Summer Soiree ~ Seafood Boil
To celebrate our Five Year Wedding Anniversary Jim and I hosted a Seafood Boil at our home, Blue Moon Farms. We were married on Friday the 13th, May, 2016. This was the perfect way to reunite with our wedding guests and bring a little bit of “low country” to our own backyard in the Midwest. While not all our family & friends could be here today, it was still a most special occasion.
The evening started with an Oyster Bar in the Barn, complete with a shucking demonstration. Raw oysters were served with all the accoutrements, including caviar! Guests were invited to join in and try their hands at shucking too. Champagne and sparkling water were on hand to keep everyone happy and hydrated.
The “Come Away With Us” sign is from our wedding at Magnolia Gardens in Charleston- in honor of our destination wedding, and an ode to our first dance to “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones. (see below) All chalk board signs by me- you know it’s my thing!
Grilled oysters were also served “Leon’s style” in honor of our Rehearsal Dinner at Leon’s Fried Chicken & Oyster’s in Charleston. (see below)
Not only was this the first time we gathered all our wedding guests together, it was the first event post pandemic event we have hosted in over a year! The kids have grown so much since our wedding in 2016- we had our photographer Chris Guillen recreate some images from our actual wedding day with the bridal party!
Jim Chall Here Comes Your Gal… and the bridesmaid, flower girls, and my son walking me down the aisle- they were all so little! (see below)
We couldn’t forget the tuk-tuk’s! Our guests were taken via “carriage” from the hotel to Poogan’s Porch the night after our wedding for a celebratory dinner (at the most haunted restaurant in Charleston of course.) I found this one on Facebook marketplace…not sure it is road ready but makes for a fun prop!
The best way to get around Charleston! On our way to Poogan’s Porch, 2016. (see below)
Since we were engaged on a Blue Moon, our wedding, and anniversary party, had a moon theme. We also had an actual peacock strolling the grounds of Magnolia Gardens in Charleston, but for our anniversary party we used a faux prop.
Our wedding weekend in Charleston was full of fun- we tried to bring that festive spirit to our anniversary party with some lawn games before dinner.
The kids had to get creative at our Rehearsal Dinner at Leon’s- and somehow played baseball with only napkins! (see below)
Originally we had considered going back to Charleston with our 35 guests to celebrate on our 5 Year Anniversary. That proved too difficult to coordinate during a pandemic. Even although by June 1st everyone in attendance was fully vaccinated. When I started planning a party at our farm instead, I knew I wanted a Southern theme of sorts. The oyster bar and seafood boil came together after I found Argonaut Caterers! They sourced the best fresh ingredients (the oysters were flown in from Charleston) and served up an outstanding meal.
Despite our efforts to create a crescent moon shaped table- it just wouldn’t work. So the morning of the party we set up a long winding table across the backyard. Side note- if you want the linens on curved tables to hit the ground you need skirting. There was a last minute run back to pick up more linens, but it all worked out! The moon prop and glassware is from Chicago Vintage Weddings.
In addition to our usual bar offerings, we added a signature drink for the day- a South Carolina Pina Colada. For dessert, we had Sweet Home Gelato set up their gelato cart in our barn.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you are all having a great summer!