Ever since childhood, it has been Grace Campbell’s job to get the Christmas table ready.
“There’s probably more pressure on me now,” laughs the Grace & Saviour stylist as she lays a stick of cinnamon, a sprig of eucalyptus and a plump clementine on a raw-edged muslin napkin, tied neatly with parcel twine.
Buckets of holly and ivy – foraged bright and early – stand on the worktop. As thick cream candles flicker and scents like fir and rosemary start to fill the kitchen, a dog snoozes contentedly by the Aga – apparently nonplussed as the farmhouse table is transformed into a scene worthy of a Renaissance study.
“It’s so much nicer when it’s pulled together from things that you have, like linen napkins that came from your grandmother or wine glasses that were a wedding present,” says Grace as she works her magic, placing a pinecone here, a pear there. “That’s what makes a Christmas table – when you know everything that’s gone into it.”
Of course, Grace makes it look effortless, but by following her tips, it’s easy to recreate this country Christmas table at home.
We’ve met the Belfast belle at her husband Paddy’s family dairy farm near Stewartstown, Co Tyrone – a place she credits with inspiring her journey as one of Ireland’s leading wedding and event stylists.
While she originally studied at Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design, Grace completed her degree in advertising and marketing to get a “proper job”, yet she grew fed-up with the nine to five.
Meeting Paddy, however, gave her the courage to follow her creativity with Grace & Saviour.
“He is the Saviour bit,” she says of her husband of three years.
“Really and truly, I had more freedom in getting married than I had beforehand, because Paddy said to me: ‘Grace would you not run your own business?’”
While planning her own wedding, Grace became attuned to bridal trends in the US and Britain, and saw the opportunity to hire out items like chiavari chairs and props to like-minded brides. With Paddy helping with savings, she hit the ground running with her first order of 180 chairs for a wedding in Co Monaghan.
“My first van had ‘plastering and dry-lining’ on the side,” she smiles of the early days.
“I got some funny looks when other builders would drive past me.”
Before long, however, couples impressed by her aesthetic attention to detail were approaching Grace to help style their perfect day to reflect their personalities – from place settings to complete venues.
“I tend to attract people getting married in places that are not the standard hotel,” explains Grace.
“Barn weddings, marquees at home on farms, music halls, restaurants and bars. It’s about saying: ‘How do we make this a wedding space for the day?’”
While Grace now has a studio closer to Belfast, in the early days she worked from the calving shed on the farm. She still uses it for materials and, more importantly, for inspiration.
“I’ve made tables for weddings out of barn doors. We’ve used old barrels, wood, pallets,” she lists.
“People probably see this job as very glamorous and it’s all perfect on social media and Instagram. Then in the background I could be in welly boots in the calf shed. But I don’t think I could do my business the way I do it without this connection.”
As well as weddings, Grace’s styling skills are in demand elsewhere. Recent projects have included working with Dunnes Stores on their Christmas shoot and collaborating with chefs like Donal Skehan and Stuart O’Keeffe.
And 2015 promises more excitement, not least the arrival of her first baby in March. A quiet Christmas so for Grace and her very own saviour?
“I have a wedding on the 22nd, the 27th and the 29th,” she responds with a bright laugh. Amazing Grace indeed.
Get the look
A Christmas
country table
“I think the best tables to have a meal at are welcoming and friendly, and don’t feel overly formal or contrived. Almost everything on the table – the fir, ivy, holly – was foraged from hedgerows on the farm. Materials can be picked Christmas Eve and kept in a bucket of water until morning. It is something that the whole family can get involved in. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to decorate.”
A length of linen or hessian ties in with the natural theme, protects your table and provides a focal point to build your arrangement. If you plan to have serving bowls on the table during dinner, decide in advance where you are going to position them and plan your arrangement accordingly. Start by placing the largest and least flexible of the foliage on your table runner – in this case, the fir branches. Next, place your candles, followed by the ivy, holly, eucalyptus, etc. Dried oranges, pine cones and fruit like blush and conference pears can also be added in.
