Like many of you, we haven’t been able to properly enjoy small celebrations and important life events this year due to the current restrictions - one of those being our recent Wedding Anniversary.
We would normally be in Europe at this time of the year, visiting our families and friends and would take this opportunity to celebrate at a nice restaurant or going back to our wedding venue (or both - we love long celebrations!).
As we are in Melbourne and currently in week 4 of hard lockdown, our European trip has been cancelled, but I still wanted to make our anniversary night would be special and memorable. I decided to turn our apartment into a fine dining venue and trust me, we will be doing this more often!
It is important to keep the romance alive and create some time for you and your partner, so even if you don’t have an anniversary to celebrate, make sure you plan a date night and do something special! Date night doesn’t have to mean “getting a babysitter and going out for a night out in the city”. The important thing is to make time to focus on your relationship outside of the normal everyday activities while balancing kids and work. Setting aside time for the two of you sends the message that you’re creating a special space for one another and prioritising each other. It also gives you time to reconnect, kindle the romance, and even unwind after a long day.
To plan our date night I was inspired by the venue where we got married in Italy and I created a Menu’ that is easy, quick and delicious, but you can decide to leave the cooking component out of it and get catered for! There are plenty of amazing options to choose from.
Our European Menu allowed us to enjoy the time together, without the cooking mess. All dishes were really simple to make (eaten raw or with minimal cooking), but with a fine dining touch.
We toasted with Champagne - we chose Mumm Grand Cordon Rose.
As a starter we served Burrata, one of our favourite Italian cheeses, on a bed of tasty heirloom tomatoes.
For the Main Course we decided for a french dish: Steak Tartare. I love to use this french recipe as a base and season to taste. We served it with a side of french fries and loose leaf salad.
We picked a red wine to accompany the main and dessert: St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.
To end on a sweet note we indulged in a Chocolate Fondant and Fresh Raspberries.
To create the fine dining atmosphere (and a surprise for my husband), the super talented Judith from Your Decor Design helped me to create some Menus for the table.
A date dinner table cannot miss candles to create a romantic atmosphere and flowers to set the romance.
Anne from Flowers by Bear created this beautiful arrangement for us. I loved the use of neutral tones to complement the other elements on our dining table.
Lastly - Dress up! It will improve your mood and will add sophistication to your evening.
Relax, unwind, reconnect and love - enjoy your date night!
CREDITS
Planning & Styling No.14 Events
Menus Your Decor Design
Flowers Flowers by Bear
Plates and Napkins Westelm
