A Midsummer Night's Tea Party

What is the only logical thing to do when one of your oldest girl friends is leaving for a new life at the other end of the country? Throw a surprise farewell party! In consideration of the fact that my dear friend N is soon leaving for Toronto to pursue her second degree, a bunch of her closest friends and I decided to throw a simple, elegant, and very fun tea party that was originally set to be on her back porch. However, Vancouver's weather decided to throw a curve ball at us and make it rain almost all day and night. Nevertheless, we persevered and decided to change the venue to the inside of N's living room. Using lace, doilies, miscellaneous decor items, flowers, helium balloons, multiple flavours of David's Tea, and a wide assortment of delicious treats, we transformed that room into a wonderland of a tea party (quite literally, we felt like we were throwing a Mad Hatter's Party at times). Thanks to the expertise of some very talented and artistic individuals, setting up this beautiful scene was quite a breeze! 

Lace flag banners and white balloons. And the girls figuring out what the heck to do with them. 

Need to take off some framed pictures from the wall in order to make room for the banners? No problem, just use them as decor on the floor! Absolute genius. Also, note the awesome use of the mirror as a very fancy place mat.

One of our compatriots has an especially acute obsession over David's Tea so we all were fortunate enough to sample some amazing flavours such as Rose Green Tea and Red Velvet.

Despite the overabundance of decadent chocolates and pastries, this fruit dish was the main item that everyone was fighting over all night. The second runner-up was the veggie and dip.

Adorable polka dotted teapot.

All the gals chatting while waiting for the special girl to turn up. Also notice that we tied the helium balloons to our teacup handles- it definitely added an extra element of gleeful fun to the act of sipping tea!

(More photos after the jump.)

When N seemed to be taking her own sweet time to get home, we took the opportunity to catch up with one another and to plan out our surprise strategy.

Watermelon and cantaloupe cut into cute shapes.

"SURPRISEEE!!!!"  

Forcing N to use her monogrammed mug in some mug shots. 

We also brought some polaroid cameras and took a bunch of memorable shots to further document the night.

Overall, it was an amazing night full of laughs and memories, both past and present. It's always wonderful to be able to reconnect with old friends, as well as to take the opportunity to make new ones. One of my favourite moments (because I'm weird) was when one of the girls decided to regale us with horror stories of haunted workplaces in Vancouver. Since it's rare for us to hang out over campfires anymore, what better way to get spooked than over a candle-lit tea party? 

I'll miss you so unbelievably much N! And while I'll be sad that you will be gone for some time, I'm so excited for your new start in life and for what exciting adventures you will soon experience!