Shabby Chic Garden Tea Party Part 1 - Planning the Setting, the Colors, and the Style

A Shabby Chic Garden Tea Party Needs a Lovely Setting

It wouldn't be a shabby chic garden tea party without setting it in a beautiful garden. If you don't have a garden, blooming with spring or summer flowers behind your home, see if you can borrow the garden of a grandmother, aunt, or other close relative to host your party. If that isn't possible, check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there is a garden or park available for private parties.

Shabby Chic Clothing Style is Part of the Fun at this Tea Party

It's eco-friendly to dress up for a shabby chic tea party. Your guests should aim to dress in Sunday best, proper lady attire. They can choose clothing already in their closets, purchased in a thrift store or from another recycled source. Or they can dress in eco-friendly Sarah Silk Princess Dresses and Sarah Silk Garlands for a more whimsical look. Ladylike hats, gloves and vintage jewelry will complete the outfits. If they don't arrive with all of the necessary accessories, why not finish their look by supplying them when guests arrive? Then everyone will look and feel beautiful, ready to have a fine afternoon enjoying tea, cakes, and conversation.

Shabby Chic Decorations will Complete the Mood and Add Whimsy to your Garden Tea Party

Eco Party Time has a great assortment of party supplies to help set the mood for your shabby chic garden tea party. Elegant plantable dragonflies can form the basis of a whimsical design. Choose color pairings to suit the palette of your party, for example: purple and mint green; cornflower blue and marigold yellow; pink and dove grey - let your imagination wander.

Use these dragonflies to make a decorative garland using bakers twine in coordinating colors. Create the garland by tying a plantable dragonfly every six inches, alternating colors as you proceed. It's simple but effective.

Sprinkle extra color on your serving table with plantable confetti or recycled paper confetti. Choose just a few coordinating colors or go with all of the colors in your garden. When planted, this confetti will show off its true colors by growing into wildflowers. Best of all, no trees were harmed to make this lovely, festive decoration.

Build excitement by displaying your carefully planned, green party favors. Fill festive, recyclable, biodegradable paper bags with handfuls of plantable dragonflies and wildflower seed packets tied with matching bakers twine. Your guests will be so delighted that they can take home these eco party favors and create their own inviting garden at home.

Set a fabulous tea table using antique or pure white linens and vintage or vintage-looking china. Tarnished flatware adds to the shabby chic style of your tea party. Once the table has been set, sprinkle romantic, freeze dried rose petals on it.

Click here for Part 2 - Shabby Chic Garden Tea Party - The Treats and Fun

Event Styling, Design and Author

Daniele Segraves is a working mother of five kids who enjoys throwing fantastic eco-chic kid parties. For Ecopartytime's blog, she regularly plans eco-chic themes around her kids ages and shoot pictures for inspiring others which further helps other busy green parents do the same. She is also the Assistant Chica Verde for Emerald Certified Seminars, the premier green event planner certification program. She believes everyone deserves a brilliantly green party at least once in their life, regardless of age, race, shape, hair color, or pizza topping preference.

Photography Credit

Chasity Milligan 

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Donna Pilato for assistance in editing this article.