My somewhat limited experience with catering-grade things like extra large banquet tablecloths is that they are made out of relatively inexpensive fabric, and my fear is that an inexpensive black tablecloth could end up looking like a cheap black suit in the bright sunlight. (shiny, etc.)I think it might look nice topped with white as a skirt on the buffet tables.

I would probably go with black accents (vases, napkins, etc.) rather than commit to large black cloths.

I would prefer black outside, especially for BBQ, less
forgiving with stains.
Did you know that food tastes better when served on
Red tablecloths. Just another thought, barbeque on red
would be delicious. White chinette, and red napkins.

Centerpiece fresh flowers or buy a real plant for each
table and add some colorful silk flowers to the plant.
Also, you could do a nice fat candle with a ring of
silk flowers surrounding the candle.

BTW, I would not consider real dishes, as people could
go up two or three times and you would want clean plates
each time. You need to estimate 2 0r 3 plates for each person, just to be on the safe side.

I like the idea of all white accented with vibrant colors. I think white would have the most future use, too, as it would be appropriate for any kind of party. (I see wedding and baby showers in your future.) Plus, it can be bleached if necessary. I love the idea of potted flowers down the center of the tables. They could be given away as favors or transplanted into your garden.

We used to use sheets as tablecloths for outdoor events. I loved the ones with brightly colored patterns for summer. When you added white dishes and napkins, they looked so festive.

I'm not crazy about the idea of black at all. It seems too dark and depressing especially for a summer barbecue. If it were my party, I'd just use pretty colors that I liked together and forget about the school colors, but I know a lot of people like to use them. I'd just use the school colors on the cake.

Another thought about black is that you might have a hard time getting grease stains out of it and the color may fade with washing. Speaking of washing - if I had the option of renting, I'd go with that. You're going to have to wash all these cloths which is no big deal, but do you really want to iron all of them 2 years from now?

If I'm not renting the plates, glasses and cutlery, everything would be disposable. I'd want to enjoy the party and not have to face a big clean up at the end.

I'd get cute baskets or other containers and fill them with annuals and maybe some ivy that I could recycle into the garden later. I'd use candles with hurricane globes or a bunch of votive candles in glass containers on each table. At one school function I went to, the centerpieces were bunches of helium balloons in the school's colors weighted down in a bag of sand and tied with ribbon.

I have given a lot of huge back yard parties. Parties ranging in size form 30 to over 100. Early on I bought yards and yards of a casual cotton plaid and made a gazillion tablecloths. cloths to fit 10 foot folding tables, one 6 foot, a couple of 8, top rounds and several 4 inch square tables. I had and could borrow to round out to 10 dozen yellow Melamine plates, small bowls and cups. They went into the dishwasher and were used over and over again by me and others. they paid for themselves many times over!

I have seen black "caterers" cloths at wholesale places that are a large proportion polyester. They don't get that well washed look that cotton would....but they do shine like a well used serge suit! LOL!
I would get a combination of black and white....that way at some time you may use all of one or the other. I would buy 3 black and 3 white for the round tables and likely black for the serving tables.
And may I suggest that if you can't borrow your friend's Corelle that you buy some of your own> At the discount mall, corelle dinner plates without any pattern ate $1.00 each...chinette aree $.50 each....if you use the Corelle twice you are money ahead! Also the Dollar Tree has plain white china or plain glass for a dollar....reusable many times over!
I also did the decorations for my grandsons' (twins!) Bar Mitzvahs. I didn't have 100% authority, LOL! But maybe about 60%!
colors were black, gold and bronze...gold plastic cloths on the out door tables in the tent, with squares of black cloth (napkins) set diagonally down the center. Indoor tables and serving tables under the pergola were laid in bronze cloth ( less than $10 each...TJ Maxx). Then I assembled "centerpieces" of clear glass vases from the $ store, half filled with black polished river rock also from the $ store with a short fat candle....from guess where!! and tied with a knot of wired bronze ribbon. I had about $2.75 in each hurricane. Then I really lucked out and bought at the Salvation Army a box of about 80 nice quality glass votives, obviously left over from someone's wedding. I washed them up and filled them with more $ store votives and put several on each table and all around the yard on top of the fence.

