Church Ladies' Spring Tea

The tea I've been working on for the past couple of weeks for the ladies at my church took place yesterday [Saturday, April 26th].  

My girlfriend and I went over on Thursday to set up, since I had to work at The Whitney on Friday.  You may recall me blogging about the teapot candy box favors my girlfriend and I filled and tied with a bow.

The theme was If Teacups Could Talk based on Emilie Barnes book of the same name published in 1994.  I thought several of the 54 ladies who attended would be familiar with the book, but to my surprise they weren't.  Do you have the book?  If not, are you familiar with it? It's a great book and available on Amazon.  Since its publication it has sold over 260,000 copies.  I highly recommend it for every tea lover's library.

~ Seating Chart ~

Arrival time was 12:00 noon and serving began at 12:30 p.m.  

The meal was catered by local Pamela's Catering.  Instead of having one individual ask the blessing, I printed out a blessing from Emilie's book and placed a copy at each place setting so we could all say it together.

I served two teas we serve at The Whitney - Peach Apricot black tea and Garden Blend [a herbal tea with hibiscus, cinnamon, ginger and peppermint].  It not only tastes good but it's a beautiful rose color.

Blueberry Scone with Mock Devonshire Cream

Top Tier:  Cucumber Sandwiches

Middle Tier:  Cranberry Chicken Salad Croissants

Bottom Tier:  Radish Open Faced Sandwiches

I never thought I'd like radish sandwiches, but these were really good.  The spread that held  them in place really added deliciousness.

Desserts were assorted and all were yummy.

After the meal, one of the ladies read a poem she wrote in keeping with the theme. 

Some of the ladies brought their favorite teacup and the story behind it to share.  Below is my sweet girlfriend, Lori, with her Sandy Clough Hope teacup.

Another friend shared her bridge or tennis snack set.

I told the ladies several things a teacup might say including, Fill Me With Memories.  I held up a Shamrock teacup that I used to host two St. Patrick's tea parties for my mom and her younger sister of Irish descent.  Those tea parties are a special memory for me now as both my mom and aunt have passed on.  

A good time was had by all and we dismissed around 1:45 p.m.  Our next tea will be a Christmas Tea on Saturday, December 6th and the ladies all seemed excited about that.  I hate to say it, but it'll be here before we know it!

After every tea party comes the clean-up.  It's when you wish you had a magic wand that would produce a fairy to wash up all the totes filled with dishware and tea equipage and carry them back down to the basement until the next tea.  But since I don't have a wand, my hubby unloaded his car Saturday afternoon and put everything in the garage where it will wait for us to get the job done (((big sigh))).