It’s a beautiful evening and what could be better than a lovely outdoor candlelight dinner?
I set this table on one of our first warm spring afternoons, when all I wanted was to stay outside as long as possible! A romantic outdoor candlelight dinner for two wasn’t a bad way to do it!
Lilacs
Our lilacs were blooming and the first thing that sprang to my mind was what a lovely tablescape they would make! (If you know me, you know this is not an unusual mental leap!) But in my defense, not only are lilacs truly elegant flowers, but their scent is fabulous.
They’re so gorgeous by themselves, that all I needed to do was lay a garland of them down the center of the table. A garland is one of the easiest flower arrangements to make. And although that’s the only decoration, it’s beautiful and sumptuous – so elegantly simple.
In fact, it was really sumptuous! Our little outdoor cafe table is so small, that the lilacs actually took up a lot of the available space! I had to kind of snug the place settings in next to the flowers.
White & Gold
Since I knew the candlelight would glow gold once it got dark, I went with gold flatware and china to match.
The salad plate is from one of my favorite sets. Because it’s handpainted vintage china, it’s not sourceable. But here’s something similar.
Coalport Admiral White & Gold Salad Plate
However, the dinner plate is get-able!
Crystal
Cut crystal champagne flutes added just the right touch, and sparkled beautifully in the candlelight.
White Linens
Of course, white linens are always elegant. Especially for an outdoor dinner, the contrast with nature is striking. (And just in case they get some of that nature on them, they’re easy to bleach clean too!)
I love this tablecloth and use it a lot. You can see it in a whole different style in THIS POST.
Candlelight
Since the dinner would be so intimate, (read: tiny table!) I kept the candles low in the center. But a couple tall ones at the end added height and extra illumination.
And then the sun started going down, and the candles started to really glow!
We turned on the string lights in the trees, and the stage was set for an intimate outdoor candlelight dinner for two.
Right there in our own backyard!
I hope you get a chance to have an outdoor candlelight dinner too – it’s so much fun!
Share a Comment below and let us know how it goes!
———- Shop the Outdoor Candlelight Dinner Post ———-
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Pin the Outdoor Candlelight Dinner for Later
This Post Shared With
- Tablescape Thursday #597 – Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
- Thursday Favorite Things – Hosted by Follow the Yellow Brick Home
- Tuesday Turn About #46 – Hosted by Blue Sky at Home
- Charming Homes & Gardens #4 – Hosted by Stacy Ling
- Thursday Favorite Things 03.04.21 – Hosted by Shoestring Elegance
- Tablescape Thursday #649 – Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
- Friday with Friends #12 – Hosted by My Hubbard Home
- Tuesday Turn About #90 – Hosted by My Wee Abode
- Fabulous Friday 03.25.22 – Living Large in a Small House
- Friday with Friends 03.25.22 – Hosted by My Hubbard Home
- Tuesday Turn About #145 – Hosted by My Wee Abode
- Tablescape Thursday 05.25.23 – Hosted by Between Naps on the Porch
What a gorgeous table! This is the perfect setting for a Spring dinner! I am so excited to feature your post at Tuesday Turn About this week. Thank you so much for sharing! Happy Spring!
Thanks so much Lynne – that’s so exciting! I do love Tuesday Turn About! 🙂 Happy Spring to you too – see you there!
What a beautiful table. We have so, so many of our meals outdoors as soon as warm weather arrives—either on the front porch or the back. I’m inspired to set us an extra special table like this once in a while. Our camellias have just finished blooming, but now our late variety, coral azaleas are blooming—perfect for a romantic evening meal. I believe it’s too warm for lilacs here in eastern NC—I never see them. But the sweet confederate jasmine will bloom soon, which is just a wonderful scent.
Oh jasmine — right up there in the fragrance department! I so agree outdoor dinners are wonderful. Your plantings sound wonderful – what color of camellias do you have? We have red, white, and a pretty pink one in our yard. In fact I was going to go out and clip some today. I feel another flower post coming on … ! Happy Saturday my friend!
Enchanting, Barbara. It has the feel of a fairytale with the flowers overflowing, china place setting the tea lights!
Thanks for sharing at the FWF link party 🙂
Hugs,
Rachelle
So glad you like it Rachelle, and of course I always love Friday with Friends! Hope you’re having a great week – see you tomorrow! 🙂
This is stunningly beautiful.
Nothing like lilacs, right? Thank you so much for being one of my most frequent readers, a fabulous 2x teacup host, AND a wonderful SIL! 💗
Barbara, oh those lilacs! I wish we had them here in Phoenix. I truly miss the scent of them as it transports me back to my childhood! Such a romantic table. Makes me want to put one together in the orchard! As always, you are such an inspiration.
Hi! I’m getting so excited for lilac season – I’ll send you more pictures so you can share. Too bad we don’t have “scent capability” on our phones! 😉
Barbara, this is just stunning. And your photos as you captured the evening are perfect. I know for a fact that getting the shots as the sun goes down is very difficult to do. Great job!
Thank you for sharing it at the Friday with Friends link party!
Thanks so much Rachelle! I sometimes think my camera has a mind of its own – sometimes the photos turn out ok, and sometimes not – I love it when I get lucky! Time to learn more about my camera! 🙂 Love the Friday with Friends party. See you over there soon!
So lovely! Looking forward to the time we can eat outside. This is encouragoingto remindx us we can eat in style at home, not just out!
Thanks so much Linda! We’ve been eating outside for a while since our winters are so relatively mild, but I can’t wait till it’s actually warm! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping over!
Barbara, this is absolutely lovely! The lilac garland is gorgeous and it must have smelled heavenly – love lilacs. Such a pretty setting! We had a cedar out in our front yard that died and we had to pull it out. I think I should replace it with a lilac – which will actually grow here in Calgary (at least some varieties). Happy Thursday!
Hi Kim! Yes – a lilac in your yard would be the best! We had them in the yard of my childhood house, and I just can’t imagine home without them! (They do smell fabulous!) 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by – hope you’re having a lovely week!
What a beautiful table. Your lilacs look so perfect. I don’t know which looks better in the day or by candle light. Is that your yard? It looks very dreamy.
Ha – that was part of my yard two years ago! It doesn’t look quite like that anymore, but renovation is in progress! 🙂 I can’t wait for the lilacs to bloom! Hope you have a lovely week my friend!
Beautiful! The lilacs are so pretty on your table. This spring weather is amazing.
Blessings to you.
Thanks so much Renae! Wasn’t it beautiful yesterday? Totally makes me impatient for more warmth! 🙂 Happy Thursday over there!
Oh Barbara! What a beautiful post! Your outdoor table is simply gorgeous! I love lilacs, we had a huge lilac tree in our yard when I was a child and would love to plant one in our home at some point. Such inspiration thank you!
Denise – thank you! I had a lilac tree in my childhood yard too, which is what inspired us to get this one of the same color. I bet one would look lovely near that beautiful new patio of yours! 🙂 Thanks again – so happy you visited!
This is so Elian’s inviting with the gorgeous purple lilacs! I love the night shots!
Hi Jill! Seems like I’m always taking pictures in the dark because we don’t have much light in our house. But outside in the real darkness was really fun! Thanks so much for being here and for commenting!
That table setting is so, so lovely! I want to be right there sipping champagne and nibbling something wonderful in the candlelight . So inspiring Barbara! Thank you!
Oh thank you so much Terri! No reason outside shouldn’t be as glamorous as in, right? 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!