**The Making of a Dream Event: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Wisteria Afternoon Tea Garden Party**

As I sat down to write this article, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nostalgia. It's been a whirlwind few months, and today marks the culmination of all our hard work – my first annual Wisteria afternoon tea garden party is finally here. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty details of how it all came together, let me take you through the journey that led us to this magical day.

For weeks, I've been preparing for this event, and it's been a labor of love. From scouring thrift stores for eclectic pieces to perfecting my DIY skills, every detail has been carefully curated to create an atmosphere that's both elegant and whimsical. My first task was to assemble the team – Sarah, Rich, and a few other interns who were eager to lend a hand. Together, we tackled the daunting task of setting up the venue, which required a combination of rental items, borrowed equipment, and good old-fashioned elbow grease.

As I worked on fine-tuning the logistics, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was missing – namely, my beloved wisteria blooms. The plant has been a source of fascination for me since its arrival at my doorstep, but unfortunately, this year's flowers had other plans. After consulting with a professional expert, I learned that pruning and fertilizing were key to encouraging the Wisteria to bloom more frequently. However, it seemed that too much pruning had taken its toll, and the leaves on the plant were already thriving – but would they produce the desired blooms?

The uncertainty hung over me like a shadow, threatening to dampen my enthusiasm for the event. But then, something remarkable happened – Rochelle, my dear friend, stepped in with an offer of support that went beyond words. She spent hours pouring her heart and soul into creating bespoke Wisteria-inspired arrangements, which would become the crowning glory of our little soiree.

Meanwhile, back at the venue, Sarah, Rich, and I were busy setting up the various stations – from the beverage bar to the dessert area. Each station required its own unique touches, carefully curated to reflect my vision for the event. The cake stand, which had been a bit wonky in its early stages, was transformed into a stunning centerpiece using some expert DIY skills and a few creative flourishes.

As the day drew to a close, I couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation. Would everything come together as planned? Would my Wisteria-inspired arrangements be enough to make up for the blooms' absence? But then, I saw them – the first guests began to arrive, and they were wowed by the sheer beauty of our little garden party. The cakes were devoured, the tea was sipped, and the conversation flowed as effortlessly as the champagne.

**The Art of Thrifting**

One of my favorite aspects of planning this event was scouring thrift stores for unique pieces that would add to the overall aesthetic. From vintage teacups to distressed china, each item had been carefully selected to contribute to the eclectic vibe I was aiming for. Thredup, in particular, proved to be a treasure trove of delights – their website is a veritable minefield of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Of course, no event would be complete without a few last-minute tweaks and adjustments. As I watched my Wisteria arrangements come together, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. The flowers may not have bloomed this year, but the beauty and elegance they inspired were undeniable – and that, in itself, was a true triumph.

**The Power of Teamwork**

As I look back on the day's events, it's clear that teamwork played a starring role in our little soiree's success. From Sarah's expert planning to Rich's behind-the-scenes efforts, each member of my team contributed their unique talents and skills to create an atmosphere that was at once warm, inviting, and refined.

Of course, there were moments when things got a bit hairy – like the time I forgot to turn off the breaker (oops!) or when the Wisteria arrangements seemed like they might not quite come together as planned. But in the end, it was clear that our collective efforts had paid off in spades.

**The End Result**

As the sun set on what had been a whirlwind day of preparation and execution, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction – and maybe even a hint of relief. The event may have been imperfect, but it was ours – a true labor of love that celebrated the beauty of imperfection and the joy of sharing good company with friends.

