Remember the days of lighthearted gatherings, carefree conversations, and celebrations for celebration’s sake? Let’s suspend present time and circumstance and immerse ourselves in the breathtaking garden party Debra Zinn of The Curated Table cultivated for her dear friend Cheryl Allen’s fiftieth birthday party last summer.
“Anytime I can do a party outdoors, I do it,” Zinn says. “People are more relaxed, less formal, and more themselves when they are outside.”
Allen’s party was co-hosted by longtime friend Christina Heilig. Zinn took her cues from the beautiful setting—a restored hardware-store-turned-flower-studio attached to a historic Hillsborough home owned by Morgan Moylan of West Queen Studios.
Allen always dreamt of taking a flower-arranging class, so Moylan’s studio was the perfect backdrop to begin the festivities. Afterward, guests made their way through the kitchen, where they were greeted with champagne and Chef Paris Mishoe’s signature BLT and Brie bites.
The dining table was rooted under a covered patio overlooking the property’s lush gardens from where Moylan gathered fresh flowers to create the centerpieces. In the spirit of Allen’s elegant but understated style, Zinn chose a blue-and-white color scheme. The table bloomed with custom-made blue-and-white linens, Royal Copenhagen Blomst Dinnerware, hand-blown turquoise water glasses, and bamboo flatware. Party favors wrapped in marbled papers and hand-dyed velvet ribbons decorated each setting. To complement the flower pattern on the dinnerware, artist Sybil Rockwell Robb composed a watercolor menu detailing Chef Mishoe’s bountiful garden offerings.
“l love the details. The personal touches like the watercolor menu that can be saved and framed—it makes the experience unforgettable,” Zinn says.
Guests dined on Chef Mishoe’s grilled Sonoran chicken accompanied by a salad of local greens, butternut squash, North Carolina goat cheese, and candied pecans. Rounding out the meal was a Sungold, peach, and corn salad with farmer’s cheese, basil, and blueberries tossed in a sourwood-honey vinaigrette and served with a side of buttermilk rolls.
The celebration ended with a flourish. The vanilla-and-chocolate birthday cake created by Miel Bon Bons in Durham blossomed with blue-and-white flowers inspired by the dinnerware.
Traditionally, Zinn curates and rents bespoke table settings for occasions big and small. But, like many of us, the pandemic has her changing plans. She’s now creating table settings for purchase.
“All the little things we took for granted are now more appreciated. This has taught us to slow down and enjoy our homes, our families, and the simple pleasures of every day,” Zinn says.
Let’s all raise a toast for those special moments and stop and smell the flowers, wherever and whenever they may bloom.