And if you are going to be outside...I recommend table cloth weights.
Have fun!
Linda C

Must agree about the lesser-priced black table cloths sold in bulk for catering. They are usually not of the best quality and I don't know that you would be happy with them (I was in the wedding planning & special events production for years). Think thin, shiny, poly black graduation gown from middle school. ;)

I do agree with going with white cotton tablecloths - versatile and bleachable. And yes - even if you were to invest in the same heavy cotton material for black tablecloths, they will fade unlike white.

Take a look at this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/camillestyles/3485925887/

You can buy material to swath your white tables with or use colorful runners for a pop of color.

If you google "backyard bbq party", you'll find some inspiration from the images that will pop up. I found some I'd love to use...now I just an occasion!

Enjoy planning & congratulations on your family's milestones!

Ack! I was so hoping for a consensus on this since I am ambivalent. What might be dissuading me from white is that I just attended a Communion Party yesterday with all white tablecloths, red accents and floral vases and I want to do something more exciting/different if that makes any sense since we have several in the same group attending. The black ones I were looking at would be like lindac described--made with polyester. But, I know DS really just cares more about the ribs and the barbecue chicken and the tritip.... DH has more opinions about the actual party decor as well as table placement in our backyard. He doesn't want so many tables that people don't mingle. We didn't tell our guests is was a barbecue, just a party. It would be semi-formal or "casually elegent" as my DH wants. DS just cares about the food!

I forgot to add one other option that I was considering would be to pair the white tablecloths for the round tables with these rectangular ones for the buffet tables that I already own:

I bought 3-4 of them when I was doing a fiesta themed party a few years ago for a smaller group. DH thought it wasn't quite the right look, but it does bring in some color--esp. if I do go for white dishes. Plus I already own them!

{{!gwi}}

I am still absorbing all of the suggestions, esp. in regards to the centerpieces and dishes. I am thinking of augumenting my friend's collection of white Corelle white some of my own--esp if I could find online or at the Dollar Store for $1/plate. I'm going to send her an email and see how much she has.

I don't mind the cleanup, etc. as I can just toss all in garage and clean at my leisure. Another good friend rented real dishes and glasses and it was such a nightmare, counting, repacking, etc.

Now that puts me in a summer party mood. You'd have a lot of colors to choose from for your tabletop decor too. More decisions. LOL

I'd go with white OR just a suggestion: last summer we hosted a christening/summer party for about 125 people in my yard. I was lucky enough to hit a huge sale of those provence tablecloths and had them on about ten tables in all different prints. I used mason jars for flower vases. I found some colored outdoor lights at Target and strung them for nighttime. It was pretty colorful and very well received. I've lent out the tablecloths several times. You could see if anyone has tablecloths to borrow? or it is quite easy to bleach white ones; I've been bleaching the same white holiday Battenburg lace ones for years! It's easy to decorate around white. I think that black for a summer party would be dreary. Just my .02.

OK, you all have convinced me to order the white tablecloths. I will talk to DH again about pairing those with the multi-colored oblong ones that I have for the buffet tables. I would like to order some napkins to put on top of the tablecloths for the centerpiece to go on top of.

Here are some options I'm considering (assuming DH agrees to the multi-colored oblong tablecloths):

1. Royal Blue
{{!gwi}}

2. Red

{{!gwi}}

3. Multi-color: purchase one sample napkin in 6 different colors to tie in with the various colors of the buffet tablecloths. If I go this route, I was trying to decide which colors I'd choose from the following choices: http://www.linentablecloth.com/for-your-tables/napkins.html?p=2

{{!gwi}}

I don't mean to ignore all the suggestions for the centerpieces. I am still digesting all of this, but off hand I loved the suggestions for the Mason Jars and the small vases with the stones at the base. I need to think on this some more before deciding.

I spoke with my friend (DH's cousin's wife--not sure what TLA is for that)--she has 60 place settings for Corelle and told me where she purchased it at a local outlet store so I have that option, to purchase a couple dozen settings to augument hers. One other option I was thinking of is that I have some plastic multi-color plates from IKEA. I would have to purchase a lot more, though, and am not sure if they still carry it. Gut feel, is DH will think it's getting too colorful/busy; so perhaps white Corelle is best.

Or black?

{{!gwi}}

Does this go with the multi-colored tablecloths?

I'm not sure wheher anyone mentioned it but how about adding table runners to the white tablecloths for color?

