Wedding Day Scones

I included a tropical menu for my brides because a. lot of them forget that they are not only planning a wedding day, but they are also about to go on a fabulous vacation with the love of their life - their honeymoon!! The tea blend I serve to brides is also a tropical blend of kiwi, papaya and mango with hints of coconut. Theses scones have a little bit of pineapple which you can also substitute for any dried fruit of your choice. Apricots or peaches would be just as tasty! I always serve with some preserves or lemon curd but honestly, these scones are so light and delicious all by themselves, I think I only want to serve them with some clotted cream or with some fresh fruit on the side! Your choice but either way, these will be one of your favorite scones! Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened 1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup chopped dried pineapple (or fruit of your choice) 1/3 cup heavy cream

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add cream cheese and pineapple, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 3/4” thickness. Using a 2 1/2” wedding bell cookie cutter (I just used a round cookie cutter), cut scones and place them on prepared baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

LEMON THYME TEA BREAD

I am having so much fun with my herb garden this year. I grew so much already, I had to cut a bunch and prune the entire garden back already. One small herb garden produces so much harvest!! I wanted to start baking and cooking using these precious herbs! I think there is an herb called lemon thyme, but I am just growing regular thyme this year. I’ve used thyme when I cook a roast or turkey but I have never baked anything with thyme in it…. So this is my first time using fresh thyme in my baking.

This tea bread is so yummy and is the perfect little bite of sweet to go with your favorite tea! You will taste just a hint of the thyme with that subtle sweet flavor of lemon. The butter give the bread so much flavor and moisture… I can’t wait for you to try this recipe and impress all of your tea table friends!

2 cups unsalted butter, softened 2 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze (recipe follows) Garnish: Fresh thyme, lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (8x5x3 inch) loaf pans with nonstick baking spray with flour. I used mini loaf pans making 8 mini loaves and I adjusted the baking time. I will note this baking time below.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until creamy, approximately 6 minutes. Add thyme and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt. Sift twice and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 30 minutes (I baked for about 15 - 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Cover loaves with tented aluminum foil, and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes (I baked for an additional 20 minutes for the mini loaves). Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely. Place parchment paper under the cooling racks, and pour lemon glaze over loaves. Garnish with thyme and lemon slices, if desired.

Lemon Glaze (makes approximately 1 1/4 cups)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Use immediately. Drizzle over the tops of the loaves.

I wrapped each individual loaf in Saran Wrap and froze them. Take out a loaf for tea, slice and enjoy my friends!

Tea and Time Lemon Bars

Tea is always so great to enjoy all by itself but isn’t it wonderful to have a little bit of a sweet treat during your tea time? I know for me it is! Make a batch of these yummy lemon bars and always have them on hand by wrapping the squares in saran wrap and freezing them. Anytime a teatime friend visits your home, (or even if you want to treat a special teatime all by yourself), you can take out a few of these lemon squares and defrost them on a plate as you prepare the tea. By the time your tea has brewed, poured and you are settled into a cozy place to begin wonderful conversations, your lemon bars will be ready to enjoy! Defrosted yet still very chilled makes these tasty treats even better!! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 Sticks Butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 Tbls lemon juice

Melt butter and mix with powdered sugar and 2 cups of flour. Press in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon filling. Beat eggs until fluffy, add sugar and mix well. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and lemon juice. I have used fresh lemons but I found that using bottled lemon juice somehow tastes better and not so tart with this recipe. Mix well. Pour over cookie layer. I do this pretty much when it comes out of the oven. No need to let this cool first. Return pan to oven for 25 minutes or until set. Now you can let this cool completely before cutting them into small squares. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with your favorite cup of tea.

Bridesmaids Tea

Brides spend months and months preparing and planning for their wedding day and they choose every detail very very carefully. From the stationery and flowers to the music and menu selections, every aspect of their special day is well thought out and has enormous meaning behind those decisions. This would include all the special people a bride selects to be surrounded by and a part of her bride tribe… her bridesmaids!

Photo by Du Castel Photography

Photo by Eric and Jamie Photography

A Bridesmaids Tea and such a special way to thank all of your besties for surrounding you with love and support and to witness you take that walk down the aisle. As a wedding planner, I have seen this tea celebrated in many different ways. Here a just a few ideas to think about when planning your Bridesmaids tea time!

Photo by Eric and Jamie Photography

Will you be my Bridesmaid?

A fun tea party is a perfect way to ask each of your best girls to be a part of your wedding day and serve as one of your bridesmaids. Fun gifts at each place setting and pretty stationery asking them to be a bridesmaid is a fun and exciting way to celebrate you as a bride and the girls having the honor to stand beside you!

Photo by Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography

All the girls sat around this pretty and pink tea table and one by one, the bride-to-be told heartfelt stories of how she met each girl and how special each girl meant to her along with some fun memories shared throughout the years. This can get a bit emotional so maybe a gift of a fine linen handkerchief monogrammed with their initials placed on their chair would be a sweet and thoughtful touch.

Wedding Morning Tea

Another way my brides like to honor their bridesmaids is with a wedding morning breakfast tea, usually at the bride’s home. This particular wedding day began at the home of the bride for hair and make up and also to provide the opportunity for their beloved puppies to partake in the photographs without bringing them on site to the church or reception. So we invited all the girls early that morning and gathered in the dining room for breakfast casseroles, muffins, fruits and tea sandwiches and pastries. Hair and make up was all going on in other parts of the house and was a fabulous way to gather and prepare for the day ahead with everyone in one space on the most special of days.

A sweet Southern tradition for brides and her maids is a charm cake. Ribbons are placed within the cake holding charms for each of the girls. Singe girls will choose a certain color ribbon and will pull charms such as a wedding ring, indicating she will be the next to marry. Married girls will pull charms such as a baby, telling the good fortune that she will be next to have a baby, and so on. The bride , of course, will pull the white ribbon with a wedding ring, chapel or a bridal bouquet and she will hold the key with explanations to each charm to all the girls’ good fortunes within the cake as they pull them! What a “charming” way to start the day!

A bridesmaids tea is such a wonderful way to begin all the celebrations for your wedding day. Keep it simple and pretty with just cake a tea or add sandwiches and other tea treats and savories but keep in mind that the point of this tea is to thank your besties for standing by you on your most special of days and time to all be together. It all starts here! Enjoy!

Thank you to every fabulous vendor featured in this blog post… you are all the BEST!

Planning/Design | AK Brides

Gourmet Teas | Tea and Time

Photography | Eric and Jamie Photography

Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography

Du Castel Photography

Floral Design | Stems and Styles

Lillie Jane

Hot House Design Studio

Tea Tableware | Tea and Old Roses

Linens/Rentals | Decor to Adore

Stationery | Allison R Banks Designs

Charm Cake | Sweet Magnolia