Summer Garden Party On A Budget
My summer garden party decor. Click on my photos to pin on Pinterest!
Nothing is better than a summer garden party with friends and family. You get to enjoy the outdoors with fresh flowers, delicious treats, and great company. Even if you don’t have a garden, all it takes are a few bouquets from your local farmers market to pack a punch.
Below you’ll find everything I did to host my summer garden party for my bachelorette weekend. The best part is, I thrifted many of these items and so can you!
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Pink drinks with edible flower garnishes
Items to Thrift
Think of items that match cottage, eclectic, vintage aesthetics when you’re thrifting and you’ll have beautiful decor that doesn’t look cheap. Check out your local thrift spots, as well as, the big thrift stores like Savers, Salvation Army, and Goodwill. I find that some of my best finds come from tiny thrift stores in the middle of nowhere.
Thrifted champagne coupe with edible flower garnish
1. Champagne Coupes
Glassware is one of the easiest things to thrift. I found so many cute drinkware sets while thrifting, it was hard to decide. I ended up going with a set of matching champagne coupes with floral etchings. Not only are these great for a garden party, but just a perfect addition for hosting! Don’t worry if you can’t find a matching set for the amount of guests you’re hosting. Mix and match drinkware is super cute as well.
Tip: Add in edible flowers to your drinks. It’s so cute and really elevates the theme.
Mix & Match China
2. Mix & Match China
Speaking of mixing and matching, a fun way to add some color and patterns to your tablescape is to thrift mix and match dinner plates and salad plates. China dinnerware really elevates your dinning experience over disposable plates.
3. Baskets
You can find baskets at almost every thrift store. Pick up a few larger baskets to fit some farmer’s market bouquets. They can be picnic baskets, wicker baskets, really any type. These make great center pieces!
4. Vases
Make sure to add vases inside of your baskets to keep your flowers hydrated. You can also thrift mix and match bud vases if you’re looking for smaller center pieces.
Raspberry lemon cake on cake plate
5. Cake Plates
Cake plates really elevate your desserts. You don’t have to have a cake to use a cake plate. Stack some bars, cookies, macaroons, a pie, jello, anything you want on there. If you have a few desserts, try looking for a few cake plates in various sizes for some visual interest. They don’t have to match!
6. Doilies
There are so many doilies at thrift stores, especially in the small town thrift shops. Give them some life and lay them out across your table for some visual interest and texture. It’ll give your garden party an adorable cottage grandma vibe.
You can also transform your thrifted doilies into garland for a fun addition to your garden party. I hung my garland in between my hanging flower baskets and it helped tie the whole party together.
Garden Party Tablescape
7. Wooden Chairs
Finally, you’ll need chairs for your guests to sit on. I didn’t want to use plastic folding chairs, because that wasn’t the look I was going for. Instead, I brought my wood dinning room chairs outside and was given some other old wooden chairs to help make sure everyone had a place to sit. You can find old wooden chairs at the thrift store, but also, check around with your family and friends. Someone might be looking to recycle or upgrade their dining room chairs.
Pouring champagne into guests’ glasses
Items to Buy
If you had all the time in the world and were super lucky at the thrift, you could thrift basically everything on this list. However, here are the items I found were easiest to buy.
1. Banquet Table
Having a large table that you can easily store away is a great investment for hosting outdoors. Grab one or two of these foldable 8ft tables that are easy to store and quick to set up. All you have to do is add a table cloth to dress it up.
2. Table Cloth
I found a few fun table cloths while thrifting, but if you’re looking for a large table cloth that doesn’t break the bank, here’s a good option. I added my thrifted doilys on top and I loved how it turned out!
Drink dispenser with raspberry lemonade
3. Drink Dispenser
Having a drink station with a drink dispenser is great for get togethers. Plus, it’s fun to make your delicious concoction, add some fruit, and put it out on display. If you’re looking for a budget drink dispenser, check out this glass drink dispenser option. If you’d rather be a little bougier, check out this stacking glass drink dispenser option.
Star and moon butter molds on chicken salad sandwiches + quiches and pasta salad
4. Silicone Butter Molds
This was one of my favorite details for my garden party. Butter molds! They were a huge hit and everyone loved them. All you have to do is spread butter into the molds, let harden in the fridge, then pop them out when they’re ready to serve. You can buy your celestial butter molds here. There are so many to choose from, I also love these floral butter molds.
Tip: To make your butter extra delicious, make it from scratch. All you need is some heavy cream, salt, and a mixer. It’s totally worth it.
Flower cocktail napkins
5. Flower Napkins
There are so many fun, disposable napkins that add a pop of color and you don’t have to wash afterwards. Here are a few that I recommend - These cute flower shaped napkins, watercolor flower napkins, or these pretty pink decoupage napkins.
Farmer’s market flowers in thrifted baskets. Here’s my skirt link!
6. Farmer’s Market Flowers
Unless you have an abundance of flowers from your thriving garden, I recommend grabbing some farmer’s market flower bouquets to add to your baskets and tablescape. It’s a great way to support your community!
Tip: Move your baskets of flowers when everyone is done eating to create a little photo area. Multi-purpose!
Overview
I hope I helped inspire you to host an amazing garden party with your friends and family! Hosting doesn’t have to break the bank, especially when you get a little creative and score at the thrift store. Let me know if you’d like to see any other hosting ideas from me!
Cameras used to document my lifestyle: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Olympus Om-1 35mm film camera
