Roaring Twenties Anniversary Party

For our twentieth wedding anniversary, we decided to celebrate 1920’s-style.

We are not in a life stage where epic vacations are a reality, but twenty years of marriage is a big deal, especially to have dealt with all we’ve dealt with and still actually LIKE each other. We wanted a fun celebration, and a speakeasy-themed party was just the thing.

Party planning

I enjoy the process of research and brainstorming. Although I kept my Pinterest board hidden during the party planning because I wanted guests to be surprised, I now have it set public so you can peruse my ideas for everything from party decor; themed cocktails and mocktails; outfit, hair, and makeup inspiration; our candy-and-cigarette tray; and more.

Key elements I wanted:

• a venue that lent itself to a 1920’s vibe
• it needed to have a dance-able floor, too
• freedom to do the decorating myself but not need much of it
• tasty food and themed drinks
• an entrance that felt like a prohibition speakeasy
• twenties-era music to help set the mood
• for our guests to get into the theme AND have a great time

Choosing a venue was easy: we have ties with the owners of a beautiful restaurant with eclectic decor, delectable food, and a creative bartender. We had the party on our actual anniversary — a Monday evening, which is a day they are closed — so we had the entire place to ourselves.

It all came out so well; it was absolutely the bees’ knees! And our guests nailed it; as my daughter Kathryn put it, they understood the assignment!

Speakeasy elements add to the fun

For table centerpieces, I asked friends to bring me empty wine and liquor bottles in the weeks before the party. I spray-painted these gold, then added black and white feathers for height and whimsy, plus strings of pearls around the neck of most. For added sparkle, I wrapped tiny battery-powered fairy lights around each one.

To gain entrance, guests had to get past our gangster bouncer, a friend who got into character with a fabulous zoot suit that had the tailoring shop talking about our event! Partygoers had to ask to use the vintage telephone and then say a special code word into the receiver before he let them in. We had the windows boarded up with a “Closed for Prohibition Violation” sign on the door.

Yep, I did indeed buy an authentic 1920’s brass candlestick phone for the occasion, and it now sits on my foyer table. I tried to find a 1920’s pickup truck to sit out front and when my vintage-car friends couldn’t find one locally to borrow, I did refrain from buying the one I saw on FB marketplace!

I also set up a poker corner. This is one of my favorite photos because it looks like it could actually be from the 1920’s. All that’s missing is a haze of cigar smoke.

And my cigarette girl! Kathryn played along and walked around hawking candy and looking absolutely adorable.

Let’s dance!

Eons ago, Ken and I met through dancing, way before we were ever romantically involved. Fun fact: we were in a commercial as swing dancers with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy band playing live – but we had different dance partners back then.

Since we’ve been married, we’ve taught basic ballroom dance to adults and homeschooled teens, took a long hiatus from dancing because life and kids, etc… and when we moved to North Carolina we learned the shag dance because it’s the official state dance of both Carolinas. And because it’s fun! The Carolina shag has an interesting history, originating from jitterbug and swing dance, and can be danced to anything from Sinatra to Teddy Swims, although our favorites are old bluesy tunes with names like “Gimme a Pig Foot [and a bottle of beer].”

We hired one of our favorite DJs who plays at one of the big shag dance clubs in Myrtle Beach, as well as some of our shag-dance club events. We requested that he play any music with a 1920’s feel, and gave him a list of some of our favorites dance tunes to include in his playlist.

These wood floors weren’t quite as smooth as I anticipated but they still worked for dancing. Watch us dance in this video on instagram.

Of course the Charleston is a fun dance, too!

We had a fabulously fun time and our guests did, too. Unlike an authentic nightclub, we wrapped up the evening by 9PM because I am most definitely not a night owl!

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Links to my outfit and more:

• my dress and headband
• my t-strap shoes (with leather ballroom sole)
• my faux fur stole (I loved this; several ways to wear it!)
• vintage style earrings from this etsy shop
• Ken’s vest and fedora style hat
• Kathryn’s blue dress and feather headpiece
• tiny centerpiece lights