Mother's Day Garden Tablescape 2021
How is it almost May? The year is flying by but I'm a happy girl because we're in the middle of peak entertaining season. I love spring and the many holidays and celebrations it brings, including Mother's Day (of course!). Moms deserve a lot of love this year, and I wanted to deliver some extra-pretty inspiration for celebrating the women who are STILL keeping everything together for everyone. I love being outside this time of year, so my idea was to design an updated garden party that combines traditional florals with some modern, unexpected details. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! Read on for all of my tips and tricks for setting a similar scene.
These gorgeous table linens were the inspiration for my “garden party” theme and set the tone perfectly. I’ve loved working with D’Ascoli this year (remember this darling setup?) and they kindly gifted me this tablecloth and napkin set. These beauties will be available to purchase soon on Land of Belle, and I’ll keep you updated once they go live. You can view the rest of their tabletop collection here. D’Ascoli linens are an investment, but I’m just obsessed with the amazing prints. They’re a fun thing to put on your wish list for a special occasion (like Mother’s Day!). D’Ascoli also gifted our “Mommy & Me” coordinating dresses, and if you look closely, you’ll see that they match the table linens! I just love this detail – Georgia and I are literally dressing to the décor. As with the linens, these dresses will be available to purchase soon; I’ll keep y’all posted.
Even though this is a garden party, I still wanted the place settings to feel elevated and chic – we are honoring Mom, after all! I worked with one of my favorite brands, Annieglass, to help set the scene (paid partnership). I love Annieglass because their pieces are unfailingly unique. The metallic details and interesting shapes and textures make each piece special, but they’re still versatile enough that you can use them in all sorts of table designs. Case in point, I reused their fabulous Ruffle Buffet Plates as chargers, which I also had on my formal Christmas table. I added a simple white dinner plate and then layered on these fabulous splatter dessert plates from the Jaxson collection.
To embellish the napkins, I used my twillies from The Preppy Stitch. These are ribbon napkin rings that you can monogram to match your décor. You’ve heard me talk about Preppy Stitch before – her products are fabulous and it’s a great resource for all of your monogramming needs. These twillies make a fantastic hostess gift – they’re useful and so unique.
When designing a table, I always like to bring in a few points of contrast to keep it interesting. This table has a lot of feminine details with the ruffle charger and all the florals, so I like the bit of edge that this splatter pattern brings to the scene. The bamboo details (chairs, vases, and flatware) serve a similar purpose as a departure from the overtly feminine. The overall balance is perfect: it’s pretty but not saccharine.
I cannot go on without highlighting this amazing cake. I turned to one of my favorite vendors, Caroline’s Cakes, for something special to match my table, and this Blackberry Lime Cake is a revelation. It’s a beautiful color, looks incredible sliced, and tastes fantastic. You can’t go wrong with any of their flavors, but I must say that this one is a standout. It looks especially lovely on this Annieglass cake stand which coordinates with the chargers.
The florals are another highlight for me; I love the “English garden” vibe. Alex and I actually decided to arrange these ourselves but made it easy by sticking to a few rules:
You don’t need a ton of different flowers for a mixed bouquet. Here we used just five: larkspur, a purple “filler” flower, green mist (looks like Queen Anne’s lace), sweet pea, and veronica.
Start by deciding the arrangement’s basic shape. We knew we wanted some height so started with the larkspur and the filler (both have a tall, slim profile) and then layered in accent flowers.
Choose accent flowers that have different textures and shapes.
To create a luxe look, splurge on one bunch of an expensive bloom (here it’s the sweet pea). Include a few stems in each arrangement – it brings glamour without breaking the bank. All of the other flowers are moderately priced.
Water glasses make the best vases (these are from Kirkland’s). The mouth is large enough to build a full arrangement, but small enough to keep the blooms easily contained so you don’t need to tape a grid.
The beauty of this vignette is that it works for so many occasions. Graduation parties, birthday parties, or "I haven't hugged you in a year please come over for a fabulous dinner." I hope this has given you some good ideas for designing your own spring tables...while I don't like to play favorites, I have to say that I have a lot of affection for this one. To all of the mamas out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY and thank you for everything you do. Lots of love!
*All photos courtesy of Lele Fain Photography