Jane Austen Tea Party

It is a truth universally acknowledged that two girls with a penchant for tea parties must be in want of a Jane Austen theme. My bestie Victoria had a hankering for a tea party since it’s been at least a year since we last had one. Jane Austen sprung from my British mood lately. She loved the idea and we were both super excited to plan it—maybe a little too much because we both might have gone overboard as you will see below haha!

Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice Tea Party Invitations

Pride and Prejudice from 2008 is one of my all-time favorite movies! I bought the soundtrack and listen to the beautiful score when I need to get into an amiable mood or to complete a task I really don’t want to do. It inspired this invitation which I referenced for all the rest of the elements for the party.

Jane Austen Books

I’ve never actually read any of Jane Austen’s books so this was a great time to start! Pride and Prejudice is her work I’m most familiar with, so we kept it mostly to that. Jane Austen books also made great decor! Victoria’s beautiful collection of Jane Austen books served as a centerpiece at our tea table, and the interestingly worn copies I borrowed from the library beautified our food table.

Victorian Tea Set

My Anthropologie teapot is my favorite because it has a unique look that’s colorful, fun, and modern. All the reasons that make it special also make it specific, limiting the color palettes and themes I can use it for. I still haven’t found cups or saucers that match, so I kind of gave up and bought a new tea set that’s guaranteed to go with everything! Yep, it’s official that I now collect tea pots. Found this beautiful white set with gold trim at my local antique store that had a traditional look which worked well for a Jane Austen party. I almost passed because they seemed too “plain” but they totally grew on me after Victoria pointed out how versatile they were. As I brought them home, washed them, and carefully found a spot for them in my tiny kitchen I started to notice all their pretty details. I was so wrong about them being plain! It feels so special with the gold trim, a subtle raised floral design on the sides, the fun feet on the teapot which saves me from add a coaster underneath, and the intricate handles on the cups. I can honestly say I love them, too! I also finally tried out sugar cubes and I have decided that plopping a cube rather than making a mess of sugar or honey elevates the tea party experience.

Tiered Tea Tray

Victoria and I teamed up on investing in our tea party “gear”. While I bought the tea set, she bought this gorgeous tiered serving tray perfect for the 3 courses of afternoon tea! It matched the tea set perfectly with the white and gold details. I’m impressed with her choice; it’s versatile enough to be used for any future events, elegant with some very pretty designs, and can be disassembled for storage. I highly recommend a 3 tiered tray for serving your savories and sandwiches, pastries like scones and biscuits, and sweets. Isn’t it adorable with all of her beautiful tea treats?

Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice Tea Party Menu

Thankfully my lovely ladies brought food, too, to help me out and it was all amazing!! I just asked them the day before what I should include in the menu. It was fun coming up with some of the food names!

Yes, I did. I totally took another stab at petit fours and am not so sure they were as fool-proof as I thought they would be with this beautiful cake pan I bought. A lot of the intricate details were lost in the baking as there were some air holes in the pound cake. I will definitely have to try again and practice more. Victoria had to help me rescue them with the glaze, haha you can tell which ones I did because they aren’t covered all the way or evenly! They were still so delicious little bite sized morsels.

I also made these bite sized deviled egg sandwiches, and had a lot of help from my husband who hard boiled, peeled, and cut them for me. They were supposed to be round, but these turned out better I think. Also pictured are Victoria’s famous blueberry pinwheels (a crowd favorite) and a new raspberry version.

Regency Dress

It was so fun dressing up! I ran out of time to shop for a dress, so this is the result of making do with whatever was in my closet this morning. It’s probably been like 2 years since I used my curling iron, so it felt special to get dressed. Turns out Victoria and I did our hair the same way with our matching crocheted hair bands made by my talented sis in law Chalia. Total happy accident! And look at my little girl who dressed herself! I was so impressed with our other guests dressing up, too- such lovely ladies.

We tried clotted cream for the first time, and it was delightfully creamy and delicious! I’m definitely digging the black currant jam and Victoria’s scones, too. She made the lemon flavored royal icing for those fanciful biscuits!

These cucumber sandwiches that my sister in law Ashley made were artfully crafted and I couldn’t stop eating them. I think the fresh dill made a huge difference, and I don’t know if I can go back to having cucumber sandwiches without them now! The kids devoured the strawberries in plates full.

Other Finishing Details

Tea parties are a special time to use your special dishes, prepare your best table linens, use real silverware, and enjoy real fresh flowers. It’s definitely a process, but I enjoy taking out the glassware, ironing the table cloth, setting up each place and decided how to fold the napkins… My little girl excitedly stayed up until way past her bedtime so she could be part of the preparation. All day the next day she proudly announced to each of our guests, “I helped make that!” or “I helped mommy with that!”

I did use a few party tricks, like buying a roll of pretty premium gift wrapping paper that matched my color theme to use as a table runner. It shimmered in different light and I loved how elegant it made our table feel, but not too crazy or expensive. My flowers came from a grocery store the morning of. We highlighted the menu by tying it to a beautiful vintage window that was an Anniversary gift from my husband years ago. It’s so satisfying what you can do with what you already have!

We chatted and visited, munched on all our goodies with classical music in the background. Victoria’s Mom even did us the honor of a reading of the first page of Pride and Prejudice right at the table! We watched the last disc of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice since I had never seen it before. I very much enjoyed being with my friends and bonding over something I didn’t realize many other people love, too—thank you, Jane Austen! My husband was a major help with babysitting and talking me off a cliff the day before. How he puts up with my plans gone overboard I never know.

Sincerely Yours, Kat