Love Story Tea Party: the décor

For my dear friend Alicia's bridal shower this weekend, I wanted to plan a party that would feature the love story of her and her husband-to-be, as well as show parts of her personality to the ladies who were coming to celebrate her.

I began by asking A what her all-time favorite love stories were, hoping they might provide inspiration. Her list came back: Anne and Gilbert (Anne of Green Gables), Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Ariel and Eric (The Little Mermaid) and Victoria and Albert (Queen and Prince, history). Three of the four have tea times involved, being British or Canadian, and tea parties being an appropriate sort of shower thing, I decided on a love story tea party.

The décor was initially influenced by the wedding colors, which are water shades of blue. I learned that Tiffany blue is the bride's special favorite shade, so I kept my eyes tuned to that color. The first purchase for the shower was a clearance priced yarn from Beverly's in the Tiffany blue and powder blue shades. $2 per skien, and I have tons left over! I used it to decorate the stairs and to make a banner declaring LOVE.

To create a focal point in the "gift room" I asked their engagement photographer (who is also a personal friend) to send a few of his favorite shots of them. I ordered an engineering print from Staples for $3.55 for a 24"x36". It is big, people. Too big if you have much else on your walls, but it worked on the mantle.

Name tags at showers were introduced to me by my beautiful maid of honor at my wedding shower. I am a believer! Usually wedding showers include mixed groups of women, and being able to see someone's name you don't know right there on her shoulder makes it easier to say hello and begin to chat. I have gone over-the-top in my making of name tags before (I once strung individual pennant flags on thread for a mini-bunting name tag for 25 women...never again!) This time I paired it back with a simple hand-stamped name and a tea cup. The tags were made of two layers of cardstock in shades of blue with a pin hot-glued on the back. They can be a bit fragile (moms with babies often lose theirs before long), but they do the trick.

On the main food table, I included pictures of the characters from the love stories A chose, to provide an extra layer of fun (and to reinforce the theme!) Some of the characters (I used a picture from the movie The Young Victoria) may have been unknown to the guests, so I thought pictures could help.

The final bit of décor was the favors. I happened to have teapot shaped cookie cutters, so I made cookies and packaged them in treat bags with "Love" seals, also scored in the Beverly's clearance bin. Learn how to get beautifully iced cookies using the flooding method via Martha Stewart.

Stay tuned for the food and fun!