TEA BRIDAL SHOWERS

Ideas on Bridal Shower Tea Invitations, Favors, Decor and More

Also see bridal shower ideas, bridesmaids dresses and bridal shower invitation ideas

A new wedding trend that’s catching on in popularity is the idea of a tea bridal shower.  Though afternoon tea is a daily ritual in some countries, in America it’s quite a novelty. 

Having an afternoon tea as a bridal shower can be fun and elegant way to celebrate.  You can also incorporate the tea theme into the different aspects of the shower. 

So now that you’ve decided on a bridal shower tea, how do you get started?  You’ll need to set a menu, location and date as well as plan activities and send out invitations for the bridal shower tea.  If you’re at a loss as to what makes a great tea shower, don’t fret.  Keep reading to find some great ideas for bridal shower tea invitations, locations, favors, food, games, decor and gifts. 

Bridal Shower Tea Invitation Ideas

There are lots of ways to incorporate the tea theme into the bridal shower invitations.  Whether you find invitations that are in the shape of a teapot or tea cup or you incorporate a tea sachet into the bridal shower tea invitations, you can make them stand out and go along with the theme. 

Another idea for bridal shower tea invitations is to make them yourself using a paper doily.  Glue the doily to a small square of colored paper.  Cut out an even smaller square of paper and print the invitation text on it.  Then glue it to the doily and you have sweet ladylike invitations to the tea shower. 

You can purchase invitations for the tea bridal shower online from a stationer like MyGatsby.com or you can select invitations from a card store near your home.  When you purchase online, you’ll get the best selection.

Location Ideas

Let the shower budget and the size of the guest list help to determine the location.  If you want to spend less money, you can easily do a bridal tea shower at your home or the home of a friend.  If your budget is a little bigger, you can arrange to have the tea in a tearoom, a hotel, restaurant or country club.  Remember that the money you may save by holding the shower at home can be quickly eaten up by the cost of decorations, so keep that in mind when choosing a location.

Thoughts on Food

When you’re thinking of food for the bridal shower tea, think of dainty finger foods.  Tea sandwiches, bar cookies, petit fours, mini fruit skewers, canapés, cheese and crackers all make nice refreshments.  And no bridal shower would be complete without cake. 

To keep the flavors from clashing, serve a vanilla, lemon, butter or almond flavored cake for a tea bridal shower.  Make the food display attractive by displaying it on cake stands and pastel platters.

Often the preparing of tea can be an activity in itself.  Have plenty of hot water available in teapots and let guests choose their own tea variety from a display, be sure to include a decaf option.  You should also have a pre-made regular variety tea (like Lipton) displayed in an attractive teapot.  Alongside the tea display, you can have a collection of tea accompaniments like fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, candied ginger and sugar cubes. 

Favor Ideas

Deciding on the favors for a bridal shower tea is one of your easiest tasks.  Just go with the theme!  A special tea bag with in a decorative package makes a nice shower favor.  Another idea is to purchase a teacup for each guest and place a tea bag or other goodies inside.

You can also give guests a unique ball of tea leaves that blossoms into a flower when brewed.  Sometimes also referred to as “art teas” there are several varieties to choose from (golden flower blossom is one of our favorites.)  You can easily find these special gifts online or from a tea shop.  Each art tea blossom could be wrapped in a decorative paper.

Decor for a Tea Shower

You’ll want to keep everything very proper and ladylike to go with the tea theme.  Use pastels and white in your décor.  Lacy or pastel colored tablecloths and napkins will add a feminine touch.  You’ll want to make sure there are plenty of spaces for guests to rest their cups and saucers, cover all tables with linens in case of spills.  To go with the tea theme, you can place floral arrangements in teacups or tea pots.  A bouquet of peach roses would look lovely in a blue delft tea pot.  Streamers and garlands are also appropriate to use for a tea theme. 

Shower Activities

If you hold the bridal shower tea in a hotel or restaurant, the gift opening will be the sole activity.  If the shower takes place in a home, you can plan a variety of shower games like bingo and question games about the bride. 


Gift Themes

A tea bridal shower doesn’t necessarily have to include tea as a gift to the couple.  But, if the bride and groom are tea aficionados, you could use tea as a gift theme.  A collection of fine teas, teapots or full tea sets are all fine gifts.  Another idea is to ask each guest to bring a tea cup and saucer as a gift.  Then the bride and groom will have a unique tea set.