DESTINATION: THE TROPICS – DISCOVER EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR A COLORFUL DINNER GATHERING AT HOME
It’s hard to believe summer will be coming to an end soon. So I couldn’t let it slip away without throwing a summer dinner, al fresco style to celebrate the warm summer evenings! With a shared passion for entertaining, I had my sister assist with some of the styled details to make everything all come together.
For this summer dinner party I created, I infused some serious tropical vibes that will ignite your senses into feeling you’ve been transported to an island resort. From palm leaves, to bright blooms, I incorporated lots of color, tropical elements, and a huge dose of eclectic fun. To stage this area, my sister’s gorgeous backyard was the perfect backdrop – surrounded by trees helped give that lush tropical vibe! Cue the caribbean sounds from my dinner party playlist.
Now let’s get into the details…shall we!
TEXTURED + LAYERED PLACE SETTINGS.
I used a crisp white table linen as the backdrop for the outdoor dining table. Choosing an all-white linen allowed for the other table items to pop more vividly. For each place setting, I started off by adding texture with a natural palm leaf placemat from Ikea. It added an earthy feel to the outdoor dining table. I chose to use white dinner plates. I love the basket weave plate design that added another subtle texture. These plates were found at HomeGoods.
My goal for this tropical-themed tablescape was to add patterns and textures to keep it interesting but not to matchy-matchy. On top of the dinner plate, a decorative layer was added with a leaf palm. Just clip off the stem and viola…super simple! To finish off the look, I added these fun gold-rim appetizer plates from Pier 1 (sorry, no longer available online). The pineapple motif in four assorted colors of pink, blue, green, and peach was the perfect touch of eclectic fun. For more tropical fun, I found these pretty shade of pink and green palm print coasters from Pottery Barn. They have two different leafy palm image. To add a jewel-tone element, I used my favorite gold and white flatware. Resembling a beach towel, my sister had these white cotton dinner napkins with fringe. For a special touch, I used these white porcelain place markers that I found on the clearance sale from Williams Sonoma. I love how the place card holders mimic the look of pebbles found on the sandy beaches.
TROPICAL FLORAL + FRUIT TABLE CENTERPIECE.
When it came to dressing the dining table, I wanted the centerpiece to be the main focal point – the heart of the party, so florals were not the only item added. To showcase some island elements, I nestled an array of edible tropical fruit around the middle section of the tabletop. Some of the fruit used to colorfully decorate the table with was papaya, pineapple, kiwi, mangos, avocados, and citrus fruits like lemons, limes, and oranges. I love how it brings out that island flair. I had my sister create this big beautiful floral bouquet in the center. She did such a great job using a mix of Anthuriums, Gerber Daisies, Amaryllis, Roses, and Ginger to create this tropical floral centerpiece.
For the perfect outdoor evening ambiance, I added gold palm tree candle holders and pretty jade colored glass pillar candle holders – both purchased from Target’s Opalhouse collection.
FOOD / DRINKS / DESSERT.
Whenever I’m hosting a gathering, I always like to have water readily available on the table for guests to enjoy throughout the duration of a meal. For some flavor, I added a large orange slice and lime slice in the water. It is quite refreshing! We decided to serve up a non-alcoholic drink for all to enjoy – a delicious, tangy tangerine flavored sparkling soda.
I played up the island vibe with a tropical dinner entree that was not complicated at all to make. For the dinner menu, I served up sauteed shrimp seasoned with garlic and lime, steamed white rice seasoned with salt, lime and garnished with cilantro, and homemade spicy mango salsa (you can find the recipes at the end of this post).
A fun touch to set the tone for the side dishes were these white pineapple bowls I found in the dollar section of Target.
Dessert time! It’s all about the presentation…for a show stopper, we ended the meal with two tropical ice cream flavors presented in a coconut shell! Ice cream is simply a perfect summertime treat! We chose to go with rum raisin and mango flavored ice cream from Haaagen-Dazs.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post and are inspired to host a tropical themed dinner party for your next summer gathering! I would LOVE to know what you think, please comment in the comments section below!
Cheers!
*Photography + Styling Concept & Direction by Rose Angel Lopez for Design by Occasion / Floral Arrangement by JoAnn DiGiacinto
Garlic & Chile Lime Sauteed Shrimp Recipe
Ingredients:
- Shrimp (I purchased Trader Joe’s frozen Raw Shrimp bag 21-30 piece of peeled & deveined, tail on)
- Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend
- fresh minced garlic, 8-10 cloves (add as much or as little to your taste preference)
- freshly squeezed lime
Instructions:
- Follow the instructions on the bag to unthaw the shrimp.
- Season the shrimp with the Chile Lime seasoning blend.
- In a shallow frying pan on medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil and add garlic. Once you the garlic is fragrant, add the shrimp.
- Cook the shrimp, stirring frequently, until the flesh is totally pink and opaque, and you see no more grey bits – about 5 minutes.
- Squeeze some fresh lime juice and transfer to a serving dish. Serve sautéed shrimp with lime slices on the side.
Spicy Mango Salsa Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 fresh Mangos, chopped
- 1 small Red Onion, diced
- 1 small Jalapeno, minced
- 1 small lime, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Chop all the above ingredients, mix, and serve.
Cilantro-Lime Steamed White Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 large Lime, freshly squeezed lime juice
- fresh Cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped
Instructions:
- You can click on this link to find the recipe to make basic steamed white rice
- Once the rice is cooked, add the juice of the lime and the cilantro and mix into the rice.
- Serve hot.
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