In May of 2018, I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for practically my whole life, I hosted my very own tea party. While I admit, I went completely overboard and absolutely stressed myself out over it, it went way better than I could have ever imagined.
The idea and inspiration to host came from receiving a book two Christmas ago by Angel Adoree a British author and owner of The Vintage Patisserie, a hosting company in London.
I put the idea out there to my lady friends and family and had an enormous amount of interest for attendance. So I set a date for late May and got myself busy. I also decided to incorporate a plant exchange as well to get us New Englanders in the planting mood.
The first thing I did was order some custom invitations. I scoured Pinterest and Etsy until I found the perfect invitations designed by Etsy seller INVITEDbyAudriana.
The artist customized them for me and sent me the file within a a few days so I could print them out at home.
The next thing I did was to sew some custom napkins and a tablecloth for my tea party guests. I picked up some fabric from my local Joanne’s fabric store. I’m not usually a pink kind of girl, but the fabric seemed to really speak to me that day.
For the napkins I cut out 11″ squares and then ironed and hemmed them with a double 1/4″ fold, and a 1/4″ seam . I then added a floral lace trim on one of the edges.
For the tablecloth I simply took a piece of 48″x 108″ fabric, cut it in half lengthwise, and just left the raw edge to finish another time (my time was getting tight, ha ha).
To complete my favors I ordered some wooden honey dippers and porcelain teabag caddies from Amazon. I finished them off with some custom floral pink jade pins I made, and a bit of jute twine to hold them together.
For the plant exchange portion I asked each guest to bring two 6 plant cell packs (12 small plants each) with the plan of mixing them all up and each person leaving with a nice variety of plants. For another favor, my husband and I crafted some custom plant caddies made from old pallets, chicken wire, and jute rope. They were a big project but my husband really helped by going the extra mile.
The day before the shower is when I really started to kick into high gear, finalizing my menu and actually shopping for everything that I needed to pull it all together. I decided to pick up flowers at the York Flower Shop in York, Maine near my work. I picked out a collection of red and white peonies, peach roses, hyacinth, pink orchids, and a handful of fern and olive leaves for greenery. The smell of the peonies literally made me cry as they brought me back to my Grandma Niver’s garden.
I also purchased some flavored macaroons from La Maison Navarre, a French Pastry Shop in downtown Portsmouth, NH. A little pricey but worth every penny, I think. (I attempted to make some a few weeks ago and I failed horribly).
For the menu, my husband and I crafted all sorts of traditional tea party foods, all finger size. Most recipes came from the above mentioned book.
We made:
Cucumber Mini Sandwiches
Waldorf Salad Mini Sandwiches
Brie and Walnut Scones
Blueberry Crumble Bars
Prune Chocolate Tea Cakes
My two favorites were the Blueberry Crumble Bars (a Pinterest recipe I’ve made a few times now) and the Prune Chocolate Tea Cakes. I have never cooked with prunes before and they were wonderfully moist and delicious.
Some of my dear friends also brought a meat/cheese assortment and some Italian pastries.
As for the tea itself, Target must have known I was having a tea party and put all their special teas on sale for me. Some tea flavors included Tazo Zen Green, Tazo Gingerly Jasmine Tea, Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Sunset Black Tea, Harney & Sons Green Tea with Coconut, Harney, and Sons Vanilla Comoro Tea. I’m pretty sure I made some sort of spiked champagne tea as well. But it’s been a hot minute and I can’t recall which recipe used. For teacups I used multiple sets I have been collecting over the years which included a pattern called Christine by Fine China of Japan (a set my mother collected from the grocery store in her heyday), a pattern called Parisien Scenes by Mikasa (a pattern I collected in my teens), and a few other random teacups as well.
For the teapots I used my random collection that I’ve been building over the years. Most of them have been given to me by various friends and family.
The morning of the party I was up before the sun, sewing some last minute napkins, and finishing up my baking treats. Thank the stars for my husband who is the perfect sous chef and for my mother who showed up early with my sister in law to whip my party into it’s final shape.
The guests all arrived on time and the gaggle of geese was in full force. All the ladies wore there best springtime dresses and brought the most beautiful flowers to exchange.
The party went splendidly and everyone went home with the most beautiful collection of flowers. The party has been talked about for a few years and all who attended have been begging for another lady party because I think all us ladies certainly enjoyed having such a fancy girly time. Enjoy the rest of the party in the pictures below and I can’t wait to host my next party coming this March!
(Photo credits from my beautiful friend Chayna Drapeau)
