Amelie Theme Party - Table Decor and Flowers

To decorate for the Amelie theme party, keep things simple by mixing and matching containers in a muted palette. To echo the movies strong use of green and red, we used bright red flowers and pops of green and aqua on the table. To accent the bright hues and bring them back down to earth (as well as compliment the natural setting of the venue, Sand Rock Farm in Aptos, California) we used more muted tones of green and aqua and added in a khaki color and a deep brown with the linens. The table linen had a rich, luxurious sheen and deep color that, paired with the crochet overlay and coarse cotton napkins created a casual layering of elements that was key in the movie.

To replicate the look of the table we created, use natural wooden farmhouse chairs that are likely already in your kitchen or at your dining room table, but bring them outdoors to enjoy the meal al fresco. Fold napkins into a long strip and wrap them horizontally around the plate, tucking the ends underneath for a clean look. Add the place card and menu atop the napkin, and accent with a flower or greenery for an extra finished look.

For flowers, visit a local flower market and spend $20 to purchase a few bunches of red tulips and ranunculas. If these varieties arent in season at your local market, any other flowers with a bright red hue will do. If possible, steer away from hothouse roses, which can look overly formal (garden roses, however, look beautiful and would be a great choice).

We accented the taller vases with smaller bud vases of fuzzy lambs ear and dusty miller, which can be found in most gardens. Alternately, look in your own garden or yard for a pretty shrub with attractive leaves that you can use to easily and affordably accent the floral arrangements youve chosen.

Tips for Floral Arrangements:

Arrange the vases by having one center anchor element (such as the center tulip vase), two symmetrical taller elements on each side of the anchor (the two tall dusty miller and two skinny, tall tulip vases). Then, mix in the smaller elements by creating odd-numbered groupings (for instance, flank one of the medium-sized tulip vases with one small dusty miller vase and one small vase of ranunculas for an odd-numbered group of 3 vases).

Also, keep in mind that the narrower the mouth of the vases you use, the less flowers you need and the easier it is to arrange the flowers. Although this is how we achieved our look for the Amelie-inspired tablescape, you can also simplify things even further by placing two to three large bunches or tulips or ranunculas in larger vases, and spacing them out evenly down the dinner table.