I do love planning parties for my kids, but recently I had the great privilege to throw a much more grown up party for my husband! Sean turned the big 5-0 this month so we had to have an extra special celebration for him. I decided on a moody black and gold theme with tons of candles. I had so much fun putting it together with the help of my mom and sister-in-law.
Mood Board
These were some pictures that caught my eye when I was thinking about what Sean would like and what would be special enough for such a big milestone but still fit with our style. I created a Pinterest board which I shared with my mom and sister-in-law and pinned a few moody black and gold dinner photos that I loved. This helped give us direction in our planning. I especially loved the matte black of the plates against the shiny gold silverware, the multitude of candles everywhere, and the greenery woven throughout.
Happy Hour
Before dinner, we started the party with happy hour at 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom in Tacoma. I had reserved the event room there for a couple of hours in the afternoon. 7 Seas serves their own beer, made in Tacoma, as well as other locally made beverages. I ordered some appetizers and coffee from 3uilt, the restaurant inside the taproom, which also has lots of local ingredients.
The décor at the brewery was simple. The room itself was beautiful, even without adding decoration. It had a window with a view of all the brewing equipment, a rustic concrete wall, vintage sconces, a long wooden-framed chalkboard, a wooden barrel, a wooden bar, and black tablecloths on a variety bistro and long tables.
With concerns about Covid increasing, combined with our budget for food and drinks, as well as the fact that Sean likes smaller more intimate gatherings anyway, we only had about 15 guests at the brewery, but it felt like the perfect amount.
Upon entering, the first thing guests saw was a chalkboard sign. I drew on a chalkboard using a transfer technique I learned a few years ago. I find it challenging to write freehand on chalkboards, especially when writing larger letters, but I found out a way to cheat a little bit. First I download fonts that I want to use, then use Word to input the words and make them the size I want. Then I print the document, cut out the word, cover the back of the paper with chalk, place the paper chalk down where I want it on the chalkboard, and trace over the letters firmly with a pencil. I then take the paper away and a light chalk outline of the letters remains, which I trace over with chalk marker. It can be time consuming, but it is a great zero-waste way to make a neat and tidy sign for a special event.
As you may know, I like to use paper globes and fans to decorate because they are reusable. Unfortunately, the brewery would only let us use tape to attach things to the walls and we couldn’t hang anything, so when removing the paper fans, some had to be thrown away. I still think that it was worth trying to use something that might possibly have another life over something like balloons which are always single-use.
My mom spread greenery and candles on the tables and it all came together with a nice balance of casual but mature and festive. After the happy hour, we headed back to the house for a smaller family dinner. A few close old friends came over to the house for a bit too, which was wonderful.
Back Home: Table Settings
Now let’s talk about how we decorated our table at home. For a special occasion like a milestone birthday, renting table settings or decorations is such a great way to dress up the table while keeping the party sustainable.
We rented the gold-rimmed goblets, gold-rimmed dessert plates, and 20 gold votive candle holders from Celebrations for Every Season. We also rented the matte black plates and gold flatware from Set the Table Party Rentals. Avoiding buying things new is always a better choice for the environment. Companies like Celebrations for Every Season and Set the Table are an organized way for hundreds of people to share one set of beautiful plates, candle holders, or silverware.
I had great experiences with both companies. The owners of both were so kind and helpful. I would definitely rent from them again for future parties.
With Celebrations for Every Season, I truly felt so much warmth from Susan. It felt more like talking with family or a good friend than someone simply providing a service. She told me the best story about her mother. I mentioned that one can never have too many candles and she said her mother would say it was pointless to clean before the party and instead she would turn the lights low and light tons of candles. Wise woman! Susan also delivered everything to my home and came back to my home to pick everything up. When she returned, she brought a book to show to my kids and me called The Tea Party Book. I had told her I wanted to have a tea party with my kids and she shared the book with me because she had used several of the ideas and recipes from the book with her children. I ordered a copy for us. I actually think Celebrations for Every Season takes the sustainability step even further than most party rental businesses, as she offers a lot of vintage things (as opposed to newer) and things come wrapped in beautiful sustainable packaging. Everything was wrapped in soft cloth napkins and packed in a wicker basket.
Tanya at Set the Table was very patient when I couldn’t find one of the gold spoons in time for dropping my rentals back off, but it was found the next day! She made the whole process very easy. Her options for rental are all gorgeous and a little more modern, so working with both she and Susan was a nice way to balance vintage and modern.
