Summer is the perfect time of year for simple entertaining. Check out these easy summer dinner party ideas for your next gathering.
Who’s ready for summer?
I sure am!
And it’s starting to feel like summer here in North Carolina this week with temperatures in the high 80’s and I’m loving it!!
With summertime comes entertaining and we’re super excited to get back to it this year.
So…are you ready to host a summer dinner party?
We’re joining our blogging friends again this month to bring you some amazingly awesome summer dinner party ideas you’re going to LOVE!!
It’s been so fun doing these virtual dinner parties every month with our friends who live all across the country…North Carolina, Texas, New Jersey, and Nebraska.
Have you been following along each month?
Here is a list of our previous tablescape ideas we’ve done with our friends (just click the link for inspiration):
We’ve got a delicious menu with recipes perfect for summer. Everything you need to throw a spectacular get-together…drinks, appetizers, side dishes, main entrees, and desserts!
If you’re visiting us from our friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse or if you’re new to our blog, Welcome!
We’re both so happy you’re here!
We’re AnnMarie (wearing black) and Anne (wearing green & black), the two moms behind this blog.
We work together to share simple and budget-friendly ideas for decorating, recipes, diy projects, and tips for life with older teens (and beyond!).
You can read more about us here.
So enough about us…let’s get talk more about this month’s theme…SUMMER dinner party!
Lemon Inspired Summer Dinner Party Tablescape
Since we styled our tablescape outside last month for Cinco de Mayo, I thought we’d bring it back inside this month.
Even though it’s now summer you can still entertain indoors.
I mean there is air conditioning inside!
And not to mention…NO bugs!
I love how easy this table came together and all I had to buy was 2 bags of lemons from the grocery store.
So for less than $10 I have a pretty & fresh tablescape that’s ready for my guests.
My lemon-inspired summer dinner party idea is so simple to put together using items you probably already have at home.
How to Style a Simple Centerpiece?
The first thing I always do when styling a tablescape is to create a centerpiece.
I often use my narrow long wood tray that I scored several years ago at Home Goods for $12.99…now that’s a deal!
My kids bought me a bouquet of grocery store flowers for Mother’s day and they were still looking great so I pulled a few out for my centerpiece.
Does anyone have any idea what type of flower this is?
I used an app that takes a photo of the flower to determine what it is and it came up with two different suggestions.
Either a Chinese aster or a common daisy.
So I’m not quite sure exactly what they are all I do know is they’re gorgeous.
I love the fluffy petals so much and thought they looked perfect on their own…so I just removed the leaves from the stem and set one in each mason jar.
Mason jars make great vases and using four 32 ounce jars created a pretty display on my wood tray.
No centerpiece is complete without some candles.
Am I right?
So I added several other smaller mason jars in between the flowers and filled them with votive candles.
Then added a few lemons and my simple summer centerpiece was complete.
How to Set a Table for a Summer Dinner Party?
Once the centerpiece was finished I could set the table for my summer dinner party.
I grabbed my everyday plates and bowls from the kitchen because I was setting a casual table so there was no need to break out the china.
Actually I rarely use my wedding china which is kinda sad.
But I’ve had this stoneware set for years and love how versatile the pieces are for most occasions.
It helps to have everything that you want to use to set your table out and ready to go.
I filled my serving bowl with lemons that I planned to use at each placesetting.
Wine and water glasses, seagrass chargers and cloth striped napkins too.
The first layer for each place setting is a seagrass charger. I use these chargers all of the time when styling tablescapes.
The neutral color of the seagrass goes with many different styles.
The next layer is a white plate followed by a blue and white pinstriped linen napkin and topped with a bowl.
I set 2 lemons in each bowl for a pop of color to the tablescape.
The combination of the crisp classic striped blue and white napkins with the yellow lemons just screams SUMMER…don’t ya think so?!
I set out a glass of water with a lemon wedge at each place along with a glass for wine.
It may be time to invest in a new set of drinking glasses.
We’ve had these glasses forever and some of them have those dishwasher stains along the top rim that I can’t get out.
What to Serve at your Gathering?
My new favorite white wine pairs perfectly with the appetizer Anne made for our summer dinner party.
Can’t wait to share it with you guys on Saturday!
Plus the label of the wine is yellow so it coordinates with my summer tablescape. 😉
The table is set and ready for our summer dinner party.
What time will you be here?
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Our tablescape tour continues with our friend Michele from Vintage Home Designs.
You’re going to love her ideas! And wait until you see her stunning Texas home filled with vintage finds.
More Summer Dinner Party Table Ideas from Our Friends
If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment!
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