tea reception ideas?

racheladine

Hey dolls! My Fiance and I have planned an intimate garden wedding for this July. Money is tight, and fortunately we've been blessed enough to get by. The family-and-close-friend guest list along with the early afternoon ceremony (2pm) sets up perfectly for a tea reception.

I've got the decor nailed (vintage tea settings found at thrift and antique stores!), but what to serve? We don't have money for a caterer so--like other areas in the wedding--this will end up DIY as well. We need to construct a menu that the aunts, mothers, and I can put together the day/evening before the wedding. I was thinking finger sandwiches and/or wraps, lemonades, punches, teas, coffee, mixed fruits, etc. Does anyone have any other creative suggestions? Anything to jazz it up would be helpful!

Lasairiona

Cookies, pastries. Everything else you've mentioned sounds yummy and is inexpensive.

Catwoman708

The less you have to do in advance the better, so keep it simple and stay sane, lol.

Personally, I'd just order a small, modest cake, and a few food trays of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, assorted sandwiches, and a few pastries or shortbreads.  Maybe check with the cake baker if they can throw together a tray of assorted wedding cookies. 

Maybe a basket of assorted teas (and maybe cocoa mixes if the weather is cold) on each table, and a few non alcoholic alternatives to tea.  If you want a little alcohol, maybe a champagne punch or a few bottles of wine are pretty economical. 

No one will be expecting a full meal that time of day, and you are offering more than just cake and punch, so no one will starve. 

mbcdefg

I would go to some local supermarkets and pick up trays of fruit, vegetables (with some little containers of dip), and cheese (plus a few boxes of crackers). Plus cake and maybe cookies.

The sandwiches/wraps are a good idea. See if the supermarket or a local deli can cater trays of them for your budget. It probably won't cost all that much more than buying the cold cuts and bread and doing it yourselves, plus it will save you a LOT of stress if you don't need to put everything together on your own.

Have them deliver it, or hire a college kid to pick things up and do setup/cleanup. That way you and your loved ones don't need to work. Maybe they'll do it for a few bucks or a case of beer.

sunico

Scones & cream would be a nice addition to your already-yummy-sounding menu.

We're doing a tea reception and we're having scones with cream & jam, fresh fruit, cheese & cracker trays, finger sandwiches, shortbreads, mini cupcakes, petit fours, tea, coffee, punch, iced tea and sparkling water. We'll have wine for toasting only, and of course wedding cake.

My mom, me, my MOH and a couple of other friends will be doing all the food (except, of course, the wedding cake) ourselves ahead of time to save money, and are hiring staff only for the day of to set things out, refill trays, etc.

abbay

hi, all
 i am having my wedding in summer, budget is really  tight, after the ceremony, we just want to have a somple cocktail reception any ideas please this is totally new for me and i do not have any helper, please help

love
bb

Teresa792

there's some really nice tea party favors and decorations at this website:
http://deluxefavors.com/partythemes_teaparty0001.html