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To decorate or not to decorate? That is the question. We've got people who keep their reception table decor minimal, we've got people who go all out, and we've got people who would like things to look nice but please-god-don't-make-me-DIY-for-hours.
No matter where you fall on the table decor spectrum, you really should check out Carmen and Grant‘s idea. I'll let Carmen explain:
We had always envisioned having potjie pots (metal pots used to make potjie, which is a South African stew) as centrepieces… Our starter was a biltong and mushroom soup, and the main course was a lamb potjie served in the pots at the centre of the tables. -Carmen
What if you're not serving a traditional stew for dinner? No worries. I can see something like this working with anything from nachos to edible arrangements to towers of sandwiches. The trick, really, is to have some kind of eye-catching serving display at each table that you either already have food set out on or servers will bring food to during the dinner hour.
Or, you know, just set out some tea.
I love this idea!
Last year I spent a month WWOOFing at an Italian winery, and every day we would have a big lunch with all the WWOOF volunteers, the family who ran the winery, and any B&B guests or friends who came to eat with us (so often 20+ people). The table was always laid with water pitchers, olive oil cruets, pepper shakers, salt cellars, wine bottles, and a million other actually useful things to have at a table while you eat a meal. I thought it was one of the most beautiful table settings ever, at least as nice as some of the elaborate floral or crafted arrangements I’ve seen on wedding blogs.
In theory I like the idea…in practice, I just wonder how it looks when people start eating…
I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, as a foodie I love it. On the other hand, there’s an infamous wedding post that used to float the internet about “I put cakes in the center of each guest table. I’m upset a guest ate a piece before we gave permission after dinner”