End of Summer Soiree! Let's Flamingle!

As seen in IBB at Home Summer 2017

Summer is winding down, so it’s time to throw your final end-of-summer shin dig with the perfect themed dinner party! The rooftop or patio is calling for a stylish celebration, but no matter where you choose to host your party, you’ll be able to create the perfect summer setting with this year’s hottest trends! I’m in love with the flamingos, palm leaves and pineapples that are popular this season, and coupling them with a bold and chic color palette of hot pink, bright green and gold just screams summer. We’ve put together some tips and tricks to pull off this summer’s hottest party theme that will make a lasting impression on your guests!

Guest List and Invitations – Every dinner party starts off with a well-designed invitation. It’s the first chance to sweep your guests off their feet, so make sure your invitations help portray the experience you want to create. For your tropical party, I love friendly and colorful invitations. These “Let’s Flamingle” invites from Pink Bay Designs are a wonderful way to portray a festive, trendy, yet sophisticated soirée. Bring out the bright tones and don’t be afraid to incorporate a flamingo or pineapple in there! After all, these are two of the hottest trends right now!

Decor – Between flamingos, palm leaves, pineapples and bamboo sticks there’s no shortage of decor ideas for you to completely transform your space into a modern and classy tropical paradise! Try to pull in some details from your invitation to give the party a cohesive and intentional look by complementing the centerpieces with some fun signage that matches the wording you used on the invite.

Set the table – The best part about summer is that it’s always a great excuse to go bold with your color scheme. Take the aforementioned decor, and don’t be afraid to give it a burst of color! I kept the natural feel of real palm leaves for the placemats, but spray-painted the pineapples gold and paired them with bright, fresh blooms for vibrant centerpieces. A bright pink table runner and matching napkins are a vivid, summery contrast to the white tablecloth, and really makes the tablescape pop! Optional but exceptional: use gold flatware to pull the whole thing together.

Menu – So you’ve wowed your guests with eye-popping color. Next up, wowing their tastebuds with a menu of delicious, seasonal dishes. A festive menu of fresh pineapple salsa, Hawaiian chicken kabobs, pineapple shrimp skewers, and BBQ meatballs is the perfect spread for your luau.

Also don’t forget to create a self-serve bar for your guests to enjoy! This helps save you some time and allows your guests to interact. Plus it’s another great way to pull in some additional decorative elements into your party! Consider serving fresh watermelon mojitos for the adults and pineapple pink lemonade soda for the kids to rehydrate!