It’s all in the detail! Whether it’s a wedding, birthday party, or even if you’re just having friends over for a night in, the details are almost always what matter most when it comes to throwing an unforgettable party! Whenever I go to a party and the host has made an extra effort to impress through little details, I always find the experience to be so much more special.
In my recent blog post, I showed you our romantic chic picnic in the park with Boursin. Today, I’ve teamed up with Boursin Canada again to elevate the chic picnic experience! Suitable for a party indoors or outdoors in the summertime, in this entertaining guide, I’m sharing tips, like how to create this tablescape that is inspired by our wedding table setting and is sure to impress, and 2 new recipes. And like last time, there are details at the bottom of this post on how you can win exclusive access to one of the most chic dinner parties of the entire year. So keep reading!
How to Host a Chic Picnic
The best way to tie a party together is with a theme. Parisian chic, Mexican fiesta, garden party – the sky really is the limit! Once you pick a theme, you will want the food you serve, the décor and little touches all to reflect that same theme.
For our wedding, my husband and I had a couple of themes. One was our colour scheme: periwinkle and greenery. Greenery is so popular right now, especially since it’s the Pantone colour of the year for 2017! We played up the greenery theme in our bouquets, on our cake, and by having a greenery-filled hanging installation in the centre of the room. But I think the detail I loved most about our wedding was how the tables were set. The tablescape was so simple and elegant, and I never realized how easy it could be to recreate it at home!
Creating a Beautiful Tablescape at Home
All you’ll need to create this chic tablescape is:
- a table runner
- some greenery
- candles
- cloth napkins
- elegant tableware and flatware
- lavender
- Boursin cheese
You would not believe it, but I actually used cheese cloth for my table runner! I love the feeling of cheese cloth and how easy it is to shape. You can find it at your local bulk store, hardware or home store. If you can’t find cheese cloth, you can easily pick up a gauze table runner online or at a home store.
For the greenery, I love Italian ruscus. At only about $3 or $4 per stem, it’s a steal! My table is just over 5 ft. long, and I only needed 5 or 6 stems. Italian ruscus is perfect because it creates volume, so it makes the table seem very lush without having to buy a lot. I absolutely adore how it looks laid on top of the table runner! Add a few candles to the table and you’re all set!
While the ruscus creates a rustic feel, using tableware that has gold rims and gold flatware adds an elegant touch! Bring out your good china; but if you don’t have any, then regular white plates would work too. Lately, I’ve been OBSESSING over gold flatware; and ever since our wedding, I simply had to have a set of my own (this rose gold set is from Kate Spade). Place a cloth napkin folded into a long rectangle on top of the bread plate and allow the edge to fall over the side of the table. Add a few sprigs of lavender on top of your napkins for another classy and fragrant touch.
For the pièce de resistance, and as a little ‘cadeau’ for your guests, add a box of Boursin cheese on top of the napkin. Your guests can enjoy the experience of opening up their own wheel of Boursin and spreading on baguette bread. Peeling the wrapper back like a cupcake is so satisfying!
Dinner is Served: 2 Different Flatbreads Made with Boursin Cheese
I’ll take any excuse to get creative in the kitchen, especially when I have guests over.
I created two easy flatbreads using Boursin cheese as the star ingredient. Instead of baking the cheese on the flatbreads, I crumbled on top, once the flatbreads were cool. Boursin has such a unique texture, which I wouldn’t want to ruin by melting. And since it’s flavoured with fine herbs, I felt the flavours would be lost by melting it. In my recipes, I used garlic & fine herbs and bouquet of basil and chive. But I could see either recipe working well with any of the other flavours, like shallot and chive, cracked black pepper, red chili pepper or cranberry & spice. You could serve these flatbreads individually, or cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Here are the recipes:
I hope you enjoyed this easy entertaining guide and bon appétit!
Win a Chance to Have Your Own Chic Picnic
Dîner en Blanc is one of my favourite events of the entire summer and it is the ultimate chic picnic! Boursin is giving you a chance to win exclusive access to Dîner en Blanc for 8 people this summer. Click here to enter the contest. There will be 3 grand prize winners announced, and over 500 other instant prizes to win.
Good luck!
Styling & Photography by: Yours Truly
*This post was created in partnership with Boursin Canada, but as always, all opinions are my own.
