A Dark Academia Themed Dinner Party

This Dark Academia themed dinner party is everything I want in fall. It came out a little dark, a little smart and a little sexy. Pumpkin Sage Alfredo, Roasted Red Pepper Soup, a Harvest Salad and a Layered Victorian Sponge Cake all came together to create this magical evening.

Hi! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to post on here, but it’s a good thing! We’ve been moving full steam ahead with WhatKnot Events and have been creating beautiful tablescapes and delicious dinners along the way. Being a Libra myself, creating this dinner for my two friends that are also Libras was the best vibe. They have an amazing aesthetic and it was so much fun to throw their birthday party.

The Theme

We wanted the party to feel very autumn. We decided on a Dark Academia theme that paid homage to 1960’s London, Cassie’s favorite city. Vintage books created height and made it feel like you were stepping into an old library, adorned with candlelight. Plumosa ferns and moss were scattered throughout and added to the feel.

Floral

For floral I went with deep burgundy dahlias, romantic lavender and blush roses, and the prettiest red and white anemones. I filled the victorian sponge cake with blackberry jam (that the birthday girl made herself!) and the deep purples complimented the floral well. We also used deep purples and reds within our charcuterie boards to help create the color palette.

The Menu

The cake, my favorite part of the whole evening, (post coming soon!) was the centerpiece for the table. After seeing how gorgeous the cake turned out we knew that it needed to stand out. Originally I wanted a large floral centerpiece, but the cake spoke for itself. However I am also under the belief that you can NEVER have too many flowers, but sometimes I need to cut myself off. The grazing charcuterie boards turned out just as lovely as the cake. We decided to add them to the table as well to add to the decor and feel of the theme.

For the dinner I made a pumpkin sage alfredo, harvest salad and roasted red pepper soup (recipes coming soon!). The pasta was creamy and had just the right amount of sage. The harvest salad was a mix of arugula, greens, pralines, apples, roasted butternut squash, feta, onion and a delicious honey apple cider vinaigrette. The red pepper soup helped warm everyone up on a slightly chilly evening.

At the end of the night we set up a games table that everyone gathered around while enjoying bourbon apple ciders.

Be sure to check out WhatKnot Events, especially if you are in Chicago! You can check out our work and theme packages on our website here: WhatKnot Events. Special thanks to Travis Jones of TDJones Design Studio who helped us with setup and to Cassie Scott Photography who took all these gorgeous photos!