Pearl Farm

July 2nd was about a month ago, and I’ve had time to reflect on the day and the events leading up to it.

In March, I got the idea that we should do a “before” party at the farm, so that friends and family could see the property before we start the renovation in Spring/Summer 2023. I looked at my calendar for the summer and fall, and realized that July 2nd would work the best for my schedule. Fourth of July weekend was not ideal, but I thought I’d take my chances that people would show up, and I forged a head with the planning.

I immediately sent a message to good friends, Bryan and Hailey, owners of Beloved Catering and Classic Cookie, to see if they would be willing to join the fun. Without hesitation, they said yes!

So, by the end of March, we had a date and food locked in! Next came Save the Dates. Another good friend, Elise, said “let me whip something up” and all of a sudden, we had the most adorable save the date postcard. She wouldn’t take any payment for her services!

Next came the logo. I think I asked my good friend, and PR extraordinaire, Lisa, if she had any recommendations for a designer that I could work with to design a logo for the farm. She immediately called me and started working up concepts all with a few clicks on her phone! It turned out great, and it has an incredible story behind it…that will be another post later.

There is no way that I could have pulled any of the planning off without Rebecca, who made sure that we had all of the arrangements nailed down at the lodge for those who were coming from Kansas City, Minnesota, Wisconsin, D.C., and Honduras to join the fun. She also coordinated Cats Cans for the restrooms, and all of the party favors for the kiddos, and amenities like sunscreen and bug spray. She did a ton behind the scenes and didn’t even get to come to the party!

I knew that we couldn’t have a backyard bash without live music, so I started scouring the internet to find an affordable band that could appeal to everyone from the little kids to the 80 something cousins and aunts and uncles who would be coming to join the fun. That is how I stumbled upon the Sass Monkeys. I knew it was meant to be when the bandleader’s wife had ties to St. Marys! They put on a lively show that appealed to everyone.

I started to think about the party and how I may have bitten off more than I could chew with the workload. As I was searching for event rentals, I stumbled upon ACA Event Rental, and Along Came Abby Events, and that is how I met Abby Wempe, an event planner and coordinator in Topeka. She took my vision for an elevated backyard bash, and went above and beyond to make sure that every detail was in place during the planning process and during her 16-18 hour (!!) workday on July 2nd. She even went as far as having not one, not two, but THREE contingency plans as there was rain in the forecast until about 12 hours prior to party time.

My cousin, and property caretaker, Don, sprung into action to make sure that the yard was clean, tidy, well manicured, and weed and bug free. He worked tirelessly for a picture perfect setting.

Another cousin, Deanna took Lisa’s Pearl Farm logo to a whole new level and hooked us up with hats and koozies. They were so popular, that I don’t even have any! But, I do have the tshirts that cousin Leslie sent from Michigan. The logo turned out great on the long sleeve white tees.

Jim and Colleen worked so hard during a few of the true dog days of the Kansas summer to make sure that the air conditioning unit was properly installed in the garage prior to the party. Little did we know that that the heat and humidity would nearly vanish just in time for people to arrive at the farm at 4:00 on the 2nd, and so the AC wasn’t necessary. But I slept better at night knowing we had it just in case!

Ryan, Andrea, Christy, and Melanie made sure that we were well stocked with cornhole sets as a part of the entertainment lineup.

Abby, and Bryan and Hailey brought their incredible teams from Topeka and Kansas City in full force. They did EVERYTHING from bringing a refrigerator/freezer semi, to 4 courses of food, to a fully stocked bar with signature cocktails and top shelf spirits, only the best wine provided by my friend Ryan and his team at Underdog Wine in KC, tables, chairs, florals, bistro lighting, staging, everything! There was no Pearl Farm Backyard Bash without Abby and Bryan and Hailey and their teams. In fact, 4 weeks later, I’m still hearing comments about how great the food was and how much fun everyone had.

Cousin Gerry Lou helped out with giving tours of the house and sharing anecdotes about her experience growing up in the house with 7 sisters.

Sara and her husband took over 5,000 pictures (more on that later), and they were certainly one of the highlights of the evening.

The DIY fireworks show, orchestrated by someone who has never once purchased fireworks (yours truly), I have to say, was impressive. Ace and cousins Ryan and Chris, along with my dear friend’s husband, Gary, pulled off quite the show.

One of the best parts of this whole experience was having Grandma’s cousins, Pat and Dennis, and their wives join us from Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Grandma’s cousin’s son Joe, and his wife Leslie, from Michigan. I was so happy to have so many of Aunt Hildegard’s family, the Taphorns, make time to come and join us and share the decades of memories at the Pearl Farm.

I am so grateful for all of my friends who drove from Kansas City, and for Ace’s friends who flew in from D.C. and Honduras, to see the beginnings of my dream come to life.

My heart is so full.