1. A Bridesmaid's Luncheon is a time for the bridal party to say farewell to the bride and for the bride to aknowledge her bridal party. Often this is hosted by the bride and her mother if the bridesmaids are from out-of-town or to ease the hectic hours before the wedding. Sometimes, Bridesmaids can plan this together and host it as a farewell party and to take some pressure off the bride and her family. This is the appropriate time to thank the bridal party, give them their gifts, and if the bridesmaids are giving the bride a group gift, this would be the appropriate time to do it. Also, because many members of the bridal party often come from out of town, it is a wonderful chance for the bridal party to spend some quality time together before the nuptuals!

2. The bride or bridesmaids (whomever is giving the tea) should plan on having one or more people designated as pourers, servers and caterers. Bridal Teas end up being a rather large party and it is too stressful and busy a time for a bride to be preparing for a wedding and a large tea party. A friend or acquaintance, one who is not involved in the wedding, should be asked to prepare and set-up for the tea so the bridal party needs only to show up and enjoy one another's company.

3. Tea should be served buffet style. This makes everything much easier for everyone involved.

4. The brides colors. Decorate using flowers and linens that coordinate with the wedding colors. Decorations at a bridal tea are often more elaborate than a regular tea party. Many people like to keep with white linens and merely accent with the brides wedding colors.

5. The place for such a tea should be large enough for everyone to be seated at a table or tables, rather than expecting them to deal with the dreaded "balancing act" often dealt with during an informal tea. Perhaps some lovely placards and/or favors could be made or purchased for each guest (a tussie mussie, a bag of bath tea, a lovely lace-edged handkerchief, a tea-light candle and holder, hand-made chocolates, etc.)

6. The bride and/or bridesmaids should be prepared as to the "program." Who will be making presentations or speeches or thank you's? Will family members be included and do they want to say something? This is important as there can be some uncomfortable moments if this portion isn't planned and well communicated.

7. If this is a Bridal Shower, it is often fun to have a tea theme, especially if this isn't the bride's only shower. Have everyone bring a tin of tea (this would need to be planned so that the bride doesn't end up with multiple boxes of the same tea) such as Darjeeling, Assam, English Breakfast, Ceylon, Kenyan, Russian Caravan, Formosa Oolong, and even perhaps some herbal teas as well. Another fun idea is to have people bring the bride a tea cup and saucer, that way she is able to start a collection of tea cups given to her by friends and family. Or perhaps give her the accoutrement for having a tea in her new home; tea pot, sugar and creamer, sugar tongs, tiered serving platter, cake plate, tea strainer, tea kettle, linens, a tea book, and so on.

8. Have some music playing in the background, either live or a CD. Just little something to add to the ambiance.

15-16 cherry tomatoes
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon milk
Dill sprigs for garnish

Place tomatoes, stem-side down, on cutting board (I cover it with paper towel for better drainage.) Cut thin slice from top of each tomato. Using small spoon, scoop out tomato pulp; discard. Invert tomatoes on paper towels; drain thoroughly. In a small bowl, blend cream cheese, dill weed, and milk with a whisk until smooth. Fit a frosting bag with the open star tips and fill it with the cream cheese mixture. Pipe mixture into tomatoes to fill. Chill or serve immediately, garnish with dill sprigs.

{For my tea sandwiches, I often bake the bread in bread tubes for fun shapes (hearts, squares, scallops, stars, etc.) Then I slice these shaped breads very thinly and spread with the sandwich spreads.}

Celery and Walnut Sandwiches 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup diced toasted walnuts

To toast walnuts, spread on a baking stone ( or sheet) and bake at 375 5-10 mintues until lightly browned. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in celery and walnuts.

Cucumber Sandwiches

Peel cucumber and slice very thin. Sprinkle slices with salt and drain on paper towels. Spread white bread with butter and a thin layer of cream cheese mixed with 1/2 tsp. dill weed. Layer cucumbers thinly. Cut into desired shapes.

Egg Salad Sandwiches 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chives, finely chopped

Mix mayonnaise with eggs, chives, salt and pepper. Spread each slice of bread with a layer of butter, and then egg mixture.

Deviled Ham Sandwiches 1 1/3 cups finely chopped ham
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Basic Scones
This is my mom's recipe.

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk)
lightly beaten egg

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs. Make a well and pour in buttermilk. Mix until dough clings together and is a bit sticky. Turn out on floured surface and shape or cut. Brush with egg white. Bake at 425 for 10-20 minutes or until light brown.

Lemon Curd
This is my mom's recipe as well.

Zest of 4 lemons
Juice of 4 lemons (1 cup)
4 eggs beaten
1/2 cup butter cut into small pieces
2 cups sugar

In the top of a large double boiler, combine zest, juice, eggs, butter and sugar. Place over simmering water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and smooth. Store in the refrigerator in a clean jar. Keep only for a couple of weeks. Makes about 1 pint.

Easy Devonshire Cream

1 c. Heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar
1/4 c. Powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Beat all ingredients until stiff. Refrigerate and serve with scones and jam.

Cream Cheese Mints
My mother made these for my weddingin a heart/swan mold. I made them for a bridal tea in a little teapot mold.

2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
3 ounces softened cream cheese
Peppermint flavoring to taste (about 1/4 tsp.)
Food coloring
Granulated sugar
Candy molds (optional)

Mash cheese and mix into powdered sugar. Stir until mixture resembles pie dough. Separate into different bowls if you want different colors or flavors. Add flavoring and color sparingly. You want pastels with a delicate flavor. Roll mixture into small balls and roll into granulated sugar. press balls into patties with the bottom of a cup, or press them into candy molds and unmold at once. (Shake sugar into mold if necessary to prevent sticking. Lay mints out on waxed paper to dry. Turn after several hours. Mint dying time will vary depending upon the thickness. When dry, store in an airtight tin until serving.

Chocolate Teapots and Tea Cups

Melt molding chocolate. Pour into molds. Cool and unmold. You can find some wonderful molds and many of them are fun to paint with colored chocolate before pouring and they look spectacular! I used the brides color (pink) and accented with other colors (lavendar and green). When the tea pots and tea cups were cooled, I put each one in a celophane bag and tied it with a pink ribbon. They looked beautiful on the table!