A Beautiful Silver Anniversary Table Setting Sparkles at the State Fair

August is State Fair time – my favorite part of the summer – and my tablescape contest entry this year was a Silver Anniversary Table Setting!

If you’ve been around M&T for a while, you know that I enter the Oregon State Fair Table Decorating competition almost every year. Sometimes I win something, sometimes I don’t, but it’s always fun! I love the planning stage best. Right up until the gathering stage, which then becomes my favorite until the setting up stage … you get the idea. I love it all!

Before we get started, if you want some background on the fair and previous entries, you can check out these posts. Otherwise, here we go with my 2024 state fair tablescape!

The 2024 Category and Theme

The fair has several categories and themes, and the one I entered this year was “Formal Anniversary Dinner.” The first thing that leapt to my mind for the category was a silver anniversary, so off I went! I had an idea almost fully formed from the start, and ended up tweaking more than changing my first concept.

(I asked my faithful and creative readers for ideas, and most of them came back with Silver Anniversary too, so I knew I was on the right track!)

The silver sparkle table skirt and mirror top were the basis of the entire table. I’d used them in a previous table, and they were so sparkly and lovely! I knew they’d be perfect for my silver anniversary table setting.

Long story, but the mirror is 36″ x 36″ and the card table I use is only 34″ x 34″. Usually I have a piece of plywood that I put on the table to make it bigger. But I cut that topper into a round last year and hadn’t gotten around to replacing it before I started working on my table. That’s why the tableskirt is too long and the mirror sticks out. Just ignore that part for now!

Then, Disaster!

But – oh no!! I went to get my lovely mirror out of storage, and one whole corner was broken!! (You can barely see the smashed corner at the back middle of the picture above.) I was so upset! Those mirrors aren’t cheap, and I didn’t really have much time left to order a new one! But, the mother of necessity kicked in, and I did find a way.

I taped it all up for safety, of course, then decided to drape an extra length of tablecloth over it. You’ll see the drape in a bit. But for now, onwards!

Choosing the Silver Anniversary Table Setting China

So the next thing for the silver anniversary table setting was the china. I don’t really have any china that’s overtly silver, so I ordered two place settings of the Vera Wang Lace pattern from Wedgwood. As you can see, it’s beautiful!!

The pattern is gorgeous, and look at the shape of the teacup! I love its squareness and deep saucer.

After that, it was relatively smooth sailing. Like I said, I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted, and I have lots of silver and crystal pieces. I experimented with a few different versions before I settled on the final.

Which Tableskirt?!

So far, so good, and the table was coming along just as I’d hoped. But I wanted it to be more opulent and rich. So I went to my favorite fabric place, Mill End Store, and after only a few hours of wandering the glorious aisles, I chose my two favorites and brought them to the table.

I loved this deep silver satin. It’s too bad you can’t reach through the screen and feel it – it’s amazingly smooth and heavy! But it wasn’t quite the look I was going for.

My other choice was a complete opposite, and with the beautiful creamy china, it was exactly what I was after.

I tried a couple different ways of styling it.

But I ended up going with the straight drop with pointy corners.

I originally thought about putting the place settings side by side, but that looked awfully crowded.

Silver Anniversary Table Setting Centerpiece

The centerpiece was going to be the real eye catcher. I had gotten the vase at the Portland flower market for a project earlier this year, and it was the perfect size and look for this table.

The only thing was, it wasn’t silver. I thought I’d seen some silver ones at the market, but I can only go before work since it closes so early, and I just couldn’t get myself up and out there in time. So gold, it was. I wasn’t sure if the judges would notice or not, or whether they’d think it was a nod to the next 25 years!

You can see the drape I used to hide the broken mirror corner. I think it actually ended up adding to the flow. The picture below gives you a better idea of how it all fit together.

Fine Tuning and Making it Interesting

After the table itself was set, I messed around with adding other interesting things. In the past, all the winners have had a story, description, or some kind of extra info. Also in the past, I haven’t wanted to add another frame or stand or what have you to the table, so I’ve put my description on the menu.

I thought it would be fun to have a picture of my anniversary couple at their wedding, and then see if I could age progress them with AI for another picture on the place cards.

After a little searching, I found my couple – Jennifer and Michael. I chose those names because those were the most popular names of 1974, which was the year my couple would have been born if they married at age 25 and are celebrating 25 years this year! (It’s fun stuff like that that I love, and doesn’t really matter to the judges – unless their names were Jenn and Mike!)

Turns out, I couldn’t find an AI that was any good at aging. Our poor husband and wife either came out hideous or terrifying, or both! So I just left their wedding photo on the menu, and didn’t worry about the other one.

Adding More Flowers to the Silver Anniversary Table Setting

After I got the table all set and the menu on, I realized that with the flowers all being so high, the front of the table was kind of empty. So I added a bridal bouquet. I toyed around with having the flowers and/or the ribbon be pink, to introduce another color.

But I decided not to in the end. You know me, I’m all neutral, all the time! (Well, that’s not strictly true, but you know what I mean!) I ended up with a white rose bouquet, with silver wrapping and ribbon.

Also a little silver charm with “25 Years” on it.

