DIY Valentines Dinner

Last week, I was asked to help stage/decorate a table for a Valentines dinner for 12.  The host wanted a party that was elegant but kind of whimsical at the same time...just not taking the holiday TOO seriously.  So we went to work on some ideas and I wanted to share a few of them with you as well as the final result.  We were really just focusing on the table area as the rest of the house sort of speaks for itself.
For place cards, we bought blank folded cards and scrapbooking letters in a pink sparkle finish.  These were only a couple of dollars a set at Michaels, and worked perfectly.

Here is one of the placecards...so easy!  For the flowers, we used simple inexpensive glass vases and lined 3 of them up along the table.  The roses came in bunches of a dozen, and I used two dozen for each arrangement.  I simply cut the stems to size and added filler where needed.  Much less expensive than ordering them from a florist (and belive me, I am NOT a florist!).  Here is a better shot of one of my arrangements:

For napkin rings, we wanted to bring in the whimsical idea, so at Michaes we found sparkly heart "ornaments" (I guess for someone decorating their Valentines tree??  I have no idea).  I just cut the string off and had instant napkin rings for 50c a piece!

I placed inexpensive red and clear votive holders around the table to add some color and mood lighting.  I scattered some fun XOXO confetti around the table as well to make sure we weren't getting too serious.
The host had red dining chairs to start with, so that was great for the occasion, but her dining table did not fit 12 (who's does?).  So, four folding tables and four plain white table cloths did the trick!  Who would know?!  We had to use four folding chairs to accomodate for the crowd, and I tied red sashes on those chairs so they wouldn't be such sore thumbs...I think it turned out pretty well.

The final touches were the host's own beautiful china and silver pieces as well as two amazing silver candelabras to sit in between the arrangements of roses.  The final result was stunning!

This just goes to show that a little creativity and some DIY skills go a long way!
I also even found a use for the left-over greenery from the rose bouqets.  We turned it into a simple but elegant arrangement on a side table.

The party was a huge success and everyone loved how great the house looked!  Hopefully this will inspire you to throw some fun DIY parties of your own!