Wake Up your Tables Southern Style

Make a Mocktail Option

In the heat of the summer, give guests a tasty nonalcoholic beverage to drink. Float slices of fresh fruit such as limes and kumquats for extra color and flavor. Set out assorted liquors on the side for guests to add as they please.

Pay Attention to Presentation

A letterpress menu with a beet on it from Yee-Haw Industries plays off the borscht theme and outlines the meal. Create a striking spot for finger foods on a large breadboard. Edge the cheeses with galax leaves (available at local florists) and cover with a cake topper for drama.

Suspend Your Centerpiece

Draw eyes up with a hanging arrangement rather than a large centerpiece on the table. Here an assortment of pink and orange Ikea baskets filled with summery green hellebores hangs lengthwise over the table. Tack different lengths of twine into the ceiling to vary the basket heights.

Let Bold Colors Pop

A mix of natural materials – sturdy antique breadboards layered with shallow marble bowls and bamboo-handled flatware paired with smoke colored glassware – provides the perfect backdrop to let nearly neon pink borscht (a chilled, summer beet soup) stand out. Coral monogrammed napkins and fuchsia anemones make a strong and simple color statement.