Some local folks in their 20s want to make their wedding take
place in the 20s, too — the 1920s.
Robert Reed, 29, and Rawny Hough, 21, decided to celebrate their
nuptials with a 1920s-themed wedding reception at the Option House
Feb. 6.
Reed said he and his bride to be knew they wanted to do some
sort of theme, so they “worked together for about a week and landed
on the 1920s, just trying to add a little bit more depth to a
reception other than just dancing and having people hanging
around.”
“The Option House is a perfect location for what we’re looking
for,” the groom said, “so we won’t need to do much decorating,
although we will add some antique vases with Calla Lilies which
were a very popular flower in those times.”
Sam Sylvester, owner of the Option House, said he is happy to
host the couple and their 110 guests that will be “taking over the
whole restaurant, including both floors, the downstairs and Peacock
Parlor upstairs.”
Sylvester said the staff will dress the part with 1920s
accessories provided by the Option House, and will serve the large
crowd “what we’re known for now,” the tapas buffet.
According to Reed, the couple will be transported from the First
Wesleyan Church on South Kendall Avenue, where the ceremony will
take place, to the Option House by a vintage “mobster-type” 1930s
car, the exact make and model of which will be surprise to the two,
as arranged by the groom’s stepfather.
Reed, who is originally from Limestone, N.Y., said he and his
Bradford-born bride, along with the rest of the wedding party and
guests will be donning full 1920s garb. He said that the women in
the wedding party will wear old-fashioned dresses during the
ceremony, then change into flapper dresses and the like for the
reception, while the men will sport pinstripe zoot-suits for the
duration.
When asked what the guests thought about the theme party, Reed
answered that those which he had already spoken with, especially
those from his side of the family, “are excited about it. Many have
their hair appointments set up to get 1920s hairdos and their
outfits picked up. My aunt is going to be wearing a half flapper,
half pinstripe zoot-suit which I think will be great.”
Guests will have to acquire their own costumes, but Reed expects
there to be a few exceptions where people decide to forego the
attire. “I don’t expect anyone to go out and spend a bunch of money
on dressing up for one party, but we did strongly suggest people to
try to dress accordingly,” said Reed.
“In case anyone shows up and wasn’t able to get an outfit, we
will have a designated area where people can put on costumes that
slip over their clothes and get their pictures taken,” he
added.
There will lots of jazz music and pamphlets that describe to
guests how to do popular 1920s dances, such as the Charleston and
the Lindy, as well as interesting facts about the era in general,
according to the groom. “The Charleston is real simple, only about
four steps, so people can try their hand at it if they want, but
later in the evening we will kick it back into modern music as
well,” he said.
Other activities include poker tables that will be set up around
the restaurant for guests to play Texas Hold’em, Mah Jong tiles and
crossword puzzles, all of which were “really big in those times and
add something different to the party,” according to the groom.
“We’re going to have the reception be like a speakeasy, like an
illegal party during the 1920s (the era of prohibition),” he
explained. “So we’re going to have bouncers at the door requiring
secret passwords for entry, and giving our guests a hard time if
they can’t remember, all in good fun.
“I’m also hoping to find some fake tommy guns and other props,
maybe try to borrow them from the Little Chicago movie,” said Reed.
“We’re leaving it up to the guests, we want them to be able to
spice things up if they want to.”
