Tea Party Bridal Shower

Last fall, one of my dearest friends decided to get married in Hawaii while on a family trip. Even though I couldn’t be there to see her on her big day, I still wanted to give her a proper send off into married life. With the help of her sister, we put together a fun and casual Sunday afternoon tea party bridal shower.

We kept the decor simple – fresh flowers everywhere, vintage tablecloths from my mom’s collection, and some cute tissue paper pom poms.

I whipped up these pale yellow and pink pom poms in no time. Any easy way to add some color and height to the decorations.

I made them in a variety of sizes, and hung them from the ceiling throughout the living room and dining room – even the ceiling fan got in on the action!

They are actually easier to make than I thought they would be. Here is a step-by-step tutorial.

For food, we stuck with a variety of homemade sandwiches, fresh vegetables with onion dip, and some tasty sweets.

My mom lent us her vintage teacup collection, and we had a variety of teas avaliable for everyone to try out, along with cream, milk, sugar and honey sticks.

Of course we had to have some tea biscuits on hand as well. I was glad to get the chance to dig out some of my teapots. I never use these at home as much as I’d like to. We used them to hold the hot water, so that everyone could take a bag from the type of tea they’d like to try, rather than making a whole pot of each.

For teaspoons, I dug out the gold silverware set that Garrett’s parents gave us as a housewarming gift. I’m always surprised at how many occasions I can find to use pieces from this collection. The gold adds a little flair to any event.

For dessert, we had homemade gluten-free cupcakes made my the bride’s sister, and I picked up some peanut-free mini cupcakes from a local shop. There was something there for all of us allergy people.

There was also a large variety of fruits available for guests to try including persimmon, which I had never tried before.

We also gave them this Kitchen Towel Cake full of new dish towels, bar cloths, oven mitts, hot pads, bamboo utensils, spatulas, a whisk and even a little sieve. The entire cake was perched on a brand new cake stand, along with a matching set of dessert dishes. The cake was a huge hit and gave guests a chance to see what they contributed to.

To make the cake, I wrapped and pinned dish towels and oven mitts to rolls of toilet paper. The roll gave the cake some filler and provided more stability, then I made the next tier smaller and the top tier was the smallest. I wrapped ribbons around the tiers and pinned them in place. To keep the cake centered, I stuck a dowel down the center of the toilet paper tubes. Then it was just a matter of sticking the utensils in between the towels.

As a final touch, we put together some favours for the guests. We found little colourful glass spice jars and filled them with loose Organic Peppermint Tea. Then we put them into a cellophane bag, along with some tea filters and tied them all up with ribbon. A simple and inexpensive way to thank everyone for coming out.

The Wedding in Hawaii

It was so great to be able to put something together to show Alison how much we all love her and Dave, and how excited we are for this next chapter of their story together.

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