Emil and Nancy's
30th Anniversary Luau
9 September 2006
Thanks to everyone who came and made the luau such a huge success.
Special thanks to the family members who helped out with the setup and cleanup!
About the Luau
As long as I can remember, my mother wanted to have a luau at our house. She went to Hawaii twice in a month in the 1970's. When we were kids, my mom had a few packs of bamboo skewers that my sister & I would want to use to roast marshmallows. We'd always be told told "No, they're for the luau!"
After my father spent several months in the hospital that year, I decided that we should celebrate my parents' 30th anniversary and my father's 70th birthday with a luau. My parents' anniversary wasn't for a few more months, but winter isn't the best time for a luau. My dad's birthday was earlier in the year, but he couldn't enjoy it because he was in the hospital. We totally surprised him by having a cake and celebrating it at the luau which he thought was only for their anniversary.
After 2 months of extensive planning, weeks of watching the weather forecast and 3 days of cooking, the party went off without a hitch. We turned the shed into a Tiki Hut, decorated every inch of the yard and I cooked a full menu of Hawaiian dishes.
Speaking of food, the menu was as follows...
Entrees
Roast Pig
Marinated Teriyaki Chicken
Ginger Lime Shrimp over Rice
Sides
Pickled Peppers and Onions
Potato Macaroni Salad
Desserts
Mango Bread
Haupia w/ Pineapple (traditional Hawaiian coconut pudding)
Ambrosia
Fresh Cut Pineapple
Anniversary Cake
Birthday Cake
Plus I made Mai Tai Punch.
I created a 40 minute photo slideshow that was shown on a 10 foot screen. I intended for it to be a background thing that would repeat throughout the evening but amazingly everyone sat in silence and watched the whole thing. If I had known that was going to happen, I would've made it shorter! 🙂