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DIY High Tea Bridal Shower: Sweet Detail & Simple Elegance
- Sheri Walker
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
In April, I hosted a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister in law. My youngest brother is getting married this coming July. I wanted to throw her a shower that felt pretty, fresh and elevated. After some thinking, I decided on doing a High Tea Theme. So, the planning began!
My vision included our dining table with multiple dessert tiers, fresh flowers, and a selection of sandwiches. And in our kitchen I wanted to do a Tea station and punch as well as offer a prosecco toast to our guests. An idea I thought of that I thought was super cute was to send each guest home with their own tea cup as a party favour.
For the couple of months leading up to the shower, I started gathering decor. I tried to do more thrifted items than purchased. Tea cups proved easier to find, but dessert tiers were not as simple. I also raided my MIL’s hosting platters and decor and my step-mom also had a lovely tea pot and dessert tier to lend as well.
What I thrifted:
Teacups: The Bride’s mother found 20 gorgeous tea cups on Facebook Marketplace for $200
I found several more at local thrift stores here in white rock
What I borrowed:
Burlap table runner
Cream table cloth
Crystal vases
2 dessert Tiers
Homemade Bride to Be Banner from my MIL
Crystal Punch bowl
Mr Coffee - cleaned it out to be a hot water dispenser for tea
What I bought:
Dessert Tiers on Amazon
Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BDRFKCPB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Balloon Arch Kit :
Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C2HPK1J5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Paper flowers wall Decor
Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0891XT5ZC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Bride-to-be Banner for outside deck
Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D9QVRB9V?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
2 Bridal games from Indigo (Found in-store not online currently)
I placed an order with Traceycakes bakery for Gluten Free High Tea for 4 people to accommodate guests with diet restrictions
Groceries and prosecco
A variety of teas from David’s tea (be sure to order individual packets)
What I rented:
30 Ivory and Gold Dessert Plates
30 Prosecco Flutes
30 Punch glasses
I rented from Party City and it was inexpensive (approx $60) and so convenient to just package up all the used dishes and cups and send it back to the vendor. This saved a lot of time and headache.
Homemade Items:
Cranberry Orange and White Chocolate Scones
Tip: I made the scones the week before and froze them. One less thing to do in the busy days leading up to the party!
Scone recipe: I added white chocolate chips
Sandwiches:
Smoked Salmon and Dill: use whole wheat bread, cut off crusts, use herb and garlic cream cheese and fresh dill.
Ham Sandwiches: These were very popular! We used canned devilled ham (about 3 cans), 1 table spoon relish, 1 table spoon mayo and mix together. Then spread on to sandwiches.
Cucumber sandwiches: we used herb and garlic cream cheese, and thinly sliced cucumber.
Table display with sandwiches. I cut them in to squares and triangles
Sandwich Tip: My husband's Grandma helped me make the sandwiches, her tip was to saran wrap the whole sandwich and chill it overnight in the fridge. You then slice them into squares and triangles while setting the table. The sandwiches hold together nicely this way and taste great!
Deviled Eggs: First time I made these and they worked out great! Much easier to make than I thought.
Here is the link: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/traditional-deviled-eggs/
Fruit and veggie Tray - I chopped the fruit and veg the morning of and assemble them onto trays
Big shout out to my husbands Grandma who made the blueberry and strawberry tarts! As well as my step-mom, Jo, who designed and made gorgeous cookies!
Balloon Arch: Making a balloon arch is very time consuming. The large arch I made took 3 hours. I recommend making the arch the day before the event to avoid scrambling the day of!
I had hosted children’s birthday parties at our house before, but never a large group of adults. We had 21 ladies coming over. I was a little stressed, and my husband definitely felt some of that. He was outside pressure washing our back deck and front yard 2 weeks before the event. My MIL and I were out in our front yard weeding and the week of the party I planted fresh flowers in our planters to make the yard look bright and friendly. I also cleaned our windows the week of the event as well. Nothing like hosting a big event to kick your spring cleaning into high gear!
I was praying for nice weather for the event. Our house is not large, and having all the ladies in our living room would have been tight. April in BC can be very variable with rain and sun. But regardless, I had the deck set up and looking really inviting. And all that hard work paid off- we had beautiful sunny weather in the afternoon.
Here’s the schedule I used leading up to the shower to stay organized:
Week before:
Make scones (a double batch)
Make schedule and grocery list
Prepare decor
Thursday April 24th:
Grocery shopping & liquor store
Make scones (put in freezer)
Run through hot water machine
Friday:
Wash tea cups
Pick up confetti party order
Take the rest of terry’s decor & sorbet (in fridge freezer)
Saturday:
Make sandwiches with GG
Make balloon garland, hang up banners
Organize table
Pick up fresh strawberries
Sunday:
Finalize decor
Set up tea cups and start hot water
Set out prosecco glasses
Cut sandwiches
Put out food
Get deck chairs out ( extra old dining chairs out on deck too?)
Tip: If you are planning an event, I highly recommend making a schedule like this. Checking off each item made me feel like I had things under control.
Here is my Food Plan and Grocery List:
The day of the party:
My sister came over bright and early in the morning to help set up. We finalized the decor and vacuumed. Rearranged dining chairs and placed extra chairs on the deck to optimize seating.
My step-mom came after picking up our gluten free desserts so we all worked together to set up the table and kitchen. We arranged one end of the table to be gluten free and played with where to put the dessert tiers. We ended up putting flowers in the middle. I bought fresh tulips and we fancied up the bouquets by adding artificial lavender. Since we had a Mr Coffee filled with hot water for tea, the lovely tea pots we had were used for table decoration. My step-mom put artificial flowers in the spout which made it look so pretty.
I was so happy with how it came together.
My sister and I also decided to keep the games to a minimum. We played two simple games in the last hour of the shower. A “how well do you know the bride” and a “ how well do you know the couple” game. When guests arrived we had everyone mingle and enjoy sitting on the deck and filling their plates. The bride also asked for gift cards or cash gifts in lieu of presents, so after playing the games, the guests that brought gifts had time to give them but we didn’t have everyone sit and watch. I think my future SIL appreciated this approach.
As guests were leaving they loved taking their tea cup home and said they had a wonderful time and enjoyed the simplicity of the shower.
After the guests left, my family stuck around for awhile and we ate some of the extra food and relaxed. It felt great to sit down after all the hustle and bustle.
The clean up was easy with the rented plates and glasses. I left the balloon arch up for a couple days as my girls loved it but I gave it away on Facebook Marketplace. It felt better to recycle it.
I learned a lot about planning an event at our home and I felt very proud at what we accomplished. My future SIL said she felt very loved and enjoyed her shower, so mission accomplished! It was my pleasure to welcome her into our family this way. If you plan to host a High Tea themed bridal shower, I hope these resources and my experience are helpful for you!
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