Gourmet Grill-Out Party

We love this gourmet grill-out party posted by Hostess with the Mostess. The event works perfect for any backyard and uses stuff most people have laying around the house. Enjoy!

Party Detals as told by Meredith...
Recently, I was asked to design an upscale grill-out party for the Downtown South Bend Board of Directors as a “thank you” for all of their service and support. The event was held on Saturday, June 16th at a private residence and about 40 people were in attendance. The host wanted to be able to mix and mingle and engage in conversation with each member, not having to worry about standing at the grill so we worked with Chic Eats Catering to take traditional grilled foods and put a gourmet twist on them! It was lovely!

DECOR

For decor, we started with a cool, summer aqua and orange color palette with some darker turquoise accents, tied off with twine. We then used assorted, seasonal orange potted arrangements in mini galvanized buckets and scattered them throughout for an additional pop of color. Chalkboards were a fun method of signage directing guests and also thanking them with “thank you” notes on each flower arrangement on the tables. My favorite decoration of all were the miniature Weber grills scattered throughout, which made for great elevation on the tables, as well as functional storage space for food and floral arrangements. We also fanned large grill tools out of a wicker urn, which provided a nice tie-in to the grill theme.

MENU

For the main menu, we served Petite Peppered Beef Tenderloin Sandwiches with Balsamic Onions & Blue Cheese Horseradish Spread, Tangy Pulled Chicken BBQ, Mini 4 Cheese Mac-n-Cheese, Roasted Asparagus Potato Salad and Asian Crunch Cole Slaw. Delicious! Dessert items included mini strawberry shortcake parfaits, mini oreo cheesecakes and chocolate truffle pops, but had to be moved inside due to abnormally high temps outside! Drink items included Orange-Infused Water, Iced Tea, an assortment of beers, wine and an easy-to-make Orange Citron Cocktail.

PAPER

For the paper goods, we started with a hand-delivered invitation tied to a root beer bottle with twine. Guests loved them and it was a clever way to get guests engaged with the idea! We then created a banner, which was strung in two directions above the food table. jar toppers for the favors, food tents and more.

FAVORS

For the favors, we wanted to send each guest home with something grill-related, something local and something from the downtown area so a local high-end Grill (LaSalle Grill) concocted a dry rub just for the party and provided a delicious recipe to go along with it. We packaged it in small, 4 oz jars with toppers that said “Spice up your next cookout on us!”

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VENDOR CREDITS:

– Party Event Design & Desserts: Meredith Lee Party + Event Design

– Photography: Hemmerlein Photography

– Catering: Chic Eats Catering

– Paper Goods + Straws + Cutlery: MJ Paperie

– Favor Dry Rub: LaSalle Grill