How To Throw The Best Outdoor Dinner Party

There comes a time of year when everyone has had their share of indoor activities, and they’re ready to get outside. If you love hosting gatherings for your loved ones, one activity is bound to be a hit for your community. Whether they prefer hiking, exercising outdoors, or just having their coffee outside instead of at their dining room table, they’ll be blown away by a beautiful outdoor dinner event.

Throwing an outdoor party is not much different than throwing one indoors — it's simply a matter of taking certain circumstances into account. Use our tips and tricks to make it a success. You’ll wow all your guests with the outdoor dinner event of the season.

A beautiful spread is a great addition to any outdoor dining event. Just make sure the food is elevated and out of reach from pets and critters.

Best Outdoor Dinner Party Ideas

In general, outdoor settings have unknowns, some of which are problematic. Instead of moving your event indoors to prevent any mishaps, prepare for what’s possible. For one, you should understand your physical space limitations and take full advantage of the outdoor setting. Take inspiration from events like Portland’s Secret Suppers, which use natural elements such as serving tables and cook on a wood stove to give it that natural taste. Try to make the most out of nature — it's there to support your event, not ruin it. Here are some extra tips to make your backyard dinner party comfortable and chic.

Prepare for Nature’s Friends

Having nature as your venue also means some uninvited guests might show up. No, not your in-laws — think rabbits, squirrels, and even dogs. To make your party as creature-prepared and creature-friendly as possible, take these precautions so that your food and guests can focus on enjoying their meal instead of avoiding any critters:

• Add citronella candles or bug repellent tiki torches to keep your guests from leaving with nasty bites
• Elevate food off the ground and onto a beautiful table so that you have an easier time avoiding curious pets
• Establish a cleaning routine and shop for necessary waste disposal elements to clean up quickly and efficiently

Include Seasonal Ingredients

With fresh weather comes a surplus of fresh ingredients on the table. Take advantage of this delicious and aesthetic element of your summer outdoor dinner party by adding seasonal ingredients to your menu. Do some research and even ask around at your local farmer’s market to see what foods and drinks will best suit your guests for each course.

A theme can ensure your dinner event is pleasing to the eye, inspiring your guests to take photos to remember it.

Theme It Up!

Play into your outdoor space and create a theme. Whether you want to set the ambiance for when guests arrive, or you want them to actively participate, creating a theme enhances your garden party experience. Think of the details and consider incorporating outdoor table linens, music, and even floral arrangements that match your vision. There are good themes for a simple dinner party or a boho-chic dinner party. Just choose what works best for your amazing parties. 

Outdoor dinner party ideas for themes:

• Summer in Italy: include dried oranges in your floral arrangements and string lights in your trees. Serve Aperol Spritzes and fresh pasta, and curate your music to match.
• Forest escape: host in a woodsy area and add pinecones, eucalyptus, and other earthy elements to your decor. Provide woven mats or cushions for guests to sit, and include berry-inspired dishes and drinks. Make sure to keep colors matching with the natural color palette.
• Picnic on the beach: if you have access to a beach, dinner with a picnic theme is an easy way to get people excited for a beach meal. Include checkered patterns, woven baskets, and, of course, prepare for the wind.

Picking a theme makes the whole event more memorable and makes it more fun to plan.

Prep for Clean Up

For any event you're hosting, clean-up duties are the least amount of fun. Sure, you may have incredibly nice friends, but you should be ready to clean up on your own. To prepare, make a shopping list of all the cleaning elements you’ll need to leave your outdoor space as pristine as you found it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Buy garbage bags to collect waste and separate organics from recyclables
• Poop bags or scoopers in case you have pets at your event
• Wipes and nature-friendly spray for sticky messes

Picking a menu may be fun, but cleaning up after a great event is one of the downsides of hosting. If you’d prefer to focus on enjoying your event rather than taking care of every detail yourself, services like INTUEAT plan, shop, and prep for you. They'll even take care of cleaning up when everything's finished.

INTUEAT’s personal chefs bring their own supplies and cookware, so you can focus on enjoying your event.

Hire a Personal Chef

This option may seem like it’s going to break your budget. On the contrary, personal chef services for your event are quite affordable. Their expertise means that you could actually save money on preparing and executing your event (frantically running back to the grocery store for the third time after realizing you overstocked one ingredient and skimped on another may be an all-too-familiar experience). Hiring a personal chef also comes with additional benefits like:

• Spending more time with guests
• Relieving the stress of planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and cleaning dirty dishes
• Hiring talented local chefs that are fully vetted and trained in providing incredible service
• Not worrying about buying the correct cookware for every dish — personal chefs bring their own

Perhaps the biggest benefit of all is that you’ll be able to host your event stress-free and get all the credit while having the best help right at your fingertips. With a personal chef as your right-hand person, your friends will never think of an outdoor dinner party again without mentioning the time you hosted yours.

Host the Best Outdoor Dinner Party With INTUEAT

Hosting a highly-affordable elevated dinner party with a personal chef is possible with INTUEAT. Their skilled chefs and range of prices allow you to create the event of your dreams for the people you love. Whether you’re creating a dining experience for your close ones or just taking a night off from cooking to enjoy your night, you can book a chef from their selection and delight in delicious food with minimum effort.

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Got a lot of company coming over? We've got 6 Delectable Large Dinner Party Ideas To Feed a Crowd.

Love to dine al fresco, but looking for new ideas? Check out 10 Garden Party Menu Ideas Recommended By Private Chefs.

Feeling inspired to start planning your own event? Find your INTUEAT personal chef in Sarasota, Denver, Colorado Springs, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale!

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