This weekend I was lucky to be a part of an event at the Scranton Cultural Center called Dinner by Design. The event is a showcase for local designers, event planners and florists and I was absolutely amazed at the talent involved.

The Scranton Cultural Center is a fantastic venue because of the beautiful building – completed in 1930 as a Masonic Temple and has 4 floors with several different rooms including a grand ballroom, a large theater, a smaller theater, and a beautiful library.

Here are some of my favorite displays:

Central Park Flowers created this awesome setting, which was made up of three round tables surrounding a large tree arrangement. The tables were covered in moss and flowers, and the effect was really magical.They used hanging glass vases with some of the most beautiful tulips that I have ever seen. I loved the spiky edges on the petals.

Duffy Event Design set up this beautiful tent on the stage of the smaller theater, but inside it felt like a tent in the middle of a forest.I loved the details on the table as well, which was a layer of flowers and moss under the glass.

There was an amazing display by Fleur De Lys inspired by Provence, which had an eclectic assortment of interesting things.I really loved the way the table setting (glasses especially) picked up the color in the stained glass windows.

The team from Posh and The Colonnade brought their incredible attention to detail to the Casey Library, my favorite room in the building.I loved how the bright orange and blue popped against the dark paneling in the room, and I was crazy about the little details like the orange shades on the chandeliers and matching blue glass water bottles and orange glasses. They even styled the bookshelves with lined orange book covers and bright blue books. Crazy good.

My booth was on the stage in the ballroom, and I had cupcakes, cookies, and stationery samples as part of the marketplace of local food and design vendors. Here’s the view from behind my table.My dessert display was bright pink, black and white with gold accents, and I spent the whole weekend trying not to eat the cookies before people could buy them.

It was a fantastic event and we loved meeting the other local vendors. On Saturday night, we made dinner with food we purchased at the event:
- Fresh pasta from Constantino’s
- Delicious bread from Beta Bread Bakery
- Vodka pasta sauce from Brady’s
- Cheese from igourmet.com

We also picked up some wing sauce from Peggy’s Wing Sauce (Anthony asked for some vegetarian suggestions for the sauce), and some salad dressing from Joe Caputo that we can’t wait to try.

It was such an encouraging event to be a part of as a beginner at this small business thing. All of the other vendors were super enthusiastic and encouraging, and many of them had some great advice. I’m really lucky to be a part of a community that supports local entrepreneurs, and I can’t wait to participate in Dinner by Design again next year!