A Busy Mom's Blog: A Mad Hatter's Tea Bridal Shower

It's finally here...my sister's bridal shower. I've been planning this shower for over a year and I was so excited when the day finally came. My sister got engaged shortly after Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding. Along with many Americans, I was up at 3 am to watch the fanfare of the wedding. Sabrina and I decided that we wanted to throw a party where everyone had to wear a English-style tea party hat.

So...I decided on a Mad Hatter's Tea. I've never loved the movie Alice in Wonderland, but I've always loved the concept of a Mad Hatter's Tea Party because of the bright colors and crazy decorations that I could do. And in true Mad Hatter style, I wanted vintage plates, tea pots and tea cups to use at the shower instead of disposable.

The decor...
For a year, I visited resale shops and gathered everything I could find that looked remotely mad hatter-ish. I purchased candle holders, tea pots, appetizer plates, tea cups and forest themed garden decor. Over the year, I acquired enough to use for the party. It was surprising how many great china patterns I was able to find at theses shops. I actually became giddy every time I saw a new Goodwill that I hadn't previously raided.

This was my favorite candelabra...$5.99 for two of them. And I didn't have to paint it!

For the tea pots, I chose them based on their shape regardless of how they were decorated because I spray painted any of the tea pots that I didn't like a bright color. (***I found that it was necessary to spray a self-etching primer first when painting glass).

Click here for more information regarding the decorations.

The tables

We had 34 people at the shower. My vision for the tables was to make it look as much like the movie as possible. We set 2 long tables to seat everyone. At each setting, there was a large square plastic plate, a small vintage appetizer plate, pink goblet, tea cup, cloth napkin and pumpkin spice sugar scrub favor. In the center of the tables was a long table runner of black and white checkered wrapping paper. Then we added all the table decorations at any open space. We wanted it to be a long cluttered but pretty table.

The Menu...
The menu was a buffet of appetizers and desserts.

Appetizers-
Grape Jelly Meatballs
Cheese Tortellini Skewers- with pesto and marinara dipping sauce
A tray of Turkey Roll-ups from Costco
Mini Quiches
Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella and Garlic Baguette Slices
Jalapeno Artichoke Dip (my fav- from Jewel) with Pita Chips
Vegetable Pizza
Cucumber Sandwiches

Desserts-
Mini Cheesecakes with Cherries and Blackberries
Mini Brownies
Tea Party Cookie Cutter Cookies (Thanks to Auntie Jeannie and Grandma)
Almost Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Cake Pops- Chocolate, Lemon and Yellow cake

Drinks...

Pink Party Punch

Coffee

Tea- hot & iced

Water

Activities...

I hired a photographer for the shower. I never get enough pictures at any parties I throw, so I decided to hire Paula of Paula Marie Photography- check out her Facebook page by selecting this link. If you're looking for a photographer in the Chicagoland area, I highly recommend her. She's just starting out, but I've known her for 20 years and she's wonderful.

As a part of the shower, we staged a little photo booth. Paula brought the backdrop and I supplied the photo props. All of our guests had a blast taking pictures. And, this made sure we got a picture of all who attended.