How to Host an Amalfi Coast Themed Party – Sharing ALL the Details!
The other week I hosted a Coastal, European-inspired dinner party at our house and it was so much fun! I told everyone it was just a fun dinner to celebrate my birthday, which was a week prior. But, it was actually a bridesmaid proposal dinner!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase from one of my links. Thank you for supporting Sunday Mimosas Blog 🙂
Shop all the Amalfi Coast inspired party decor here:
I had been planning this for a few months and thought it would be a fun way to introduce all my friends and family to each other! My mom, sisters and I planned out an Italian inspired menu, shopped for lemon themed decorations and tableware, made floral bouquets for the table and sent out invites to all the girls.
I’ll be sharing all the details of our Amalfi Coast themed party in this post and how we put everything together! But, if you want to see the gifts that I included in my bridesmaid proposal tote bags, you can check out this post.
The Decorations
Shopping for all the decorations and flowers was one of my favorite parts! I probably went to every HomeGoods, Marshalls and Tj Maxx in the area, but it was so worth it. I don’t know if lemons are really trendy right now or what, but every store had a dedicated section for lemon theme decor. It was so funny! It definitely made finding all the napkins, tablecloths and tableware really easy.
I’ll try and link similar items from Amazon, Target and Walmart if you want to re-create the tablescape that I made. But, I did find almost everything at stores like HomeGoods.
Flowers & Candles
The morning of the dinner party, I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up a few flowers and some greenery to make our own bouquets. I love the way they turned out, they’re so pretty! I think I paid around $35 for all the flowers/stems.
We already owned all the glass vases that we put the flowers in, but here are some that are very similar to ours! This clear vase is under $10 and this one is under $13. I also thought this set of 10 vintage mini vases were cute!
We also set out mini blue candles in between all the floral bouquets to dress up the table a bit more.
Tablecloths
The rectangular lemon tablecloths were a Ross find! I’m usually more of a Marshalls girl, but I thought I’d check out the decor section in Ross and I definitely hit the jackpot with these. I got the only two in the store $6.99 for each.
This gorgeous blue Amani tile tablecloth was from Amazon. I got the round 70″ one! It’s water-repellent, stain resistant and machine washable making it great for outdoor entertaining in the Summer!
You could also use a white outdoor tablecloth and add a yellow fabric table runner!
Table Setting
How cute are these blue and white plates!? Another HomeGoods find so I can’t link these exact ones, but here is a very similar ceramic plate option and a disposable plate option. We obviously bought them so they’d match the Amalfi Coast theme, but I think they’re so cute for any Summer nights on the patio!
Here are some fun lemon napkins and our wine glasses too!
Serverware & Platters
I’ve been growing my collection of trays and platters over the last few years because I love hosting and having aesthetic serverware that I can use. Here are a few hosting favorites!
Table and Chairs
We combined two 6ft plastic folding tables and placed 11 folding chairs around them. We borrowed all the chairs from my family, which was nice! But I didn’t realize how much folding chairs cost! They’re actually a lot, especially if you want cute white resin chairs. We will definitely be adding these to our wedding registry haha!
More Amalfi Coast Themed Party Decorations:
Here are a few more lemon-inspired decorations that would work great if you’re hosting a birthday party, themed bridal shower or engagement party! Some Italian-inspired table settings, faux lemons, cupcake toppers, lemon patterned straws and more.
The Invitations
I LOVE how the invites turned out and they were SO, SO easy to make. I found the template on Canva and then had them printed on heavy cardstock paper at OfficeMax. Canva has tons of beautiful pre-made templates that you can choose from, so you definitely don’t have to start your design from scratch.
I basically just customized the template with all the party details, saved the design as a Jpeg to my computer, and then emailed it to myself so that I could print it! You can either upload your design to the OfficeMax website and order them or you can go into the store to have them print & cut the cards for you.
Dinner & Drinks Menu
I’ll insert a photo below of the exact dinner menu I designed for the party below. I used the same template that I did for the invitations, but changed the sizing to be 4″x8.” Some of the elements and the background needed to be re-sized, but it was really easy to do!
I also had these printed on cardstock at OfficeMax so that I could place one at each girl’s table setting.
Food
In terms of food, we decided on penne pasta with Alfredo, pesto ravioli and Italian meatballs for the entrees. We had fruit salad and rosemary olive oil garlic bread for appetizers. Which, if you haven’t had this garlic bread before, it is THE best. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
We also made brownies and mini cheesecake cups for desserts! Next to the cheesecakes, we set up a few bowls filled with chocolate chips, whipped cream and raspberries so that anyone could add toppings to their desserts!
Drinks
I wanted to find a drink that fit the lemon theme! I know Aperol Spritzes are a popular cocktail in Italy, consisting of Aperol, Prosecco and club soda. So, I was trying to find something similar, but with more of a lemon vibe and I came across the Limoncello Spritz!
It’s so easy to make; all you need is Limoncello, Prosecco, sparkling water and lemons! It was so refreshing and such a perfect cocktail for an Amalfi Coast inspired party! We also served pink lemonade, a strawberry watermelon mocktail and Olipop soda.
Our Outfits
I thought it would be fun to have everyone dress according to the theme, so I asked the girls to wear blue, white or lemons. I feel like everyone has something blue or white in their closet, whether it’s jeans and a white top, a white dress.. something!
The blue and white smocked midi dress that I wore was included in my Summer Capsule Wardrobe post that I shared a few weeks back. It’s one of my favorite Summer dresses. It has a gorgeous cinched sweetheart neckline, ruffle straps and pockets on both sides.
This is definitely a dress that can work for all different events and occasions this season; a baby shower, a Summer wedding, brunch with your friends, etc. Here are a few other fun on-theme dresses!
Party Games & Things to Do
I always love playing games at parties, so my sisters and I came up with a few fun ones for everyone to get to know each other a little better. The first game we played was “Who Knows Me the Best.” We came up with about 25 questions all about my life – where I graduated college from, my favorite restaurant, where my fiancé proposed, etc. and then gave everyone a piece of paper to write down their answers.
It was fun hearing all the responses, we definitely threw in some tough questions! The next game we played was “Get to Know my Bridesmaids.” I’m totally making up these names by the way. But, I came up questions on each bridesmaid (ie. Who works as a teacher? Which bridesmaid have I known the longest? Who graduated from the same high school as the bride?)
I thought this would be a great way for all the girls to get to know each other before any of the bridal events! It was fun getting to talk about each of the responses and learn more about everyone’s jobs, college majors and life updates.
These were just games that we made up, but I’ll link a few of my favorite party games and trivia questions below if you’re looking for more ideas!
Inflatable Movie Screen
We also rented an inflatable movie screen from our library to set up in our backyard. It even came with the projector, which was nice! Of course we played Mamma Mia! because it totally fit the vibe.
Our library has so many cool things that you can rent, so I definitely recommend looking there first, but if you want to buy the inflatable screen it’s under $100!
Shop all of the European-inspired decor and party supplies here:
I hope you enjoyed seeing a closer look at how I planned and hosted an Amalfi Coast themed party! It was seriously so fun and I’m looking forward to many more themed dinner parties with my close friends this Summer!
Other posts you may like:
- DIY Bridesmaid Proposal Box Ideas: Everything I Gifted my Bridesmaids
- 25+ Thoughtful Gift Ideas for any Bride to Be
- The Cutest Pearl Bridal Shoes for your Wedding Day
This post shared how to host an Amalfi Coast Themed Party!