Some sparkling wine/prosecco with elderflower cordial, a dash of lime juice and a sprig of sage makes a refreshing pre-dinner cocktail. For tee-totallers, just omit the bubbly.Not everybody has linen napkins, so why not buy a sheet of white muslin, which you can simply cut into rectangles and fold. It means you won’t be stuck for a place setting if an unexpected guest arrives.If serving soup as a starter, wrapping your bread roll with an individual butter in a square of muslin with some herbs is a thoughtful touch.It’s easy to create a name card with some simple watercolour paper or brown parcel tags and a gold pen. Each person feels they are being welcomed to the table and it makes all the difference. It’s also a lovely job to give to a younger family member. A stick of cinnamon, a sprig of eucalyptus, an old-fashioned clementine or a stalk of rosemary circled in to a mini wreath and fastened with garden twine, all make for festive and fragrant place settings.
If you wish to make your own dried oranges, place whole oranges on drying racks or in a low-heat oven, in a single layer on baking trays. Turn occasionally to maintain shape. Leave in the oven for 24 to 48 hours; larger oranges may require a longer drying time. Cut shallow slits in orange peel from top to bottom without removing peel. Make six to eight slits on each orange. Allow slit oranges to dry in low-heat oven for 12 to 24 hours. The idea of the low oven is to dry them rather than cook them.
Instead of Christmas crackers, you can pick up these little brown boxes in a craft store. Why not enclose a quiz question, a fun fact about somebody at the table, or a small gift like spices for mulled wine or handmade chocolates?To create a handmade foliage spray to tie to the chair at the head of the table, cut holly, ivy and other foraged material to 15cm lengths (in double branches if possible to act as a hinge) and gather with twine. After Christmas Day, the arrangement can be hung on the door.Candlelight is key to creating a nice atmosphere. Buy good-quality, slow-burning candles that burn “in” on themselves – chefs’ wholesalers are a good bet. If you have small children, consider using votives, which can be scattered throughout the arrangement for effect.
Ever since childhood, it has been Grace Campbell’s job to get the Christmas table ready.
“There’s probably more pressure on me now,” laughs the Grace & Saviour stylist as she lays a stick of cinnamon, a sprig of eucalyptus and a plump clementine on a raw-edged muslin napkin, tied neatly with parcel twine.
Buckets of holly and ivy – foraged bright and early – stand on the worktop. As thick cream candles flicker and scents like fir and rosemary start to fill the kitchen, a dog snoozes contentedly by the Aga – apparently nonplussed as the farmhouse table is transformed into a scene worthy of a Renaissance study.
“It’s so much nicer when it’s pulled together from things that you have, like linen napkins that came from your grandmother or wine glasses that were a wedding present,” says Grace as she works her magic, placing a pinecone here, a pear there. “That’s what makes a Christmas table – when you know everything that’s gone into it.”
Of course, Grace makes it look effortless, but by following her tips, it’s easy to recreate this country Christmas table at home.
We’ve met the Belfast belle at her husband Paddy’s family dairy farm near Stewartstown, Co Tyrone – a place she credits with inspiring her journey as one of Ireland’s leading wedding and event stylists.
While she originally studied at Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design, Grace completed her degree in advertising and marketing to get a “proper job”, yet she grew fed-up with the nine to five.
Meeting Paddy, however, gave her the courage to follow her creativity with Grace & Saviour.
“He is the Saviour bit,” she says of her husband of three years.
“Really and truly, I had more freedom in getting married than I had beforehand, because Paddy said to me: ‘Grace would you not run your own business?’”
While planning her own wedding, Grace became attuned to bridal trends in the US and Britain, and saw the opportunity to hire out items like chiavari chairs and props to like-minded brides. With Paddy helping with savings, she hit the ground running with her first order of 180 chairs for a wedding in Co Monaghan.
“My first van had ‘plastering and dry-lining’ on the side,” she smiles of the early days.
“I got some funny looks when other builders would drive past me.”