On this blog, look at how she used the mason jars and painted and wrote on the covers. You can click on the picture to make it larger.

Here is a link that might be useful:

dawnp: I'm not quite sure how a runner would look on a round table; hence was planning to use a square napkin laid flat on top of the tablecloth in the center with a centerpiece placed on top of that. I really like the mason jar idea.

A few additional brainstorms:

1. I have 4 of the multi-color tablecloths which I'm not sure I really need so many (ever). What about cutting one up to make the squares for the tops of the white round tablecloths or is that too matchy-matchy?

2. I like both ideas of the mason jars filled with flowers and the votives with the river rock at the base. Also like the idea of trimming with wire ribbon. Could I do both and alternate the centerpieces on the dining tables or should I pick one or the other? If I do the candles, will they stay lit outside once they are contained in the glass votive?

Hi Val,
Since we're practically neighbors, I thought I'd jump in here to give a couple of ideas. The first picture is a grad party we did for my son and his 2 best friends last year on the deck. The theme was Mexican. We had 12 at the table (kitchen table + cheap folding table) with 2 white tablecloths and 2 runners. I bought the runners and napkins at World Market.

The second is the serving table for a wedding party at our house a couple of years ago. We served inside and scattered smaller tables on the deck. I rented a couple of cocktail tables - the higher ones - that people could stand at and eat/talk. I also rented the white square plates. This table is actually our pool table with plywood over the top and 2-3 white tablecloths. We had votives outside for this party but they mostly blew out, and since it stayed light so late they were hardly seen (party was in August). I think since you're starting early, you should probably skip the votives but put up your sparkly lights so that as it gets dark they'll be visible.

You're having lots of teenagers over, right? If they're anything like my kids, you might not be able to corral them all to sit down at the same time and so might consider a more casual seating arrangement, with tables for the adults and cocktail tables or just groups of chairs for the kids.

Ann: Oh yum! Can I come over? All that food looks delicious. Our crowd is mixed, mostly family members and family friends who have kids of various ages with a couple of DS's close friends and their parents. It's a bit mixed since it's a father-son celebration given DH's birthday is May 23rd and the graduation on the 28th, relatives are coming from all over, etc. DS will actually go to one of his friend's house the following day for a pool party which sounds like more of a teen thing. I think you have a good point about the votives as depending on whether people might come inside when it gets dark and we may even clear out the family room and do dancing. Ping pong and basketball will be available for the teens; we'll have younger kids as well--very much a family type of party, from babys to grandmas to everyone in between. As we have some older folks, we do need chairs for them, otherwise I think the standing idea is a good one. We're only going to have tables/chairs for about 60% of the guests; rest will mingle. Last party I gave, the teens actually suprisingly did hang out at the tables.

I think if you're going to have mixed colors in your arrangements, the striped fabric underneath them would take away from the flowers and be too busy. I think a turquoise napkin ( Is that the blue in your tablecloth? ) under a centerpiece of yellow, orange, red and fuchsia Gerbera daisies would be cheerful.

We used a lot of votives outside at my daughter's wedding and they were fine. My son-in-law ordered boxes of them over the internet and they were a little bit shorter than the ones you buy individually so the glass holder came up enough on the sides to protect the flame. They just look so pretty at night when you have a bunch of them on the tables.
I think if you put a little water in the base of the votive holder, it will prevent the wax from sticking. I forget how much though.
Are you having a tent or a contingency plan if it rains?

val you can definitely come over, but the food's long been eaten ;) I cooked everything myself - what a job!

Your party sounds great, esp the activities for the teens.

checkadee we don't get rain here from April - Sept, so it's pretty easy to plan outdoor parties. It does get cold once the sun starts to go down, even in the summer, so it's important to plan for that. Some people use propane heaters or else people just move inside.

If you're near an Ikea store, I bought lots of glass votives for really cheap and the candles to fit come in lots of colors. I used them for fall, holiday, and spring decorating. They come in 12 packs (if I remember correctly and the candles come in BIG packs of lots of colors!) Easy and plentiful decorating!

Ann...how pretty!!
Val...Maybe you could do one area in one color/style for hubby and the other for your graduate?
And I love mason jars. They are economical and look so pretty...either for centerpieces or to drink from!

