Personal Touches to Take the Cliche out of a Bridal Tea

Taking high tea is one my very favorite pastimes from my time studying abroad in Bath (say it the British way with me, Bah-th, ahhhhh, much more refined). Therefore, when it was suggested as the theme for my bridal shower, I was terribly excited and couldn't stop talking about clotted cream for weeks afterward.  My dear Emily is also quite the fan of those deliciously dried little leaves, brewed to perfection. 

To avoid the snobby cliche of turned up noses and outstretched pinkies, I've been thinking of ways to bring in personal touches that speak to Emily's life and loves.  After searches on Country Living and Martha Stewarts among others, I turned up several ideas:

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These sweet egg cups could be set atop stacked copies of Emily's favorite mystery series by Agatha Christie to make darling centerpieces.

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Or, as a nod to Emily's love of baking, perhaps we could fill measuring cups with a favorite candy of hers?  These scientific looking cups from the Container Store also tie into Emily's journey to her Ph.D. They're exceedingly nerdy and useful!

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Emily is a foodie to the core, so the culinary indulgences will have to be top notch.

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Sushi inspired tea sandwiches just may be the way to her heart!

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This fig and goat cheese bruschetta drizzled with honey, made me think of having a crostini bar an alternative to tea sandwiches.   They could be a mixture of savory and sweet.

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Speaking of bars, what about a cookie bar with a twist?  Given Emily's love of baking, perhaps we could invite a few women to bake and bring cookies, giving Emily the recipes to add to her repertoire.

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In addition to staples like scones, personal sized cakes could be served as the final course.  I don't have a mini bundt pan, but I did receive a tiny cake pan as a shower gift myself similar to the one below:

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I left the most important part of a tea themed bridal shower until the end.  The TEA!  First up, cutie pie tea stir ins:

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Sugar cubes sitting on rose petals? Romantic, no? Or how about flavor infused sugars?  Emily sent me some delicious vanilla sugar one year for Christmas and I enjoyed baking with mine (maybe a few spoonfuls made it into my coffee as well!).

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The flavor infused sugars could also be a tasty favor.

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Since loose leaf teas tend to give better flavor saturation, it would be a must for brewing large pots to be shared by guests.  Custom made bags of Emily's favorite tea flavors could also  be set on the tables so that each guest could try multiple flavors either at the shower or to bring home with them.

Have you been to a bridal tea?  What was your favorite touch?