There are few things that bring me more joy than gathering loved ones around a beautiful table for a meal together. Having spent the past 12 years of my life designing events and weddings, this has been the bread and butter of my work and soul fulfillment. After closing my company this past year after our baby was born, in order to slow down my pace of life, I have found myself in a season of life where I am drawn to these things in a much smaller scale. While I’ll always have a special place in my heart for weddings, I am finding so much joy creating pop up dinners and workshops. I love the community that is built through them, the connection that is found in them and the opportunity they offer to work with and share about local people and small businesses who are doing amazing things. One of these really special experiences I have had lately, I wanted to share with you.

My highschool friend, Brianna Widen, of Widnor Farms reached out to me about the idea of hosting a farm to table dinner on her family’s farm and asked for my help designing it. I couldn’t say yes fast enough! The Widen family are trailblazers, paving the way to share the importance of nourishing your body through wholesome food, with our community and the world. They traded in suburban sidewalks and brought back to life a 100 year old farm where they have built the most incredible homestead. They focus on raising livestock in the most wholesome way possible, in turn leading to the finest dry aged beef, forest raised pork, pastured poultry and grass fed lamb. Also, they are the cutest family ever!

Brianna’s vision for this dinner was one of long tables under the trees of their 100 year old orchard. They would welcome the community to their home, to the place that is the foundation of all they do. It is a beautiful concept built by people with such inspiring hearts. They would also share their newly opened farm store with guests, allowing them to share even more of their farm with the community. Making the event even more special to my heart, our other childhood friend and now outstanding chef, Josh VanHine of Simply Sound Catering, would be preparing the meal. Guests would dine under twinkling lights and enjoy the fruits of The Widen family’s labor. A menu crafted thoughtfully of meat from their farm, veggies from their garden and neighboring farms, bread from a local baker and tables topped with local blooms from neighboring florist farmer Floralie Flower Farm would create the perfect evening.

I’ve designed about a gazillion events but this one is definitely at the top of the list of the most special. I wanted to bring in the feeling of a refined evening to the farm in a way that felt true to the land and as thoughtful as the meal itself. I knew I wanted elements that spoke to the beauty of nature and each on their own special, but when put together evoked an entire feeling. One that breathed an air of welcome, you are home.

When I design, I begin with the environment, always desiring to create an aesthetic that compliments it and makes sense. I knew this table needed to highlight the organic, beautiful nature of the land. I wanted things to feel refined but in a natural and relaxed way. I wanted guests to feel special, welcome and enveloped in the thoughtfulness of the evening. Not one bit stuffy. I chose a nature inspired color palette of green, mustard, a light pink/mauve, black, white and brown. Here is a peek at my initial design boards:

The foundation would be long, wood tables from Wander Creative Design + Rentals. (My day job is Director of Event Management at Wander and I love using our collection!) The natural grain that shines through these tables speaks of nature and they are given a modern spin with their hairpin legs - rustic yet current.. I would compliment them with black bentwood chairs, perfectly matching the black hairpin legs of the tables and a nice juxtaposition of shapes with the linear feeling of the tables.

For tabletop, I wanted to keep things clean and textural. I found a beautiful green and cream runner with a gorgeous woven texture and tasseled edging. For place settings, I used the collection from my friends at Balancing Balloons to bring things to life. With clean lined white plates and modern black flatware, each place setting felt fresh and current and the black flatware popped with the black bentwood chairs. To add some visual interest and texture to the table, each wine glass was a mis-matched olive green goblet and each water glass was a mis-matched clear glass with some kind of gold rim or embellishment on it. Cream napkins were folded in a book fold on each plate and topped with a menu. I designed the menus to feel clean and airy, keeping the base white with green typeface. Each guest had a place card attached to the menu in an inverted color scheme, allowing the place card to pop on top of the menu and making it easy for guests to find their seats. Lastly, gold taper candle holders were topped with bees wax candles for a pop of color, light and height and glass votives filled in the spaces.

I believe a tablescape never really comes to life until it is topped with floral. I sourced vessels that were concrete - an ode to the fact that the Widen family traded in sidewalks for farmland. Something about the small concrete pops down a long wooden table felt very metaphorical - like the sturdy ground that now holds them and the distant memories of life on suburban sidewalks. Jodi, with Floralie Flower Farm, worked her magic and created lush, loose centerpieces of local-in season blooms from her garden. I had hoped for centerpieces that felt like they were plucked right from the earth and she nailed it. Clear bud vases filled in the tables, helping them feel as if flowers spilled right down them. Jodi is a true artist and I admire her greatly!

Brianna and I had talked about what the flow of the day would look like and in our conversation we discussed guests arrival and creating a way to familiarize them with the farm. A custom map of the property felt like it would be a really nice way to give a pretty illustration, while conveying any information they might be seeking. I have never designed a map before and I had so much fun doing it! As guests arrived, the Widen kiddos handed out maps to them. It ended up being a pretty sweet moment of the day.

Now, pretty tables are great, but without the community gathered around them and a beautiful meal, they are just that - pretty tables. You guys..THE DINNER!!!!!! Remarkable. Period. Josh Van Hine and his team at Simply Sound Catering blew this event out of the water. They are a trio of culinary excellence - Josh, Bryan and April. With years of experience working in the fine dining industry and catering exclusive, refined events, there isn’t a detail they miss. The fact that everything was sourced right there on The Widen’s farm and from local vendors was a beautiful thing and then having a chef and team who are pure magic, took it to the next level. I ironed napkins in the dining room while Josh and his team prepared the meal and it was done with such fluidity, care and love. It was so much fun to see them work so seamlessly together, grilling this and perfecting that. They use ingredients in a way that they are each special on their own but all together create a culinary masterpiece. They crafted a meal that was as delicious as it was beautiful. Watching a childhood friend excel in his craft is such a full-heart feeling.

The phrase Farm to Table is often thrown around as a trend lately, but this experience was truly Farm to Table. As real as it gets. As local as it gets. As true to the soul as it gets. It was an evening filled with community, nourishment and heart - exactly what Widnor Farms stands for. It was a privilege to be a part of it and an honor to be able to spend the day, working alongside my childhood friends, creating something so special.

A special thank you to Kiana Lindsey for capturing it so beautifully and allowing us all to re-live it through her gorgeous photos.

Best of all, this is a continuing series and so if you didn’t make this first one, we would love to have you join in the future! Head to the Events tab to find the dates of the next one and grab your tickets!

Venue + Food: Widnor Farms

Chef: Simply Sound Catering

Photographer: Kiana Lindsey Photography

Floral: Floralie Flower Farm

Rentals: Wander Creative Design + Rentals, Balancing Balloons

Design / Styling / Stationery: Haven Illume, Haven Paper Co.