I went ahead and placed the order for the white tablecloths and royal blue napkins for the table toppers. DH agreed to the multi-colored oblong tablecloths for the buffet tables. He liked both suggestions for the mason jars with flowers and the potted plants for the centerpieces. We prefer the mason jars and fresh cut flowers, but the potted plants is also an attractive option we are considering since we will have guests at our home arriving beforehand so I can purchase the potted plants beforehand whereas the flowers would have to be that afternoon. Most likely, we'll still do the mason jars, though and I plan to purchase some in a larger size than what I have presently. DH also agreed to string up our Christmas lights around the backyard for some sparkle.

I'm still undecided on the votives, though if we go that route I'd prefer to do the battery operated ones since I won't have to worry about them blowing out or kids tipping them over, etc. We'll see how much DH is able to string up the lights and decide accordingly. We also have landscape spot lights throughout the yard for additional mood lighting.

And, yes, we are planning to use a propane heater as well. Another item on DH's Honey-Do list is to assemble and test it out since we purchased at an after Christmas sale.

I am also looking for suggestions for appetizers. I don't want anything too filling as the barbecue itself will have a lot of food--ribs, chicken, multiple salads, cornbread, etc. We probably won't serve food until closer to 6PM so we do need to put something out in the meantime. DH's cousin's wife has volunteered to make peach cobbler in theme with the barbecue. Perhaps I could make some pies and skip the cake. Will check with my boys on that as well.

I just made this app. Last week and it always gets rave reviews.
You take cherry tomatoes and split them thru the middle but not quite all the way thru.
Then you get a block of feta cheese and cut into small cubes,let them marinate in a mixture olive oil, lemon juice,garlic and salt pepper and chives or whatever you want,then just place a cube in the tomato.
Easy and always a success.

My DIL's mother is a florist and she did a small wedding a couple of weekends ago. I stopped by her shop before she made delivery and she had the most beautiful centerpieces in clear mason jars. The jars we filled with water and sliced citrus fruit - colorful and yummy looking. She used sliced lemons, limes, and oranges and the florals were shades of green. Don't know what most of the greenery was except for green hydrangeas. I thought of those when I saw your striped table cloths.

Tuesday

Tuesday - Great idea!

lyban: Thanks for the appetizer selection. It sounds yummy!

tuesday: You don't by any chance have a picture of the centerpieces? Do you recall how she sliced the fruit? I've never heard of putting sliced fruit in the jars, but I bet they looked lovely.

I've seen sliced fruit in vases and agree it looks terrific. Do you or a neighbor have a lemon tree? That could be a really easy way to make a splash.

My go-to appetizer is a simple layered bean dip:

1 can refried beans
1 avocado mashed with lemon juice and Worchestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar
salsa

Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a decorative pie plate or other flat dish. Spoon avocado on top. Spoon sour cream on top of the avacado. Pour salsa (I use the Safeway brand) over the top of that. Sprinkle cheese on top. Serve with tortilla chips.

You can double the beans and avocados to make more for a crowd.

Here's a few examples

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit in Vases

I have an old recipe that is very similar to annkathryn's. Mine has a layer of the refried beans, a layer of guacamole, a layer of sour cream mixed with taco seasoning, finely shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped scallions, ( maybe chopped black olives) and cheddar cheese. A taco without the meat. It fills a 9x13 cake pan.

Do you have a Wegmans supermarket near you? In their cheese section they have containers of toppings you can put over cheese. They have one that is a caramel base with nuts and dried fruit which is excellent over brie. You just need to warm it up in the microwave until it's soft enough to pour over the cheese. I like it with plain crackers like Bremer Wafers or Carr's Water Biscuits. That's always been a hit. For a large crowd like yours, you could get a wheel of brie and maybe 3 containers of topping.

I've seen people take the large flour enchiladas, spread them with cheese, pesto or dried tomatoes and add some cold cuts or whatever. Then you roll them into a log shape and slice them into pinwheels. That seemed pretty easy. If you want to do something like that, there's probably good combinations online

Do you want any hot appetizers? I have a very good mushroom one that is a little time consuming, but they could be made now and frozen. When you want them, you can just pop them in the oven for 10 minutes or so.

I have a friend who has taken string cheese, separated it and made a mound of it in the center of a large serving dish and then surrounded the mound with slices of summer sausage. Kids like that one too.

