, so the family can be part of it.

    Reply
  16. Marty says

    November 12, 2021 at 6:32 am

    What a special evening. The Library makes a fabulous dining room, and everything looked so beautiful. The wine tasting was a nice addition to the evening also. Congratulations to the happy couple.

    Reply
  17. Keli T Vice says

    November 12, 2021 at 9:19 am

    GORGEOUS! aND WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FABULOUS DRESS? SO BEAUTIFUL.

    Reply
  18. Marie says

    November 18, 2021 at 9:05 pm

    Every bit is just stunning. The bleached ferns are so cool. Love the wines from the couple’s birth years- what a sweet touch. Always love to see what you come up with Juliet.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to host an at-home wine tasting ... it's Easy! - Make Mine a Spritzer says:
    November 14, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    […] week I shared the engagement dinner we hosted for Jim’s son, his fiancé and her […]

    Reply
  2. Thistlekeeping - Thistlewood Farm says:
    November 20, 2021 at 7:45 am

    […] This beautiful engagement dinner […]

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