A vintage tea party wedding is the perfect option for couples needing to keep one eye on the budget but who don’t want to skimp on style or beauty. Quintessentially English, it works brilliantly in a whole variety of settings, including rustic barns to village halls, garden marquees to meadow weddings – and is obviously particularly well suited to any dry hire venue. It’s also an extremely flexible choice, giving plenty of opportunity to create a personalised wedding that’s both unique and very special. After all, there should be no such thing as a one-size-fits-all wedding!
You may ask, ‘Where do I even begin?’ I recommend starting with the tablescape, since this will provide the backdrop for your whole wedding breakfast. Think of the venue as a blank canvas just waiting to be filled with your own beautiful dream and vision for the day.
By choosing an abundance of gorgeous vintage crockery on which to display and serve the food of your choice, even the simplest of venues will be stunningly transformed. Why choose plain when you can have beautiful? And as well as meeting an obvious need for crockery and tableware, opting for pretty table settings will result in less of your budget being spent on decor and venue dressing, with the added bonus of it being eco-friendly.
Choose between tying in the vintage tea sets with your own special colour scheme, or alternatively go for a gloriously eclectic burst of colour and style by having a vibrant mixture – a very popular choice these days. Then build on the vintage theme by using creative ways to add your own personal touches: centrepiece teapots filled with a profusion of flowers (ones with chips, cracks or missing lids would be fine and can be found much more cheaply); dainty vintage glass bottles placed in clusters and filled with delicate single stem flowers are also stunningly effective. Have fun scouring car boots and flea markets for other imaginative pieces.
Now for the menu itself. It can be as simple or as elaborate as your budget allows. But either way it’s sure to be considerably more economical than more standard fare.
Starting with the savouries – dainty triangular or finger sandwiches are very elegant. Choose an assortment of tasty and colourful fillings that won’t break the bank. Traditional egg and cress, coronation chicken, smoked salmon and cream cheese etc, alongside other classics such as cheesy scones, vol au vents and scotch eggs, when tastefully laid out on vintage platters and sprinkled with parsley to garnish will give a mouthwatering display of scrumptious savouries.
Next – bring on the cake! Pretty three-tiered cake stands laden with an array of delicious cakes and scones (will it be jam on your cream or cream on your jam?) are irresistible! And a fantastic way to really watch the pennies is to invite friends and family to roll up their sleeves in advance of the big day and get baking. What better way to include them whilst employing a cost saving strategy? And you’ll find that everyone has their own speciality: from chocolate brownies, lemon drizzle cake and banana loaves to classic Victoria sponge, ginger loaf and carrot and walnut cake …mmm yummy! Keep things colourful by scattering other dainty bites such as macarons and petits fours amongst the homemade treats and your cake table will look spectacular.
Time for tea. Serve traditional English breakfast tea from pretty vintage tea pots but offer a choice of other favourites too – fragrant Earl Grey or Darjeeling plus a variety of herbal and green teas. Don’t forget the finishing touches – sugar cubes and vintage sugar tongs – and remember, it’s a known fact that tea tastes better from bone china cups!
For balmy summer weddings, lashings of traditional homemade lemonade, elderflower or raspberry lemonade will go down a treat with thirsty guests and serving them from good ol’ fashioned lemonade dispensers will add to that vintage feel.
You may consider treating your guests by providing a vintage sweet cart with a selection of traditional sweets, so reminiscent of childhood – bound to go down well with young and old alike.
And finally, no vintage tea party wedding is complete without beautiful bunting. It just exudes joy, celebration and cherished memories of glorious summer days – the perfect choice!
Happy planning!
