Halloween Spooktacular Tablescape

“Witches Welcome”

We’ve joined 20 of the fiercest event designers across the country to bring you a tablescape competition like no other!!! Halloween was the theme, but how each designer ran with it ended up being so chic and unique to their brand. We of course, had to incorporate our beloved bell + emperor tents for an evening of dining with overnight accommodation. Our spin on spooky centers around the famed Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus. We wanted to create a magical “girls night” dinner that felt dark and whimsical while still remaining bright and beautiful with pops of color throughout… and most importantly… All. Witches. Welcome.

Napkins

Designing on a budget? Can’t find the right color of linen napkin? Do you have a pair of scissors????

This hack is so fun + so economical. We created our “witches hat” napkins out of wicker rings that we purchased from Michaels + some satin fabric purchased from Joanns. We searched all over for the right color of napkin, but alas, the market failed us. Which ended up being a huge blessing as linen napkins can range between $3-$10 a piece. So we headed to the fabric store + purchased 2 yards of this gorgeous material (which only cost about $7 total). We cut the fabric up into square pieces + then simply twisted the material with the shiny side up until it had the right “witch hat” look to it. Holding them in place were the cutest little wicker rings, they ended up being the perfect solution for us but you could also use yarn or twine to achieve the same look. They ended up working great + were so cheap/ simple to make!!!

The best part… when dinner is done, you can either wash + save for future use, or dispose. We only used a fraction of the fabric we bought so cost wise it isn’t a huge hit to just pitch them in the trash after they’ve been used, we can always make a bunch more with the leftover yardage we have but this is totally optional/ dependent on the quality of fabric you use. These napkins were a big hit, Simple + Easy + Pretty + Cheap. Totally our style.

Dinnerware

When designing this tablescape we really wanted to stay as true to the time period of the Salem Witch Trials as we could. As it turns out, acquiring dinnerware from the late 1600’s isn’t as easy to come by as one might think ;) so we did what we do best… we improvised. We also hit up every vintage/ antique store we could find in the tri-state area. We searched high + low at many a peddlers mart for some unique silverware to add to this table setting. Matching silverware wasn’t an issue for us as we thought it would be more authentic for the items to actually not match, which really makes the hunt that much more fun + really simplifies things. Mix matched silverware can be a really great detail when setting the table if done under the right circumstances… and vintage, is always the right circumstance.

For the dishes we headed to another great resource when shopping for dinnerware items, or any item that you just need to purchase in single quantities, At Home. These plates were a bit on the pricey side but we loved their organic shape + their mat finish. Black is one of the best colors to fit with all styles so we knew we would get our moneys worth out of this purchase. To date, we have used these plates at least 4 times. The green glasses were a steal we found one afternoon shopping at a local antique store. Our wooden tables are 10ft long and perfectly accommodate 10 guests so anytime I find items in a qty of 10, they’re as good as sold. These glasses never stood a chance + I just love how well the green paired with the witch theme.

We think the sisters would approve… how about you?

Florals

Call me cheap, but I love a good feaux floral. You just can’t beat a one time purchase that you can get use out of over + over + over + over again. Believe me, these florals will be put to their maximum potential because they are just so darn pretty! Now granted, I don’t have any clue what the witches of 1693 would have used for their décor stylings… but I like to think it would be somewhat of a dried arrangement of weeds, flowers + herbs. When I envision a witchy floral arrangement I think dark, dead, lifeless, dried out flowers. Ones that would be hanging from the rafters of their woodland lair… ready to be plucked as ingredients in some evil spell concoction. So naturally, when I saw these dried bouquets for sale at Hobby Lobby, I knew they would be absolutely PERFECT for our dinner! We strung a few from a long line of twine + drooped them over the table for dimension. We then took a handful of bouquets + tore them apart to create more colorful arrangements to spread throughout the area.

Since our dinner theme centered around the witchy time period of Colonial New England, we decided it was only appropriate to include a witch for the shoot. Insert our fabulous model, Sarah. We wanted her to have an eye catching bouquet so we actually combined a few smaller arrangements + added some brown paper to bind it. It ended up turning out way larger than we had planned but in the end, we think it was exactly what this witch needed. If you’ve never dabbled in dried flower arrangements, one tip would be to cut them/ assemble them outside as they are quite messy.

Lighting

While we would have loved to have been able to light this space solely by candlelight, like they would have done in the 1600’s, it would have been very risky given all of the dried out florals. So we went with the next best thing + placed battery operated flicker candles around the area. These candles have come a long way + sometimes they can look super real if you source a higher end wax candle. We got lucky and found some fabulous battery operated drip candles from the antique store for a steal.

The next element of lighting we decided to go with was copper twinkly lights, because… let’s be honest… twinkly lights don’t ever not go with a styled tablescape. They are very easy to use + they photograph so well. You can string them around your garland/ flower bouquets like we did to provide some magical ambiance or you can stuff them inside a jar or vase + set it on your table. The lights, though pretty, do not provide a ton of lighting so if you’re wanting the space to be a bit more lit up like we did, then you should probably hang some real lights as well.

We decided to go with bistro lighting, though it absolutely has nothing to do with the time period, because we wanted our guests to be able to see the surrounding area + their food. Our lights are commercial grade edison bulb bistro lights but you can really pick any type of string lighting. Since this dinner was held in my sister’s backyard we had access to electricity… which was huge! If you don’t have electricity you may want to consider a generator or battery string lights.

We love a dark dining atmosphere but completely understand that it isn’t for everybody… What do you think? Would you enjoy dining under this dim light or would you rather have it brighter?

Accomodations

When planning any sort of dinner party it is always helpful to have a clear best case scenario plan, a backup plan + an escape plan. In this case, we setup a few of our fully furnished glamping tents to provide a solution to all 3 plans. Best case, you enjoy your dinner + are able to retire to your overnight suite after an evening of indulgence. Backup plan, if inclement weather is in the forecast you just stow away the wooden tables + move your dinner into one of the waterproof tents. Dinner party getting a little out of hand?? You can use of these canvas tents as an area to escape to for solitude + privacy. Best case… we hoped our guests would enjoy the option to stay overnight if they wanted to do so.

The tents also provide a great privacy barrier to neighboring homes. We used them strategically to outline our dining area so that we had privacy, overnight accomodations for our guests + a backup area to host dinner had the weather not cooperated. Thankfully, the weather turned out perfect + the night was spent dining under the sparkly twinkle lights with a night cap of s’mores around the campfire. I doubt the Sanderson Sister’s would be partaking in any sort of desserty delight but we sure did + it was just as fabulous as you would image it to be.

To schedule your bespoke backyard dining experience, send an email to Kelly at thepopupbnb@gmail.com