Favourite Tea Sandwiches?

I've always been stuffed after leaving going to afternoon tea and I never ate everything provided. My husband and I did afternoon tea for the holidays. I skipped dinner because I was so full. He ended up eating a small snack later that evening around 830p.

I don't think you need 16 tea sandwiches though. Looking back at my pictures I feel like 6-7 varieties was more the norm. This is more regional but I loved the pimento cheese sandwiches we had at my bridal shower (we did an afternoon tea)

I like ThePeoplesBride suggestion of doing mini quiches, cheese course (The Biltmore House does this for their afternoon tea), or salad. That way you have a bit more variety and extra food for those with bigger appetites.

You might could tweak the timeline and move your ceremony to start at 2p and the tea at 3p. Most places here do afternoon tea between 2-4p so I don't think your timing is terribly off.

Although I totally get the later dinner norm. I lived in a certain city and no ate dinner before 8pm. Even where I live now 5pm dinner time if for small kids and retired senior citizens LOL.

I could probably eat 16 of them, but after four I'd be looking for real food..... I mean, it's not just about 'filling people up"; if it was, everyone could save big bucks and serve vats of oatmeal. It's about serving a menu that fits the situation. This might fit yours, but I think you're seeing from the variety of answers that it isn't everyone's dream. You made brief mention of not wanting to do things that other people do; I'm not sure what that means, but I think that most guests have an expectation of what a wedding will be like and things that sway widely from that expectation? Sometimes they work beautifully, other times not.

I work at several outside barn-y type venues that have to start receptions at 4:00 (after a 3:30 ceremony) because of noise regulations. The meal is always an actual meal with different parts; cocktails with hors, dinner, dessert, dancing, sometimes afterpaties.

But on the bright side you got your answer with a lot of good suggestions plus a lot of other feedback which I sense will whiz right past but never the less, was offered in good faith.

Put "join us for tea after the ceremony" (I think that an informed guest is a happy guest, whether you're talking about a cocktail reception, being entirely outdoors on sketchy terrain, or dealing with obscure parking locations.

I think @Sarah & @Celia hit the nail on the head here. Yes, if I ate 16 tea sandwiches, a scone, and brioche, I would likely be stuffed. However, that is a lot of carb. I love me some carbs, but I would want something else - veg/charcuterie/cheese/salad/carving station etc. I love the idea for an afternoon reception, but agree that you may need some non-carb options.

I take my daughter's to high tea frequently they love getting dressed up .. we love cucumber and cream cheese .. but 1 sandwich they offer is a turkey with cranberry chutney it's freaking amazing !! .. that being said for 2 guests at the tea place they provide 4 types of sandwiches . It always leaves me super full especially with the scores and mini pastries.. but consider the fact that alot of people eat more then that .. my little brothers would leave a high tea starving .. my FH wouldn't be .. everybody is different with the amount they eat .. high tea is expensive too . When we go out it's easly $100 for me and 2 kids .. it's a meal that id never consider doing for alot of adults ..

The last tea I went to (hotel in October) had little sandwiches, scones, and then desserts. I'd suggest adding something non-starchy. Maybe you could have fruit and vegetable platters?

High tea usually is a couple of hours of food. It's usually not "light". It's heavy pastries, meat dishes, salads, and breads.

The "sandwiches" for tea are usually finger sandwiches and are meant as hors d'oeurves, not as a meal. You serve them first, then a soup and salad, then a meat course, then a dessert.

Have you been to a high tea?

I always get the curry chicken salad sandwiches at the tea room I frequent. FH loves cucumber and mint though

I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but the whole discussion reminds me of one of my favorite parts of Grease:

Sandy: My parents have invited you to tea.

Danny: I don't like tea.

Sandy: You don't have to drink tea!

Danny: I don't like parents.

If you actually have "high tea" instead of "tea," you'll be serving a dinner-size amount of food, which is appropriate. Remember, you can nibble on a lot more food during three hours socializing and noshing than you can eat at a dinner table in 30 minutes.

That said, some of the high tea offerings at hotels in my area include truffle and iberico ham tarts, curry puffs, oysters, sushi, and waffles. Basically anything (a mix of sweet and savory) that can be eaten with one hand.

