Elegant Dinner Party (Think Pink)

For our wedding, Kevin and I were so blessed to receive a beautiful china set and Waterford glasses. To help celebrate his mom's 60th birthday, we hosted our first event using our wedding gifts.

Kevin's mom raised two boys, so she was never surrounded by girly things...that is how I came up with the idea of an intimate pink themed dinner party.

Inspiration

This table setting with silver and pink accents is fancy and grown-up.  I love the pink peonies and colorful china pattern.

My Take

First - a view of the finished product.  The setting was so feminine.

All the Pretty Little Details

I found a gorgeous silver mercury vase at HomeGoods.  This centerpiece inspired the entire decor. 

Kevin and I took out our fine china and crystal stemware.

Those lovely plates are Parchment china by Mikasa.  I love the pearlized pattern and silver trim.

Our Waterford crystal goblets and ice beverage glasses are the Lismore Essence pattern.  The Venetian Lace flatware by Lenox is delicate and coordinates with the swirl design on our china.

The gray placemats are from Target.

Dessert lined our granite counter and was displayed on white serving plates.

I surrounded the floral arrangement with silver mercury tea light candles for a soft glow.

These long-stem blooming roses made the table.  They were so beautiful and smelled lovely.

Tips for Hosting Your First Event

I made a couple of rookie mistakes during the night, but it played out nicely anyway.  

Remove the Floral Arrangement:  I think the biggest mistake was leaving the floral arrangement on the table during dinner.  It was too large and obstructed the conversation.

Pre-Fill Water Glasses:  I forgot to fill the water glasses before dinner.  It left an awkward pause after everyone was seated.  Next time, I will pre-fill them and have a pitcher full of ice ready.

Cautiously Double Recipes:  I doubled the recipe for most of the dishes we served.  Since there were 8 guests, I wanted to ensure there was enough...but I had almost half of everything left.  This was wasteful and took a lot of effort on my part.  I'll save time and resources next time by preparing just enough food.

Serve Salad First:  We served the salad and main course at the same time.  This sounds like an easy going plan in theory, but in real life, space on the table was limited.  Guests had to lean over their main plate to reach their salad.  It was very uncomfortable and I worried the whole time about someone dropping dressing onto my oatmeal colored upholstered chairs.  Thank goodness that didn't happen.  Next time, I will serve the salad first and then the main course.

What have you learned along the way when you have entertained?  Do you have any advice for my next event?