Black Tie & Tales

+ Royal Tea
Rob and Angela Smithson requested “garden party attire” for their Windsor wedding celebration, specifically that the ladies wear decorated hats. Guests of all ages responded with enthusiasm. Judge Ray Peper awarded “Best Hat” prizes to Eva Morris, whose big black straw chapeau sported a pink flamingo, and Mila Bibler, whose timely tiny one grew white orchids and black feathers. Morris also contributed a sherry trifle, a 10-layer ribbon cake and Prince William’s favorite chocolate biscuit cake to the beautiful tea table. Victoria Bibler, 6, in black-and-white like her mom, and Elizabeth Ebury, 7, left the wedding-watching to the grown-ups and frolicked in the bucolic setting. Among the guests: Robert and Shannon Warren, John and Caroline Sansone, Bill and Margaret Wise, Judge James and Lynn Alexander, and Kara Nally. Could there have been a more authentically British celebration of the wedding-of-the-century? Read about the gastronomy of it in this week's Edibles.