Luau Party Planning + The Hunt

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One of my favorite things about planning parties is looking for items that will be exactly perfect for the feeling I’m hoping to create.  I talked about it when I shared my idea for a Luau themed party, but I am die-hard about not making this a hokey, grass skirt type event.  I want the dinner party to be as close to a traditional Hawaiian luau as humanly possible (except for the above awesome fringy drink umbrellas… they’re not really authentic, but they’re too cute to pass up).

My desire to have an authentic style luau is why I chose some of the accessories for my party that I did. I was by no means going to hit up the party store, so I stared the hunt at Pier 1 with my eyes peeled for natural colors and natural, tropical textures to help support the theme.  Now, I know that Hawai’i has tons of gorgeous color, but I’ll be getting all of my color through the best avenue – flowers.  Loads of tropical flowers (including fresh orchid leis!) will be used as centerpieces and, of course, around my guests necks as a traditional Hawaiian welcome.

Finding the absolute perfect items takes a bit of hunting… especially with the very narrow scope I was going for, but it’s the hunt that makes it so fun, right?  I couldn’t quite find a tablecloth with the texture that I was looking for, so I thought outside of the box and decided to use curtain panels which happened to be the perfect size for a six foot banquet table (coincidence? I think not). The rattan woven chargers I found added the perfect dose of texture as well and balanced out the green trellis plates (which are melamine!).

side note: have you ever stayed in Hawaii at a more ‘local’ establishment?  There is a certain kind of hand embroidered bedspread at all of the B&Bs I’ve encountered which looks just like these plates!

I am loving what I have so far.  Like I said above, it’s all so natural, I think once the tropical flowers go in it will be totally Hawaiian.  It was a fun experience to put the entire look together!

How do you like the direction so far?  Is it keeping up with the direction I set out to achieve? I cannot wait to style the entire party!

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Pier 1 via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Pier 1.