Afternoon Tea by the sea
At the beginning of September we were in Heacham. This was for the blessing and celebration of A&F’s marriage. A&F got married last year in F’s home country of Brazil. Now it was time to celebrate with friends and family over here in England. It was F’s mother’s first time leaving Brazil and the first time the two families had come together. It was so lovely on set up day to witness the arrival of F’s mother and watch them all meet for the first time. With no common language it really showed how gestures and expression can be a language of their own. F’s son was also a great translator between everyone!
The setting was a marquee on the grounds of a family member close to the beach. Set up day consisted of laying tables for a buffet style afternoon tea. Places were set with teacups and saucers along with cutlery, a plate and glassware. We also set up a bar area in one corner. A&F opted for a drinks package supplied by us of Champagne, Pimms, beer, wine and soft drinks.
On the day the sun was shining and the family were in high spirits as they walked up the road to the local church for the blessing. When they returned we served a Pimms reception. We also laid a gorgeous cheese and meat grazing board for guests to pick at while they mingled.
Just before guests made their way into the marquee we took out nice hot teapots to each table, milk, sugar, red and white wine. We laid out the buffet ready for people to tuck in straight after the speeches. When everyone was seated we offered champagne to those that wanted it for the toasts. When speeches were finished I guided guests to the buffet one table at a time until everybody had been up. After that people were free to go up as many times as they wished.
So what did they choose for their Afternoon Tea? For their savoury options A&F chose chicken, bacon and mayonnaise sandwiches, brie and cranberry sandwiches, salmon and cream cheese sandwiches and sausage rolls. They had a mixture of fruit scones with clotted cream and jam and cheese scones with butter. A&F’s choice of sweet treats were gooey chocolate brownies, mini salted caramel cheesecakes and strawberry pavlova’s. Needless to say everything went down amazingly and there were lots of return visits to the buffet table!
During this time our job was to keep the buffet topped up, check on tables for top ups of tea, milk, wine and water and serving at the bar any alternative drinks people wanted to the choices on the table.
Lastly we cleared the tables and the small amount that was left of the buffet and left everyone to it for the rest of the evening. They helped themselves to the drinks supplied and had a local pizza van company in for the evening food.
It was clear to see that A&F had had an amazing start to their married life together and we wish them all the best for all the future years to come.
Soph x