Alice in Wonderland Tea Party for the ladies, any ideas how or where to do this at?

Skylersmommy5

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
After seeing he pictures of Heidi's Mary Poppins Tea Party for the Ladies, which I loved BTW, has anyone done an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party foe your Bridesmaids, Moms, & Grandmothers? I think this might be a fun idea for me to thank the important ladies in my Bridal Party and enjoy Tea with them(which my DH would never do). I know GF has High Tea, but can you book a private area for 13 or even a reservation for 13? Will they let you bring in a cake(I was thinking of having a smaller Mad Hatter Cake designed in Alice in Wonderland) since my DH doesn't want that for our actual cake. How is attire for it, do people dress in shorts, pants, sun dresses(I don't want to make it too fancy or make anyone buy another expensive dress to wear, but something comfy)? Are you able to customize the menus for tea, like the sandwiches, desserts & pastries served, and be able to have a set price per person? Sorry I'm full of questions, I have never had tea at Disney before and have only had it once before and loved it. Also does anyone on here know where to find some affordable hats with feathers and flowers or any DIY Projects to do these? I think it might be a nice touch and a fun favor for the ladies(yes I saw that on an episode of Platinum Weddings and loved he
idea). Any ideas will greatly be helpful, thank you:)!
 
Thank you so much for the link. Shoot, I washoping to do it on a Thursday, sothe days theyhave available may not work. I can hope we'll be staying in a Villa and maybe with some help be able to pull something off.
 
Are there any other spots at Disney or even off Disney if it comes down to needing to rent a limo to transport 13 ladies to tea somewhere on a Week Day? I looked at The Ritz Carlton's Website and their Tea Times are only for Saturday and Sunday(that won't exactly work). I can try my luck not having a private event at Disney in the GF, however I don't know if they'll change any of their tea sandwiches to ones I'll eat. How to host a Tea(hot or iced) for 13 ladies and there actually be a couple of tea sandwiches I'll eat?
 


That sounds like a really great idea! It says you can book large parties without doing a private event any day of the week. I am sure they would still let you have a cake and favors for your group. The menu sounds like it offers what you were looking for as well, and the prices are reasonable. Great idea! I think it would be lots of fun!:thumbsup2
 
That sounds like a really great idea! It says you can book large parties without doing a private event any day of the week. I am sure they would still let you have a cake and favors for your group. The menu sounds like it offers what you were looking for as well, and the prices are reasonable. Great idea! I think it would be lots of fun!:thumbsup2

Thank you for loving the idea. The only thing I guess I would have to see if the GF would be willing to make something like creamcheese & cucumber(and tomato), peanut butter and rasberry jelly(only jelly I eat), and cream cheese & strawberry & kiwi tea sandwiches just foe me(I'm quite the picky eater, but don't want them say "sorry we can't accomodate your picky request" or something like that, especially when I'm not the guest of honor for the teaparty, my Bridal Party are the Guests of Honor.

Also has anyone seen some nice yet affordable eiter personalized or unpersonalized tea cup/ saucer sets or tea for one sets that come with a tea pot? If I don't do the hats, thinking it would be a nice keepsake from the tea for the ladies, but to go along with their Bridesmaid Gift, MOB/MOG/SMOB Gigt, and Grandmas Gift.
 
I loved the idea of a tea party and was planning to do one for the girls but it was hard to fit it in and we just really didn't have the budget for yet another event. And since we're staying Club level at the GF I heard they have those scones, so why pay extra when I'm already going to be able to have those for free? :laughing: So instead DF and I are doing separate meals on the day of the wedding with our BP and important family members. The girls brunch will be at 1900 Park Fare. I figured they'll enjoy the food much more, we all need to eat that day anyway, and it's a fun environment with characters! The Madd Hatter and Alice are there and they are so funny! :goodvibes

But you could definitely do the Gardenview tea room for that number of people without having to rent it out. When DF and I went in June people were dressed fairly casually so I think you would be fine in nice shorts/capris or sun dresses. We were able to substitute one of the sandwiches since we don't eat seafood but I don't know if you could completely customize the menu like that during regular hours. Although if you had all 14 people on that menu maybe they would consider it, couldn't hurt to ask.

You could also rent out one of the rooms in the GF convention center, like the Whitehall room or Key West room and then I'm sure they would let you completely customize the menu and you could have your cake and favors and whatever decorations you wanted to add. I'm not sure what your budget is for this, but the Key West room I think has a F&B min of $500, but you'd already be close to meeting that with the Mad Hatter Cake alone.

If the weather is nice you could even do an event at the Summer House or GF Marina. I know I have also seen pictures of a Madd Hatter Tea party at the Boardwalk. And a Madd Hatter theme must be very popular since Disney has a whole decor package specifically for that which includes giant props, but it is very expensive.

As for a favor, you could try etsy. I know at the GF they also had Alice in Wonderland cup and saucer sets, I want to say around $20 each. I got each of the girls in my BP this tea bag holder, it was cute and around $5. And I bought a set of wonderland teas and plan to give them each one flavor along with the tea bag holder. I only got around to giving them to my MOH's but they really liked them.

