The Tea Party

"It's always tea time..."

- The Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll

A couple of months ago when I was helping Lyndsay - Founder and Creator of Pistachio (AKA my little sister) - with her impending summer line, I was struck with the idea of creating a stylized shoot to feature her bibs. But not just any shoot - a tea party shoot! With colors and flowers and dainty cups and saucers and delicacies and linens and all things beautiful.

We began to play and plan, inviting a great many local businesses on board to be a part of the fun. (Connecting with and celebrating other small businesses is something I have become very passionate about and you will be seeing a lot more partnerships here on the blog.) First we reached out to Jean at Our Specialtea who gamely provided tea pots, tea cups, saucers and cupcakes with tea cup mints from her darling tea room (these sets are still available in her gift shop but don't expect them to last long!); Sandy at Country Gardens graciously gave us flowers for the day (stop by their sidewalk sale June 25th!); Le Petite Paris Bakery gave us a steal on macaroons (and even sent along croissants and buns as a gift); and Super Foods filled our giant pink balloons at 1/3 of the price. Awhile back my mom had given me a beautiful marble stand with a glass bell cloche from William Sonoma and my grandmother's linen table cloth with taupe-embroidered cut outs, napkins, and silver finished off the table. The crowning glory would be Lyn's adorably fresh and summery bibs.

Friend and fellow-photog Elena helped us lay the table and even brought her camera to second-shoot. (She also did a great many other tasks, including but not limited to: tying balloons, cheer-leading for baby smiles, moving items, etc. Thanks, Elena!) Our models, Lexi & Nora, drove all the way from Sioux Falls SD for the night and both were so cheery and willing despite the sweltering heat and humidity. The Mister was on intermittent daddy-duty and fetched us pizza for a post-shoot feast. To everyone involved, THANK YOU!!! Our first large-scale stylized shoot was such a success and I can't wait to share this gallery of gorgeous images with you.

From preparations to well-laid table, behold a tea party worth drooling over. (So buy a bib ;D)