Hey! Happy Monday. Kind of? I feel like Mondays are a hit or miss. Sometimes I’m ready to get back to the structure of the week, and then typically I tire of that after like, an hour. Today is definitely one of those days where, at least right now, I am feeling motivated to get my life back together after a really busy weekend. I’ll be back to talk more about that tomorrow though.
Today I wanted to bring you the next wedding recap! If you missed the first few, you can find them here. 🙂
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After we had a few minutes upstairs to freshen up after all the picture-taking, it was finally time to head downstairs to eat dinner. I thought I was about to starve to death (I suppose I can sometimes be a bit dramatic) at this point, so I was more than ready to sit down and eat an actual meal. On our way to dinner Chris and I stopped at the bar to get a few glasses of cabernet, which looking back on was really stupid to do with my white dress.
We didn’t want a big deal entrance to our dinner and were actually hoping no one would notice us sneaking into the dining room (I may or may not have coerced our DJ into walking in with us so we didn’t have to do it alone), but of course they did and clapped and made me feel super uncomfortable. I really hate attention, so this was like, my nightmare. We eventually got to our table and met our parents. We had decided not to do a head table and instead shared a circular table in the middle of the room with our parents, and I am so happy we made that choice. It was wonderful to have that time with our parents to reflect on the night so far and to have some semi-uninterrupted time to let them know how special they are to us. Our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and their dates were right next to us, so we were able to chat with them a lot, too.
Once we sat down, I also actually had a chance to look around and see just how gorgeous our dining room was decorated. It was beautiful to begin with, with a ton of huge stained glass windows, an old fireplace, and just a lot of elegant decorations, but our florist really outdid herself with the table centerpieces. The tables hosted a mix of the bridesmaids bouquets, loose greens, rose petals, baby’s breath, candles, and pearls. All the tables were slightly different, and I loved it.
The facility also did a great job with incorporating our colors in through the napkins, and the cream-colored linens and chiavari chairs really pulled it all together. I made our menus, which I thought looked wonderful with the sprig of greens in each folded napkin. It really all looked fantastic, and I cannot wait to see the professional photos and video to get a more in-depth look.
Once everybody was settled in their seats, it was time for speeches. My dad, sister Jenna (maid of honor), and Chris’s friend Shane (best man) all gave a speech and/or toast that brought both Chris and I to tears. The words they chose to speak to us were kind, hilarious, and really reinforced why they are three of the most special people in our lives. In those moments, I felt so much love that I cannot even begin to explain it. Then my mom said a really sweet prayer, and it was time to eat!
We were so excited about our menu. We worked really hard on something that would be seasonal and different from what you would typically get at a wedding, but “normal” enough that picky eaters would still enjoy it. Here is what we ended up choosing!:
Like I said above, it was so, so nice to be able to sit down and eat an actual meal. The receiving line right after the ceremony was a great choice for many reasons, but mainly because it allowed us that time during dinner to relax, eat, and get to spend some quiet-ish time with our parents – the four main people at our wedding that deserved our attention the most on that evening (in my opinion). It also gave Chris and I some moments to just “be married,” which was so cool and weird and new!
As we were waiting for courses to arrive, we did walk around and talk to as many people as we could though. I spent a lot of time at the “kids table,” hanging out with the little girls I used to nanny and their mom who I am good friends with. I also went to see my grandpa, who was sitting with my awesome neighbor Alice (and who also looked absolutely beautiful in her dress!).
And then our photographer was grabbing Chris and I to take us outside to get some pictures, because there was an absolutely gorgeous sunset happening. I am so excited to see the pictures they got during this time. It was so much fun, because a few of our guests had wandered outside to look at the sunset, too, so they watched us do a little photoshoot from afar. It was really romantic and fun for Chris and I, because they basically told us to just stand together and kiss and talk and be natural. We were far enough away from them that we had a little privacy, and I really cherished that time with him.
Eventually we headed back inside to do a very informal cake-cutting. My best friend (and bridesmaid), Clare, put together a beyond gorgeous dessert room for us (detailed in the menu above) and also made us a perfectly simple “naked cake,” decorated with flowers from our florist. We cut a piece to get a picture and took a few bites (it was almond cake with raspberry filling!), and then it was time to head out to the patio to start first dances.
Before we went outside, I peeked back in the dining room to see the “aftermath,” and it was amazing to think that just 30 minutes before it was filled with all of our guests, eating and drinking and laughing, and then it was just over and they were outside waiting for us. I knew the day was flying by, but I just didn’t want it to end!
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I hope you have a wonderful start to your week today!
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