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I actually got my hat at TJ Maxx for $20!! I think my mom found hers at a re-sale shop. I think that's a great place to look!

You could scan re-sale/thrift stores and gather a collection and bring them to the party for people to choose from. But, I like the feathers idea, too. You could buy a bunch of feathers and hair clips and make fascinators for everyone to wear! If I'm not mistaken, I've seen the Mothers-of-the-bride of a lot of UK brides wear them, and they look great!

If you PM me your email address, I have some info my WP gave me re: tea party menus, options, etc. I know you're looking at having it at the Garden View (which I think is a great idea if your group is small), but I can send you whatever I have anyway in case that doesn't work out and you have to do a private event somewhere else at the GF.

Also, as far as customized menus, I'd say that if you get a reservation for a private area at Garden View, talk directly to the tea room, ask about their most popular menu items, and have menus drawn up with those few choices, but personalized. The menu is pretty extensive, so it wouldn't be a big deal if you couldn't totally customize it.

We told people to wear their favorite hat, so most people drew from there that that meant Sunday best sort of dress. But, you could put on your invite "Summer casual," "country-club casual" or something like that so they understand not to buy a special outfit. And I've also found that if people are confused about dress, they'll probably ask.
 
I am doing a bridal tea the day before our VR in july at the Garden view tea room. I made a group reservation for all the ladies attending. I chose to use the Buckingham palace tea menu(which I have tried and thought was very good) or the Mrs Potts menu for the younger guests- I just need to let the GF tea room know how many of each. There will be 14 total guests- two tables of seven. I asked the guests to wear "summer casual" and their favorite summer hat too for fun.
 
I loved the idea of a tea party and was planning to do one for the girls but it was hard to fit it in and we just really didn't have the budget for yet another event. And since we're staying Club level at the GF I heard they have those scones, so why pay extra when I'm already going to be able to have those for free? :laughing: So instead DF and I are doing separate meals on the day of the wedding with our BP and important family members. The girls brunch will be at 1900 Park Fare. I figured they'll enjoy the food much more, we all need to eat that day anyway, and it's a fun environment with characters! The Madd Hatter and Alice are there and they are so funny! :goodvibes

But you could definitely do the Gardenview tea room for that number of people without having to rent it out. When DF and I went in June people were dressed fairly casually so I think you would be fine in nice shorts/capris or sun dresses. We were able to substitute one of the sandwiches since we don't eat seafood but I don't know if you could completely customize the menu like that during regular hours. Although if you had all 14 people on that menu maybe they would consider it, couldn't hurt to ask.

You could also rent out one of the rooms in the GF convention center, like the Whitehall room or Key West room and then I'm sure they would let you completely customize the menu and you could have your cake and favors and whatever decorations you wanted to add. I'm not sure what your budget is for this, but the Key West room I think has a F&B min of $500, but you'd already be close to meeting that with the Mad Hatter Cake alone.

If the weather is nice you could even do an event at the Summer House or GF Marina. I know I have also seen pictures of a Madd Hatter Tea party at the Boardwalk. And a Madd Hatter theme must be very popular since Disney has a whole decor package specifically for that which includes giant props, but it is very expensive.

As for a favor, you could try etsy. I know at the GF they also had Alice in Wonderland cup and saucer sets, I want to say around $20 each. I got each of the girls in my BP this tea bag holder, it was cute and around $5. And I bought a set of wonderland teas and plan to give them each one flavor along with the tea bag holder. I only got around to giving them to my MOH's but they really liked them.

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that is adorable!
 
Thank you all for your ideas and replies everyone. Sorry I haven't replied sooner, my little boy and I have been feeling under the weather the past few days, so Ive been taking extra care of us both. I'll reply more when we're both feeling better. Thank you again for your replies & ideas.

Heidi, I'll send you a PM once we're over feeling I'll. Thank you so much for being willing to e-mail me the menus.
 
Hi Ladies, I'm so sorry this took me so long to reply back to you all. Not only had I not been feeling well since last Sunday, my 2 year old DS got sick too, and then my DH, so some bug was going around and all 3 of us managed to get it.

PezAddict those are adorible Tea Bag Holders. I love the tea Bags too. Thanks for suggesting the Whitehall Room. It might be the best solution. Any way I look at my options of either trying to prepare the food myself and buy enough Tea Settings for the Tea Party Itself & then Favors, those will probably cost me more than the minimum for either The Garden View Room or Whitehall Room.
I still am uncertain on my budget for the Tea Party, but it would be such a nice touch. Wow I would have never thought a Mad Hatter Cake would cost $500 alone. I can probably see about getting a cake from Publix instead and possibly add a Candy Buffet for far less than that price. For 11 Ladies I was hoping to spend no more than $500-$600 total. Maybe it could come out to that if I do the tea party elsewhere where I won't be limited with a Pre-Selected Menu and kind of see if maybe a little help of trays from Publix, Costco, or Sams could still make an elegant tea party/ luncheon but help me stay in that price range.
 
