Bridal Shower Tea Ideas from Martha Stewart Weddings

Asian traditions help bring a contemporary feeling to that old favorite, the bridal shower tea. The table is covered with Indian fabric and decorated with mossy topiaries. The menu includes bavarians, scallop-shaped madeleines, and tea, served in a pot nestled on a Japanese-inspired sycamore tray with a bed of fresh rose petals and sugar cubes.

The Classic English teatime elements are reinvented with ingredients from the sushi bar. This food is as decorative as it is delectable. Tea sandwiches combine the familiar (smoked salmon, poached chicken, cucumbers, dill, watercress, and cream cheese) with the unexpected (wasabi, shiso leaf, fresh salmon roe, black caviar, and black and white sesame seeds).

A classic shortbread and a modern version made with green tea look beautiful on a simple tray. The classic cookies are round with small spoon and fork imprints; the green-tea shortbread is cut into the shape of leaves.

Image Credits: Martha Stewart Weddings

Japanese green tea leaves surrounded by French tilleul leaves are nestled in small wooden boxes and make beautiful party favors. They are wrapped in pale-pink vellum paper and ribbon, and then decorated with antique waxed leaves.

With their beautiful ornamentation and lettering, biscuit and tea tins bring old-fashioned charm to a bridal shower. New or vintage, the containers are inexpensive and easy to find at specialty-food stores, tag sales, and online auctions. Test tins to make sure they're watertight before filling with single-flower arrangements. If any do leak, use plastic bags as liners