Hosting an English Tea Party at Our Historic Home

What an honor to host a charitable English tea party event at Bella Terra, our historic home in Phoenix, Arizona. Speaking at this tea is New York Times best selling author, Rhys Bowen. Since Rhys Bowen is British, our fundraiser’s theme is a proper English tea party. And if you aren’t familiar with her books, you must add them to your reading list! Many are on the New York Times Bestseller’s list.

The Entrance

This afternoon event is set outside. As guests arrive, they travel through the gated entrance with a tea cup wreath to the side garden.

The Attire

And what is a tea party without a fabulous hat! Nearly all participants arrive wearing such lovely head attire. Fortunately for me, Dillards has such a great selection of springtime head wear. And the tea length Ralph Lauren dress is a comfortable choice for this event.

With anys fundraiser, one needs to minimize expenses.  My dear friend, Linda, let me to borrow her extensive collection of old English china.

The Table Setting

Susan, my lifelong friend and co-sponsor is the best person to help organize the event. Using Party People, we easily rent the tables, chairs and linens. Julie Greder is a very creative local caterer. She creates a fabulous menu centered around the English tea theme.

The tables, set in the side garden, remain cool under the shade of the immense date palms. As our guests gather and mingle, we serve chilled champagne. It is such a civilized time to make new friends and participate in interesting conversation.

The Menu

Everyone claims their seats at the tables, and we begin to enjoy the delicious menu. Teacups are filled English tea. The menu includes: Currant scones with fresh Devonshire cream and lemon curd; cucumber dill, champagne egg salad and tarragon chicken salad sandwiches (no crusts).

Next, for dessert, come lavender shortbread cookies and chocolate praline tarts. Rhys regals us with her stories of being an author. With a longstanding career as a an author, we learn about her inspiration for her settings and character development.

The Presentation

As a parting gift, our guests receive a package of French macarons from Bonbon Macarons. These macarons rival anything I’ve tasted in Paris.

The Charity

With nearly 40 people in attendance, we raise significant contributions for a non-profit organization that works through one of our local high schools.  Family to Family Foundation provides scholarships to students in rural El Salvador.

Living in a low socio-economic area with no funds for schooling, these children are unable to receive an education. Each year the students from Brophy College Prep travel to this village in El Salvador to meet these scholarship students.  

What an enjoyable and very informative day!  Between the delicious food, stylish hats and outfits and Rhys’s delightful personality, it is the perfect afternoon. We hope this will become an annual fundraising affair.

Thank you for joining me on my very first blog post! I hope this inspires you to subscribe and follow more adventures from Life at Bella Terra. To see the second fundraising English tea event with Rhys Bowen, please click here.

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This post shared with 617th Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

For more information about Rhys Bowen and her books (I just completed the Royal Spyness series), check it out here: https://rhysbowen.com/

Photos were done by Unfading Beauty Photography https://unfadingbeautyphotography.com/SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave