Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe July 4th holiday. We came back from Montreal and then had a busy but lots of fun July 4th which ended at our friends club for dinner and fireworks. Hard to believe another July 4th is under out belt and summer is nearly mid way through.

So as most of you know, I threw a wine tasting birthday dinner for my husband two weeks ago. I jokingly called this his “7 year late 50th birthday party”:) Truth is,  this idea came together only about 3 weeks before the actual date, and we just said “let’s do it”! I sent out invites to about 14 couples and all but one was able to make it, the best part of this evening was being surrounded by the love of close friends and family. I couldn’t wait to share this post with you but needed to take the time to put it together.

Now, you know me, I am stickler for the details. It took great restraint to not use my blue and white but I envisioned a mostly all white dinner, felt it was more masculine than accenting with blue and white. I wanted it to feel crisp/clean and elegant. And that it was. I hired a top caterer in the NY area, Elegant Affairs who rolled in like a makeshift restaurant. They took over my kitchen with military like precision and I felt like I was standing in the kitchen of Per Se or French Laundry.

They were busy bees and had this down like a well oiled machine! My ONLY regret is not getting more pictures of the amazing four course dinner that was served, it was seriously the stuff food dreams are made of, as beautiful as it was delicious. Flowers were done by yours truly:)

So here is a truckload of pictures (be sure you are sitting not standing, and might as well grab a beverage of choice) lots to go through from beginning to the next morning:)

 

Woke up to monsoon like rains, which I expected because I followed the forecast literally down to the minute (that’s the OCD in me) and knew it was going to clear up my noon. Trust me, I channeled every ounce of “good weather energy vibes” into willing that to happen and it did!

 

And lo and behold it happened even earlier, by 10:30 the sun was breaking through and all was well

 

The kitchen meanwhile had tuned into a makeshift florist, doing what I love most:)

I chose to do arrangments with white and green hydrangeas, white roses and greenery (in glass cubes)

 

 

 

My first arrangements done and passed my test, woo hoo

Tablecloths back from being pressed and laid out in my dining room until caterers were ready to put on tables outside

Meanwhile outside, the sun is shining and its gorgeous! Putting finishing touches on patio

And around 4 the set up began…..

Such fun watching it all come together!

The menu…and everything was SO good, just wish we got more pics of the amazing food (thanks to Elegant Affairs)!

And behind the scenes in my “Per Se” like kitchen it was all about some serious food prep!

It was such a beautiful sight looking out for my bedroom window as the table came together

The champagne was chilling on the covered patio where we had a cocktail hour

Aren’t these new napkins with this gorgeous new font fabulous! I so love them…..

Really love and use all the time, this huge elegant silver bowl from my shop, it is so multi functional

 

Many of my customers know Margaret not only is she wonderful in the office but she is a great photographer too. I had her come for the first part of the evening and here are some of the beautiful pictures she took-

We didn’t get much of the glorious food from Elegant Affairs but here is what we did get-

The next morning…getting to see and enjoy (and give away) all my gorgeous flowers was a nice treat and kept that high going a little longer:)

And finally here is a quick video clip to give you a feeling of the vibe of the evening-

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A few wonderful resources that I cannot recommend highly enough! (click on company name to visit)

Caterer– Elegant Affairs

Fabulous jazz quartet– Matthew Rybicki  (Vanessa was the very smooth and wonderful vocalist)

Wine sommelier- Bernard of The Sommelier Company (nationwide)

Beautiful menu cards- Patti from Patti Paper Co (so reasonable and quick turnaround)

Monogrammed napkins- my shop

Flowers– me:)

Weather- God!

 

Well if you made it to this point, you most certainly have earned a special badge of honor for being a very devoted Enchanted Home reader:) Needless to say this was a truly magical evening for us.  Everything I envisioned from the music to the food, to the wine and flowers all came together like a beautifully choreographed orchestra. Even the weather was fantastic. Gotta say, when the stars are aligned, it all feels seamless and almost effortless.

No doubt about it, was work and planning, but so worth it. To be able to plan this amazing night for my husband was very special to me, and I can think of no one who deserved it more than my husband:) Being surrounded by the love of friends and family was the icing on an already very sweet cake.

Thanks for stopping in and sharing this fun evening with us. Wishing you a great day and end to your week. Until next time…..

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