A Getaway Birthday -- The Setting
THE HILLS OF WIMBERLEY
Earlier this month, I gathered a few friends to celebrate my birthday in the hill country of Wimberley. It was a special weekend which I built around an intimate birthday dinner. In the initial planning phase of my birthday getaway, I knew I wanted to create a magical dinner set within the forest. As I looked for campsites, I decided on Wimberley because of the convenient access for guests that still felt remote enough to create that private escape for everyone. With a few cabins near each other, I was able to capture a bit of sprawling land to set up camp. This gave me the freedom to work with the landscape and create a stunning birthday dinner backdrop. Given that Wimberley is in the heart of the hill country, I knew it would lend itself to a more grassland vibe and I wanted to build from that aesthetic to create a cohesive dinner experience.
A SHARED TABLE
For this getaway weekend, I brought in two 6’ reclaimed folding tables that provided a generous surface for our group to use throughout the weekend for meals and gatherings. For seating, I chose reclaimed folding chairs that kept on theme with the camping aesthetic and made it easy for load in and load out.
For the birthday dinner, I wanted to create a long 12’ table with seating on either side. To establish a seamless table and for an extra finesse, I had a custom linen tablecloth made to fit the tables with a perfect full length drape that just barely touched the ground. With five guests on either side of this long dining table, it provided ample elbow room and the perfect sight line for guests to chat.
SPEAKEASY
IN THE WILD
A good Sartorial Host knows that any special dinner must be paired with a generous serving of cocktails and libations. For this birthday dinner, I wanted hillside cocktails to play an important role for my guest experience. I brought out this stunning 8’ grey-washed Prohibition-era bar to serve up the finest cocktails. A pair of soft-glowing crystal globe lamps to set the stage and provide evening illumination for both bartender and guests. I loved the idea of this bar setup floating in the middle of a field with hill country for a backdrop.
ELEVATE AND ILLUMINATE
As I considered guest interaction throughout the dinner, I knew that I wanted to create a table design that kept in line with the hill country backdrop, provided clear sight lines for conversation, and was in balance scale-wise for the environment. With such sprawling hill country surrounding the dinner table, I knew I wanted to create something impactful and grandiose yet natural and airy. The final design included large glass vessels with reaching lichen branches to create a canopy overhead and 36” long candle tapers for a stunning and elegant illumination that seemingly floating above the guests.