Boho Beach Chic | 4th of July Party

My inspiration was to design a sunset shoot as if I were hosting a casual, impromptu gathering with friends, at my Miller Beach home. Hosting a party should always represent exactly who you are. Anyone who knows me would expect nothing less.

Be sure to check out the published feature on Style Me Pretty!

I wanted to create a simple sunset dinner setting that anyone could achieve. For the table, I utilized a wood pallet that I picked up from a local warehouse. Since we were eating on the beach, I used a few cushions from some old club chairs I had stored away, which happened to be in the color scheme I was going for. I paired the cushions with comfy pillows and warm throw blankets, which I knew would be handy once the sun began to set.

A quick toast to start the shoot off right-- which was much needed to warm up our models. You can't tell from the photo, it was freezing!

For this party, I let the food speak for itself. Once the menu was designed, it was easy to tie in neutral tones and natural accents for dinnerware and glassware. For guest napkins, I chose kitchen towels with a cute fringe edge and used an oversized copper paperclip as a napkin ring.

I mixed and matched burnt orange glass charger plates with different textures, patterns and sizes of salad, appetizer and bread plates to create a casual and comfortable tablescape. Some guests drank wine or cocktails; others preferred beer. I let the guests bring their drink of choice to the dinner table and kept the place settings simple.

Chef Nicole Bissonnette, owner of Bartlett's Fish Camp in Michigan City, prepared an amazing menu of brightly colored summer salads and spreads, oysters on the half shell, steamed mussels in a rich garlic and white wine broth, along with grill marked farm fresh vegetables, crusty artisan breads and wood-fired pizzas.

Shout-out to Jethro T. Boots (inexpensive small batch bourbon, which I purchased for $8.99 at CVS- great for the price), and Negro Modelo for helping keep our team warm!