Immediately following the ceremony, while the bridal party and family was taking pictures, there was a cocktail hour. The bar was open and there was a station with appetizers including various dips, fruit, vegetables and cheese. None of which either of us tasted...
Once our guests were seated inside, it was time for our first dance. "Amazed" by Lonestar was our song of choice.
Neither of us are the biggest fans of being the center of attention and were nervous about our first dance. We choose not to take dance lessons and did not want anything formal. We just did what felt natural. It was perfect.
Another tradition we omitted was speeches except for my dads. He deserved the few minutes to stand in front of our family and friends and give his two sense. Sarcasm as well as a few embarrassing stories and the obvious mention of my American Express bills were all included.
I have always had a lot of respect for my father and appreciate all that he has done for me over the years. "I loved her first" by Heartland was the perfect representation of that.
Although we do not have pictures of the food, I was very impressed and so were our guests. We had a vision and the caterer was successful with the execution. The meal began with plated, fresh baked pretzels that were accompanied by a trio of mustards. A salad was served that contained a variety of caramelized vegetables with pepitas and an amazing vinaigrette. We opted for a slightly different lunch style that would demonstrate some of our favorite foods. We had three separate food stations. The first was a taco station that included a variety of meats, beans, rice and condiments. The second was a BBQ station that had pulled meats, rolls, and a vinegar slaw. The third was a seafood and pasta salad station. This allowed our guest to sample whichever they liked and everyone left satisfied. It is always hard to cook for a large crowd of people but it was pulled off perfectly. Togo boxes were packed in our car for us to eat once we got back to the hotel. I highly recommend that. We were starving and did not eat nearly enough.
Following lunch everyone migrated outside to socialize and play yard games.
Bocce ball and croquet were huge hits. I used to work in a restaurant that had indoor bocce courts. It is a simple game that can be played with a drink in hand. Geoff made the croquet set himself and it has always been a tradition to play when his friends come down to Florida to visit.
One of our favorite parts of the day was being able to look around and see everyone having such a great time.
We then "forced" everyone to come back inside so we could cut our wedding cake. My mom had a special cake made for us that I could eat. It was a great treat and I am already looking forward to eating the remaining slice on our anniversary. We chose to serve our guests cupcakes and provided a variety of toppings. The interactive decorating and no need of a fork worked perfectly.
I will brag that Geoff kept it classy and only got cake in my mouth. I was rather nervous.
An additional activity that we included was having a polaroid camera for the guest to pass around. We had cute props that were a big hit. It was so much fun as well as an inexpensive addition to the festivities.
After everyone's sugar rush, the dance party began. We found a great local band called Wayward Reason. They were so much fun and were able to play our favorite songs. They got almost everyone on the dance floor, including my dad.
The dancing continued until we were told it was time to depart. If it weren't for the bar running low, we could have stayed all day.
I still have mixed feelings about our use of lavender to be tossed as we headed towards the car. It smelled amazing and looked great but took far too much effort to pick out of my hair and we still are finding pieces of it.
A few of our friends got rather aggressive with the "tossing"...
We were both on cloud 9 with how perfectly the day went.
Hiring a driver for the day was such a great treat. It eliminated the stress of us having to drive as well as having a family member drive us. A perk to having a noon wedding was that it was earlier than most other events and the driver was able to double up on weddings.
We wouldn't have changed a thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment