Sydney Harbour Pop-Up Dinner Party

April is proving a hard month for me with too many of my expat friends completing their assignments and going home. I'm happy for them, but sad for the hole left in my life here in Sydney. It's not easy to make friendships as an adult, and being across the world, friends become your family, so I mourn how often we have to say goodbye to the wonderful people we meet for too short a time. My friend L and her husband, whose little daughter and mine played together, and with whom I felt a real kinship went home to the States at the beginning of the month. I'd only known her a few months, and was so sad that we didn't have more time together. My friend A, who I wrote about here, completes her expat assignment this month and heads home, as well.

The Book Club Girls all agreed that A has been such a dear friend, and done so many kind things for all of us that we were going to send her home in proper style. We knew right away how to celebrate, as A had already given us the perfect idea. For some time, she'd been talking up the idea of a "pop-up dinner party," a fancy dinner party in a park. Of course, living in Sydney, it would have to feature our famous Harbour view. It's an amazing idea in theory, but when you get down to it, one that requires a fair amount of work and resources. Thankfully, we had no shortage of hard working, generous, and resourceful ladies amongst the five of us Book Clubbers turned Party Planning Committee.

We agreed on Blues Point Reserve, a park on the north shore which features a stunning Harbour view and is rarely crowded. For theme, we decided to go with an elegant Australian send-off. Our energetic friend G agreed to Project Manage the whole event, and thank goodness, because she's an ace with spreadsheets, and just plain getting things done and she kept all the pieces together.

We always knew that rain was a possibility, and though we had a backup location at someone's house, nothing would be as special as our park on the Harbour, so all we could do was cross our fingers. When the day arrived, it was one of those days where it was blue and gorgeous one moment and grey the next. The weather forecasts were little help, some promising scattered showers and others saying no rain until late that night. The five of us went back and forth all morning until we finally decided to take the chance and go for the park. Hallelujah! The weather gods were looking out for us, as we ended up with perfect weather, and not a drop of rain. We would have been so disappointed had we played it safe and moved it, only to have no rain. There's a life lesson in there, and maybe just a touch of hubris.

The set up was extensive, but thankfully we had lots of hands on board to help move furniture, set places, and put all the fine details in place. We hired a caterer and two servers so that we could all enjoy the party once it got underway.

A knew that a party was being held in her honor, as she picked the date and provided the guest list, and we advised her as to dress code, but she didn't know any more than that. I suspect she may have guessed that we ran with her pop-up dinner party idea, as we did tell her to dress warmly, but certainly she didn't know any more details than that. We greeted her with a champagne toast and a rousing chant of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!" 

The first hour was mingling, hors d'oeuvres, and bubbly, followed by the sit down dinner, and finally an Aussie dessert of pavlova and macarons. We finished the night with sparklers and lingered over a bit more wine, an incredible view, and great conversation.

A's farewell pop-up dinner party turned out to be one of the most magical events of my time in Sydney, thus far. I know it was a special send-off for A, but it was just as special for all of us who put it together and got to take part. To have dear friends coming together with a postcard view to sit outside sharing good food, a cool breeze, beauty, laughter, and a few tears - I can't think of a better way to honor our friend and remember what a special place we live.

The decorated wine bottles across the table spelled out AUSTRALIA.
Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Jars with candles wrapped in twine on posts decorated with eucalyptus and other Aussie flora made a perimeter around our party.

Candles in jars and some twinkle lights provided our lighting.

Macarons for dessert.
Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Aussie flowers decorated the table in the wine bottle vases.

Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Hushpuppy particularly enjoyed the pavlova.
Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Photo by Ivan Stojic.

Photo by Ivan Stojic.