In the end, it's not about creating some flawless, Instagram-perfect vision; it's about celebrating what we're passionate about, even when things don't quite go according to plan. And as I look back on this little Wisteria afternoon tea garden party, I'm reminded that sometimes, it's the imperfections – and the love that goes into creating them – that truly make an event unforgettable.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enand special thanks to thredup for sponsoring this video so I've lived in my house for about three years now and when I bought it I did know that there was this pretty pergola out back but what I didn't know is that the vines on that pergola are actually Wisteria which is a pretty drooping purple flower that blooms for just two weeks a year so last year when I was anticipating the bloom and tracking it on my Instagram stories I found myself just really sad that I was the only one that got to experience this flower in real life and that's when the idea of an annual Wisteria Garden Tea Party event was created ideated come on a baby who's the baby ah cute so yeah this is the Journey of hosting a party just because my flowers are in blue now at least where I'm from it seems that high tea and afternoon tea the definitions kind of melded together but essentially we're going for that spring and pastel it's higher three-tiered displays of Sweet and Savory Foods and floral and delicate Decor I will say what makes me really nervous about hosting this party is that I don't know when this flower is going to bloom I don't know if it's gonna Bloom because one year it just didn't and I don't know why and I just haven't hosted a party for a flower before but in this video we'll tackle everything to get ready for this party from the second hand outfits to the menu to thrifted furniture and even location prep all this is very diyable and I've been getting very inspired by Pinterest now my invitations have already been sent out I did them digitally we have somewhere between like 30 and 60 people expected to show up so I better get to planning so this is where the party's gonna take place my backyard slash driveway area clearly I have a lot of work ahead of me because plants died and they didn't go they didn't come back to life um and we just need it to be way more lively and colorful back here obviously flowers General cleanup there's things to do and I actually think I'm gonna do a vlog just because this is going to be a large amount of work so I might as well do a vlog about it you guys can check that out on the Vlog Channel but that'll be happening as well as I gear up for this party one of my goals is to have a bunch of different kind of sitting areas not only do I have to have like the finger foods and a place to have tea but also just places to sit so I have my sectional here I'm going to ask my neighbor if I can borrow his table and chairs so I can use it in the driveway tablecloths anything I can to make this space kind of cute and just vibey and hang out even this here I feel like could be additional seating I'm Gonna Make a list that not only is for getting this backyard into shape for the summer and for this event but also any of the kind of pieces I'll need like Furniture I want to borrow or try to Thrift in order to make this space suitable for 30 to 60 people hmm foreign the fashion is definitely a huge part of this event so not only did I make an event inspiration board on Pinterest I made an outfit inspiration board on Pinterest and I sent that to everybody that was invited to the party some of you might know that four years ago I committed to only buying thrifted and secondhand clothing so I actually hit up thredup the world's largest online thrift store to pick out some dresses for me and my friends for the party thanks again to thredup for sponsoring this video and let's get to trying on these dresses mom what do we think I love how cute I love it it's giving me series it's giving Wisteria I really love that pink one it's calling my name I know it does have flowers on it I got it for you Nina this yeah periwinkle away for free folks the princess is coming it fits like a glove I feel so pretty oh my God you look like a gun too you're welcome she's like it's a Barbie good spotting she was in theater school I'm gonna do everything in this dress I'm gonna pick up sushi I'm gonna talk to people I love the top of this it was so easy to shop for floral dresses because I could choose a pattern and I can also choose accents so things like Ruffles and ruches really help me narrow down the look I was going for I like it a lot I think I want to wear this to a wedding later it's a good color for you for sure I like it kelly green they come here Becky is the one that you like um I don't think the blue is my color yeah so I'm very cool I'm leaving I don't want to be a part of this anymore okay well Gene doesn't count and then this is like I'm not justifying myself as you guys I've also created a summer tea party shop with thredup which is great because if you go and visit and even if the item is sold out you'll still see similar items thanks to threadup's awesome algorithm all right Nina wants somebody to wear this I can try it though I'm gonna try on my shirt god that actually looks fantastic so cute so short though that's it that's it wow stop guys I think we're really nervous oh that's good if you could get like oh my God yeah imagine like little socks I really think that's the move if you could get like white short shorts yeah we will have to see which dress I end up