Although I love dates with my hubby where we go out for coffee or dinner, when the weather is nice, our go-to date is a picnic. Most of the time this looks like packing my cute, thrifted red gingham table cloth along with our favorite bites and sips and heading to a local park or one of the picnic areas along the riverfront.
In recent years I’ve made the decision to share less of my life on social media and focus on being in the present moment rather than trying to capture the perfect moment. Although I want to remain present in my relationships, I’m also beginning to vibe with aesthetic content that falls into the categories of whimsical, vintage, and cottage core, so much so that my goal is to start incorporating more of that into my every day life, and probably my social media content.
If picnics and whimsical, old fashioned aesthetics interest you, read on for a few ideas for making your picnic worthy of a spot on your Instagram grid, whether you decide to take photos of the picnic or not.
A cute tablecloth or blanket. Even if vintage items aren’t your thing, the act of picnicking is inherently old school, so you can score some great finds by scouring thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, and antique shops for old quilts, tablecloths, or even old top sheets until you find a few core pieces that fit your style/vibe/color scheme, etc. My go-to pieces are my gingham table cloth for tabletop picnics and an old quilt for ground spreads.
Reusable dishware, cutlery, and containers. This is another area where there’s no need to invest a fortune, and you could probably already use items you have in your cabinets. When it comes to dishware, I prefer acrylic so I don’t have to worry about breaking anything, but darling vintage dish and glassware would make for an adorable setting, too. And since you’ll be transporting food and drinks, don’t forget about containers, ideally something that is leakproof, especially if you’re bringing along beverages, but also liquid items like salad dressings, sauces, or soup.
Food. Obviously! Some of my favorite bites to bring along are salads, sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crackers, and veggies and dips like hummus or ranch.
Drinks. Now, here’s an area where you can really get boujee, if that’s your jam. Bring along your favorite bottle of rosé or bubbly, or whip up a delicious mocktail at home to take with you, like this one, or this one. Likewise, you could make iced tea, or lemonade. No matter what beverage you opt for, remember to bring along decorative drinkware, such as vintage glassware, stemware, or for a cute, rustic look, bring Mason jars to drink from.
Extras. These are the items that can take your picnic to the next level and really make the whole experience, well…extra. Think of lace doilies to place under items, flowers, old books, vintage games, oversized bags for transporting items, throw pillows and cushions for comfy lounging, and of course, a wicker picnic basket. Again, so many of these items can be found second hand, so no need to spend a small fortune creating the perfect picnic. And if shopping at thrift stores isn’t in your budget, try shopping at your own house by looking through your items to find a blend of decorative and practical pieces that work together, borrow items from a family member, or plan a picnic with a group of friends and pool your resources to create a lovely spread.
As always, I want to hear from you. If this post inspires you to plan a picnic, I’d love to see a photo of your food, sips, and decor, if you’d like to share them with me, so feel free to tag me or send me a DM on Instagram.
Amanda Bretz 