While Atlanta Food & Wine Festival‘s pop-up urban vineyard was show-stopping, the next night was just as magical. With the help of the Lee brothers and Blooms of Dunwoody, we set an absolutely stunning Asian inspired dinner for the festival’s Connoisseur Dinner Series on the Loews Hotel rooftop. The theme for the evening celebrated and explored the Asian influence on Southern food, and offered a multi-course meal with award-winning wine and cocktail pairings with each dish. And just to walk you through the vision of our Asian inspired dinner: we were literally surrounded by a concrete, mirrored, glass jungle, and we then created a zen-like oasis with paper lanterns and live orchid garland hanging from a chuppah canopy made of live birch trees. #Swoon.
The setup, however, didn’t go off without a hitch (like most outdoor events, am I right?!). The rooftop proved to be incredibly windy (I mean WINDY) and we watched with panic in our eyes as the chuppah swayed from side to side with each new gust. We quickly brought in sand bags and stabilized the canopy, but the wind was so strong that we all had to make an executive decision to bring the long dining tables inside for guests.
To my relief, the result was just as magical; guests enjoyed cocktail hour outside to then join along long dining tables in clean white linens stretched down the inside hall, adorned with simple votive candles and low, airy white florals snaking down the expanse of the table.
When recreating this event (on a smaller scale, I expect!), consider simple linens and monochromatic florals for an understated, yet elevated effect. And while big centerpieces are always beautiful, the short, square glass vases were the perfect vessels for the florals because they didn’t risk obstructing the view around the table. This is a great thing to keep in mind if you’re hoping for conversation to be flowing (just as much as the wine) at your dinner party. And of course, placing votive candles (the long-lasting ones!!!) is one of my favorite, easy and affordable ways to bring the magic by soft candlelight to any tabletop. Truly, MKR
