My sister-in-law gave the loveliest bridal tea for my daughter.

Photo source: Google images

My sister-in-law happens to be not only a great hostess, but a good cook as well.  I have always found her to be a source of inspiration for many years.

My sister-in law wanted the tea to be an intimate size – no more people than could fit around her dining room table.  (A good idea!)  It was also agreed upon the invitation would read “No Gifts Please” as my daughter was to have an upcoming shower those guests would also be invited to.

The Sunday afternoon of the tea turned out to be a beautiful, sunny spring day…

Can you believe this is what we saw when each of us walked through her front door?!!  It was stunning…

The blue table overlays and gorgeous flowers everywhere took your breath away.  Now that my daughter had (finally) made her wedding color decision (aqua), my sister-in-law had taken the color and ‘run with it’.  I knew right then I’d be copying her blue tablecloth idea for upcoming showers.

How captivating is this?!!

All that pretty blue color set off by the sparkle of the mirror chargers and crystal candlesticks…

Beautiful china and lace napkins…Simple but oh, so elegant

No shower gifts for the bride-to-be (with the exception of three very special gifts from the hostess herself), but it didn’t stop my sister-in-law from giving each guest a gift…

The gift boxes were tied with blue ribbon and secured with a pretty rhinestone clip.

The bride-to-be’s place of honor…

The chair was tied with long blue ribbon and a darling fascinator was attached.  My daughter loves fascinators.  The fascinator (or a fancy hat) also represented something you would wear in England while having tea or attending a wedding ceremony.  A couple of others attending the shower happened to wear fancy hats with the same thought.

In case you’re not familiar with what a fascinator is (like several of my friends), here’s a link to Wikipedia for a brief explanation.

This “fascinator idea” was also copied and used at a later bridal shower and even on my daughter’s wedding day.  Female guests were encouraged to wear fascinators to the wedding ceremony.

This unique wrapped box held two special gifts from my sister-in-law to her niece.  She gave my daughter a crystal brooch that had been my mother’s (who has passed on).  The other gift was a wedding garter.  In addition to being a great hostess, the woman can sew too.  She made my daughter a wedding garter with fabric from my mother’s wedding dress train.

The bride-to-be wore the wedding garter on her wedding day and we had the florist firmly attach the brooch into the front of her wedding bouquet for all to see.  So my daughter “carried part of her grandmother” with her on her wedding day.  We also fulfilled the “something old” part of the good luck tradition too for the bride-to-be.

I think one of the most extraordinary things my sister-in-law did on that day was to display my mother’s wedding dress.

My sister-in-law took the dress out of storage, carefully ironed it, and stuffed the dress with tissue paper to give it presence.  If you look closely, you can see she added a pearl necklace and a pearl bracelet to the dress just like my mother wore on her wedding day.  It truly was a Wow!

More beautiful flowers in her powder room…I just love her antique flower stand!

The sideboard held all sorts of refreshments for us to drink except for the (hot) tea which was on a separate serving piece (no photo).

She also had numerous family wedding photos (including “yours truly”) on display throughout several rooms (similar to what I did for The Engagement Party).  A framed photo of my parents’ wedding sits on the sideboard.

She had a plethora of goodies for us to eat – Yummy!!  (Sorry about the blurry pics)

LAST LOOK

The atmosphere my sister-in-law provided was so beautiful yet relaxing…all of us enjoyed a long, delightful afternoon filled with good food, good company, and good conversation.

I hope you found some inspiration from my sister-in-law’s bridal tea as much as I did.

If you take a peek out her kitchen window, you’ll see this nice spot in her backyard to chat, sip a glass of ice tea,  or read a book alongside her charming fireman statute.  Her son (my nephew) is a fireman.

The Wedding Journey continues…

A Wedding Journey is dedicated to my lovely daughter.  It was so much fun to be able to share this incredible time in your life.  I hope you always choose to dance.

And forever twirl in your dress~