Get Cray Before the Big Day With a Backyard Seafood Boil

Do you have a couple in your life getting married soon who also has a love of seafood? A backyard seafood boil is just the get-together to celebrate with loved ones! Centered around a large steaming pot packed with seafood goodies, juicy sausage, and fresh-boiled veggies, this party is all about gathering together for a delicious and fun-filled feast. 

From festive East Coast party decor to exquisite foods, we'll share some of our favorite seafood boil party ideas and walk you through how to throw a couples wedding shower for the newlyweds-to-be that will have them Get Cray Before the Big Day.

So grab your bibs, butter, and balloons, order some lobsta', and let's throw the best boil ever!

Seafood Soiree Decor

So many unique details went into this party. We suggest when party planning, remember the small spaces! Every surface is free game when it comes to decorating.

On the outdoor fireplace, you can see the homage to East Coast living with nautical artwork on top of the mantle, patriotic giant Jenga, and a large net draped over the side of the fireplace tying in the theme. Across the mantle, we have our Hamptons Flag Banner bringing in the red, white, and blue color palette. 

Below the banner resting against the wall is a Lobster Tray as a nod to the meal ahead! We love incorporating these adorable Bamboo Trays into the decor, whether to hold food or drinks or as a decorative display. Since the trays usually match a product line, they can tie in the party's design, colors, and aesthetic.

A trick to decorating for an outdoor party is incorporating throw pillow covers for outdoor furniture to add a pop of theme to every little space. Pillow covers are easier to work with than whole pillows because they are easier to switch out and store when you're done. Every detail counts!

On the table next to the couches, we have a small token of the lobster theme in the form of coasters! These match the red lobster in all the other seafood party decoration pieces and are perfect for guests to use for their drinks.

Bar Harbor Bar Cart

Drink stations are essential to any party and the perfect opportunity to get creative and show off more of your adorable theme! We stocked this silver bar cart with drinks, cups, napkins, ice, and more seafood decorations. 

We gave our guests options to pair a Hamptons Guest Towel or a Lobster Dessert Napkin with their drink.

Whether drinking water or a refreshing cocktail, these Let's Get Cray cups are perfect for keeping your drink cool. The included lids keep out unwanted visitors (it's summertime, and we all know flies are everywhere). 

Since these cups have lids, we added a reusable plastic straw to each cup. An easy way to ensure people aren't touching every straw is to set up each cup ahead of time so guests can take off the lid, fill their cup and get back to the party!

Behind all the beverage supplies, we have another tribute to the theme of the day, a Lobster Bake Sign! This metal sign describes the perfect way to cook a lobster with adorable graphics and nautical colors. We love elevating decorations by throwing additional art pieces or pictures around the area.

Don't forget the appetizers! While your guests wait patiently (on the outside) for the lobster to turn red, supply them with delicious appetizers on a styled tray. Design an assortment of crackers and little slices of bread to scoop up delightful seafood dip. Here's a fantastic recipe for a lobster dip that is perfect for teasing your guest's appetites! 

When serving appetizers to your guests, always have some cute little plates so they can grab their snacks and go mingle! 

Bayou Balloons 

This balloon garland is ready to let the good times boil! We created this stunning balloon garland with red, cream, and shades of blue that coordinate with the table decor.

We found these fun lobster inflatables and added them to our garland to complete our stunning photo backdrop. You don't have to always use balloons to spruce up a balloon decoration!

The Maine Table

You need to deck out the table where you’ll be chowing down on delicious red lobster! We have this beautiful red, white, and blue table cover on top of the tables to protect from spills (found at Home Goods!) and simple white chairs around the table. 

Each place setting is a layered combination of metal chargers and glass plates topped with a Lobster Plate. Under each dish is a Lobster Bib to protect everyone’s clothes from the inevitable spills. 

Each guest has a small metal bucket filled with various lobster-cracking tools, a guest towel, and an adorable custom lobster cookie! 

These adorable cookies were made by the amazing Aubra from Objection Confections. She’s our go-to gal for all our custom cookie requests! 

We also found these individual butter warmers so each guest can have their own bowl of butter instead of sharing and double dipping! They have a spot underneath to place mini tealight candles to melt the butter. That way, you're not going back and forth from the table to the microwave, keeping up with the cooling butter. 

Lemons and lobsters are a combo made in heaven! But dodging seeds is always an unnecessary pain. You're already fighting the lobster shell, so you don't need one more thing to avoid. We found these little lemon covers that look like hair nets to keep the seeds in but give you all the delicious citrus flavor for your shellfish. 

The nautical decorations in the middle of the table reflect the East Coast vibes that are going on in the rest of the party. When decorating with a theme like this, consider relevant accent pieces you might see in the theme's native habitat! 

To decorate our table, we spread big nets down the center, dotted by rustic lanterns, grapevine branches, and red floral arrangements, to create the ultimate low country boil tablescape. 

Feed a Crowd

Finally, the main event! We sourced lobster, clams, and mussels from Maine Lobster Now and delicious shrimp and crawfish from Louisiana Crawfish Co. 

When you're landlocked like we are in Oklahoma, finding a good, reliable source of seafood is a game changer! Both companies ship quickly and include all the ice and padded containers needed to keep the shellfish intact so they were fresh when we cooked them. 

Louisiana Crawfish Co also included seasonings for a delicious shrimp dining experience. We boiled these crustaceans and sat down to enjoy some grub!

 

Now that you've seen our nautical party setup, we hope you're inspired to throw your own backyard seafood boil. Whether it's a lobster boil, crab boil, fish boil, or clambake, you'll make the couple—and your guests—happy as a clam!

Even if you don't have a newlywed couple to shower with love and seafood, you can serve up a lobster bake for any event, milestone, or weekend. From significant birthdays to seafood boil bridal showers to summer extravaganzas, this true Southern tradition will have you clamoring for more!

So, save this post and use these tips and tricks to throw the best backyard seafood boil party!