"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." ~ Henry James
Before our precious friend Mallory leaves for college, I wanted her to join us for a special celebration. We share a love of teatime, so her recent graduation gave us a wonderful opportunity to plan an afternoon tea.
Norwich by Royal Embassy set the tone for a lovely, feminine table.
Fresh roses, peonies and hydrangeas echoed the beauty of the china's hand-painted blooms.
Joe's mother found our dining room table and chairs at an estate sale a couple of years ago, and planning this party gave me the motivation to re-cover the seats -- a project I have had on my list for quite a while. Waverly Chantal Vapeur, a flowing graceful floral design, gave me just the balance of elegance and interest that I was looking for.
Instead of designing one larger centerpiece, I spaced out several posies along the table. These low-lying arrangements gave each guest a view of flowers without blocking views of each other.
This soiree gave me the perfect opportunity to pull many pretties from the china cabinet.
This dining room table is a different size than the one we used previously, and I am still collecting linens that work with its long, narrow oval shape. For this event, I definitely wanted a solid white tablecloth. Although this microfiber one from Arlee Home Fashions was not exactly what I had in mind originally, it looked nice and was a practical choice. The polyester fabric is impervious to spills, so that will make for worry-free entertaining -- especially during the holidays when we often have little ones around our table.
I hope that Mallory, along with our other guests, felt blessed by the beauty of the day.
My cell-phone pictures do not do the ambience justice, but there was a sweet glow to our time together.
And a lovely fragrance of friendship -- a sweet blend of roses, fresh-baked scones, and my favorite blend of loose tea.
In my next post, I will share details of our menu, including an easy recipe that has become an instant favorite for entertaining.
Highlighting this side table are a framed invitation and menu. I used watercolor clip art from Digital Paperie for our party printables. I adore these images of macarons and teacups!
And, of course, I never tire of beautiful flowers!
In this stage of life, it is rare for me to host formal gatherings, so I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to celebrate such a beloved girl with a tea party. The afternoon was a gift of loveliness, and I hope it was a blessing to all!
"I take pleasures in tea, appreciating it with my spirit and therefore cannot explain why." ~ Sen Joo
