I am so grateful to be invited to contribute to Gal Meets Glam and to kick off the contributor series with a Mother’s Day celebration. I feel lucky to count Thomas and Julia as close friends. Setting the table has long been a hobby of mine and I consider it to be one of my great loves. It has been my thing since childhood – my first ‘business’ was party planning for children. I was 13 and I would set elaborate, colorful tables for birthday parties, full of overflowing dishes of candy and table games, with enough markers to color the whole (paper) table cloth – it was the best!

Now that I have had my fill of gummy bears, I like to view the table as the first opportunity to set a mood for celebration.  It is a way to show my guests, friends or family, that I have been thinking of them and that I am so excited that they are here. In other words, it is a wonderfully visual form of welcome and it is a gesture of love. Even a casual table set with care shows the gathering people around that it’s a thoughtful and important opportunity for us to come together.

This table celebrates Mother’s Day and some fleeting seasonal spring flowers, Lilac and Lily of the Valley.  If you have never smelled Lily of the Valley, it is worth seeking out – what a treat!   Lilac comes in so many shades that make my heart sing; this was brought by hand from Annapolis by Anne Bowen of Charleston Stems. She is so talented and my love for flowers comes from her!  I am so grateful to Anne for putting together these beautiful arrangements.

I have nothing but admiration for Julia’s aesthetic, unreservedly feminine and elegant, and I wanted the first table photographed for her blog to mirror her embrace of all things pretty, in this case the bounty of these beautiful spring flowers. I love the feminine, ruffled Juliska plates and the scalloped-edge of these chic Pottery Barn napkins.  Both keep the palate neutral enough to celebrate the lilac but are still decisively feminine.

Looking forward to showing you what we come up with next.  I am really looking forward to setting more tables with Julia — we both love to be creative and I find her so inspiring!!  You can see more photos from the shoot here and a Q&A on GMG here.  All of these photos were taken by Thomas!!! xx