Getting Festive in Cinco de Mayo Style
Writer Meg Fox | Photographer Janet Warlick | Designer Shayla Copas
TABLE SETTING | Poppy pods, pink hydrangeas, Pink Floyd roses, Bells of Ireland, yellow billy buttons and other flowers grace the table designed by Shayla Copas. Floral Design: Silks A Bloom.
In her book Four Seasons of Entertaining, author, brand ambassador and national award-winning interior designer Shayla Copas inspires readers with 16 exceptional themed celebrations that cover all four seasons of the year. We share one of Copas’ favorite designs — Cinco de Mayo — with her takeaway tips that can be translated to any seasonal gathering.
BOOK COVER | Four Seasons of Entertaining is a seasonally themed book centered on the details of entertaining with more than 250 color photos of inspiration.
“I love color — and the bolder the better,” says Copas, who chose fabrics from Newark-based Thibaut for the tablecloth and napkins in an exuberant mix of hot pink, orange and cream. “You can use residential fabrics for table linens as long as you treat them with a stain repellant before use,” Copas notes. The repellant, she adds, helps spilled liquids bead instead of soaking into the tablecloth. A workroom then sewed the linens with great attention to detail. “The use of residential textiles for table linens opens up an entire world of possibilities for event design.”
LINENS, STEMWARE & FLATWARE | Thibaut fabrics in a mix of cheerful colors were a hit, Copas says. “I chose the Sunburst pattern in pink/coral for the tablecloth; the napkin, Thibaut’s Wavelet pattern, coordinated perfectly.” She selected Kim Seybert’s Helix stemware for its ombré gold finish and gold flatware from Mepra.
A TOAST | Guests, dressed in hues that harmonize with the setting, make a toast with “Tequila Me Softly” margaritas.
With hot pink, orange and cream as the primary palette, Copas needed a metal tone to accent the table. “Gold worked perfectly with our color combo,” she says of Kim Seybert’s gold Sahara chargers. The chargers ground the cream Skyros Cantaria dinnerware, an organic shaped line with a modern edge that is safe for the oven, freezer, microwave and dishwasher.
MENU CARD | Customized menu cards in a cohesive color palette can be a quiet—or bold—complement to the décor.
Lights strung in the backyard provide ambience and extra flare, and the floral arrangement knocks that table setting out of the park. Mixing in a few colors outside of your palette— in this case the addition of yellow and green to the floral compositions — “provides depth and harmony,” Copas says.
POOLSIDE | An arrangement brimming with floral and tropical greenery added an elegant touch to the pool.
Tequila Me Softly Margarita
Recipe courtesy of Chef Scott Rains
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1/8 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon water
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ounce pineapple juice
2 ounces tequila blanco
¾ ounce dry curacao
¼ ounce agave
1 ounce lime juice
Pineapple slices for garnish
Directions:
Dissolve brown sugar in water. Add cinnamon and pineapple juice. Fill shaker cup with ice. Add all ingredients, including the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Shake, then pour over strainer into glass and garnish with a pineapple slice.