“In 2019, my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and I am celebrating my first anniversary with my husband, Collin Pierson,” shares event designer Michelle Durpetti. “To celebrate, we planned a trip to visit family in Italy.” As part of the trip, the group was able to enjoy a private dinner party for four, cooked by a Michelin-starred chef in a Renaissance palace in the heart of Florence. “To enjoy a meal curated by such a celebrated chef in such a historic and beautiful venue, I knew that we would need a beautiful table to go along with that. So I got to creating one of the most important projects that I have ever worked on; our collective family celebration and anniversary dinner,” explains Michelle.

She was inspired by the still life paintings of Caravaggio and utilized a deep color palette of rich tones, along with seasonal fruits and flowers for the autumnal occasion. Though her husband is a professional photographer, Michelle didn’t want it to become a working dinner, so a local photography team was hired to capture the tablescape design. A combination of Italian and stateside vendors were brought in to bring Michelle’s vision to life. From fresh pomegranate fruits and cascading bunches of grapes to orchids and calla lilies, “all of it was a feast for the senses, which is exactly how I live to design events,” she confirms.

Take a look at the inspiring tablescape in the slideshow above!