A tea party

All these ideas are wondrous. The festivities commence at 11 a.m., so all your wonderful suggestions are probably going to be turned into brunch. Doesn't matter what time Miss Middleton says "I do" -- I shall be there -- metaphorically speaking, that is -- with Pimm's in hand (@Sam1148: here in Italy they do the exact opposite of your purist beverage: you could get your weeks' worth of vegetables in one drink). That photo of Scotch egg is sumptuous ... Thank you so much, all of you!

Fig spread and manchego cheese sandwiches on a wonderful nutty bread are great tea party treats. You get sweet, savory and texture all at once.

I'll also suggest for the pimms cup.
Have a couple of mixers for it. Some times it served it ginger ale.
That's good in certain seasons.
I like it with just club soda..and and a cucumber (english cucumber skinned) as a garnish.
For my purist taste.
Some like it with lemon and ginger or mint, in simple syrup for sweetness..as a kinda slightly bitter lemonaide. type thing.
IMHO, soda and Pimms, cucumber garnish is the perfect palate cleaner.

The scotch eggs suggestion is more "guy food". (yes that's is a bit a sexist).
But if you have guys at the party, good Guinness beer. makes a great addition.
I cut mine into wedges. Tech. Roll out the sausage into patties to wrap around the boil eggs. Then roll in bread crumbs and bake--convection setting if your oven has that. And turn around while baking. (the eggs not you..but have fun if you try).
Pic of Scotch eggs.

@Sam1148: that's a fantastic idea ... perhaps I'll jettison the egg salad. We'll be eating all your splendid suggestions while watching Miss Middleton walk down the aisle clad in Alexander McQueen? Stella McCartney? Victoria Beckham? Marks & Spencer? ... so those eggs would pair beautifully with scenes from Westminister Abbey.

While more of working man's dish for high tea. Scotch Eggs are fantastic.
Basically boiled and pealed eggs, warped in sausage meat..rolled in bread crumbs.
I bake mine instead of deep frying them as traditional. Then they're cut in wedges.
Probably a bit too savory for a formal afternoon tea tho it's more tea at a bar type food.

@susan g: what a fabu idea! Thank you!!! @Abijosiah: your suggestions lit up my face, too. Oh, to be at the Ritz.

ooh no problem my face has just lit up now I hope you enjoy =)

There's a recent foodpickle about a cake for Wm & Kate -- that might be appropriate, maybe even made as single servings for the event to keep the "tea" ambiance?

Abijosiah -- thanks so much for those wonderful suggestions -- chicken salad and cucumber sandwiches are definitely going on the menu; Drbabs, I LOVE the idea of doing an American riff ... so I'll include egg salad as well. Mini cheesecake brownies (my mother's recipe) for sure ... and tiny cookies, too. Thank you so much!

you could to traditional english tea like afternoon tea at the ritz style

victoria sponge cake
scones with clotted cream and jam

smoked salmon sandwiches
cucumber sandwiches etc

this is the actual menu from the ritz:

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
Ham Sandwiches
Chicken Sandwiches
Cucumber Sandwiches
Mature Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches
Egg Mayonnaise Bridge Roll
Freshly Baked Raisin and Apple Scones with Cornish Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserve
Assortment of Afternoon Tea Pastries
Ritz Chocolate Cake


type in afternoon tea london into google and search different hotel's menus for inspiration

good luck =)

I think what you do depends on what direction you want to go in. You could do fun and American. (pimiento cheese, good egg salad, maybe even a riff on peanut butter and jelly). Then you'd want tiny sugar, oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies--there are lots of great recipes for those on the site. (Here's a link to editors' picks for "cookies": http://www.food52.com/recipes/search?filter=p&search=cookies ) Have fun! Let us know what you decide to do.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm thinking ... probably both sweet and savory. I like your ideas re: both. Thank you for the link.

Are you looking for sweet or savory? I'm thinking little tea sandwiches and small perfect cookies. Macarons if you have the baking skill to pull them off. Here are some recipes: http://www.food52.com/recipes/search?recipe_search=macarons