Do Yourself a Favor
July 22nd, 2008 @ 4:25 pm by Mrs. Green Tea
Since our hot August outdoor wedding makes a candy buffet difficult to execute, we decided to carry the tea theme over to the favor (read: ova 2 da fava). Here is a look at our Tea Boo-fay:
Aerial View:
Front View
(Note: like last time, the sign is a stand-in mock-up):
Back(ish) View:
The jasmine tea is in a big jar because it’s our favorite (which will be noted on the sign), and I tied a ribbon to the spoon so guests won’t have to dig for it:
I love these spoons! This project gave me an excuse to buy them, and after the wedding they will be our new tea & ice cream spoons 
:
There are six different Chinese Teas; each lid is labeled (with recycled RSVP envelopes) and are attached to tins with a gold ribbon to help with its opening, closing, and to keep from misplacing:
Guests are provided small bags to fill with loose tea. Inside each bag there is a twist tie with a corresponding label (little vellum strips with name of tea and monogram stapled to twist tie) to identify the teas. The jasmine bags are laid out in front of the sign (ribbon to keep bags from flying away):
and the teas in cans have their bags stacked behind the tins:
Sample final product:
The half tubes that hold the baggies behind the tea tins are the sleeves of leftover invitations after slight modification:
I’m also considering getting some small takeout boxes so it’s easier for guests to collect all the (up to 6) little bags of loose tea.
Special thanks goes out to Brother GT for helping me track down the teas, and to the MOH for assembling the ties/label/bag packages.
My day off yesterday was mostly spent on this project, and I’m not even loving how it turned out (even though it’s exactly how I imagined). I’m not sure if it’s because the wedding date is drawing close, or if it’s a side effect from my new beauty mark, but my DIY motor seems to be running outta gas…
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22 Responses to “Do Yourself a Favor”
Wow this is amazing. You should be so proud of yourself for not only coming up with this idea but for coming up with a beautiful look and executing it marvelously. Congrats!
Your ideas are so original, I love reading your posts. 
I love the rose accents too. Are those gold candleholders?
It’s just gorgeous! I love those spoons - my MIL has some small knives just like that and uses them when she serves cheese.
Becky
This is such a wonderful idea. The display is beautiful and unique! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Awww. It’s perfect! If you have out of town guests, just think how homey it would be for them to reflect on your wedding with a warm cup of tea- to give them another ‘make you feel warm inside’ feeling. It’s absolutely lovely!
Mr. Peng would FLIP if he went to a wedding with these favors! He’s such a tea fanatic!
This is such a super awesome idea!
thanx for all the encouragement guys!
@Jules: aww that’s so nice of you to say! the ranunculus and the candle holders are the same ones i used in my wish teapot http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/07/07/brewing-wishes/#more-57880
@Mrs. Penguin: if you happen to be hanging by the river on the day of my wedding and stop by to do yourselves a few favors, i’m sure no one will suspect anything 
so creative!
ahh! it’s really you!!! can’t believe i found you on weddingbee of all places! it’s jen from SJSU (ISE rocks)! CONGRATULATIONS on getting married. how are you?!?!?! (:
I LOVE this. It looks lovely and just like you.
That turned out so amazing GT!! I luuuuuuurve it! I love those teensy little spoons. So cute with their spiral handles.
what an awesome idea! sigh… makes me wish i wasn’t a destination bride for a minute so i could do more of these fun DIY-type projects.
I love these! The table and the flowers look beautiful. Your guests will go nuts!
I. Love. Spoons.
Well, mostly those spoons. They are too fabulous! And the wee little labels? Love it! I hope it grows on you because its my favorite project of yours yet!
I love the idea! It’s such an original and ties in so well with your theme!
supppeeerrrr cute!!!! I love-a-dub-dub this!! I think that the take out boxes will be an awesome addition!!!
The table looks beautiful and the gift is a fantastic idea, original and fitting.
It is a lovely idea and it was executed beautifully! I have my doubts as to the practicality of the set up, which no one seems to be mentioning. How long, exactly, will it take for everyone to assemble one, let alone six packages? They look elegant, but I personally as a guest probably would not bother. Could you instead have a bit loose in the beautiful jar to show it off, then have the packets ready to go?
@Sara: love it when a reader read with extra thought! i had intended for this to ‘take a little time’ all along, and this is set up as part of the things going on during the cocktail hour which we’ll make sure the dj announces. the set up will be just as pictured, on a round table of similar size, so that multiple people can be helping themselves at the same time. we fully realize that some people may not bother, or some may only grab one or two. but we personally hate being bored during the cocktail hour and it’s part of the reason why we decided to do this. we also wanted the event to be overall more ‘interactive’. honestly if this didn’t also serve as ’something to do’, we wouldn’t have bothered with having favors at all since they are pretty unnecessary (even though we also have personalized fortune cookies as a 2nd favor as well, which is also part of the ‘fun’ to be blogged about later). who knows, the idea may be a total dud, but we can’t say we didn’t try!
Mrs. Green Tea, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 30, Tea Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee Critic
Engagement Date: November 17, 2006
Wedding Date: August 23, 2008
Blogging Since: June 10, 2008
Venue: Vineyard on the Delta
About Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
It looks like a lovely and elegant display, and totally fitting with everything else you’ve posted. The colors are so rich looking–I hope you come to love it because it looks great!