This past weekend we celebrated my sister and her upcoming fall wedding with a bachelorette weekend on Cape Cod.  My aunt has a beach house on a lake in Mashpee (C.C.) and graciously offered to host a group of girls for the weekend.  As we was brainstormed and planned out the weekend, I thought “what would be a nice way to kick off the weekend with guests arriving later on Friday that felt different from your typical restaurant dinner out?”.  I’ve seen these lux style picnic dinners on beaches popping up all over Insta and Pinterest.  I knew this would be the perfect setting and occasion to plan an event like this.  Also, I knew it would be a memorable evening for my sister one that she wouldn’t see coming and that she’d really love!   .

Before I share photos of the magical evening, First let me share some of the decor that made the evening vibe and vision come to life.  What we purchased vs. what we rented from local rental companies.  The boho vibe is a style that consists of lots of layered neutrals and greenery.  Very muted but greenery or very light shades of either pink or teal or rust can be added depending on your preference.   You can absolutely build and DIY a boho (low to ground) picnic table with wood, pallets or plywood (covered of course with linens) but we had such a large group that building three of them and transporting to Cape Cod seemed a bit challenging.  Renting three kids tables was so easy.  If you can find a local rental company check to see if they carry small children tables.

Boho Beach Picnic // Decor List

To Rent:

• Three children height tables (perfect amount of space for a group of 17)
• Dinner and salad plates
• Cutlery
• Table linens (3 long table cloth as well as napkins)

To Purchase (click the affiliate link to go to similar or the same item):

• Two painters drop cloth as base layer for picnic set up
• 3-4 scatter rugs to layer over the drop cloth (mine from 5 Below) 
• Mix of pillows in varying textures in 18×18 and 20×20 sizes to scatter around tables
• Table runners
• Woven Lanterns
• Faux plants 
• Gold candle holders/votives
• Pampas grass in vases or pre-made (mine from T.J. Maxx)
• Vintage style outdoor cups
• Boho Umbrella
• Yeti or any cooler full of beverages for guests
• Woven vases
• Floor pillows

*A few extra long white curtains or sheets incase you need to drape more fabric is also a good idea to cover the sand or to layer over the tables if table clothes don’t cover completely. 

Food:

My aunt’s home is close enough to the beach that family style food could be cooked and brought down to the beach.  I knew that I could handle the decor and set up but for food I didn’t want the pressure of also cooking, so we hired Chef Adam Munroe and his team with Perfect Strangers Boston to help us come up with a delicious menu for our boho beach picnic.  We also used him last year for my Sister- In- Laws Backyard Bachelorette (aka during pandemic) which you can see here.  Other food ideas; you could also get the event/picnic catered from a local restaurant.  If you don’t have a large guest list keep it simple with some fancy charcuterie boards and pre-mixed cocktails. 

Boho Beach Picnic // The Set Up:

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You can see the drop cloth makes a great base layer for the picnic. If you have less guests you could probably just use one drop cloth. Next we set up tables (bring a broom to sweep off the sand as you go. We then added the linens to the children size rental tables. You can see how the ends of the tables were showing the metal legs (vibe killer) so we had some extra white sheer curtains that we tucked under the ends to hide the metal legs. We then layered the runners down the center we used two but definitely could have used a third.

Boho Beach Picnic

I used blades of long beach grass and tied the napkins for a free napkin ring and to tie in some of those green tones. The chef and his team created a wonderful menu for us that was incredible!

We spread out the centerpieces which was a combination of pampas grass, candle, ivy and lanterns/woven vase at the center of each table. You want to be sure there is room for the food to be set down so I didn’t want to go too crazy with the centerpieces.

If you have any neutral pillows add those to the drop clothes and scatter rugs and of course if you have a pop of color in your theme incorporate that as well for example a pale pink velvet pillow or floor cushion would be so pretty amongst all the creams and whites.

Thinking of hosting your own boho beach picnic?! I hope this post helps you achieve the look and gives you the tips to host an event like this. Between hiring a chef and renting some items it really made it so easy. Finding the decor and collecting the items was fun for me and I’m hoping to repurpose them all in our Vermont house. However the thought of renting it all out has crossed my mind too! Pin this post for later if you want to remember all the details.

Happy Decorating!

Jordan

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