Dressing the table is like trying on clothes. Get a few pieces out and try new combinations. Don’t be afraid to use unconventional pieces on the table like these clear glass cake pedestals. Short, clear glasses, filled with roses and set upon the pedestals provide levels of color. It’s an easy way to arrange flowers.
Food for Thought
The Beautiful Table
The ritual of dressing the table comes alive thanks to Southern Food stylist Angie Mosier and Entertaining guru Rebecca Lang.
BY
Angie Bennett Mosier
PHOTOGRAPHY
Iain Bagwell
STYLED BY
Kenny Rogers

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A beautiful table means much more than expensive china and sparkling crystal. The table is the stage for a daily gathering. At its most basic, our tables provide a place for the family to meet and talk about the day’s events, plan ahead and catch up with one another. At its most elaborate, the set table is a celebration of holidays and life events. Seated dinner at a gala event or a dear friend’s wedding become reflections of personal taste, whether extravagant or simple, and help us toast to happiness and abundance.

While some of us may feel nervous about setting the table correctly, a glimpse through modern books and magazines on entertaining shows that while the basic placement of knife and fork may still matter, pretty much anything goes these days.

Perhaps we need reminding, by way of our dishes and flatware, that good food, family and friends are an everyday extravagance. Toasting to good health or perhaps saying grace around our tables, humble or elegant, and sharing a meal with one another shows gratitude and a measure of respect.

Traditional family gatherings at a holiday table urge us to reflect on the stories of our past and look forward to a hopeful future. Not only does the table provide a forum for teaching young ones and remembering tradition, but it also shows our families that we hold each other—as well as our history—dear.