Fête de Jardin avec Lillet
This post was sponsored by Lillet, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Please drink responsibly.
As party planners, we find that March is the month where everyone finally emerges from their dark winter days out into the world again. We’re all eager for spring celebrations, fresh colors, and delicious cocktails to kick off the new season. This spring we were lucky enough to partner with Lillet to create two original cocktail recipes. We thought it would be the perfect addition to our Spring Garden Party (Fete de Jardin).
For all the decor, we wanted to create a French countryside atmosphere to compliment the Lillet. We covered the table with a simple ivory fabric to bring a light quality into the room. We used some of our favorite yellow plates and gold cutlery to set the table, which was a great contrast to the tablecloth. We brought in rustic wooden boxes for all the surfaces and filled them with fresh baguettes, greenery, and additional bottles of both Lillet Blanc and Lillet Rose. To draw the eyes up and around the room, Natalie and I decided to make a chandelier out of yarn and greenery (watch out for a DIY post later this month!)
The lively feel of the room is largely due to all the beautiful fresh greens and flowers. Before this shoot, I went to the flower market in New York City to pick up all the greenery, French Tulips, and roses. We even picked up some potted tulips that Seri can keep through the whole season in her brand new set of beautiful pots. We utilized the plant life by placing it in spots all over the room. We used all our greenery and flowers to fill the bike basket, plump up our chandelier, prop up the baguettes and Lillet in the centerpiece basket, and even had it poking around our dessert table. With our leftover tulips, we transformed an empty bottle of Lillet into a vase; this is such an easy and beautiful way to display flowers.
And now for the best part- THE PARTY! We started out with simple a simple assortment of meats, cheeses, and bread to follow our first Lillet apertif. When everyone came in, they found their name on a tag attached to a coupe glass, which Natalie decorated with a rose and ribbon. Each glass was filled with a Lillet Rose Granita. Everyone dove into their granita before nibbling on the small bites, waiting patiently for the main meal to be ready. This is exactly how we made our Mango Strawberry granita with Lillet.
- 8 fl. oz. Lillet Rose
- 1 tbsp. Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp. Agave
- 12 Medium Sized Strawberries
- 8 oz. Ice
Seri finished prepping our rosemary roasted potatoes, seasoned asparagus, and lemon dill poached salmon just in time for Abby to finish handing out our second cocktail. The Lillet Blanc Spritzer was a huge hit paired with our springy meal. Everything you need to know for this drink is listed here:
- 4 fl. oz. Lillet Blanc
- 2 drops Orange Bitters
- 2 fl. oz. Orange Flavored Sparkling Water
- 1 Orange Peel and Mint Leaves to Garnish
- 2 oz. Ice
We moved onto the table of desserts, which hit the spot for my sweet tooth. We served a buttercream frosted, naked cake which we topped with more flowers and greenery to bring it to life. We also provided glazed donuts, an apple pie, and white chocolate bark made to match the color scheme perfectly. Our taste buds were going wild with the combination of our deliciously bitter Lillet spritzer and our simple sweets. We couldn’t have finished off this meal in any better way!
We’re so happy to share our Fête de Jardin with you on the first week of spring, and we hope you give our new cocktail recipes a try! We promise these refreshing tastes won’t disappoint you when celebrating the start of the new season.
Want to join the party? Shop our newest Little Miss Cocktail Party in a Box now!