Photography by Mary Margaret Photography

I love to host.  Parties, birthdays, you name it.  I love the detail that goes into the preparation, but most of all, I really enjoy the set up and decorating.  I’ve always wanted to throw a dinner party with a true tablescape and decor so a Galentine’s Day celebration was the perfect excuse.

So, where do you start??  If you don’t have a lot of money to dedicate to such an event, or if you simply don’t WANT to spend a lot of money on the event, then you take what you have and make the most of it!  You also invite friends who can make the event FAB.  In this case, Vasu of The Nutritious Bite and Lexi Mota of The Cakerie were on board to help with food!!  Vasu made an brie with green apples and pecan dressing, green bean bundles wrapped in bacon (YUM!), and THE most amazing superfood salad with avocado dressing. I mean, DELISH.  Lexi made individual heart shaped cakes, with fresh raspberry filling and the most decadent buttercream frosting.  Lexi went to culinary school, and it showed in her baking because the cake was seriously the best cake I’ve had in a while.  If you need a cake, she’s your girl.  AH-mazing.  Finally, Tropicaleo, a Puerto Rican restaurant soon to open at Pizitz Food Hall, provided a delicious plantain soup to complete the meal.  Please visit their websites to read about their tutorials and also to get the recipes!  Here’s a sneak peak to pique your interest:

Once the menu was planned, it was time to get to the other details:  decor!  My friend Heather of My Life Well Loved has an amazing friend, Sara of Gold Leaf Floral who provided floral arrangements for our bash.   They arrangements were AMAZING. Can I also mention that the floral arrangements lasted DAYS after the dinner party??!  And, they were oh, so fragrant!!  She’s really so super talented!

{By the way, Heather has a great post detailing an affordable Valentine’s Day outfit on her blog that you will want to make sure you check out!}

Sarah graciously connected me with Ginger of Swan Lindsey Lettering, who made the cutest oragami name cards to complete the place setting decor.  I gave her the names of everyone who was going to be attendance and we all shared a Pinterest board and off each went to create magic!  The name cards were the cutest!

Sometime before Christmas, I purchased wood chargers because I was hopeful that our kitchen remodel would be done and I would be able to use them for Christmas or NYE. Sadly, they sat unused as our kitchen remodel is just now on the verge of being complete (we are about 99.8% done now, with just a few minor details left to complete), and it occurred to me that they would be perfect for this Galentine’s Day dinner.  I used china that I owned, my own utensils, a crochet runner that my mom made and gifted me when I bought my house in AL, and a heart garland I found in the Dollar Spot at Target.  Target is also the place where I found a tassel garland that I hung over backs of the two chairs you see when you walk in the room.  Oh  yeah, I also had votives from long ago that I often use during Christmas time, so I pulled those out and put in a candle in each to add a bit of romantic flare to the table.  Two blush pink mercury vases added the final touch to the tablescape!  The two vases were also from the Dollar Spot at Target.

At some point during the dinner, I knew we were going to want to toast, so I pulled out some plastic champagne flutes that I keep for New Year’s toasts, bought some heart shaped Peeps, and red and white straws, and dressed up the pink moscato champagne I had chilling in the fridge for our Galentine’s Day toast!

Last but not least, my friend Brittany of Southern Mama Guide joined us for dinner and since she and I were both going to have littles around, we agreed to have a good friend of mine who often babysits for me, keep all the littles in the basement while the mama’s dined and wined upstairs.  It worked perfectly and Shira if you’re reading this, we were so grateful!!  Brittany has a great post sharing a fun Valentine’s Day outfit if you still need ideas for an outfit of the night!

Oh, one other thing:  I thought it would be super fun to have “swag bags” for my friends to take with them when they left, so I am beyond thankful to Fabrik in Homewood, AL who provided the CUTEST parting gifts for my guests!

I was honestly amazed at how well it came together.  I was super nervous about it all, but so grateful to all these women who helped make it a success!  I’ve linked all of their blogs and websites throughout the post, so be sure to click and visit each of their pages and follow them along on social media.  They are each amazingly talented entrepreneur mama’s!

So there you have it!  My low-key, low-expense way to throw a Galentine’s Day party together.  What are your plans for Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day??  Check out my last post for a fun accessory idea for the big day!

Until next time!  Stay ‘Chic’!