Newsday called

And asked if they could be invited to our little party, and we said 'yes.'  The more the merrier.  I was happy to see that we made Newsday the following day, after our royal wedding watch breakfast celebrating the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Enjoy!

back to reality

Six weeks of planning, scouring the web for all kinds of unique goodies, and much attention to detail paid off Friday with our Royal Wedding Watch Breakfast.  I say 'our' because it was truly a family effort to pull it all together; including my 12 year-old son helping me pick up the wedding cake from Madame Butterfly Cakes in Babylon Village the evening prior to the royal wedding.  But, my friends and I had such fun and the morning was well worth the time and effort, with everyone smiling and laughing and truly enjoying each other's company.  As always, it was so worth it. :) We even made Newsday, a large publication here on Long Island serving over 1 million residents.  Having said all that, my heart goes out to those down South who are experiencing the sorrow of loss and the pain of having endured the terrible devastation caused by the tornadoes this past week and I keep in my mind the flooding that is feared in more parts of those states.  My jubilation that one of the world's most feared terrorists has now met his demise causes me both a sense of relief and a heightened awareness of what may lie ahead.  These truly are amazing times in which we live.  I hope the images from our royal wedding watch breakfast will provide you a moment to stop and enjoy.

the guests of honor

welcoming my guests

Lisa @ Main Street Nursery did an amazing job, as usual, on the flowers

letterpress breakfast menu from Sarah Ridgley @ Etsy

table display

cake from Micheline at Madame Butterfly Cakes

breakfast table

petit fours also made by Micheline

berries & cream fit for a princess

almost ready to go

letterpress favor cards from Sarah Ridgley @ Etsy

enjoying mimosas and girl time 

tea anyone?

enjoying tea and a wedding; anything better?

always a good day for pearls 

that special moment 

so much fun

the wonderful Mr. LIS

keeping it simple

peonies & china from the Royal Collection @ Buckingham Palace

more beautiful peonies, are there ever enough?

tulipiere from Abigails.net with parrot tulips on mantle; classic

of course, we removed and froze the top tier for 2012

it's the little details....

(Buckingham Palace, Royal Collection Wedding Souvenir) 

that count.

(Prince Charles', 'Highgrove Estate' Royal Wedding Souvenir)

'the ring' 

my wonderful tea cozies from Diane Tubb Designs @ Etsy and MiniMade @ Etsy

let the clean-up begin

royal wedding watch breakfast

Spring is almost here and I have Royal Wedding fever.  Yes, I've fallen prey to the excitement and am planning a Royal Wedding Watch breakfast for my ladies! I love planning parties for my friends and family. My yearly Halloween party is quite fun, with everyone always having a memorable time.  This little get-together should be equally as memorable and so much fun - I can't wait. Hats are mandatory, pj's optional due to the early hour we will be watching! I've based the morning's color scheme on the newly released Royal Collection China being sold by Buckingham Palace and The Royal Collection shop.  The porcelain pieces are pale grey and silver, with gold embellishments and a touch of pale blue.  The tea towel is my favorite piece; I love the blue starburst, as well as the garlands. So pretty. My checklist is almost complete, and I'm awaiting my final goodies to arrive from the UK.  Enjoy!

images above courtesy of http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp

For starters, I'd like to create a beautiful 'breakfast/dessert' table that will feature all of our fun breakfast foods and some very yummy sweets.  Here is my inspiration table from Amy Atlas Events. I have all the crisp white serving pieces, but will be adding touches of pale blues, greys and silvers.  My sky-blue and white damask tablecloth will be the perfect table covering, with perhaps my crisp white table runner as a topper. 

image via http://www.amyatlas.com/

image via http://www.amyatlas.com/

The amazingly talented Micheline, from Madame Butterfly Cakes, made a beautiful Fall basket cake for my family to enjoy at Thanksgiving last year, and has graciously accepted the task of making a Royal Wedding Cake for my breakfast!  She is magnificently talented and I can't wait to see what she will be creating! Maybe something like this beautiful homage to Wedgewood?  

My Wedding Breakfast Menu Cards are being created by Sarah Ridgley.  I love Etsy, and Sarah is one of the talented letterpress artists that creates true works of art and sells them on Etsy.  Here is a working draft as of today.  It will be printed on heavy, 8x10 ivory paper with rounded edges and sit on the dessert table with all the yummies that you see on the card.  Sarah is also making little tags for my dessert table.  Love them! Sarah also made the large letterpress card that will go on my foyer table to welcome my guests as they enter.  This is how I found Sarah on Etsy!  Fun!

My hat (aka Fascinator) is being created by Hats by Cressida.  Another great Etsy find!  It will be in a pale grey to match my suit (or pj's, whichever I am motived to be in!) and will look like this.  How much fun is this?

My floral arrangements, (you can't have a ladies tea without flowers!) will be pale pink, creamy ivory and crisp green. I'm trying to go for a very soft look, but with punches of crisp green.  My large glass hurricane urns that previously stood on my mantle, will adorn our dessert table filled with large bunches of limelight hydrangea.  I think this will set off the pale blue damask table cloth and other pale blues of the macaron, as well as the crisp whites of the serving pieces just right.  Lisa at Main Street Nursery is so perfect at creating exactly what I'm looking for each and every time.  Here are some ideas I've given her to work with. 

image via http://www.marthastewart.com/

image via http://www.marthastewart.com/

image via http://www.teleflora.com/flowers/bouquet/telefloras-park-avenue-centerpiece-372828p.asp

image via http://www.carolynshepard.com/

And, just for giggles; I've also included a few of those fun items that have been popping up all over the place. This flag will fly outside on the porch to welcome guests to their royal morning!  I just couldn't resist.

 

I'm counting down the days, and will keep you informed as to any fun little things I've found to add to the day's festivities!  If you see something you think I'd like, please let me know! Aren't you dying to know, what will she wear? (I personally am hoping for something very Grace Kelly-esque).