Attending formal meals may cause a problem for many. The summary below could be useful also if only the home dinners with friends wanted to be made more glamorous:
The tablecloth should be plain or tone-on-tone patterned as far as possible, expediently white or cream, in starched and ironed condition. This provides neutral base to the table set and the served food also. It should be overhanging about 30 cm from the edge of the table, this way the legs of the guest can go underneath. If a table runner is placed, the color of the napkins should be matched with it. If not, the napkins should be made of the fabric of the tablecloth or at least in the same color but made of fabric is a must. This should be placed in the middle of the plate or on the left of the forks.
The so-called service plate has to wait the guests when taking seats. The plates containing various dishes are placed on this, which are taken off after every dish. Even the service plate is taken off before the dessert. If there is a pattern, coat of arms or other decoration on the plate, it should always be on the top of it opposite to the guest.
All the cutleries for using are pre-placed around the service plate. Using order: from outside to inside. Knifes are put on the right side of the plate (appetizer, salad, main dish) with their edges towards the plate, and the soup spoon. Forks are placed on the left side, in the same order. The dessert fork is put above the plate with its handle on the left, and the dessert spoon above this with its handle on the right. The bread plate is on the left side of the plate with the butter knife on it.
Glasses are put on the right side of the plate, above the knives. Maximum four glasses can be here, in a rectangular order or in a row in decreasing sizes to the right. These are glasses for water, red vine, white vine and aperitif. The set can be changed of course depending on the served drinks. Glass for champagne is not pre-placed.
The seating card is put above the dessert cutleries, the salt and pepper cellars are placed above the forks. The table centerpiece should be chosen according to the free visibility of the opposite guests above or under it, so the discussion is not disturbed by it. The needed space for comfortable eating is about 60 cm per person, this has to be considered when laying the table.
Ask for help of a style-advisor for formal and classy entertaining preparations.