Top Tips For Hosting a Vintage Tea Party
If you are thinking about hosting a tea party themed event--Go for it! The nice thing about it is that you can have a tea party in any season. For warm weather get outdoors. For the bitter cold, I would suggest finding a venue with character. The older and more random traditional décor the better--It will allow you to play off of it and create a true high tea feel. Get different china sets and vintage tea cups and of course chiavari chairs--They will add that elegance that will make it just right. A tea party themed event can be numerous things - classy meets quaint - traditional meets new age - vintage meets experimental. Use the basic concepts and create to match your character. After all, if you are a woman who has been to endless, boring wedding showers that all blend in--Why not stand out and make it an affair to remember for your guests!
Here are some of Take A Seat's TOP TIPS FOR HOSTING A VINTAGE TEA PARTY:
1. Choose one or two main colours to base everything else off of. Now this doesn't mean you want to match everything to the exact as I believe it should be the complete opposite. Mix and match different patterns and florals that would compliment these colors. You want it to have character and the more random and varied patterns you have, the better!
2. If done right--A tea party should start with champagne or mimosas. If you would like to take a spin and try a different mixer, I would suggest lecce juice!
2. Most importantly: Luxury tea needs to be served in china. The beautiful thing is it doesn't have to match! The last tea party we hosted we asked friends and family if we could borrow their tea sets (clearly they were very trustworthy). No more than 8 cups were the same. It was brilliant! It also made for good conversation starters--All of the different types of cups and also the stories behind whose they were and where they came from.
3. Serve traditional dishes using traditional recipes! Luxury finger sandwiches made with smoked salmon, cucumbers, egg salad, prawns and ham--Specifically cut without the crust in triangle or rectangle shapes and served on tiered stands along a bountiful of beautiful and delicious treats; Victoria sponge cake, scones with clotted cream and jam, macaroons, fruit cake and other various pastries. It is definitely not an occasion to be counting calories! For inspiration check out BBC: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/occasions/afternoon-tea/
4. PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING. You can't have a classy affair without paying attention to the details. Use all of your best serving dishes--If you have silver, use it! Tiered stands are a must. Get fancy with napkins. Don't even think about paper anything!
5. Get some help to serve properly. For the pictured wedding shower, we had all of the grooms men come (dress up vintage) and wait on the ladies! They would refill tea, bring out the tired stands to each table when it was time, and most importantly they made each guest feel like they were being properly hosted.
6. FANCY DRESS REQUIRED accompanied with hats, hats and MORE hats of all different shapes and sizes. Make sure to make this a point of your invitations.