choosing I'm feeling really good about a few options but in the meantime if you head to the description down below there is a link to the summer tea party shop where you can shop all similar looks to the ones seen here today and if you use the code sorry girls you will get an extra 40 off of your first order laughs am I a good study cam yeah I think you're hilarious okay I just wanna oh guys I'm not gonna lie I'm very stressed about this like why is there only one bloom where are the rest are they ever gonna come do I need to postpone the party like this is not good okay what do we do anyways The Show Must Go On so I put on my boots and took the Subway downtown to my friend Sarah's house because she is a master Baker and it's gonna help out with all things food because I'm hungry today I was told I was hoping finalize our menu taste test some options and I know you have the schedule for like everything made figured out but do you want to taste first or later I could taste now yeah dietets they've been here just looking at me oh my God and 11 squares it was such a dork so this is a pistachio almond swirl cookie and it is very beautiful in my opinion even though it's sort of beige Cheers Cheers hold up before I get to the Noms let me explain the anatomy of an afternoon tea for the first course we have your Savory bites and sandwiches second course are usually scones accompanied by jam and cream and the third course is sweets today we have a few sweets to sample um and then this is a very lemony Square tastes approved great I approve as if there was a world I wasn't going to so these pistachio pinwheels and lemon bars have made the cut in addition Sarah is going to make a raspberry thumbprint cookie blueberry cream puffs and a meringue cookie four sandwiches first an open face thinly sliced cucumber and radish and then underneath it is an Herby garlic lemony cream juice and then another open face with smoked salmon and then topping it with some sprigs of Dill for the color yeah and pickled red onions because they're like bright pink she's also preparing a roasted tomato with goat cheese crostini and a tomb and beet sandwich if you're like me and didn't know what tomb is it's basically a bold and creamy garlic sauce and dip and it's totally dairy free and of course we are doing scones as well we're just doing one flavor of scone because we're strange I have questions for you about the the layer cake okay the pictures you sent me looked to me to be like vanilla cake okay yeah yeah and did you like the white icing well so it's just kind of like a blank canvas for like the flowers and the fruit if we buy more freeze-dried fruit which is actually quite expensive yeah I think those two bags were like 25 each but Kelsey it's for the food Sarah's out here blowing our budget but the reason I had to get the freeze dress up is because it adds good taste and color it's the perfect marriage of both of what we need a nice contrast if we don't want to do like bright pink we don't want a shell or another 25 bucks yeah we could do like a chocolate cake with a white icing so it's like contrast and then with all the pretty bright flowers and fruit oh yeah so that would look stunning with chocolate layers stunning we went with a chocolate cake with white cream cheese frosting on top and in between the layers and accompanied by real edible flowers Sarah has come up with an amazing menu but it is very detailed and there are a lot of different elements to prepare in advance and on the day I know she's so so organized but I am definitely nervous that she has taken on a little bit too much for our event of 50 people next up I'm just about ready to start diying for this party but while I'm visiting my grandma and mom for the weekend I thought I'd see if they have anything I can borrow to style my space and serve like 50 Cups of Tea foreign when I was a kid wow this is just another table cloth there yep oh I like that oh wow this one I did I don't know if you could use it back in the day while I'm visiting I want to hit up the world thrift stores because I find them so much more affordable than in the city I'm going to be building my own three-tier platters for the food so I'm on the lookout for a small medium and large plates that will look good together in a set my plan is to do six plotters total is this worth it this is so cute that's that's a little better yeah I like the colors I was like why it was like propped up and I was like why is it like that it's a tray foreign okay it is DIY day in the studio I have intern Rich working on the menu drafting that up and getting it printed I'm gonna work on cake tears with some of these thrifted pieces that I got and then I gotta decorate the menus and I'm also going to scour the office for any like flowers and stuff that I can steal for my party so obviously the cake tiers and the platters are a big part of having a high tea party and what I actually got were these essentially this kit you just screw together with a plate sandwiched in between and then you have a traditional three-tier cake high tea stand the process is pretty simple to make these tiers first we're going to find the center of our plate and if it's plastic or metal you can just use a standard drill bit just make sure you go slow and steady and you'll probably want to put a piece of scrap wood under your plate for any plates that are ceramic which is pretty much your standard plate or potentially a glass plate using a glass and tile bit is going to be the way to go and we're going to do this slowly we're going to