I'm surprised this is a hot topic. I'd be so down for eating a bunch of tea sandwiches instead of dinner. It's kind of the equivalent of food trucks or food stations in my opinion. I think three hours may be a little long if you aren't doing a full bar. I didn't catch if you are doing that or not. As long as there's plenty of drinks, food and seats for all your guests I'd say go for it! I'm sure the food network link someone posted has plenty of ideas for types of sammies

We are having it catered, of course. The vendor says they can make any kind of tea sandwiches we want, so beyond their menu we are looking for favourites.

Since our guests are well aware they are being invited to a tea party, we are not concerned about people "looking for more substantial food". There will also be a fruit tray and a cut veggie platter with various dips and hummus. We have several vegans who are easy to accommodate, and one gluten free person who again will be easy to accommodate.

I am surprised at the number of people who wouldn't enjoy what we have planned, but fortunately we don;t have to please everyone- just our crowd. They all seem pretty happy, especially once we confirmed that yes we will have coffee too and not just tea and champagne!

I appreciate the suggestions people have given and if anyone else wants to chime in with their favourite tea sandwich, we'd love to hear.

There are some pretty good suggestions here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-tea-sandwiches

The Roast Beef-Horseradish, Smoked Trout, and Roasted Vegetable sound the best to me

Great...so your vendor will be providing a special gluten free meal and 2 vegan meals for them? Veggie trays, hummus, and fruit isn't going to be substantial enough.

@Brides2Be She isn't providing anyone with a real meal, just snacks. Perhaps there will be a hummus vegan finger sandwich.

Coronation chicken is my favorite tea sandwich. When we went to tea at The Savoy in London we kept ordering them over and over. I have a friend who also makes coronation chicken vol-au-vents which would be adorable for your wedding spread.

@OP-You don't seem to understand that "Tea" is an actual meal. It's not a snack time. You need to provide enough food for a proper meal.

I think your food choices actually sound fine for that time frame. I'm a little concerned about the number of people though... I've only ever seen this done for crowds of 10-30 people. If you are having a smaller wedding, I see this working beautifully! If you have a larger wedding, this may be harder to execute than you're envisioning.

I also agree adding a few non-bread appetizer options would be really nice (meat balls, skewers, quiches, etc.) I would eat 4-6 tea sandwiches, a plate of fruit and veggies, and a plate of other apps and leave happy and full. I would have a scone for dessert with my coffee (extra bobs points if there is kahlua or bailey's to mix with it).

@Bride2be2018 vegan sandwiches are easy, we have several on the menu already. Gluten free bread is easy too. Those sandwiches will just be separated.

@OGJessieJV, you don't seem to understand that providing 16 tea sandwiches per person plus fruit and veggie trays and seven different desserts, isn't just a snack. I've repeated myself several times that there is enough food to be the equivalent of four full sized sandwiches per person. I seriously doubt everyone is going to eat that much but we want people to be able to try all the different kinds if they want to.

@FutureMrsModern I am going to have to look up coronation chicken, I've never heard of that!

@Rachel, what issue do you see about the number of people? I don't see why it makes much of a difference.

@OP-I can eat the equivalent of eight sandwiches at a luncheon. Plus more, plus way more if there's booze. Dude, I can eat. People are going to eat more at an occasion. You need to plan. Also, tea sandwiches are not usually full size, they are finger sandwiches.

Susan, what you don't get is that people don't WANT to eat 16 sandwiches. Some people don't like sandwiches at all (my FH being one). And then their only options are fruit and veggies and dessert. That isn't very satisfying.

It's the same as choosing any single type of food as the only entree. Like if you just served various types of chicken. Even if you said "but they can have so many types- parmigain, alfredo, fried, grilled!! And there's fruit and veggie trays with them!" Fruit and veggie trays are a side, not an entree to anyone. So if someone doesn't like chicken, then they will not like your wedding, even with all the types of chicken in the world.

People like variety even if they DO like the one type of food you are serving as an entree (sandwiches). I love sandwiches, but at a wedding I want some other options for entree quality food than just sandwiches. I would never eat more than 2-3 finger sandwiches, even if I liked them and would be starving still. I want other options.

This is why people are suggesting other meats, heavy hours de'oeuvres, or soups, SOMETHING besides sandwiches (and the sides of veggies and fruits- which again, aren't entrees).