Tara McNabb’s first picnic experience started with a whim and a social media post. Scrolling one day, one of those “tag yourself here to win a prize” posts caught her eye. She tagged herself in the comments, never thinking she’d win. But she did.
The prize was a disco-themed luxury picnic from Chattanooga’s The Picnic Society. All McNabb had to do was invite some friends, choose a select location and then show up on the scheduled day to enjoy drinks out of amber glassware, a mirror ball centerpiece, charcuterie and an instant camera at the site – which, for McNabb’s party, was the Chickamauga Battlefield, a beautiful area with plenty of natural scenery.
The company founder, Hillary Moore, took care of everything else, from picnic planning and preparing, to delivery and cleanup.
Moore came up with the idea for The Picnic Society while working on another project: elopement photography. While shooting a wedding on the sunset cliffs of San Diego in late May of last year, Moore couldn’t help but notice all of the picnic setups that dotted her surroundings.
“That’s when I thought, ‘Well, why not bring that to Chattanooga?'” says Moore, who lives in Chattanooga but travels for work.