Cute Picnic Ideas (From Centerpieces To Cheese Labels): a house log

We are back to share our latest “Try This” column in Richmond’s R. Home magazine…

This time we offered up a slew of backyard entertaining ideas for our three page column, but the hijinx consistently begin when we have to shoot something months in advance- like hunting down Christmas ornaments in September, or in this case, shooting our not-yet-blooming backyard in March.

We worked with the photographer to place the patio table so that there was as much greenery in the background as possible (thank goodness for evergreens). It made sense in the close-up photograph that made the mag, but here is a behind-the-scenes shot to demonstrate simply how not-normal the table placement truly was. Do you see the left leg in the mulch?

We also switched out our regular black patio chairs with white indoor chairs for a lighter look (which would in fact work if you are having an outdoor party on a dry summer day). And speaking of dry, you may notice that the ground is anything but. Well it rained for three days straight before the shoot (in fact, we ended up using our rain date since the first scheduled shoot date got rained out). And what does moist grass mean when you are also shooting a picnic scene? For us it meant laying out layers of cardboard under the borrowed picnic blanket so it would not get muddy before being returned after the shoot.

We typically get a few questions about the process of being contributing editors and how our columns come about, so here is a general rundown. The editor in chief calls us and tells us the theme for the upcoming issue (travel, architecture, the holidays, etc). In this case she hoped to see something having to do with outdoor parties and gatherings since she knew it would be coming out in May. After we learn the theme we take a few days to brainstorm a bunch of ideas and “pitch” them back to the editor in chief. For example we came up with the idea of doing a patio table setting and a casual picnic set-up and we shared a few of the individual suggestions that we’d include in our piece. For example, using a cake stand with fruit on it as a centerpiece…

… and making cheerful cheese labels to cute up your picnic…

… and filling a metal silverware caddy with ice and using it to serve cold beverages…

From our brief descriptions of each idea, the editor in chief then selects her go-tos and approves our concept for the column. At that point the shopping begins. We run out and purchase supplies “on approval” (which means stores know we are with the magazine and loan us things that have to be returned in mint condition or we are in trouble with a capital T). Then we set up a shoot date with the photographer who comes out to our house where we have everything set up and ready to go. It is simply us and the photographer (there is no prop stylist or lighting specialist) so we frequently find ourselves blocking a glare by holding up a sheet or even crouching under something to subtly hold it in place while the photographer snaps away. It is truly lively to see things come full circle, from an idea that we pitched to a bona fide magazine spread a few months later.

We also like to have a trial run with our propping in advance (realizing that a certain set-up is too crowded or bare in front of the photographer is a lot more stressful than being prepared in advance). Here is our little practice run for this issue (laid out on the dining room table since it was raining cats and dogs outside):

And here is the wrapped up product- our cheerful little magazine spread (we highly recommend picking up a copy at a local Barnes & Noble to see it in all its glossy glory, or even subscribing if you are not a near-Richmond resident).

Thankfully the strange placement of the table and the layers of cardboard under the picnic blanket are nowhere to be seen. And everything that we borrowed was safely returned the weekend after (although it was a bit sad to say goodbye to that lively striped little picnic blanket).

So that is how it all went down with our outdoor entertaining article in R. Home. Oh and you can check out a bigger (readable) JPG of it right here (simply click to zoom). Of course we have already shot another column that will come out in July (it is SUCH a lively theme) so stay tuned…