Bridal Shower: Garden Tea Party
In one week (around the corner!), my bestie, Rebecca, is marrying the best guy EVER (for her), Ryan. I’m her Matron of Honor (Side note: that title makes me feel OLD and, well, matronly… I prefer Goddess of the World, but whatever) so it’s my responsibility to co-hostess the bridal shower for this lovely lady.
We held it at my home in the backyard and I wanted to do something more formal that we usually do (my house tends to be the landing pad for a lot of bridal & baby showers) so we went with a rustic, garden tea party theme. We didn’t want it to be TOO formal so we splashed in some mason jars, terra cotta pots, rust, and tarnished silver serving pieces.
My other bestie, Shawna, and I have been collecting the hodge-podge of china, serving dishes, trinkets and other knicknacks for MONTHS. We knew that they would all be perfect for the center of the huge feasting table that we envisioned. A perfect canvas for the brick-a-brack was La Tavola Linen‘s Maya Duckegg kings drape and we used the Tuscany Eggshell napkins for a soft compliment. We used mostly potted plants from our local nursery for pops of greenery, color & life. The fruitwood chiavari chairs from Simply Chiavari polished off the table. We adorned Rebecca’s and her mother’s chairs with a vintage linen hankerchief so the ladies-of-honor would know where to sit. I would have preferred assigned seating but, hey, we’re not THAT formal ’round here…
Each guest was told the theme ahead of time and encouraged to wear a garden-party-worthy dress and any fun accessories too. We offered faux pearl necklaces to work with their outfits. The favors were small mason jars with vintage fabric swatches (we found some at a yard sale) as decoration filled with custom tea bags and topped off with a locally-made honey stick.
The tea sandwiches were certainly Pinterest-worthy – beautiful AND delicious. Here are the recipes:
Smoked Salmon Cucmber Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
- Bread (we used potato bread)
- Smoked salmon, sliced (we used the pre-sliced from Costco)
- Cream cheese, softened (we used whipped)
- Fresh mint
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small English cucumber, thinly sliced
- Sour cream (just enough for a teeny dollop on each)
- Chives (just enough to put one small piece on top of each)
Method
NOTE: These will be open-faced sandwiches. Each slice of bread makes x4, 2-bite pieces.
- Put out bread
- Lightly spread cream cheese on each
- Put a tad of salt & pepper to taste
- Using a sharp knife, slice cucumbers thinly
- Top cucumbers, arranged nicely
- Using a sharp knife, remove crusts
- Cut sandwich into fourths
- Top each piece with a leaf (or half-leaf) of mint
- Top each piece with salmon, try to make into a rosette (to look nice)
- Top with a tiny dollop of sour cream
- Top each piece with a sprig of chive
- Serve immediately or chill in fridge slightly
Bleu Cheese Turkey Tea Sandwiches with Fig Jam
Ingredients
- Bread (we used a dark wheat bread)
- Turkey (we used the peppered version from Trader Joe’s)
- Bleu Cheese Roasted Pecan Dip from Trader Joe’s
- Apples
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fig Jam (we used the Fig Butter from Trader Joe’s)
- Fresh rosemary (just enough for a teeny garnish on top)
Method
NOTE: These will be closed sandwiches. 2 slices of bread = x4, 2-bite pieces.
- Put out bread (Group 1 & Group 2)
- Spread bleu cheese spread on Group 1
- Put a tad of salt & pepper to taste
- Using a sharp knife, slice apples thinly
- Top Group 1 with apple slices, arrange thinly
- Top Group 1 with turkey slices, arrange thinly
- Spread fig jam on Group 2
- Put Group 2 slices on top of Group 1 slices to make sandwiches
- Using a sharp knife, remove crusts
- Cut sandwich into fourths
- Poke tiny sprig of rosemary into center of each
- Serve immediately or chill in fridge slightly
This was a wonderfully-fun afternoon and it couldn’t have turned out more beautifully for our lovely bride.
