at the house

A long table on the lawn in red gingham, folding wooden chairs down both sides, string lights overhead at sunset

In the garden

The Pizza Party

Thirty for pizza in August, and nothing rented but the tables and chairs.

Words and photographs by Lucy Cuneo · 3 minutes · August, 2026

The pizza

This August we had thirty for pizza, and guess what? I rented the tables and chairs and nothing else.

That wasn’t always the plan. Last August we threw an engagement party for my husband’s niece and her fiancé, six weeks after we’d moved into a new house, with about sixty people coming. I was staring down the barrel at rental prices for plates, glasses and tablecloths. Then I compared that with how often we’d actually be having people over. Umm, a zillion times? This house was built for entertaining. So I bit the bullet and STOCKED UP, y’all. A bit of everything, but mostly glasses, hurricanes, plates and napkins.

The gingham table laid on the lawn before anyone arrives The hall table at the foot of the stairs, a green lamp and a bowl of leaves
Set before sunset.

It paid for itself fast. At Christmas we had a hundred people, and the glasses nearly covered it, with a few rentals to fill in. And because I bought plain, neutral pieces, they go with whatever I put next to them, so the possibilities are endless. I would have bought the chairs too, but I was shipping last minute.

If I buy a special set, twelve is my minimum, and I’d really rather have eighteen or twenty-four.

A pizza with prosciutto and basil A big platter of salad passed down the candlelit table
Pass it down.
The long table at night, lit by tapers in hurricanes, guests with napkins tied over their heads
Two guests with napkins over their heads, arms in the air, the table full of candles
The napkins got a second job.

From my grandmother

My grandmother was the fairy godmother of entertaining, and she always had thirty-plus plates in the house, in multiple sets. I got that from her. I buy plates in big numbers. A luxury, I know, but it has come in handy more times than I can count.

A table under the vine on the terrace, plates and glasses out Everyone on the sofa after dinner, books and a bowl of flowers on the ottoman
And after.

Everything in the cupboard, with my notes, is on the Substack.

Sixty people, no rentals

The pizza recipe, and the tricks

In the garden

Rent the chairs. Own the plates.

While the oven heats

The hall table with a lamp, a bowl and greenery at the foot of the stairs In the cupboard Sixty People, No Rentals How I stopped renting plates and glasses, and what’s in my cupboard instead. Candlelit table at night On the terrace Austin Steak Night Flank steak, jalapeño chimichurri, and a very good excuse to have people over. Turquoise water beneath limestone cliffs On the water Sardinia, Barefoot Caves, the most charming village, and long lunches on the water every day.