A week ago I turned 17. This is my lucky number since it is the year you become an adult in the wizarding world and you are eligible to enter the Triwizard tournament haha. Ever since I was little, I imagined my 17th birthday to be a glorious ceremony related to Harry Potter. However, my imagination deceived me. My birthday was not full of black Hogwarts robes, castles, and a grand feast. However, it was very lovely day.
As I have mentioned briefly before, I am obsessed with the cottagecore aesthetic. To appease my longing for running in a field and wearing a flowy gown, I had a cottagecore tea party.
My friends enjoy taking photos almost as much as I do, so I have plenty of images to share of our elegant outdoor lunch. I hope this will give you some ideas if you are hoping to have a picnic or tea.
Tea Party Inspiration and Decorations
I knew that I wanted to have a cottagecore afternoon tea originally but a video that helped inspire it was this Victorian tea party by Ruby Granger. The tea party was very loosely inspired by a Victorian one. There is nothing more cottagecore than decorating with flowers so I did just that. My friend and I went to Trader Joe’s and picked out roses, daisies, and lavender which we made into little bouquets. We also borrowed teacups and cutlery from a friend to serve the tea with.
Food, Cake, and Tea
The beautiful cake we had after lunch was from a local bakery called Baked By the Hoods. It was one of the best cakes I have ever had. It was a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and had berries in the frosting. For lunch, we had finger sandwiches, artichoke hearts, fruit, and more. English breakfast tea was drunk after lunch in the floral teacups.
Croquet and Other Activities
The main activity my friends and I participated in was Croquet. After learning that the game was commonly played during the Victorian era, we had to play a few rounds. Disappointedly, I did not win, but it was still fun. Other than croquet, we just talked, ate, danced, and took photos.
The Outfit
I got a long white dress from Target to wear to the tea. It is similar to this blue floral dress. I tied a pink ribbon around my waist and wore a straw hat. For shoes, I wore white ruffled ankle socks with mary-jane Dr. Martins that I bought second-hand from Thredup.
I do not usually make posts like these ones but I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully, I will be back with another post on Wednesday!
