Afternoon tea for a hen

Last Saturday I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid to my sister, Lara. It was a special day bringing together family and friends, all celebrating the perfect pairing of two lucky people.

I now have a new pair of lovely shoes, a dress, hair accessory, dressing gown and necklace thanks to the occasion, as well as of course a new brother in law!

With the honour of being a bridesmaid as well as a creative sister,  I was involved in parts of the planning from second opinions, sourcing bridesmaid clothing, baking cakes, and doing the reception flowers. But one of the duties of this role, maybe one of the more important, was in the planning of the hen do. So whilst I continue to edit photos from the wedding day; here are a few snaps taken from the weekend when we girlies celebrated the new life Lara and Dan were going to be building together.

We provided Lara with a send off from single life with advice, support, gifts and memories. In the planning of this hen do, the three of us bridesmaids, (my other sister Lois, and Lara's school friend Hannah) began to think of fun ideas and activities for the weekend that we thought would reflect Lara's creative and vintage style. The sunny setting of Brighton (where the groom lives and from now on they both will!), was the perfect place for our girly weekend including champagne at the beach, catching up with old friends, afternoon tea, hen do games, craft workshop, and a meal out.

Decorations fit for the bride with compulsory underwear bunting. 

I was able to practice my baking ready for the afternoon tea section of the wedding including these butterfly cakes in a selection of pretty cupcake cases.

Lois' cake of all cakes carrot cake!

Scattered with tiny edible stars.

It was lovely to do something a bit alternative for a hen do by having a sophisticated afternoon tea, it created a relaxed atmosphere, who doesn't enjoy dainty cakes and sandwiches??

Salmon and cream cheese finger sandwiches.

Pretty vintage style napkins, you can find these at http://www.talkingtables.co.uk   a fab place to get any party accessories. 

Beautiful collected vintage plates

Mum's mini scones with jam, cream and strawberries (also featured at the wedding!)

A special memory book compiled of old photos from Lara's childhood provided by mum, and photos and memories throughout her life from various friends. I'm yet to complete this book by adding photos from the weekend. A lovely idea to have a book you can look back on to remind you of those precious memories and words given by loved ones, once completed Lara can keep this and provide smiles and giggles whenever she wants to.

The bride to be, a vintage fairy. 

The Mr and mrs game provided lots of giggles as the adorned knickers may suggest, she got a few questions wrong! 

I led a craft workshop teaching some techniques in making vintage style accessories. This was good practice for me as my dissertation is about craft workshops; there will be a more detailed post about this workshop and others at some point in the future. I'm hoping to do more workshops in the future as this was such a success; so please feel free to contact me if you're interested! We made necklaces...

and hair accessories...

Mum pleased with her lace and flower necklace, coordinating with her outfit wonderfully! 

There's something very special about girls getting together and supporting a friend in her transition into married life. It was a weekend full of chatting, laughing, reminiscing, and excitement.

Now to get on with editing the wedding photos!