Before long, however, couples impressed by her aesthetic attention to detail were approaching Grace to help style their perfect day to reflect their personalities – from place settings to complete venues.
“I tend to attract people getting married in places that are not the standard hotel,” explains Grace.
“Barn weddings, marquees at home on farms, music halls, restaurants and bars. It’s about saying: ‘How do we make this a wedding space for the day?’”
While Grace now has a studio closer to Belfast, in the early days she worked from the calving shed on the farm. She still uses it for materials and, more importantly, for inspiration.
“I’ve made tables for weddings out of barn doors. We’ve used old barrels, wood, pallets,” she lists.
“People probably see this job as very glamorous and it’s all perfect on social media and Instagram. Then in the background I could be in welly boots in the calf shed. But I don’t think I could do my business the way I do it without this connection.”
As well as weddings, Grace’s styling skills are in demand elsewhere. Recent projects have included working with Dunnes Stores on their Christmas shoot and collaborating with chefs like Donal Skehan and Stuart O’Keeffe.
And 2015 promises more excitement, not least the arrival of her first baby in March. A quiet Christmas so for Grace and her very own saviour?
“I have a wedding on the 22nd, the 27th and the 29th,” she responds with a bright laugh. Amazing Grace indeed.
Get the look
A Christmas
country table
“I think the best tables to have a meal at are welcoming and friendly, and don’t feel overly formal or contrived. Almost everything on the table – the fir, ivy, holly – was foraged from hedgerows on the farm. Materials can be picked Christmas Eve and kept in a bucket of water until morning. It is something that the whole family can get involved in. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to decorate.”
A length of linen or hessian ties in with the natural theme, protects your table and provides a focal point to build your arrangement. If you plan to have serving bowls on the table during dinner, decide in advance where you are going to position them and plan your arrangement accordingly. Start by placing the largest and least flexible of the foliage on your table runner – in this case, the fir branches. Next, place your candles, followed by the ivy, holly, eucalyptus, etc. Dried oranges, pine cones and fruit like blush and conference pears can also be added in.
Some sparkling wine/prosecco with elderflower cordial, a dash of lime juice and a sprig of sage makes a refreshing pre-dinner cocktail. For tee-totallers, just omit the bubbly.Not everybody has linen napkins, so why not buy a sheet of white muslin, which you can simply cut into rectangles and fold. It means you won’t be stuck for a place setting if an unexpected guest arrives.If serving soup as a starter, wrapping your bread roll with an individual butter in a square of muslin with some herbs is a thoughtful touch.It’s easy to create a name card with some simple watercolour paper or brown parcel tags and a gold pen. Each person feels they are being welcomed to the table and it makes all the difference. It’s also a lovely job to give to a younger family member. A stick of cinnamon, a sprig of eucalyptus, an old-fashioned clementine or a stalk of rosemary circled in to a mini wreath and fastened with garden twine, all make for festive and fragrant place settings.
If you wish to make your own dried oranges, place whole oranges on drying racks or in a low-heat oven, in a single layer on baking trays. Turn occasionally to maintain shape. Leave in the oven for 24 to 48 hours; larger oranges may require a longer drying time. Cut shallow slits in orange peel from top to bottom without removing peel. Make six to eight slits on each orange. Allow slit oranges to dry in low-heat oven for 12 to 24 hours. The idea of the low oven is to dry them rather than cook them.
Instead of Christmas crackers, you can pick up these little brown boxes in a craft store. Why not enclose a quiz question, a fun fact about somebody at the table, or a small gift like spices for mulled wine or handmade chocolates?To create a handmade foliage spray to tie to the chair at the head of the table, cut holly, ivy and other foraged material to 15cm lengths (in double branches if possible to act as a hinge) and gather with twine. After Christmas Day, the arrangement can be hung on the door.Candlelight is key to creating a nice atmosphere. Buy good-quality, slow-burning candles that burn “in” on themselves – chefs’ wholesalers are a good bet. If you have small children, consider using votives, which can be scattered throughout the arrangement for effect. 
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