Wedding Photos pt 2 - Reception!

I had the most fun of my life at our wedding reception. The room was beautiful and it was full of our friends and family ready to cheer us on which was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

 

Our reception had a slight 40's and 50's theme and so our tables were meant to show a certain kind of classic style.

 

 

We waited at the top of the stairs after our photos were completed outside, to be announced down a beautiful grand staircase to join our guests. It was at this point that I realized that we had really done it and we were about to walk down those stairs into a room full of people who loved and supported us.

 

First, of course, we needed to announce our lovely bridal party though!

 

Kat and Eric

Matt and Allie

April and John

Sam, Donovan and Sydney

Poor little Syd took a spill down the stairs which is something we were afraid of all day but she brushed it off like a pro!

 

 

 

Then it was our turn! I was so excited to be announced and actually be able to talk with all of our friends.

This is also probably the best picture taken of me the entire day. Obviously, I was excited.

We took the dance floor for our first dance as a married couple to "Come Rain or Come Shine" by Ray Charles. The progression of these photos is probably my favorite because you can see it go from "aww he is looking at her so lovingly..." all the way to "wow, that guy is really singing" by the end.

Lovingly gazing into my eyes

hmm.. hey maybe I'll sing to her

Wow, I am blowing her away with this singing.

Bring it home!!

After our dance together, we had our separate dances with our parents. Mine was something I had been planning for a while and my dad didn't know the song I had chosen or why. I chose "Everybody Knows Your Name" from Cheers which seems weird but there is a story behind it and at the end of the day it makes me think of my dad.

I was able to tell the story to the group before the dance so that people weren't completely confused and my dad heard it for the first time. The reaction of the crowd and my dad were so memorable and absolutely priceless to me.



Later in the evening were the speeches and cake cutting. Of course...I cried.

Hearing my sister, my best friend say such wonderful things about Dwayne and I, our future and my past was so moving. I am not one to cry but this brought me to tears.

April - Maid of Honor and Best Friend

Sam- Matron of Honor and Older Sister

So many people asked us before the wedding if we were going to do the "slam the cake in each others faces" thing at our wedding. The answer from both of us was a resounding -NO!

After all the traditional things were out of the way, the bouquet toss and dinner, we were able to relax and have fun with our friends and family.

Our fathers both gave speeches that were very emotional and heartfelt. You can see how intently we are listening.  ( I wish I didn't have a Miller lite in my hand but hey, I didn't realize I was being photographed- photoshop!)

We spent the rest of the night dancing and having a blast, leaving to go back to our hotel after a long day as husband and wife.

and so my friends... all I leave you with after all of this planning, excitement and love is this photo that I think really says it all about how our marriage is going to go.

Wedding Photos are In!! Pre-Ceremony and Ceremony

The time has come everyone!

We have officially made it more than a month as husband and wife. It is still strange to call Dwayne my husband. Just this week I called him my fiancé to someone and they corrected me. Embarrassing but this takes some getting used to!

I want to give a huge thank you to Rachel Tokarski from Rachel Tokarski Photography for doing such an amazing job the day of the wedding with these photos. There are so many of them and I wanted to share some of my favorite and most emotionally charged photos with you.

There are a lot of photos so I am going to share the getting ready and pre-ceremony/ceremony photos on this post and then the reception ones on the next.

This photo is one of my absolute favorites because it is my dad seeing me in my dress for the first time. The happiness on his face is so evident and I just love it!



 

 

Before the ceremony, we took photos of each side of the bridal party to save time during the wedding.

 

Flower girl stood still long enough for a cute photo

Generational - Grandma, Mother and Daughter

 

Right before the ceremony started, Dwayne and I wanted to talk privately about this important step. Without seeing each other, we were able to have a minute to say I Love You.

 

We were able to talk to each other without seeing one another before the ceremony with some creativity.

 

One of the things that was very important to Dwayne was to be able to be outside before the ceremony and greet people as they were coming in. There is a great photo of Dwayne hugging one of my family members, Debbie who always has us over to her house on Christmas and Thanksgiving. The emotion and love is so visible here.

 

 

Probably the best part of the pre-ceremony photos were the shots that we got with our wedding party and families. We were surrounded by love and it was so wonderful.

 

 

Even got some photos that we weren't even trying for!

 

During the ceremony, there was laughter, tears and a lot of memories.

 

This is one of my favorites - while some people might be nervous or fearful on their wedding day, Dwayne was nothing if not pumped.

 

After the ceremony, we had to gather everyone in the wedding party for some quick photos but first we had to make it official! These photos are some of my favorites because it captured some of our biggest moments.

Our first seconds alone as husband and wife

Making it official and signing the papers!

This picture is the epitome of Dwayne and I. We're married! Hey High-FIVE!!

 

After everything was official, we ran outside to take some photos and got some really amazing ones.

 

My official Father in Law

My dad and I

The whole wedding party

Before we headed into the reception, we got some beautiful and creative shots using our venue.

 

It was absolutely perfect and I can't wait to share more photos with you from our big day! The reception photos are so wonderful and I can't wait to share them in my next post.