Modern Chic Dinner Party Inspiration in San Francisco

Prepare for some serious eye candy coming your way, thanks to a magical team of BrittRene Photo, Buzzworthy Events, and Wish Social Events. This chic inspiration shoot meanders through both the indoors and outdoors, showing off a beautiful covered garden space and an equally stylish art gallery-like setting, both featuring reception setups. Foodies, take note!

San Francisco is beaming with hidden gem venues that are design forward, and this one is uber romantic. The Cheese School is one of the coziest intimate venues for weddings in San Francisco. Located inside the space of The Stable Cafe in the Mission District, The Cheese School is a garden space with a lecture hall in the back which is covered, making it accessible year round. When The Cheese School approached me about styling a shoot in their gorgeous space, I was enamored. I really love a great space. They offer satiable catering for events and weddings and they are an event venue, which not many people know. Cheese is their focal point, but their full catering menu is gorgeous as well. The venue has two major components to it — first the cafe as you enter their space, which is overflowing with fruit trees, cobblestone floor, and lush succulent walls. As you continue on toward the back of the space, they have an atrium with and outdoor kitchen, complete with a hearth and pizza oven, with a back room for entertaining. As the two spaces have different feels, I wanted to create two looks that each suited the spaces. The major component of this shoot was the food. The Cheese School created a menu that was mouth-watering, to say the least. Chef Jocelyn made a seafood Cioppino in the wood fired hearth, a huge spread of fresh vegetables and a charcuterie board, burrata pizzas fresh out of the oven, watermelon salad, and more. For dessert, a chocolate fondue with rice krispie treats, paired with fresh fruit. Champagne bar to complement.

When creating the concept for this shoot, it became apparent that two looks had to happen. The first, out on the patio was a neutral and bright white tablescape. I wanted to keep it modern and bright. I dove into the textures with white linen and handmade ceramics by MM Clay. I really wanted to keep the vibe of the outdoor space lively, so we added palms for height and drama that added to the lushness and greenery. Once we lit the candles, it just glowed. The second space allowed for a much more moodier and fine-art setting. The walls are a beautiful blue-grey with a vaulted ceiling and cracked cement floors. I am a huge fan of this space. I used gauzy linens in dark grey with black matte plates and flatware. Artichokes and deep reds mixed with passion vine for the centerpiece. The turnout was very fall feeling. I threw in Cathedral Candles that had a grander presence than taper candles, which to me felt like created the height that matched the ceiling. Marble slabs were also used to rest the candles on. We created copper foiled menus, which gave the tables a beautiful glow from the reflected light on them. We created two bouquets to match the two looks as well. The Florist also filled the pizza oven and garbage pail with flowers. It was the prettiest garbage I’ve ever seen! She really nailed the vision and executed this incredible ambiance. We wanted to add to the space without contrasting too much.