A Simply Elegant Rehearsal Dinner

I was recently asked to decorate for a rehearsal dinner at a local restaurant. Many of us know how a wedding goes - we spend months planning and crafting and buying things to make our day special. We spend so many hours setting up venues, planning decor that fits a color palette, and bringing a vision to life.

And the weekend of the wedding comes, and it is over in the blink of an eye! We hardly have time to sit back and soak it all in.

When I was asked to decorate for a rehearsal dinner for a dear friend of my mother's, I didn't hesitate to say yes. If I could take the littlest bit of stress of the mother-of-the-groom, and the bride and groom to be, then I would accomplish my goal. And, hopefully, it would give them a chance to sit back, and just relish in the moment.

After meeting the mother of the groom, I knew just the vision I wanted to bring to life. I wanted to have fall elements, since the wedding and dinner were in late October, and I wanted it to be elegant. And the first thing that came to mind were pumpkins... white pumpkins... LOTS of white pumpkins.

And in the end, I couldn't be happier with how the decor turned out.

Party Type: Rehearsal Dinner

Venue: The StoneBridge Grille - Maryland Line, MD

Party Theme: White Pumpkins

Total Guests: 40

Dessert: homemade desserts by the mother-of-the-groom

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The rehearsal dinner was served at The StoneBridge Grille in Maryland Line, MD. First of all, if you are ever looking for a place to host an event such as a baby shower, bridal shower, or some kind of dinner, I highly recommend booking here. They have a beautiful outdoor patio space, that can be heated in winter. The owner is extremely accommodating and helpful. He was open to whatever ideas I threw out. And the staff was beyond gracious and helpful. The servers even stayed to help me dismantle and clean up after the event was over.

I decided to split the 40 guests into six tables. I had two 8-top tables, and four 6-top tables. I wanted all of the decor to be similar, but I like to vary up centerpieces. In other words, I personally try to not recreate the same exact centerpiece six different times. I used the same types of decor on each of the tables, but usually varied numbers, heights, and positions on tables.

I started with white linens. Instead of bringing in a runner, I used a natural runner of silver dollar eucalyptus. This eucalyptus is not as rigid as traditional eucalyptus, and has large leaves, the size of silver dollars! I also used LOTS of white pumpkins. Since the event was right before, Halloween, these were easy to find. The one caveat was finding them and still making sure they were cost effective. I actually found amazing prices in Lancaster county at an Amish farm. They had all different sizes, and I paid no more than $3 for some of the largest pumpkins. If you are ever in Lancaster county and are looking for an amazing greenhouse for flowers, go to Hilltop Greenhouse in Quarryville.

I also wanted to add height to the tables. I used accomplished this with two simple projects. The first was wine glasses. Did you know that the Dollar Store carries a large selection of different sized wine glasses? That and a bottle of gold spray paint, and I had instant height on my tables - for pretty cheap too!

The other thing I did to add height was make candle pillars. I searched everywhere for candle pillars, but couldn't find what I was looking for without spending an arm and a leg. My husband helped me find the solution. With his help, I made twelve candle pillars of varying heights. We used some banister spindles that I purchased off of Facebook Marketplace and cut them down. My husband then screwed them onto a base. The bases were purchased at Hobby Lobby. They were just wooden plaques in a four inch diameter. Then I applied a white chalk paint, and it was instant impact on the tables. I couldn't have asked for them to have turned out any better!

I knew I wanted lots of candlelight, which is why I wanted the pillars and lots of votives. The venue had draped some Christmas lights, and I wanted to play off that. I wish I had been able to see it in the evening!

I did order some gold linens and folded them to sit at each table spot. I could've just used paper napkins, but I feel like linens make such an impact when you look at a set table.

The last aspect of my design was florals. I knew I wanted to use a variety of greens and whites. I created several floral arrangements using old bottles and painted mason jars as vases. I stuck with my pallet and used white hydrangea, white alstromeria, greenery, green hypericum berries, and some gorgeous white raunculus. I also used some curly tipped branches for the first time! They were so fun!

Put all of these elements together, and the result was simply elegant. I was so pleased!

I also set up a dessert table and a gift table for the bride and groom gifts. Though I didn't get to see any of the delicious desserts made by the groom's mother, I hear that her baking abilities are out of this world!

Little additions on these tables included a Mr & Mrs sign, spray painted gold. I also made the monogram of the bride and groom's initials for the thank you table. You may also notice some elements from other parties I have thrown, from the wooden slabs, the wood crates, and the chalkboard signs!

What a beautiful evening it was, and pictures of the wedding were no less elegant. Now, who wants to use white pumpkins on their Thanksgiving table?!