The Royal Wedding...only 18 days to go, plan your celebrations now!!

So whilst Kate and Wills are making their last wedding preparations, manicures, spray tans and clothes fittings! With only 18 days to go, those of us with no plans for 'the big day' should start making some. With the last big Royal wedding being Charles and Diana's on the 29th of July 1981, whether you like the royals or not this bank holiday is a wonderful opportunity to have some community spirit, and celebrate a long weekend in true British style!

Here are a few ideas to get your imagination rolling.

Street Party

The dates have already passed to organise a street party due to the council requirements for road closures etc, but you could invite a few friends and neighbours around for a garden party. Ask everyone to bring a cake or something to put on a BBQ and lots of drinks. Key item: quick, simple, effective and patriotic.... bunting.

Red, white and blue fabric bunting, instantly gives your event that party atmosphere, you don't need to spend hours blowing up balloons. The best bit is you can hire it from my website www.laviniasteaparty.com  with 100 meters available of this it'll zigzag across you're garden or village hall. Its been hand cut and machine sewn together, recycling fabric so its good for the environment too, unlike that nasty plastic stuff!

You don't need to spend hours icing union jacks into cup cakes, just buy a pack of 50 Union Jack cake topper flags to stick into all of the goodies at your party and instantly it'll look very British! These are available in wonderful packs tied with ribbon and labelled with old WWII posters. Send one to a friend to commemorate the day! Buy them from my Etsy shop Lavinia's Tea Party, Union Jack Cup Cake Toppers.

Joust Tournament at Blenheim Palace

To celebrate the Royal Wedding, on the 29th April 2011 Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill) are hosting a Joust tournament. Great day out if you have kids, as they can be entertained by knights on horses jousting away in the ground of the palace. Its all included in admission to the Palace and gardens. Key item: Picnic, a traditional British past time, regardless of the weather, fill a wicker basket with pink lemonade, cucumber sandwiches, and Cadbury's chocolate fingers, and maybe a few bottles of Pimms and an umbrella. Don't for a comfy picnic blanket. 

Whilst attending the palace it'd be rude not to dress up, ladies get on your finest summer tea dresses and men shirts and chino's. Ladies add some sophistication to your outfit wear a fascinator or some flowers in your hair, and if you really want to commemorate the day, get one of these beautiful Union Jack fascinator by Crown & Glory and at bargain price just £10. It'll look fantastic in photographs and be a day to remember.

Tea Party and Royal Knitting

If the sky fills with thunderous rain clouds and you don't fancy freezing your red, white and blue painted face off. Invite a few friends round, set up a lovely afternoon tea party inside. This London themed vintage china cakestand would make a wonderful table centre piece.

Get the tea brewing, or maybe fills some tea pots with Pimms, and then all pick a different figure from the Knit your own Royal Wedding, knitting book and GET KNITTING! Maybe if everyone picks a different limb or item of clothing, by the time the wedding will be shown on television in the afternoon you may have your own Kate and Wills ready to be wed!

I hope this gives you a few ideas to enjoy the bonus bank holiday, with only 18 days to go get buying now, don't leave it to the last minute with everyone else. Lets enjoy it as it may be another 20 odd years till the next Royal Wedding!

Birthday Goodies

I celebrated my birthday with a few close friends for a lovely afternoon into late evening tea!

I spent the morning preparing for my guests, doing some baking and answering the door to lots of surprises. First knock at the door was the postman delivering an awesome pair of trainers, which I'd only mentioned to my boyfriend the day before, then another van arrives with not one but two gorgeous bouquets of pink roses and lillies also from my boyfriend, he clearly out did himself this year, as he's serving abroad with limited phone/internet I wasn't expecting anything! 

Then the regular postman bought some parcels and lots of cards, including a hot water bottle, top and scarf!  All of this was rather overwhelming as I'd said no presents but was even better because of this, and the last man to come to the door was delivering my croquette set I'd ordered, so that was rather exciting aswell!! Can't wait for the weather to clear up and get a game in. I can now offer this to all bespoke tea party customers too.

Here are a few photos I took of the flowers and some of my presents, including a new addition to my china collection, being this gorgeous pink and grey Solano Wear designed by John Wadsworth for Minton.

 This is a stack of books with beautiful polkadot covers my mum bought for me at a fair in Hungary, she knew I'd love them for props and I've already made us of them!

Its not what you know its who you know, my very talented friend Stephanie Cole is a fabric pattern designer, and she treated me to one of her latest designs. Its a fabric bag with a lovely Cirencester (the nearest town to where we live) map design in one of my favourite colours, which matched this tea cup! You can see more of her wonderful work here: www.stephaniecole.co.uk

Lovely necklace for rainy days which also matched a tea pot of mine!

This Battenberg Britain book is amazing, its entertaining and educational, so I pulled out of the cupboard my Camp coffee and Birds Custard and read all about their origins etc.

Flowers and china, with wedding statue!

The rain held off whilst I through this little still life together in the garden.

All in all a wonderful birthday.