A garden tea party theme is the perfect theme for a spring or summer celebration. The theme is delicate and romantic, and is ideal for a baby shower or bridal shower. It’s also a great excuse to grab all of your best girlfriends and their mothers for a ladies lunch, especially for Mother’s Day! Sunshine, warm weather, baked goods, finger sandwiches, champagne and tea—what more could a mother ask for?!

In order to throw a garden tea party, you will need decorations in pastel colors and many, many flowers. You can create your own flowers out of tissue paper if you're feeling crafty, or don't want to spend a fortune on real flowers. You will also need matching paper goods to serve finger sandwiches, pastries and other sweet treats. Here are some tips on setting up your garden tea party!

Create a peaceful and relaxing setting for your tea party.

Before setting up for your party, you will need to designate an area for the event. An open outdoor area with some landscaping is a perfect space for a garden tea party. Be sure that the land is flat so your guests can leave the party unharmed. Once you have found your location, you can send out invitations. Choose floral print invitations that will somewhat match the theme of your party, and include all party details. If you would like for guests to bring a dish to pass around, emphasize that on the invite.

After your guests have RSVP’d, and you know the exact amount of people showing up, you can begin your decorating process. It would be wise to place a small tent, or some form of canopy, over the dining table in case the weather doesn’t cooperate, or for guests to get out of the hot sun. Use pastel streamer paper to create a floor-to-ceiling curtain all around the tent. Alternate the different colored streamers and use matching ribbon to secure the “curtains” to each of the four rods supporting the tent or canopy. Additionally, drape white string lights across the inside of the canopy or tent. This will add an elegant touch to the party area without costing too much!

Finally, create a backdrop in the party area that can also function as a photo booth. For a more elaborate and garden-themed backdrop, glue green tissue grass mats to a giant piece of wood or cardboard, thick enough to be propped upright. After the entire piece of cardboard or wood is covered with tissue grass, drape a flower garland, or several, at the top of it. You can purchase fake flower garland at your local craft store, or you can construct your own. Use a mixture of white, red, yellow and pink fluffy tissue decorations to act as giant flowers, as well as rolling pieces of streamer paper into roses. Use a variety of floral colors to create a colorful backdrop. If you are looking for a more low maintenance backdrop, hang crepe paper streamers with strands of flowers (real or fake--the fake flowers will most likely hold up better) tied together. 

images via brit.co and stylemepretty.com

Decorate your party area with pastel colors and flowers.

The color scheme of your party décor will be pastel colors, and your decor should also incorporate many, many flower decorations, whether they be real or fake. Set up a dining table under the tent or canopy. Be sure you have enough room for all of your guests to seat comfortably. To continue with the garden theme, use a green grass vinyl table cover to place over your table. If you own a tea set, use it as your centerpieces on your dining table by placing pink and white roses into the teacups. Or, use tin pitchers and buckets as vases for table centerpieces.

images via karaspartyideas.com and mktg.weddingwire.com

For additional decorations, add a balloon, tulle or streamers to the back of each chair around the table. You can also add in pink paper lanterns with your white string lights across the canopy for more color variation. When finishing up your decorations, add flowers wherever you see necessary—you can never have too many flowers!

Serve finger sandwiches, pastries and baked goods.

Before sending out the invitations, decide whether or not you want everyone to bring a dish to pass around. However, if you are hosting a bridal shower or baby shower for a relative or friend, it is best that you are responsible for all the food, whether that means getting the party catered or making the food yourself.

The types of foods that should be served at a tea party are finger foods, such as finger sandwiches, pastries and baked goods. You can also stick a few salad sides in there, as well. Offer all of the ladies several different tea flavors, as well as champagnes and other softer, fruity cocktails. Serve your sandwiches on platters that guests can grab when they please. Set out light pink paper plates and matching napkins to fit in with the color scheme.

At Windy City Novelties, it’s our hope that this article inspires you to create a fun and unique party for your loved ones. For more helpful tips on organizing your event, email our dedicated party planning experts at [email protected]. You may also subscribe to our emails for weekly party planning ideas, featured products and more at https://www.windycitynovelties.com/customer/account/create/