Shrimp cocktail is always a hit. Easy if you buy the shrimp precooked, cleaned and deveined. You could get a very large bowl from the party store and fill it with chopped ice and then lay the shrimp on top. Maybe you could find a sale on the prepackaged frozen ones. Do you belong to Cosco? You can get a lot of good deals on party food there.

Are your caterers going to help you serve the food they didn't make? I'm trying to think of things that will take little effort on your part the day of the party. Fruit and cheese trays?

There are a lot of sample arrangements or centerpieces with lemons and limes or lemons, limes and oranges if you google.
Check about the fruit floating to the top. Not sure if that's just for the whole fruit or what.

annkathryn: Bean dip is always a good one. Your version sounds very easy. Yum!

dawn: Those centerpieces are amazing! I will definitely try my hand at it. Perhaps I could pre slice the fruit beforehand?

chickadee: I was also thinking of some simple fruit and cheese trays. I've tried the brie with nuts and fruit before and it is delicious! We don't have a Wegmans in California, but perhaps I could find something similar at Trader Joes. I'll check Costco for premade appetizers, though want to avoid too much heating them up as it can be a bit hassle. I was thinking of doing a Ceviche which I have a very yummy recipe, though I did make at my last party. I also sometimes make a salmon cream cheese ball which is a hit so I may do that instead and serve with the brie, fruit and crackers. A very good friend of mine will make cucumber, avacado and carrot rolls if I ask as she always makes them for me and my DDs love them. I will have my cleaners for serving and cleanup as I feel most comfortable with them and they know my house so they will do whatever I want and stay as long as I need them. Our crowd is not quite large enough for an on-site barbecue cooking so most likely we will have it all delivered and my cleaners will handle the transfer to chafing dishes as well as any reheating on our charbecue for that just from the barbecue taste. I will augment with a few extra salads and fruit tray.

An organization I belong to used to buy their appetizers for a large party at Cosco before we got lazy and just hired a caterer. I think it was mainly a cheese assortment, crackers and frozen appetizers that needed to be baked. I wasn't on that committee so I don't remember if there was anything else.
Do you have The Silver Palate Cookbook? Their salmon mousse recipe is delicious and impressive when you make it in a fish mold. I guess my mold's 10-12" long. I haven't made the recipe in a while. Sometime after your party I'd love to have your salmon cream cheese ball recipe. What's not to like there. LOL. The cucumber, avocado and carrot rolls sound like the sushi I always get. Are they made like that?

I haven't read tnhrough all the posts, but I wanted to mention you can buy white cloths at Sam's Club in a three pack for very little money. I have both the round 90" I use on a 60" table and the rectangular I use on the folding banquet table for food. They are washable and I find the white to be very flexible as I can layer a shorter 70" cloth over them or a square topper for a different look.

Blogs are great resources for party planning ideas! Here is one that might inspire you! Just google party planning blog and a gazillion will come up.

Here is a link that might be useful: party blog

How was the party? Hope everyone had fun!

Ann: It was this past weekend and was great, though of all things we did get some light rain for about 20 mins. Once we put up the easy-up over the food it stopped so everyone was able to go outside to eat. We had about 70 people and I did the mason jars with sliced fruit inside and flowers, strung Christmas lights, had ping pong and basketball for the boys and girls joined us inside for dancing until the wee hours. I still can't believe tho that my eldest has graduated high school!!!

Would love to see a photo if you took any of your tables or at least a photo of the mason jars. I would like to try and make some for a get together I am having. Mind you my party is only for 8.

I got to the end of this thread and thought I would be rewarded with pics!
Pics please!!:)

I didn't get the chance to take any pre-party photos since I had several family members helping me set up and felt rather silly taking photos of the setup. However, the flowers are holding up great in the mason jars 5-days later--SIL thinks it may be due to the citrus in the water. I sent DS to choose flowers and he did a great job, keeping it simple. Here is one of the mason jars (5-days post party):
{{!gwi}}

DH has my camera with memory stick at the moment so when he gets back home I will look and see if there are any more pics there I can share.

Happy it went well! :)

Glad to hear that your party was a success! Congratulations on your graduate!

Thanks for the photo Val. The flowers look great for 5 days later. Glad it went well.