It cost about $100 total to rent the plates, flatware, goblets, and candle holders. I’m always trying to stay within our means, so I wouldn’t do this for every party, but for this occasion, it felt worth it. I did first try looking at thrift stores for gold or black table settings. I was able to find several things, such as some antique gold-rimmed tea cups for after-meal coffee, some black plates for the kids’ table, some serving platters, and a black candle holder. However, it can be hard to find plates and silverware and cups in larger quantities, so I decided to rent the rest.
Foliage
My mom ordered and arranged the greenery. She was once a florist for many years so I knew she would make it look beautiful. She ordered three kinds of foliage from a local Tacoma florist. The delicate fern-like one is called plumosa, the one that is mostly in the vases is called Gunni Eucalyptus, and the more sturdy greenery with dark green leaves is called Italian Ruscus. My mom also filled several gold pots with live fern plants from Fernseed. I love supporting Fernseed because they are committed to the slow flower movement, sourcing what they can from small local flower farms. My plan is to harden off the ferns and plant them in a shady spot in my front yard.
Candles
This party was all about candles! We actually counted and I believe there were almost 50 spread all around the living and dining room. We rented 20 of the votive candle holders from Susan at Celebrations for Every Season. They came in a variety of designs that all were a gold mercury glass and complemented each other perfectly. We also rented from her some battery-operated votive candles which were helpful to have on the kids’ table and at the brewery since they don’t allow real candles. We supplemented Susan’s candle holders with several small gold tealight and votive candle holders left from my wedding. My sister-in-law and mom shopped their stashes to contribute some other gold candle holders as well. The tall brass taper candle sticks I got from a garage sale a few years ago. As for the candles themselves, I bought beeswax pillars from Homesong Market, beeswax tealights from BeesLightCandles on Etsy, and black beeswax blend tapers from Root. I also used a few thrifted pillars I had.
The “5” and “0” on Sean’s raspberry tart are from Oakmoss Home, which is based in the Puget Sound area and uses responsibly sourced beeswax. There’s something so fun about gathering different things for a party once you’ve decided on a theme, whether looking through your own stuff, asking friends and family to borrow things, thrifting, and just generally trying to find the most sustainable way to achieve the look you’re going for.
Gifts
My husband Sean really wanted to lessen the impact of his birthday on the environment, so he asked for eco-conscious gifts. He asked for people to donate to the carbon offsetting program of that person’s choice. He made a suggestion where people could look to find these programs by giving this link: www.ecowatch.com/best-carbon-offset-programs. If family or friends preferred to give a physical gift, Sean asked for ethical, sturdy brands like Patagonia or Darn Tough, things that would last.
Food
This summer, we joined a CSA at a local organic farm, Wild Hare. We pick up our share of produce every week. This week I grabbed extra mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots for the party. I love being able to share that amazing food with my family. In the future, I’d love to serve food from my own garden at parties. I have thrown in a few things here and there, but as I learn more about gardening and add more raised beds, I’d love to increase the quantity of home-grown veggies I can share with others.
Lessons Learned
I’d like to share some ways we could improve in our efforts to keep our celebrations sustainable and what we will do differently next time.
Although using things from nature is good since it is biodegradable, we could have foraged some of the greenery or paid closer attention to where it was sourced. I know the greenery is from a local flower shop, but I’m not sure if it was shipped from somewhere local or somewhere far away.
I have to admit that I bought new stickers and black cardstock paper for the bunting sign. The stickers will eventually go to the landfill and came wrapped in plastic packaging. I could have easily just used paper with no stickers or used second hand fabric to make bunting. I got caught up in making this party extra special and got excited at the craft store. In the future I will avoid buying stickers because I truly believe they are unnecessary and just not worth the impact on the environment for the short amount of time they are used. I did use the extra black paper for place cards and will reuse the sign by changing the words slightly for other occasions. I will use most of the remainder of the stickers in the package for other purposes. After all, as the saying goes, it’s only single use if you use it once!
Ultimately, we are all doing the best we can to navigate our journey to sustainability. It is such a challenge to balance the beauty standards and temptations we see all around us with being kind to our earth. I know I struggle with it. Being able to share my little parties with you helps me reflect on my decisions and make better choices in the future.
Is it just me or are the cozy candles, warm golds, and rich, dark blacks and greens of this party getting you in the mood for fall?
Moodboard pictures from:
ruffledblog.com
weddingchicks.com
inspiredbythis.com
setthetablepartyrentals.com
celebrationsforeveryseason.com
frenchfoodwithlove.com
