The day after our wedding near Barcelona, we threw a 1920s themed BBQ and pool party. 🎷Our Jazz Picnic was inspired by Michael Arenella’s Jazz Age Lawn Party, which happens each year on Governor’s Island in New York (probably the world’s most authentic prohibition-era gathering).

Surrounded by the old stone walls of Casa Felix, it was a day filled with joy and jazz under the Mediterranean sunshine! We wanted it to feel laid back and summery, but still authentic to the 20s with a completely different feel to the wedding the day before.

Planning a themed BBQ in Barcelona from the Uk meant we couldn’t go tooo wild with props and decor, but luckily the venue is already so atmospheric that with just a few special touches (and a LOT of help from our incredible wedding planner Valerie, friends and family the morning after the wedding) we transformed it into a Gatsby-era playground!

You can see some glimpses* of the day through the trailer of our Wedding Video by the super talented Ankerprod…(*the bits with the boaters).

Details details details

We set up long picnic-style tables with gingham picnic blankets (from Flying Tiger at the time - but similar to these) and filled vintage milk jugs with posies, making good use of the magnificent fleurs left over from the previous day!

To give the bar a little prohibition je-ne-sais-quoi, we downloaded this poster from Etsy and authentic alcohol prescriptions to tuck between the bottles. We stashed liquor bottles like Bulleit bourbon and spiced rum in brown paper bags and adorned the space with paper fan garlands. To add different heights and textures we used picnic baskets and various buckets filled with ice and branches / foliage. I also found these great lightweight plastic champagne coupes (not ideal but luckily we could recycle them).

For the BBQ we used these incredible Talking Tables paper plates and side plates that look like faux vintage china and plastic cutlery by Party Porcelain designed to look like real silverware (sold out but similar to these), combined with a LOT of paper doilies and gingham napkins. We let guests help themselves to plates etc from vintage suitcases.

Our wedding planner Val let us send a gigantic box of wierd and wonderful props to her house from the Uk! If I had been closer to home, I might have gone even further - like projecting silent films, piling up liquor barrels or crates and attempting some kind of gigantic DIY Crescent Moon backdrop.

Entertainment

One of the biggest highlights of the party was definitely Piano Bar Swing - guests arrived to gorgeous live music played on a piano that was converted into a bar. The band sing and make cocktails simultaneously, what’s not to love!

For later, I made a Jazz Picnic playlist combining old hits with more modern Swing House remixes for good vibes all round.

DRESS CODE 

Our dress code was 1920s on the French Riviera - think straw boaters for the chaps, flapper girls, retro swimwear, great gatsby glamour and vintage summer chic inspired by the Jazz Age Lawn Party. The best place to find hidden treasures is Armstrongs Vintage in Edinburgh (where Anthony found his amazing rowing club jacket).

My cotton fringed dress was actually from the ASOS bridal collection and we found amazing outfit ideas from the Art Deco Society of California. The Biarritz Années Folles Festival is another great source of inspiration.

I also can’t recommend having a photo booth enough - everyone looked so fantastic dressed up. We used Smybox and can’t recommend them enough.

For taking authentic jazz age photos and footage, download the 8mm Vintage Camera App. Using the "1920s" filter, the app captures the style of vintage movies complete with grainy texture and projector sounds.

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