“An Afternoon Tea Story”

In celebration of the delicate balance hardworking career moms need to pull off every day, Cebu City Marriott Hotel prepared a delightful afternoon tea party for moms and kids last May 5. Power moms from the corporate world let their hair down and traded their suits for breezy dresses as they brought their children along for “An Afternoon Tea Story” with special guest, Image and Etiquette trainer Ms. Pauli Antoine.

Pauli Antoine is the President of Etiquette de Manila and Red Archon. She is the skilled craftsmith behind the portrayals of fashion, business and political icons. She is a regular columnist of F&B World Magazine, and a contributor of Food Magazine, Asian Dragon and Smart Parenting.

As guests arrived, the ladies were made to choose a fascinator hat to wear for the occasion while fresh blooms in hues of pink and baby blue greeted them as they entered the ballroom specially decorated for afternoon tea fit for royalty by Blooms and Bubbles.

Cebu City Marriott Hotel General Manager, Mr. Patrick Carroll welcomed everyone and enjoined both moms and kids to learn and have fun. With poise and grace, Ms. Pauli Antoine started her first “lesson” on visual poise, and that is, achieving the picture-perfect pose with a flattering stance and confident posture. Interesting topics also included sitting down like royalty, discovering one’s five different smiles and giving an appropriate and well-intended handshake.

Guests were then given a refresher on internationally accepted table etiquette. She also talked about tea appreciation and taught the participants the best way of brewing tea using a teapot and how to pour tea with grace. Then she shared some tips on tea pairing with sweets and savories.

Much to the audience’s delight, young Gabriel Alfonso Balantucas, surprised everyone with a performance on the violin. All the kids then made their way out of the ballroom and returned to their moms with a pink rose greeting the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.

The delightful event closed with a message from a mom herself, Cebu Marriott’s new director of sales and events, Mrs. Frances Alfafara. Everyone then took the opportunity to thank Ms. Pauli Antoine and instantly applied what they learned on visual poise as they posed with her for photos to remember the afternoon by.