I made the charm just out of a piece of tagboard that I painted silver. I got a lobster clasp from Michael’s, and printed out the words onto a transparent page, then cut it out and stuck it on the silver disc. Pretty easy, and fun too.

Silver DIY Place Cards

I used that same paint technique for the place cards.

I started out with some frames that matched the menu frame. (Because remember I was going to do an age progression and put the husband and wife’s pictures on the place cards.) It’s probably a good thing I didn’t end up doing the AI pictures though, because the frames were really too big anyway. You can see them in the picture below.

I like the simplicity of these plain cards better.

Plus I taped them onto some crystal knife rests I have, and they looked like they were made for this table! Which, of course, they were! You can get a good view of the crystal part on Jenn’s card in the picture below.

Some Other Fun Touches for the Silver Anniversary Table Setting

Besides the couple’s names being from 1974 and their picture being from 1999, there are a couple other little touches that I thought were fun. They’re not the kinds of things the judges would probably notice, but I was enjoying the references!

One was that the napkins were tied in a knot – like “tying the knot,” right?!

And a couple others were on the menu. The wine they’re having with dinner is a vintage from the wedding year! (Mmmmm bordeaux, my favorite!)

And the filling on the champagne cake is orange blossom, a traditional bridal flower.

As always, the menu is one I’d really like to eat. And drink!

Packing up to Go to the Fair!

And then it’s time to pack up to go to the fair! All the pieces have to be washed and polished and safely packed for a 90 minute trip down the freeway to the capital.

Because the fabrics were non-wrinkly, I could just fold them gently and put them in the bin with the towel-wrapped dishes, glassware, and silver. I almost forgot the chargers this time! But I managed to get everything into one bin. Besides the table and the centerpiece, that is!

I also packed the mirror very carefully. After the corner breaking in storage, I was extra concerned about getting it down there in one piece!

They’re a little hard to see in the picture below, but look at the fancy plastic corners I found! They were a bit too big, so I put hand towels in there and taped the whole contraption onto the mirror! The little square cork pieces are sticky on the back, and help to keep the mirror surface from coming up against another flat surface – like the table or plywood piece.

In addition to the bin, the table, the mirror, and the plywood, I took a bag with some setup supplies along. You always need to do a final dusting, and something always has to be cut or taped or whatever. Plus they’re handy to lend out to other tablescapers during our setup time.

That stick in the picture below is exactly one inch wide, so it’s perfect for lining up all the plates and flatware from the edge of the table. (Obviously I didn’t take the cribbage board or the snail!)

And here’s the stuff, all ready to go!

The Silver Anniversary Table Setting Makes it to the Fair

It’s always a challenge getting everything from the car to the display space, and this year was even trickier because the parking was in a field across a road from the building! Fortunately, I had my little folding wagon to help me out. It was a bit precarious, but everything made it to our spot in one piece!

I’ve written about the setup process in other posts, so I won’t go into it too much here. Here’s where I started.

And I have to show you this mirror picture, becasue doesn’t it look like a deep square hole? That’s how clean I got that mirror!! (Which is not to say that I didn’t have to clean it again and blow off all the dust about 12 times!)

So I got the table all set up, and when I left, it looked like this.

And this.

The next time I saw it, it looked like THIS!

The Silver Anniversary Table Setting Takes the Prize!

Yaay! The Silver Anniversary Table Setting won first in its class, and Best of Division!

I was so happy and proud! And as I always say, I do the contest to have fun. But I sure don’t mind winning, either!

If you read last year’s post, you’ll know I was a little concerned about what the judging would be like this year. But it was fine, and all the comments were right on target. It was obvious that the judges understood tablescaping and paid attention to not only the scoring details, but the design details as well.

I was doubly honored to get the award from judges who know their stuff! Here are their comments.

See? They DID notice the gold vase, and thought it should be silver. I’m grateful they didn’t mark me down too much for that.

We usually get the full score card when we pick up our tables after Labor Day, so I’ll be able to see all their comments. There’s always so much to learn!

A Special State Fair Visitor

This year was especially fun for me because I got to share it with a longtime reader who has become a treasured friend. She came down from British Columbia just to see the wonder that is the Oregon State Fair, and the table decorating competition!

We perused all the tables, ate ice cream, watched the dog tricks, and had our picture taken with sea lions! I’ve never had a sea lion put their head on my head before! Thank you so much Janice – it was fabulous to meet you in person!

Another Year’s Tablescaping Adventure Comes to a Close

So that’s this year’s tablescape competition adventure! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to compete next year. They have a rule that says grand winners can’t compete the next year. I don’t know if that applies, because I didn’t notice if there was a best of show awarded. If not, then I probably do fit into that category.

The other stipulation is that if you’ve entered three years in a row, you automatically go to the waitlist the next year. This was my third year in a row, so I may have to wait and see.

Anyway, it’s a truly wonderful experience! Thanks so much for sharing it with me!

Let me know what you think in the Comments below. Have you done a tablescape competition? If so, do tell – I love to compare rules and strategies!

Take care, my dear readers, and see you next time!

Barbara’s Boutique Recommendations

Click on the pictures of the pieces I used in this post. If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option.

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