be adding a little bit of water and definitely not too hard of a pressure and eventually you'll have a hole in your plates oh a little toasty so now I have holes in my plates and my three tiers picked out I can now assemble using that cake stand kit and at the bottom we're going to use a screw that does come with it to hold the bottom plate in place and something to note about this is that if your plate has a bottom Rim already this is good because the screw won't be touching the table surface but if you don't have a little Rim like this you might have to do something which is what I did is add my own Rim so that it isn't wobbly on the screw head and in between each layer we're just making sure to add the soft washers and then you can just screw each piece of the kit into the previous tier technically you could just do two tiers if you wanted if you went more than three I think you're going to start getting a little bit wobbly so I wouldn't recommend that but it is customizable how many tiers you do want to do oh my god Becky look at her plant stands cake stand soaking we made that we knew that it's just a little wobbly just know that know that if you're getting a kit like this it might be wobbly but that's okay this is cute and the last DIY of the day is to add a little floral detail to our menus using a classic glue stick and some dried flowers this makes the menu look so expensive and custom and I really like hanging the elements off of The Edge and then trimming it down with some scissors this is honestly so therapeutic and it's kind of hard to explain why until you just try it for yourself oh yeah I also asked intern Rich to print out some labels for me so to make sure they don't blow away and for added style I'm gluing in some Moss that we already had at the office thank you okay today is the last minute prep day I have rentals to pick up um neighbor's doors to knock on to borrow stuff I really tried to not buy anything new for this event so it's just a lot of boring and rentals and thrifting which is not really new either I don't know it's gonna be a busy day we just need to get to work perfect fit for beverage service so I think this is going to be the beverage station and for example this is a rental and it makes hot water okay so I've been keeping a bit of a secret from you you might be wondering what's happening with the Syria I am too so a couple of days ago I decided to seek professional advice hi there I was wondering if you have somebody there that's a um a Wisteria expert or knows about the wisteria plant I explained to the expert that I have this wisteria plant and how I'm really nervous that these flower buds aren't showing up and how it's really important for my party coming up because I base everything around these stupid flowers because of these Wisteria blooms on old wood it means that this season's flowers were produced on last year's wood so it's why I'm asking about pruning because too much of it was pruned back and it wasn't like dead wood that can be one of the reasons why it doesn't flower as frequently they let me know that pruning is important which I have done some of when it comes to pruning my sources tell me that listeria can benefit being from being from twice a year another important thing to do is fertilizing which I have done absolutely none of fertilizing is one thing yeah and certainly you'd want to be choosing a fertilizer with more phosphorus but the main question is if I'm seeing leaves already does that mean I won't get flowers and you would notice the flower buds at the same time yeah that's what I thought okay so if I'm seeing the leaves I might there might not be the the flowers coming yet correct okay maybe I have to figure out another way to bring the color and flowers this is a hard one I'm quite upset so when Rochelle heard that I wasn't gonna get a wisteria bloom this year look what she just spent the last couple weeks making how many mysterious is this I think it's about 50. and I I don't know my mom really helped me out with this one she did I want to know but yeah we spent a couple more than a couple hours on the couch you didn't have to do that but look at them look at them you gotta have a series for your Wisteria party I know it's on it's honestly so sad that they didn't come in but this this is gonna make up for it it's gonna be so pretty should we get it up I think we should okay okay okay it is the day of the party and while Sarah and the team get to work prepping food I'm gonna start arranging some tabletop Florals party trick oh does that work okay I'm so proud I'm very happy you need to get dressed foreign yes put the rose basically dead center but like off do it beautiful holy gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous cakes gorgeous gorgeous cakes come on wow in the end everything was so perfect the food and desserts were so beautiful and tasty I loved the eclectic thrifted pieces and it even turned out okay without the blooms this year with a little bit of teamwork everything came together just as it needed to also don't forget to check out that summer tea party shop with thredup the link is down below and make sure you use the code sorry girls for an extra 40 off of your first order thanks for joining me at my first annual Wisteria afternoon tea garden party as I've lived here and the winter has come and go I realize there is a lot that I need to do there's a lot of problem areas that need to be addressed although I didn't sing the song on camera I did sing the song did I turn off the breaker thank you foreign\n"