Throwing a backyard dinner bash

I officially feel like a mature adult after co-hosting a joint 30^th birthday celebration for my best friend, Rachel, and me. Fine, maybe not “mature” but definitely feeling grown-up.

Whether you’re throwing a bridal shower, planning a birthday dinner, or just a fun night with friends, a backyard event is a unique and fun way to celebrate. Here is how we went about organizing our big bash:

Rachel and I have been friends since we were 6-years-old

Rachel and I knew we wanted to celebrate our 30th birthday by throwing a backyard dinner. We were inspired by a local restaurant, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in Milton, Georgia. Milton’s throws these amazing outdoor dinners on its property and it’s a beautiful set-up outside the restaurant in its garden, where guests get to enjoy a delicious meal at a long estate table. We’ve never been to the garden party at Milton’s but we’ve always wanted to go. So, we decided to create our own little backyard garden party… minus the garden. [Thanks for the idea, Milton’s!]

My best advice to anyone planning an event: borrow, borrow, borrow! While planning our party, we tried to keep things cost-efficient by borrowing as many items as possible. That included gold chargers, plates, tables, and tablecloths.

For our gold and white theme, we turned to some good old DIY projects, such as spray-painting wine bottles for vases. Other table décor included greenery from Walmart, candles, spray-painted leaves, and fake mini pumpkins from Target.

For anyone interested in throwing their own dinner bash, the three main expenses of our event were renting chairs, having dinner catered by a local Italian restaurant, and, of course, the booze. You could cut down the cost by providing your own food; however, we opted for the catering route because it was more convenient. And because it was our 30^th birthday bash, so splurging slightly was a little more acceptable.

It’s difficult to think of a good alternative to keeping the alcohol cost down unless you make it a “BYOB” event… OR go in with several friends to split the cost of everything. Another option is sticking to just beer and wine.

Rachel and her husband, Matt, went all-out and did an amazing job of turning our “vision” into a reality, such as hanging gorgeous string lights across their entire backyard.

We were joined by 30 of our favorite friends and enjoyed our dinner under the stars.

And, the best part, fall finally decided to arrive in Atlanta with temps dropping down into the 50s! So I guess we did end up telling our guests to BYOB… bring your own blanket.

Following dinner, everyone migrated toward the fire pit and enjoyed our little s’mores station. We may be 30, but you’re never too old to enjoy a childhood classic, such as s’mores.