Fit for a Bride...

My friend didn't pick out a maid of honor, so around January I realized no one was planning to give her a Bridal Shower. 

After some nice chats with my bff Christine and the brides mother (also a Christine) they agreed to help me out with a Tea Party themed shower on the Thursday before the wedding. By Thursday enough people will have gotten into town for the weekend nuptials, while it was a safe distance from the Saturday event.

I picked a tea party theme because our college has a longstanding tradition of Friday Afternoon Teas. At 4 o'clock every Friday, we would gather in our house living room to gossip and wrap up the week over cheese & crackers, fruit, cookies, brownies, and on the lucky days, cream puffs. Of course there would also be a big pot of tea, but while in college I rarely drank the stuff.

At some point I started drinking black tea right after school and now I am a self-proclaimed tea snob.

Originally I was really stuck on what type of party I wanted to throw. I thought about renting out a lounge or deck of a downtown hotel... but Austin is hot, and I wanted the event to be grandma friendly. I also realized the bride would probably be really worked up, so maybe a more intimate event would be better.

I was stuck, so I asked G's mom.   She had given us a really awesome tea starter kit for Christmas from Tea Embassy based in Austin (and I fell in love with their Buckingham Palace tea). So she suggested checking out them as a venue.

Turns out Tea Embassy had just gotten into the event business, were in my budget, and would let us do whatever we wanted. Tea Embassy has limited parking available on site, but a bunch of pay-meters along the street. They let us decorate and self-cater which made it really easy on us (lots of allergies).

Invite from Tag & Co. via Essentials.

My friend Anna took these photos and all credit goes to her:

 I took one of the invites, framed it with a white mat, and made people write little messages to the bride. Also you can see the glitter banner I made, and the thank you gifts.

Since college, Sarah has wanted this "Mrs" necklace from Kate Spade. Also present: her new Lilly dress :)

From front to back: Blackberry Buttermilk Cake, gluten-free chocolate tortes, deviled eggs

We put these pompoms everywhere!

Tea! We had mint, Ambrosia (fruity), and Buckingham Palace

 This is the flower girl, who is also the most well behaved little lady. Since no kid wants to sit through a long tea party and watch another person (bride) open gifts the whole time, we had a series of gifts for her too. We started with a no-mess coloring book and progressed to a tiara and pearls (above).

Cucumber finger sandwiches, PB&Js (for the flower girl), chocolate dipped shortbread cookies

Best friends: Me, Sarah (bride), Christine

Bride + flower girl

Showing off her new tea set! (ignore my tired look)

Thank You gifts: tea candle (get it?!) with handstamped tag

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

BFF, Christine, finally enjoying some tea at the end

The day was a whirlwind, because later that night was also the Jack/Jill party. I highly recommend using Tea Embassy as a venue for your smaller gatherings (under 30 people). They were so friendly and helpful. If your ever on Rio Grande street in Austin you should swing by their shop for a cup of tea!