A delightful distraction

Image Sandra Kaminski

This week will be full of scientific papers, trial data presentations, running between concurrent sessions, workshops, client dinners, etc. etc. It is the annual national Conference of one of our largest client groups & is being held here in Adelaide. I've decided to check-in to the Conference hotel & stay in the city for the week, to avoid the continual travel back & forth from Stirling after late nights & early mornings. However, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to skip all that & enjoy this lovely table with good friends & a wonderful long lunch!

The semantics of grey

Image India Jane

Is there another name for this lovely colour? My dictionary rather tersely describes it as: between light and dark, clouded, depressing, dismal. All somewhat undignified, and much more deserving of a kinder name. Looking at this photo I would use words such as: warm, ethereal, tactile, elegant to describe this hauntingly beautiful colour. What do you think?

The Name Game

Image Modern Bride

Image BV Weddings


Image Fairman Studio


Image Modern Bride


Image Modern Bride

Image Dasha Wright

Image Atlanta Homes Magazine

Image Chic Bebe

Image Plum Party

Image CNY Weddings

Image Sugar Charms

In a previous post on Table Settings, I mentioned the 3 client Dinners I am organizing & they are starting to loom very large on my horizon! The invitations are done, table settings almost complete & now I need inspiration for place card holders. As often happens, the who-sits-where dilemma has happened & rather than let chaos reign, I figure it would be wiser to have allocated seating. There are a few 'feisty' personalities amongst the different groups, so discretion with seating is the better part of valour at this time! If our guests want to wander between tables as the night progresses, then thats perfectly fine, but lets start on the right foot - if only to preserve my sanity!

I love the idea from BV Weddings of buying little chalk board pots, filling the pot with herbs or a small plant & writing the guests name & table # on the front. Wouldn't they look spectacular all lined up on an entrance table as guests enter the room!

Fairman Studio's suggestion of filling cute little cardboard boxes with gold chocolate coins & then tying a tag with the guests name & table # to the box with a smart black ribbon is also inspirational. I could use our Corporate logo ribbon for added oomph.

The little pots of herbs with guests names written on planter sticks are gorgeous. Guests then match up the herb in their pot to the seed packet holder on each table to discover where they are seated - just so cute. This gal would definitely be on the Basil table!

But the overall winner for me is the small pear with an elegant name card fixed to it with a simple pin - the less is more principle comes up trumps again!

Setting the Scene

Image Wiggy Flowers

Image Wiggy Flowers

Image Events In Motion

Image Robert Fountain

Image Artfool

Image Wiggy Flowers

Image Brides.com

Image Artfool

In the next 2 months I have 3 large client Dinners to organize. While the venues I've chosen are wonderful, I've really needed some inspiration for the table settings. Most of the guests will be males, so some of the colours used in these photos definitely won't be suitable, however they've given me some excellent ideas for place settings & table centres.

I've been a long-time fan of the very talented Catherine Conlin @ Wiggy Flowers, her site is amazing & well worth a visit!