My daughter's bridal shower two years ago was an Alice in Wonderland theme also. We held it at the Garden Tea Room at the Grand Floridian HOtel. We also gave out goody bags with the same tea bag holders as pictured above. They served all kinds of teas and little sandwiches, whatever they had on their menu. I even arranged with Disney Photography to have a photographer come and take a group pictures of us and all the guest on the staircase in the lobby. We had about 20 people come and it was great. We opened the presents in the lobby because we weren't able to open them in the tea room.
 
Hi Ladies, I'm so sorry this took me so long to reply back to you all. Not only had I not been feeling well since last Sunday, my 2 year old DS got sick too, and then my DH, so some bug was going around and all 3 of us managed to get it.

PezAddict those are adorible Tea Bag Holders. I love the tea Bags too. Thanks for suggesting the Whitehall Room. It might be the best solution. Any way I look at my options of either trying to prepare the food myself and buy enough Tea Settings for the Tea Party Itself & then Favors, those will probably cost me more than the minimum for either The Garden View Room or Whitehall Room.
I still am uncertain on my budget for the Tea Party, but it would be such a nice touch. Wow I would have never thought a Mad Hatter Cake would cost $500 alone. I can probably see about getting a cake from Publix instead and possibly add a Candy Buffet for far less than that price. For 11 Ladies I was hoping to spend no more than $500-$600 total. Maybe it could come out to that if I do the tea party elsewhere where I won't be limited with a Pre-Selected Menu and kind of see if maybe a little help of trays from Publix, Costco, or Sams could still make an elegant tea party/ luncheon but help me stay in that price range.

Glad you're feeling better! :goodvibes I think with Disney you pretty much need to go through them for events. You could also try renting a 1 bedroom DVC unit and providing all the stuff yourself, but that's a lot of effort and I don't think it will give the same effect.

For your budget I would try to get the Key West Room. I haven't seen the private tea party menus but I would think for the $500 minimum you could really put on a nice party for that number of people. Yes, the two tier Madd Hatters are around $450 I think. You could do a 1 tier or you might be able to get the cake from somewhere else, or maybe Disney could make fancy cupcakes instead that could be decorated in a Alice in Wonderland theme?

The tea bag holders were $4.50 I think, so I think they would be perfect as a favor. The tea bags were around $20 for a set of 16 maybe? So for like $6 a person or so you have a really nice favor. ;)
 
After reading this post I booked the 6 ladies attending my wedding for the Garden View Tea (not a private event) for the day of the rehearsal dinner while the boys are golfing.
 
Pezaddict, thanks so much for the suggestion and the feel better. I'm about to talk to my DH tonight and see if doing a major guest list cut down to almost less than 30 total including ourselves, so that would cut down my Ladies Tea by 3 as well, to make our budget more realistic so I can pretty much have Disney do everything for me and let it have a real feel of Afternoon Tea with the Ladies instead of trying to do it all myself and not enjoy it as much. I love your idea of the cupcakes, that was another option I was thinking of doing. I defanitely don't need to spend $450 on 2 cakes (just way too much cake and money).


I swear I belong on Rich Bride/Poor Bride, and my poor Hubby would be the one arguing with me on if I must add all these little things to our VR to make it absolutely perfect. I guess my sister may try to view our VR as we're trying to outdo her Wedding our dad paid for (and to her surprise we're doing this all on our own).

Thanks for the idea on the Tea Bag Holders and Tea Bags. That would most certainly make an affordable Favor and completely fit in the theme. It would be a cute little keepsake that hopefully everyone could use. I may have to contact Disney or the GF and see if I can order the Tea Bag Holders(hopefully they don't discontinue them any time soon).

I guess I'm kind of feeling like this is something I need to do for them instead of it being something that can be done without.

Sorry for all my rambling everyone.
 
After reading this post I booked the 6 ladies attending my wedding for the Garden View Tea (not a private event) for the day of the rehearsal dinner while the boys are golfing.

That was EXACTLY what we did....the boys golfed, we tea partied ! It was great !

And I am pretty sure you can do a 1 tier mad hatter for $100-150. Or they have minature/indvidual cakes (though they aren't "slanted", they are still very cute) for $25 each, I believe. I will try to find the pictures for you.

Let's see if these links work:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34981937&highlight=mad+hatter#post34981937
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34141167&highlight=mad+hatter#post34141167
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35599414&highlight=mini+mad+hatter#post35599414

Okay, they go to the "page" with the photos, so you will need to scroll down, but that will give you some ideas/.
 
Thank you so much for those links. Those cakes are great. They are perfect. I may have to go read the cake threads to get an idea of any I really love love love. The idea for the cake from Publix was if I did the tea party in our Villa, same with the rest of the food. If not I might see what kind of Girley Character Breakfast or Lunch to treat the ladies to and order a cake or cupcakes for us to enjoy. May even be a podium cake if it comes down to it, but it might be a better way for everyone to find something they'll enjoy to eat. Thanks again everyone:)!
 
Keep in mind, if you are doing the afternoon tea, many of the "packages" include very yummy pastries, so you may not even need a cake. I do like the little tea packages and tea holders posted earlier as favors. Wish I had thought of those !

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