The Formal Afternoon Tea is served between 2 PM and 6 PM. This Tea is becoming increasing popular for bridal and baby showers and weddings for up to 100 guests. Invitations are sent, and special friends of the hostess are asked to help serve the guests where needed.

If you have a large number of invited guests, you might need two tables; one for the food and one for serving the tea.

The items you will need to serve the tea are a basket or tea chest if your guests are selecting their own tea bag, china or silver teapots, teacups, plates, teaspoons and cake forks, cloth table cloth (preferably linen) and napkins, or pretty paper napkins, a dish for used tea bags, strainer if serving loose tea, pitcher of milk (do not serve cream as it could cause the tea to curdle or alter the taste), small plate for lemon slices, sugar or artificial sweetener.

For the food table, place a centerpiece of either fresh flowers and candles, or a three-tiered cake stand filled with tea sandwiches or fancy desserts in the middle of the table. The food should be attractively arranged on china or silver platters and placed around the centerpiece. For the larger groups, assign several of your close friends to help serve and assist your guests. Nuts, mints or other appropriate candy can be placed around the room as a compliment to the meal.

Foods to Serve