A Bridesmaids Luncheon & Tea for Cydney!

You've heard me talk about it for months now, and on Saturday it was finally time to host the Bridesmaids Luncheon and Tea for my sweet friend Cydney and her maids!

What a lovely group of friends she has, and to my delight they were all eager to try all the teas I prepared! From left are Angela, Alley (sister of the bride), Cydney, Brandi, Lauren, Abby (sister of the groom) and Miranda (cousin of the groom).

So what teas did the girls drink? First we began with some "Celebration" Blend from Fortnum and Mason, which was a big hit, with multiple refills requested and served. I made another pot of that, and then they wanted to try the Harney & Sons Lingonberry Green, which was also a hit. (I let the bride's mother, my friend Liz, sniff teas straight from my tea rack and help me choose what to serve. She obviously made good choices.) I also served an iced fruity tea called "Lady Hannah" blend in honor of the bride's flower girl, her cute niece Hannah, who unfortunately couldn't be with us because our event conflicted with cheerleader pictures up in the mountains where she lives. But I sent some of the tea to Hannah so she'll know she was missed!

For our savories, we had Pimiento Cheese Hearts, Smoked Salmon and Dill Tarts, Ginger Chicken Balls, and Cucumber Cream Sandwiches. The girls were very complimentary about all the food, and I loved it when I walked past and heard several of them moaning that they were so stuffed!

On the tea trolley we had Cranberry Scones (I also made Chocolate Chip Scones but forgot to get a picture; you know how that goes!), Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes, Orange Madeleines, Caramel Apple Tea Bread and Lemon Bars. Besides all the savories, the Lemon Bars seemed to be the other item that got the most positive comments, which I found interesting. (Maybe it's because that's a classic southern sweet for luncheons and such?)

I was trying to incorporate a few subtle touches of "vintage" into the decor, so I used these vintage print scrapbooking paper flowers on the cupcakes. I wasn't sure if they'd melt into the icing, but they held up just fine!

Liz came early to help me assemble sandwiches and get things on the table, and then we agreed we'd head to the living room and allow the girls to gab freely. I loved hearing them laugh and enjoy themselves!

And though I failed to take all the photos I intended, at least I did think to get a few photos of the girls before they left the table!

The bride's gift to her maids was these monogrammed shirts which they will wear as they're getting ready the day of the wedding. I loved these! Liz hung them from my living room window, and I thought they were actually rather pretty there.

Now can you guess what my gift was to these sweet girls?

Yes, everyone left with a vintage teacup, and they seemed so happy with them. I was more than a little pleased that Liz reported that later that day, when they were at the seamstress' house getting their dresses fitted, they were all chatting about the luncheon and how they are all going to drink more tea now! (Yes -- score one for our team, tea lovers!)

I've been having tea with Cydney and Alley for quite a few years now (here they are at a tea 18 years ago with our little friend Jordynn in the background), and it was fun to see that tea is still such a sweet part of our friendship!