Decorating For A Ten Course Dinner – Planning Is Key

Decorating for any event has always been important to me, and I learned many years ago to start that process early. It ALWAYS takes much longer to complete that labor of love than you might imagine.

My decorating bug started by watching Mom prepare for company.

She would pull out all the stops when setting her table, and our guests would always “Oooh and Ahhh” at the environment she created…even before the first delicious dish arrived from our kitchen.

Every holiday was special. And our holidays usually involved company. Please excuse my elbow on the table in this photo. And check out the look I was getting from dear old Dad!

Mom and Dad’s “Card Club” always included a meal. This one looked like simple sandwich fare. I just noticed Mom is enjoying a glass of wine in this photo. So I guess THIS apple didn’t fall far from that tree! Although I remember her choice was usually limited to a tiny glass of Mogen David. (Yikes.)

Yes, decorating adds a whole new dimension to a meal. And trust me when I tell you decorating ALWAYS takes longer than you imagine it will. So my foodie friend Jim and I decided to complete THAT task a day before we headed to the kitchen to start cooking for our special event.

I filled our car with “stuff” and I headed to Kalona.

Rustic Italian was the theme of the evening, so I gathered up everything in our house that I thought we might use.

And since it was Autumn I dragged out anything and everything with an Autumn or wine theme.

Kalona Makers Market, our wonderful venue, also allowed us to use many of their gorgeous items to add to our decor and we were thrilled with that offer. 

Let The Decorating Begin!

My antique wooden wine crate quickly found a home. (It normally sits unopened by a chair in our living room.) I even left the dust on the wine bottles inside to add an authentic touch! 🙂 And tiny white lights are always the perfect addition to any setting.

What an awesome space to host our event!

Once Jim and I had finalized our menu I printed them out and rolled one up for each guest to pick up when the evening began.

We also arranged different areas for guests to sit and chat and to mingle between courses during the evening. And we made sure to have places for guests to rest their drink or an hors d’oeuvre plate near every chair.

Now about that huge table…

I began to add the items I had brought from home. But that’s when I realized what a SAD decorating sight it was! That HUGE table would require SO MUCH MORE than I had brought with me!

Once again the decorating wheels began to chug away in my old brain. SoI headed back to Iowa City to hit some thrift stores to see what else I could find. But for once in my life my thrift store shopping trip came up empty! As panic set in I began to drive home to search our house again. And that’s when I began to notice the bounty Mother Nature had spread out right before my eyes. Autumn leaves and berries…in every color!

It was almost dusk and beginning to rain as I arrived home so I hurried to the garage and grabbed a loppers. Then I went for a drive in our neighborhood.

Nothing To See Here…Move Along  🙂

I was not about to chop leaves and branches off of trees in homeowner’s yards. So I headed to some apartment buildings instead. (Lord…please forgive me for what I am about to do!) And I literally filled the trunk of the car with every beautiful, colorful leaf and berry Mother Nature had provided! (As I whacked off branches I was actually glad it was almost dark…to cover my sins!)

But because I was now planning to use REAL leaves that were somewhat dry Jim pointed out we could no longer use the candles and votive lights I had already taken to the venue. THAT realization meant I had to spend the next two hours scouring stores all over the city, searching for battery powered votive lights to avoid the risk of fire. (I finally found some…after driving an extra thirty minutes to a neighboring suburb!)

By 9pm I was finally home…and eating a take out burrito in bed! But it was a GOOD kind of tired since I knew my  scavenger hunt for those leaves had been worth it. They would be the PERFECT addition to our rustic Autumn table.

Early the next morning I hurried back to Kalona where Jim and I finished decorating that giant table.

Now THAT’S more like it!

Our preparations were complete.

So thanks Mom. Your “Joy In Decorating” gene is still alive and it’s still serving this old Meemaw well.

Now let’s head to Jim’s gorgeous kitchen…and START COOKING!