Jamaican Engagement Party

Today we are featuring a Jamaican-Inspired Engagement Party from Lissa of Bellenza. The colors of this are gorgeous and perfect for a summer party! Lissa has provided lots of great tips and a link to a tutorial on these amazing centerpieces!

Jazz Up Your Summer Engagement Party Jamaican Style!

Celebrating your engagement this summer? Then, if it’s a fun vibe you want for your party, a Jamaican theme is definitely one festive way to go. It’s perfect for an outdoor gathering of dear friends and family, with a delicious grilled menu, refreshing tropical drinks, and catchy rhythms playing in the background.

Here are 5 tips for capturing that Jamaican party vibe:

1. Go Crazy With Color!

Recreate the look of a Jamaican plantation—complete with coconut trees and pineapple fields. Have bold colors everywhere!

Vibrant golden yellow dominates the scene and casts a sunny glow over it all.
Bright orange and green serve as vivid accents.
Neutral brown, beige, and tan provide tempering touches.

2. Craft Festive Centerpieces

Delight your guests with table décor that’s fun and festive. And for real impact, anchor it on centerpieces that truly get that Jamaican vibe across.

Craft a towering coconut tree centerpiece from yellow and orange crepe paper. Imagine simulating picnic-style dining in a coconut grove, right in your own backyard!
Use fresh tropical fruits to create centerpieces as well. Fill wooden bowls or woven trays with bananas, mangoes, guavas, and pineapples—or whatever tropical fruits are available at your local farmers’ market. This is a great way to add color and texture to your table display without spending a bunch.

3. Say “Thank You” With Practical Party Favors

Give your guests something practical, yet decorative, to take home. Shell trays wrapped up in colorful fabrics not only add to the organic look of the table, but they can also

be filled with some homemade treats using tropical fruits, such as candied pineapples and guavas
present luxuriously exotic chocolate truffles infused with tropical fruits
be transformed into soap dishes, trinket holder or condiment trays back home

4. Serve Savory Jamaican Food & Cool Tropical Drinks

Jamaican cuisine is known for its spicy flavors and its multi-ethnic influences—ranging from British to East Indian to even Spanish fare!

Make it a fun BBQ – Since this is an at-home engagement party, why not put on a fun barbecue with a guest “grill master” cooking up the famed Jamaican Jerk Chicken? To keep costs down, you can buy the ingredients for Jamaican cuisine from an ethnic grocery near you. Or you may opt for the zero-hassle approach and have a restaurant cater an all-grill menu.
Serve tasty side dishes – For accompaniments, serve crunchy grilled vegetables with traditional Jamaican side dishes, such as fried plantains, Johnny cakes, rice and peas, and festival (fried cornbread).
Don’t forget the drinks – For beverages, pass around glasses of chilled juices freshly squeezed from tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango. You can also serve fun cocktails like Jamaican rum, Jamaican Cobbler, and “Jamaica Me Crazy.”
Indulge in exotic desserts – To end the meal on a sweet note, offer desserts like mango ice cream, rum raisin cake, and fried banana fritters.

5. Plan Simple Yet Fun Entertainment

Fill the air with music. What kind? Reggae, of course!

Play your favorite reggae CDs to get the party going.
Got any friends or relatives who play musical instruments? Have them show off their skills by playing along.
Have simple percussion instruments on hand, so even your non-musical guests can get in on the fun!

Thank you so much Lissa for sharing your party and all of these wonderful tips with us!