In 2015, we went on a road trip through France. I've been to Italy before and love it! But France is something else! It was so beautiful...so much history, nature, amazing food and castles! It is amazing how each part of the country has a personality of its' own, a history of its' own, and its' own beauty. Paris with its' mix of modern, medieval and ancient buildings. Normandy with its' D-Day remains and Norman history. Loire Valley with its' sprinkling of breathtaking castles along the river. I could go on and on! At the end of the trip, we ended up in Southern France - Provence, and it was romance all over again! Towns perched on hilltops with views of the warm and clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Flowers were everywhere, which were also sold in small markets in various small towns. It was enchanting!
Therefore, I was excited to come up with a French-themed romantic dinner for this upcoming Valentine's Day. This setup would also be amazing for a wedding set in a waterfront veranda of some sort. Oh romance!
I realized that the French are all about details, and so I capitalized on that! Red, blue and white...the colors of the French flag, and they turned out perfect in this dinner setup with a mix-in of gold. I found a beautiful blue country tablecloth at Home goods and it was light enough that it did not mix too much with the design. I already had a red table runner and it matched the colors ideally.
I loved the combinations of the various flowers in this setup. The bright red roses stood out an accented the centerpieces. The blue hydrangeas, wildflowers, dahlias, tweedia, and white roses complemented each other. I also placed white wisterias on opposite sides of the table, which created the an appearance of a flow from one end to the other. Beautiful!
On Amazon, I found beautiful country blue plate sets and gold charger plates, which matched the centerpieces. I did not want to emphasize on the gold too much and just have hints here and there to provide an elegance to the setup. The red napkins tied the red color into the dinnerware wonderfully! Home Goods had these cute little blue water glasses, and I decided to place just plain wine glasses. I thought this added romance and a sense of grace to maintain the French romance theme.
Now for the details. I loved this part! Finding little knick knacks for the French theme and then seeing how they really brought out the creativity in this dinner setup. I thought placing the Eiffel Tower in the center was a must. I found beautiful golden candlestick holders, or candlestick vases, I guess. They were elegant, but yet the chiseled style gave it a more rustic look, which worked well since I was going for a French country romance theme. I also had a small piggy and dog that were the right kind of blue and a country blue teacup set. These details really made it all come together!
As much as I love the last Italian-themed dinner setup, this had a different feel to it and also tug on the heartstrings! :) I would love to one day use this kind of setup for a wedding or dinner event. Would you?
Planning and Decorating - SMLA Happy Events
Decor - Home Goods, Amazon, Joann
Photography - SMLA Happy Events
Location - Woodland Hills, CA
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