How To Host a French Tea Party…

 

A French-Inspired Tea Party

I hope y0u had a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend! I spent the weekend with my family, enjoying the last warm days of summer while we still can. My girls and I had been planning all summer to have a fun French tea party, and we finally had the chance to do it over the weekend. I’ve always had a fascination with French culture, and this began in high school when I started taking French classes. In 1999 while in medical school I had the opportunity to go to Paris, and what a memorable experience it was! We had so much fun exploring the city, and of course enjoying macarons and coffee at all the various French cafés around Paris.  With the kids in school and my busy work schedule, I haven’t had the chance to go back to Paris (as much as I would like to) so we decided to bring the French experience to us.

Start with A French-Inspired Bistro Table

Our backyard faces a lovely wooded lot. One of my favorite things to do in the summer evenings is to just sit outside and enjoy nature. I’ve always loved the look of a French bistro table, so I decided to invest in one for our backyard deck. If you are looking for a nice, sturdy bistro table, I highly recommend the one I found at KaTom Restaurant Supply. I had looked everywhere for an outdoor marble table, but became concerned about the durability, especially with the cold Michigan winters. In the end I decided to invest in a bistro table from KaTom as the quartz top and cast iron base are so sturdy and durable. Given this is the table you will find in many restaurants, I know this table will last for years! Setting the table was so much fun, and more on that as you continue to read. 

Gal Meets Glam Helen Dress

My Gal Meets Glam Helen dress is perfect for our French tea party. The floral embroidery detail is just gorgeous! And the Grosgrain ribbon ties add such a flattering touch. I chose to wear white for the occasion, but this dress also comes in a lovely shade of pink. 

My daughter had so much fun getting dressed up in her white dress for the occasion too!

Add A Light and Airy Tablescape

I just love styling tablescapes! The inspiration for our French tea party are these Aerin Ardsley dinner plates by Williams Sonoma. The soft blue floral motif is reminiscent of a plate you would find on an outdoor dinner table in Provence. To complement the plate I added this Aerin scalloped salad plate. The plates are resting on these water hyacinth seagrass chargers. Our tea party was on a hot summer day, so we opted to serve iced-tea in these vintage floral-etched tumblers also from Williams Sonoma. Gold accent pieces complete the table setting. The Cambridge Samantha gold mirrored utensils add such a touch of elegance to the table setting. And these gold napkin rings are the perfect finishing touch. 

Serve Tea in A Parisian Style Tea Pot

A necessity for any tea party of course it the tea! And this Juliska Berry and Thread teapot is perfect for our French-inspired tea party. Since it was a hot summer day, we opted to enjoy a cold, refreshing glass of iced tea for our party. 

Serve French Style Pastries

A French tea party is not complete without and assortment of  lovely French pastries! Though I have made my own macarons, I don’t have that kind of time to make them regularly. So I opted to go to our local French bakery, Le Bon Macaron for the macarons for our party. They have the most divine tasting macarons, that rival the best macarons you would find at the famous French macaron bakery, Laudrée. And this Caitlin Wilson two tiered server is perfect for showcasing the pastries. Believe me, these pastries were devoured within minutes after taking these photos!

Add Fresh Flowers

What is a tea party without fresh flowers? Flowers are such a great way to add class and elegance to any tablescape. I picked up the floral centerpiece at my local grocery store. For even more floral decor, I decorated my deck with a collection of potted plants I placed in this plant stand that I spray painted white. And this classic blue and white ceramic garden table is a beautiful addition to the decor, and it also doubles as extra seating. 

Parting Gifts from Provence

Giving parting gifts at a formal party such as this tea party is such a thoughtful gesture. And a parting gift will certainly be appreciated by your guests! L’Occitane en Provence gifted several pieces from their collection for the occasion. The Aqua Réotier Fresh Moisturizing Mist is just what you need to revitalize your skin on a hot summer day. Their shea butter hand cream is made to help nourish and soften dry skin. The L’Occitane shea butter soap has such a wonderful fragrance and is gentle on the skin. And L’Occitane  shea butter lip balm is just what your dry and cracked lips need. We had so much fun creating our gift baskets. To showcase the gifts we used these mini silver wire baskets from World Market. 

So I hope today’s post has given you lots of inspiration for your next French-inspired tea party.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

xo | April

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