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Shabby Chic: How to Decorate for a Garden Party

Updated on December 26, 2014
Ideas, colors and themes for giving a garden party in your backyard, including a shabby chic themed party.
Ideas, colors and themes for giving a garden party in your backyard, including a shabby chic themed party. | Source

Summer is here and with it comes the time to gather family and friends together for outdoor cookouts and fun family activities. Summer is also a great time to think about how to decorate and have a garden party outside in your yard.

Unlike impromptu BBQ gatherings where any chair can be pulled up and any table pulled in to make do as a food table, garden parties require a little more thought and planning - especially if the garden party Is going to be held for a shower, reception, birthday or other event.

For the purpose of having just a small gathering of guests, here are some ideas to have a memorable garden party in your yard or on your patio.

Lovely roses for a garden party table centerpiece

Roses make a beautiful centerpiece for an outdoors garden party.
Roses make a beautiful centerpiece for an outdoors garden party. | Source

I Went to a Garden Party Song by Ricky Nelson

Decorating for a garden party

Personally, shabby chic decorating is a big favorite of mine and I think it works perfect for having a garden party. After all, shabby chic incorporates many of the things that make a garden beautiful - flowers, beautiful hues and light airy spaces. When planning your party, you first need to come up with your theme - it could be vintage, eclectic, shabby chic, cottage chic or even a more formal theme like gold and silver.

Once you have settled on your theme, take a look in your yard and figure out what things you can already use to be a part of your garden party. Maybe your patio table would make a great food table - or that old picnic bench could be covered with a vintage tablecloth. Always being a fan of doing things myself, I always try to use what I have first, then purchase towards the end when I have a clear idea of what I need. If you do need extra chairs though, that is something you will definitely want to rent from a party supply early on so you have the seating you need.

After you have your theme and items you are going to use, think about what decorations you will be using for your garden party. Take a walk around your house and maybe you will find things you can bring outside to use as decorations. Silver candelabras for example would be pretty accents with flowers, and so would candles and votives. If you have vintage china, consider using that for the drinks and food. If you have beautiful silverware bring it outside to accent your china. Consider using any lace tablecloths you use in your home for table coverings.

A lovely area for a garden party

| Source

Garden party items

Ideas for a garden party

Some other things to consider to decorate for your garden party:

  • Are you going to use all the same tablecloths? If so, consider buying those at a party supply or even a dollar store. It's amazing what finds you can get at your local dollar store.
  • Are you going to make all the table centerpieces the same or different? Once again, utilize stores to get your vases, flowers or other décor. Dollar stores have lots of cute table displays!
  • What type of food and beverages are you going to serve at your garden party? Consider decorating with fruit, vegetables and flowers. Bring in a friend that is handy and creative and have her/him make some fun party trays up.
  • Are you going to use your own cut flowers from your garden or do you need to purchase flowers for the decorating? If buying them, try to find a wholesale flower nursery. Your flowers will be much fresher and less expensive.
  • Are you going to play any games at your party? Checkers, chess, domino's and card games are always fun and simple games to play. Other guests that don't want to play can just relax in your garden.

Most of all, when decorating for your garden party, have fun with it! This is a chance to show your friends and family a truly unique and relaxing experience. There are no rights or wrongs on how to decorate for a garden party, just make sure that you have plenty of food on hand because it might be hard to get your guests to leave your garden!

Ideas for food at a garden party

What a wonderful dessert idea this would be for a garden party!
What a wonderful dessert idea this would be for a garden party! | Source
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