Valentine’s “Love Letters” Dinner Party

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  Call it simple (or mushy!) but for anniversaries and holidays like Valentine’s Day, my husband and I always agree to exchange meaningful cards, rather than big gifts. I’m a total card geek and a complete sucker for a mushy love letter. This Valentine’s Day, we decided to put together a Valentine’s “Love Letters” Dinner Party collection and we couldn’t be happier with this shoot. Jeff from Hemmerlein Photography is incredible and we can’t thank him enough for taking the time to help us!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  {Table}
  For tablecloths, I am a big fan of using discounted fabrics or even bed sheets. They come in so many different varieties, that it’s hard NOT to find a unique pattern/color combo. For this party, I chose to go with red and gray/silver, so the gray houndstooth fabric and red muslin were a perfect pair!  On the dessert buffet, I used a gray rose mesh (LOVE THS!) that was an incredible photo backdrop for the sweets.

  {Place Settings}
  There is just nothing more fun than putting together a beautiful place setting. For this, I started with red, glittered hearts that are meant to be hung, but I tucked the ribbon underneath and they made perfect “place mats.”  They served as the perfect pop of color on the gray table cloth. I then took some extra houndstooth fabric and made cloth napkins, tying them together with thick, red grosgrain ribbon. Each setting included a dinner plate, salad plate and dessert bowl which had a glittered foam heart inside of it for added color. Also included were a martini glass (find the Drink Flags here!) and a Place Card with a different saying at each setting! To top the place setting off, I included a cute, red card and envelope for each guest to “write a love letter” pinned with a tag that said “Write Me.”

  {Centerpiece}
  The centerpiece of a table brings the overall look together… it’s the focal point of the table and should always mesh with the lighting above your table (i.e, low-hanging light = low table arrangement). I used the red muslin to drape across the center in no symmetrical form… I just bunched it across the center of the table. I then took my favorite candlesticks from Crate & Barrel and hurricane from Pottery Barn and made those my fixtures. I filled the candlesticks with traditional red tapers and the hurricane with various-sized glittered hearts and metallic curly willow. I was so pleased with the final result!

  {Dessert Buffet}
  The dessert buffet was simple and elegant. The rose mesh completely made it, but other elements tied the red (as well as the rest of the theme) to it. For the “Sweet Nothings,” mini red velevet cakes with glittered heart toppers were placed on a medium-sized cake stand from Crate & Barrel and also for sweets were champagne pomegranate liqueur shots with a raspberry.  On each side of the table were arrangements that included red glittered hearts, pine cones and other festive wintery decor. Lastly, a miniature red mailbox sat on the table with a card attached to it for theme consistency.

  {Dessert Shots Recipe}
  2 oz. pomegranate juice, 3/4 oz. vodka, 1/2 oz. orange flavored liqueur (can use Triple Sec), 1 oz. champagne, garnish with raspberry or orange peel, Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and partition into shot glasses or a martini glass.

  You can find all of these FREE printables right here:
  Love Letters Place Cards
  Love Letters Drink Flags
  Love Letters Card Tags
  Love Letters Dessert Buffet Card

  

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