Celebrating May Day with Lily of the Valley

May is here, and with it, my birthday month begins!

Yesterday was May 1st, a day that is celebrated differently in many countries. In most of Latin America, it’s the equivalent of Labor Day; in Spain, it happened to be Mother’s Day because it was the first Sunday in May; and in France, May Day is called “La Fete du Muguet”, where lily of the valley is given to (and received from!) friends and family for “bonheur” and “bonne chance”, or happiness and good luck!

Lily of the Valley is one of my most favorite flowers, and very dear to me. Did you know that “Susana” means lily in Hebrew? Unfortunately, these fragrant, but rather shy flowers, are pretty much impossible to get in our tropical South Florida, so I had to rely on faux ones, but with the help of PartyLite, I was able to enjoy their scent thanks to their “Lily and Linen” scented tealights, which I styled in the gorgeous “Birdwatcher Votive Holders” that they kindly sent me. I didn’t get to use the large, unscented “GloLite” tealights, but I love that these glow from the base of the candle, so I’m looking forward to using them soon. By the way, you can still get 15% off your order with my code: ARMOIRE!

For a table that celebrates Spring, I was inspired by a book that I am reading called Miss Dior. A Story of Courage and Couture, by Justine Picardie. The book is about Monsieur Christian Dior’s sister, Catherine, who was very active in the French Resistence during WWII. Dior, whose mother was an accomplished gardener, had a fondness for Lily of the Valley, called muguet in French, and believed in its good luck. He also adored his sister, and the title of the book alludes to the famous perfume, which he created in her honor.

The Maison Dior loves incorporating this lovely flower in its designs, much as its founder did. When I visited the Dior boutique in Paris, I enjoyed a tea served in their lovely Lily of the Valley china. Caning or cannage, silvery gray and elegant black, as well as this woodsy flower, are iconic elements of the Maison, and are also elements on which I relied to style this table.

Aside from my antique, 1940s Lily of the Valley plates by Melba China, I also featured a lily of the valley sterling overlay cake platter with its very rare, matching dome, and the antique, hand-embroidered lily of the valley organdi tablecloth. I layered the lily of the valley plates over Grace Teaware scalloped plates with dark stripes, and accompanied the settings with my Rock Sharpe Frontenac etched goblets and Depression-era, needle etched, green-footed tumblers. To maintain the diaphanous paleness of it all, I combined a pearl handle dessert set with Wallace’s Grande Baroque sterling silver service.

As usual, I added Gorham’s Cromwell pattern nut dishes filled with robin’s blue chocolate pearls, which also served to hold the place cards. Instead of bread plates, I decided to use bone dishes, which I hate using…for bones…! I know some people use them for small salads, on the side, which is a use I have given them too, but I think they look adorable as bread plates too. I’m on a mission to make them fashionable again!

For the centerpiece, I styled the votive holders with the flowers, added PartyLite’s “Silver Bands” votives, and a few porcelain sparrows around the sterling silver candlesticks. I capped the candlesticks with my cherished Edwardian candle shades with the green liners I had made.

Do you celebrate May Day? I’d love to read your comments on my Instagram post and reel! And don’t forget to visit PartyLite to get 15% off your order with my code: ARMOIRE!