Are you wanting to invite friends or family over for a dinner party and thinking to yourself, where do I start? Don’t worry, the P.S. You’re Invited Event Planning and Design Team has you covered.
We recently threw a Sushi Dinner Party for a client and here are our top 8 pro event planning tips. These tips will allow you to feel confident when you host your very own Sushi Dinner Party and are guaranteed to ‘wow’ your guests.
#1: Rice To Meet You
Call us old school, but in today’s tech-heavy world people still love to receive physical invitations, and we love sending them! Don’t have the crafting skills to make paper invites? No problem, you can find great options like this invite and just take the file to your local FedEx to print - easy peasy!
Don’t want to waste paper or don’t have the time? You can also use a site like Evite to email the details to your guests and track RSVPs, we found a cute design here.
#2: Sushi Makes Miso Happy
There’s no need to stress yourself out, or spend all day in the kitchen trying to make sushi rolls — no one has time for that. Plus, you deserve to enjoy your event as much as your guests. Call your favorite local sushi spot and ask to speak with whoever’s in charge of catering; they know the proper amount to order per guest and they can offer great advice on which rolls will be a fan favorite. A good rule of thumb is to order 1 sushi roll per person; but bump it up to 2 or 3 if your crowd is sushi-crazy.
Do your guests have food allergies or restrictions? We always recommend asking your guests about any food restrictions ahead of time - this is a great detail to include in your invites because it allows you to promptly carry out the next step - ordering the food!
#3: You Had Me At Sushi
We knew right away when making our dinner party checklist that we wanted sushi boats - don’t they just scream sushi party? We had one boat full of nigiri and the other with sushi rolls. The boats really elevated the entire food display and made our client’s island look like a work of art.
Our local sushi restaurant Samurai in San Diego lent us the boats for the evening and we’re confident that if you ask your sushi spot, they’ll be more than happy to offer you theirs for your dinner party. You can also use one like this.
#4: Control Your Tempura
In addition to the sushi, we ordered our client some teppan and appetizers for their guests because, who doesn’t love a variety of options? Egg rolls, gyoza, chicken teriyaki, filet mignon, and fried rice were a great addition to our menu.
Also, chafers are such a staple for the ‘hostess with the mostest’ - no one likes cold food that’s supposed to be warm. We highly recommend investing in one similar to this chafer, especially if you love to host.
#5: This Is How We Roll
It’s easy to overlook the little details when you’re hosting a party, but don’t worry, we’ve figured it out for you. Here are some smaller details that will make a big impact on the overall flow of your dinner party.
Don’t forget to ask for extra garnishes with your food order. Rather than just plopping the food onto a platter, spruce it up with some garnishes. Presentation is everything.
Ask your restaurant for to-go containers with your order. Our client loved that we had to-go containers for her guests to take home any leftovers. How cute are these containers?
Specify which food items are what. Not sure about you, but we like to know what we’re eating before we eat it. Check out this simple sushi menu - piece of cake!
Place cards are another small addition that make all the difference. Both these and menus take all of 10 mins for our team to design and they add such an impact to dinner parties - We consider them a must! You can try something simple like these cherry blossom place cards and take it to your local FedEx for printing.
#6: Think Outside The Roll
When we are in our brainstorming phase we are always asking our team, “What vibe are we trying to accomplish?” Romantic? Zen? Modern? Japanese culture offers a peaceful feeling, so we instantly thought about Japanese Zen Gardens… think stone, sand, candles, orchids, cherry blossoms, and voilà!
#7: I’m Soy Into You
Tablescapes and all the pretty details are our team's favorite part — I mean, who doesn’t love a beautiful tablescape to match the theme?
Since our client’s dinner party was a group of four couples, we decided to blend in some romantic touches. What says ‘romantic’ more than candles? Incorporating these in the center piece seemed like a no-brainer! We love these battery operated candles and they come in a variety of colors.
We chose to use red & black for our color scheme to give the table that romantic feel. Also, it just so happens that red means goodluck, strength, and joy in Japan. These red hammered charger plates looked great on top of the black bamboo placemats. We found some similar red charger plates and bamboo placemats for you. On top of the red charger, we went with a black stone dinner plate. This was the perfect way to tie in the black stones scattered between the candles and cherry blossoms in the centerpiece.
While setting the table, we had a spur of the moment idea to take a stone from the centerpiece to rest the chopsticks on - we love when a last minute idea works out perfectly! Rather than just setting your chopsticks on the table, we recommend using something like this chopstick rest.
#8: Let The Good Times Roll
The vibe and ambience is set. Now all you need is the music and drinks flowing, check out this Spotify playlist and thank us later.
Cheers,
P.S. You’re Invited
