Women’s Tea Party Inspiration (My Vintage High Tea Gathering!)
First - if you’re new here - welcome! I’m a Certified Nutritional Practitioner and recipe developer who helps women feel empowered in their health journey, learn how to confidently eat well, find healing and support during chronic illness, and gain kitchen confidence through simple, delicious recipes for you and your family!
And I am also a self-proclaimed tea and Victorian era junkie who LOVES friendship and gathering, so this tea party was truly a vision I’ve had for years!! Here’s your official guide and encouragement to host one, too!
But first - let me remind you, dear aspiring hostess, of some important hosting lessons I learned this day, because truth be told I was FREAKING OUT right before my guests arrived (“guests” being precious friends I’ve mostly known for a decade who would never judge me…the needless stress we create, am I right?!)
Do as MUCH AS YOU CAN the day before. Don’t, like me, save the vacuuming and mopping and bathroom cleaning and food prep and showering until the day of unless you want to keel over.
It is OKAY if you are still prepping a few things when people arrive! There’s a sweetness in doing things together!
Music was key. I found a high tea playlist on Spotify and it helped set the tone so much!
Lighting is another huge component. I’ve linked all my cozy lighting later in the post!
Nobody is judging your home and set up as much as you are. Simple, clean, and cozy is best!
Don’t steep the tea until after everyone arrives, so it stays warmer!
Definitely encourage pretty dresses 😉 I almost had everyone come casual and it ended up being so much fun to have an excuse to wear something lovely!
Tea Party Inspiration (Food, Table Settings, Decorations, Favors, Desserts, & More!)
this is also your sign to go to your local antique mall and get truly vintage tea cups!
Because I already had a lot of hosting supplies, this gathering came together truly quite easily! Here’s my broken down list of all the menu planning, supplies, and everything I used!
The Tea Party Menu (gluten-free options, for 8 guests!)
Tea Party finger sandwiches
I planned for turkey & cranberry, classic cucumber & cream cheese, and chicken salad (using my AMAZING chicken salad recipe from my Fixin’s e-cookbook!). It was plenty to have 2-3 finger sandwiches for each person! I used organic sourdough for my guests (I was determined for all of the ingredients here to be the highest quality!) and a gluten-free bread for myself.
Tea Party Scones
I made gluten-free blueberry scones and gluten-free raspberry white chocolate scones, both using the homemade gluten-free flour blend in my Nourish book that has no fillers or gums! Don’t worry, I DO have plans to come back and share these recipes! 😊
I also made a pseudo clotted cream that was divine - I whipped together 4 oz cream cheese, 1-2 TBS organic powdered sugar, 2 TBS sour cream, and 1 cup heavy whipping cream and stored it in the fridge overnight. It still doesn’t come out too sweet, it was perfect!
Tea Party Desserts
Earl Grey and Lavender Cake
I admittedly made TOO many desserts and that was a great lesson learned! They were so cute and fun that it was hard to resist 😉 The highlight was definitely this gorgeous Earl Grey and Lavender Cake that I made semi-homemade. I started with the King Arthur GF vanilla cake mix and added 1 TBS culinary lavender and about 2 TBS or 6 tea bags of Earl Grey tea that I pulsed in a food processor first until very fine. Just strain the blended herb mix through a fine mesh sieve to get the larger bits out first and then mix with the cake mix — voila!
For the icing, I used 8 oz organic cream cheese, 2 cups organic tapioca-based powdered sugar, about 1/2 tsp of organic ube powder, a few TBS of softened grass-fed salted butter, and a splash of lavender concentrate I made from steeping a couple TBS of culinary lavender in hot water for a bit. I just used an electric mixer until it all came together and then left it in the fridge until I was ready to frost the cake. It was clearly not very precise 😂 but it was delicious!!
Tea Bag Shortbread Cookies (gluten-free!)
These were ADORABLE and clearly a labor of love, considering I only strung food-grade twine through a few of them 😂 I used a basic shortbread recipe using my homemade gluten-free flour blend in Nourish and used these super cute tea bag cookie cutters! I dipped the cookies in melted white chocolate with a bit of raspberry jam stirred in for a tint of pink. (Again, no specific recipe here, just kind of made it as I went!)
Tea Party Tea Blend Ideas
Onto arguably the MOST important menu item for this gathering, the TEA! I went a bit non-traditional here so I could maximize both a beautiful color display AND nutrient-density!
Chamomile Rose Herbal Tea - This was a gorgeous purply tea that tasted so floral and lovely. It was a huge hit!
Organic Rooibos Tea - I love this tea, it also makes a beautiful orange when mixed with cream!
Organic Tulsi Tea - This tea is super mineral-rich and has a great calming flavor!
My High Tea Party Supplies & Decor
A lot of these pieces I did have already OR I found at our local antique store (which I highly recommend by the way - it’s SO much more lovely to have collected, vintage dish ware and makes my every day feel much more dreamy!). Here are links to things I was able to get online!
Dark Green Tea Set - this is something I already owned for daily use! I mixed and matched this set with my vintage and antique finds to give everything a whimsical but cohesive look!
I’ve owned these for years now and they always come in handy for cozy nights and events!
Tea Party Favors
This was certainly “extra”, but this was an intimate gathering and I wanted my friends to feel loved and honored!
These adorable tea bag bookmarks
Tea spoon set (I used these for decor and for favors!)
Also these rechargeable lamps are always up, but how cute are they?! I love the soft cozy lighting!
And there you have it, my friend! This tea party was just as dreamy as it looks and sounds and will become an annual tradition for me. It was a joy to plan and host! If a specific item was not linked, it was collected, thrifted, or too old to remember the source! 😉
