But first, I need to clarify something from my searches. A bridal TEA and a bridal SHOWER are two different events, at least in the South. A bridal shower is a get-together at which all guests arrive at the start of the event, play a few wedding-themed games, have refreshments, watch the bride open gifts, and leave at the end of the event. A bridal tea is come and go: the guests arrive anytime within the allotted period, participate in small talk with the bride and the families of the happy couple, have refreshments, view the gifts that have been given, and leave when they are ready. Bridal showers are small affairs; bridal teas are usually large affairs with most, if not all, of the wedding guests being invited. I always thought everyone referred to a tea or a shower with the same connotations I use, but after searching "bridal tea ideas" and finding only English tea-themed shower ideas I realized I was wrong.
Anyway... on to the inspiration....
The bride has chosen bright purple and bright turquoise for her wedding colors, so I thought it would be nice to use these colors for the tea as well. And this is an afternoon tea, beginning at 2:00. (Again, I believe this time is pretty traditional for a Southern bridal tea.)
You can find most of my inspiration links on my Pinterest "Celebrating" board here but I want to show the ones that I plan to emulate at the tea.
I made these for Easter to try them out. I actually used the frosting from the site, the baker upstairs, and used a shortcut recipe using a lemon cake mix from bettycrocker.com.
I had some fresh strawberries, too, so I decided to try a half batch of the blueberry version and a half-batch of my own strawberry version.
The frosting recipe called for 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, which is what I used. But I piped the frosting on the cupcakes and it was a little loose for my taste, so I plan to add more confectioner's sugar to the batches I'll make for the tea.
**UPDATE: The frosting set up very nicely, so the change I will make is to refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes before piping it on the cupcakes. No need to add extra confectioner's sugar after all.
I also took the leftover cupcakes to school for a taste test with the ladies in the office. They actually preferred the strawberry batch! Too bad. I'm still going with blueberry for the tea.
**UPDATE: The frosting set up very nicely, so the change I will make is to refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes before piping it on the cupcakes. No need to add extra confectioner's sugar after all.
I also took the leftover cupcakes to school for a taste test with the ladies in the office. They actually preferred the strawberry batch! Too bad. I'm still going with blueberry for the tea.
Now, this next one is my inspiration for adding a chocolate (candy melts) monogram to the top of the cupcakes.
Seeing the "30" on these cupcakes reminded me I made chocolate "1998's" for a New Year's Eve party we threw a long time ago, when we used to have the energy to clean the house so we could have people over.
I'll make "W"s in a nice script font to honor the happy couple-to-be. Maybe I'll do some monograms in purple and some in turquoise.
Now, I'd love to use turquoise doughnuts
or turquoise (Tiffany blue) candy coated Oreos, but this may be too many sweets.
(this photo comes from here but this item is no longer available. However, you can shop for similar items.)
A savory inspiration comes from Alisa Burke:
Herbed Cream Cheese on Cucumber slices
I found other savory bites ideas at beau coup
A couple of sweets, a savory item, and the obligatory - but delicious! - cheese straws from the local bakery completes the food. I am thinking the drink table will house lemonade with several syrups available for guests to add if they choose.
There is also a pineapple basil syrup we served at my parents' 60th anniversary party. It came from Southern Living, I think. I'll have to find the recipe....
OK, this is a GREAT deal of inspiration! I love Pinterest!! However, Pinterest is probably also why I get so very overwhelmed so very quickly! There is so much I want to do that I get lost in exactly where to start.
Having this tea to host is definitely helping me work with an end in mind. This means I'll actually get something done! Hee, hee....
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