Sultry Bridal Shower Dinner

*We did five small floral arrangements on the large square table. I like doing things in odd numbers.*

*Bistro lights, Pierre Frey linen, blue glassware from Provence, the beginning of setting the table.*

*All hands on deck; Peyton is helping with the window cleaning.*

We are currently in the south of France, getting ready to celebrate the marriage of our son Maxwell and his bride Lexi. They love the south of France and were engaged here almost two years ago during our last trip. Lexi has been traveling with our family for nearly a decade, and I can’t wait until it’s all official. My husband will be marrying them at a small, intimate gathering of nineteen of us, and he said he feels like he’s marrying two of his kids; that’s how close we’ve all been.

Lexi has celebrated with us, and I have always told her I would honor her. She’s a beauty, and we threw a small, sultry dinner party for her bridal shower. Maxwell designed the invitation and the place cards using a black, red, and white color scheme. I spent hours thinking about how to tie the event together, given that my summer pots were coral and pink and that my dinnerware choices were blue, grey, or floral chintz yellow. None of the above would do.

Sleepless nights and daydreaming brought about a trip to the nursery and some online shopping. At the nursery, I gathered up a carful of deep red petunias, chartreuse something or other, and more coral-tinged with red and a darker shade of red, all annuals. I potted them up two weeks before the event so they would have time to settle in and show off a bit. While traveling to see Caroline and her kids in Andover, MA, I online shopped at one of my new favorite sites, Juliska, and started ordering dishes, napkins, glassware, and napkin rings; I became a bit out of control. It turned out okay, and I now have a complete set of new French things for shared meals. I will never forget this party for Lexi, which is unique to us.

*I did a late summer nursery tun to help tie the pots into the color scheme. Here, you can see all the supplies laid out.*

*The coral geraniums at the front door look better with the dark red petunias mixed in.*

*A close-up of the front door pots. I love these large ceramic vessels. I picked them out for myself as a Mother’s Day gift. They are sourced from Henry’s Gardens in Eden, NY.*

*It took me and Peanut two days to figure out the* *bistro light situation.*

*Peanut is always a good sport and helps me out when she can. Here she is in velcro rollers, a multi-tasker at heart.*

I hired a French chef to serve us a five-course seated meal. I strung bistro lights above our table. Caroline and I hand-washed the white chair cushions to give them more sparkle. Booie baked and decorated lingerie-inspired cutout cookies. I baked a three-tier wedding cake. The bride’s mother treated us to the flowers for the table. The bride’s sister treated us to two cases of wine. Caroline ordered Christian Dior’s limited edition map of Paris lipstick cases. I used Peanut’s Pierre Frey fabric for the tablecloth. My sister Tracy surprised us by taking the red eye in from San Francisco and showed up at our door the morning of the party. Maxwell took photographs. There were twelve women and three grandchildren in the house, and the handsome groom stayed through it all. It was divine.