Invitation: The Bridgerton family is often seen in purple and lavender flowers adorn their home, so I wanted to incorporate these flowers into the invitation. I also incorporated a Lady Whistledown image into the center of the invite. I found some of these images online and just adapted them to fit with the look I wanted. I tried to use regency era wording like "soiree" and "finest frock" as well as some others. I mixed fonts between a font like the Bridgerton logo for the show and a fancy script to match the time period.
The ladies and I had fun dressing up with our fancy jewelry and dresses for this dinner. It wasn't full costume or anything as I didn't want my guests to have to purchase items. The girls did a great job adding fun jewelry, fancy gloves, and hats to their dresses. I borrowed my dress from a neighbor, and it was perfect for the regency era.
Decorations: Oh what fun I had finding decorations for this dinner. Every ball or dinner party in the show is elaborate with gold, candles, and flowers everywhere, so I definitely wanted to try to recreate that for this dinner.
I purchased fake flowers to lay out as a table runner and a gold bow decoration from Michaels.
I borrowed the gold candle sticks, candelabra, and vases from a neighbor and used Ikea plants I already had around the house to place inside those vases. The white pillar candles I already had from previous parties.
I borrowed my mom's fine china for the place settings, and they were perfect - pastel flowers and many with gold trimmings on the edges.
On each place setting I wrote a Lady Whistledown issue about our party and our party guests. I tried to think of gossipy things about each guest. It was super fun to write (with some help from ChatGPT on some of the entries), and the party guests got a kick out of reading the silly happenings or habits. Here is a sample of part of one of the entries with the last name changed:
"Meanwhile, it has come to this humble writer’s attention that our very own Lady Smith has been engaging in activities that would surely cause a raised eyebrow or two among the ton. Sightings have been reported of her indulging in a glass (or perhaps bottle) of boysenberry wine, savoring its rich, tangy notes well into the night. What, you may ask, has been keeping our night owl’s attention? None other than the charming escapades of Neal Caffrey in the delightful series “White Collar.”
For place cards I made Dance Cards like the unmarried ladies wear at the balls in the Bridgerton series. I designed the front and back on PhotoShop using a Bridgerton family crest with the bee and found flowers in pink and purple shades to match my table. I used my Cricut to cut out the circles as well as the filagree frame, glued them together, and added a purple ribbon for around the wrist. I placed these on flowered napkins I purchased at Daiso.
I designed my wine labels on PhotoShop with Regency era backgrounds and designs. Lady Whistledown is known for "spilling the tea" or writing gossip in her columns, so I used that phrase to encourage guests to "Spill the Tea, but Drink the Wine." For the white wine, I simply called it Lady Whistledown's White Wine to play with alliteration and added that it was "the delight of the ton." For those that aren't familiar with the show, the "ton" refers to the elite class of British society during the Regency era.
For wine charms, I made silhouettes similar to the heading of Lady Whistledown's writings for each guest. I tried to find a silhouette that looked like the guest, added the word Lady with the guest's name below, and then Society Pages just as is written on Lady Whistledown's issues.
Menu: I wanted to serve very elaborate foods at this dinner since Bridgerton Balls are very elaborate. This did cause me to spend quite a bit of money on groceries, but everything was delicious and liked by all. I named each menu item after a character in Bridgerton and added a common adjective often used on the series. I started with an appetizer I titled Queen Charlotte's Brilliant Brie and Berries that I designed to look like Queen Charlotte who is known for her high and elaborate wigs. I used the round brie for her face placing doilies under the bottom half for a royal collar. Then I used blackberries and edible flowers to create her wig. I used my Cricut to cut out a gold crown to add as well.
With it being summertime, I decided to serve a light summer salad I called Simon's Swoonworthy Salad. It was simple to make and delicious. I will definitely be making it again. You can find the recipe here at Simple Joy. The salad included romaine lettuce, raspberries, blueberries, goat cheese, walnuts (I candied them), and was topped with a lemon poppyseed dressing. I left out the radishes from the recipe as I am not a fan of their taste.
For the main dish, I made beef wellington which I called Lady Whistledown's Wondrous Wellington. I chose this recipe because it had fewer ingredients than many of the others I found. It is somewhat time consuming to prepare and not much can be done in advance, but it was very tasty. I tripled the recipe which was a good call because it really does only make 4 servings.
Alongside the beef wellington, I made duchess potatoes. These are easy to make and can be prepared sightly ahead of time, so that was helpful. I love that they look regal which fit the theme. I called these Penelope's Picturesque Potatoes.
I also served asparagus which I called Anthony's Alluring Asparagus.
For dessert, I made individual Chocolate Lava Cakes. I was able to make these ahead of time and had them sitting in the refrigerator until it was time to put them in the oven. They took longer to bake than the recipe said, but were very good. I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and called them Daphne's Dazzling and Decadent Dessert.
Favor: Bath and Body Works currently is selling a line of Bridgerton candles, soaps, and sprays. They happened to be running a sale on the soaps, so this became my party favor. Guests could choose between the Diamond of the Season, Wisteria Garden, Bridgerton Study, or Queen Charlotte's Tea scents.
I added a tag to each bottle in Lady Whistledown language which read, "Your attendance enhanced the evening's allure and added a touch of refinement and delight to the festivities. Yours Truly, Lady Whistledown."
This was a super fun theme with Bridgerton music in the background, an elegant table, and friends laughing at our dresses and accessories. Not all of the guests had watched the show (although a few binged watch a bit before the party), but it was totally not necessary for the evening and we all had a great time. Guests loved the Lady Whistledown issue, so if you don't have a huge guest list, I would definitely spend the time crafting that as it was a big hit. I love you enjoyed this poist, and if you are a Bridgerton fan...this might be a fun theme to host for your next gathering!
Yours Truly,
Lady Casto
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