As refreshing as a dash through a sprinkler on an August afternoon, this feast showcases the talents of family and friends. First on the scene: a neighbor pulling a wagon of vintage milk bottles filled with flavored sun tea, lemonade, and garnishes honey straws, raspberries and sprigs of mint. Mason jars and milkman's rack, Props for Today, propsfortoday.com.
Wildflowers herald the entranceway.
A rattan cart full of parasols, stationed in the middle of the action, is a sight for your eyes on a sunny afternoon.
A personal touch for the sign-in table: A copy of the invitation, featuring the property that's home to the bride and groom is tucked into a pile of small stones gathered from a nearby river.
A farm table buffet invites guests to help themselves to fresh salads, warm biscuits, and more. Balance, portability and safety are key to a potluck menu: Be sure to include a mix of crowd pleasers, plan on minimal last-minute heating, and make sure there's nothing that will spoil if left unrefrigerated.
Upon arrival at the wedding, each dish was transferred to a white bisqueware platter before being displayed on woven place mats.Serving platters, TriServe Party Rentals, 212-752-7661. Serving spoons, the Prop Company Kaplan and Associates, 212-691-7767. Straw mats, Pearl River Mart, pearlriver.com.
One of the couple's summer projects was gathering smooth beach stones; mounds of them anchor tablecloths and dress up surfaces like the one holding Grandma's buttermilk-and-cheese biscuits, along with pyramids of flavored butters. Herb and rose-petal butters, Sang Lee Farms, 631-734-7001.
A couple of country tables are supplemented with rental tables camouflaged with pale-green and striped linens, while garden and kitchen chairs mix it up. Green kitchen chairs, IKEA, ikea.com. Herb centerpieces, Trimble's of Corchaug Nursery, 631-734-6494. Tablecloths, Just Linens, 212-688-8808.
There's a certain do-it-yourself sensibility that's inherent to any at-home wedding, but craftiness and elegance are by no means mutually exclusive. The perfect example: these napkin-and-silverware bundles. You'll need vellum strips (cut them from vellum sheets, found at paper supply stores) and brass beads. Punch the latter through the former, et voilà: chic wrappers for your napkins and flatware.
Bored by escort-card tables? Post seating assignements on a tree or weathered board, affixed with cheerful pushpins. Pins, Sleeve Garden, sleevegarden.com
An aunt and uncle each contribute pitchers of their signature soup—cucumber-mint and carrot ginger, which have been poured into salted glass tumblers, and served on ice. Glasses, IKEA, ikea.com.
Accent the main course with a savory potato salad.
Each pie is dressed to the nines, placed on a glass cake stand (make forays to flea markets or borrow from friends), and identified with a copper garden marker, while sugar flowers trim the occasional crust. Pies, Briermere Farms, 631-722-3931. Sugar flowers, New York Cake & Baking Distributors, 800-942-2539. Cake plates, TriServe Party Rentals, 212-752-7661. Copper flags, Smith & Hawken, smithandhawken.com.
The bags of sugar cookies, prepared by a little sister, ensure that each guest will return home with sweet memories of a warm and wonderful day. Wire basket, Props for Today, propsfortoday.com. Cellophane bags, New York Cake & Baking Distributors, 800-942-2539.
Your guests will feel like kids again at a make-your own s'mores station. All that's needed: marshmallows, graham cracks, chocolate, sticks, a flame – and, of course, the ability to kick back and have a good time.
