Sorry...

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted... with setting up the new house and everything that goes along with it (LOTS of trips to Home Depot), I haven't much been in the blogging mood. I hope to do just a couple of more "wedding recaps" to finish things up (hopefully this weekend), and then start right in on the new house and all the fun I've had with it so far. =)

But, to tide you all over until then, here's our last pro photo of the wedding reception... and I have to say, it's one of my favorites. =)

Where Did We Leave Off?

After the food was consumed, the desert enjoyed, the speeches given, "the dance" (and dances) done, and the tosses complete it was time to party!

The only thing I KNEW when I first started to plan the wedding was that I wanted DANCING! I LOVE to dance. I love going out with my ladies and letting my hair down on the dance floor.

I was concerned for awhile that Jacob and I wouldn't be able to afford a DJ for the reception and were going to have to do the ipod route. Understand me, I have nothing against ipod weddings if they are done right. However, 1) I don't have the best selection of music, and 2) Ipods can't read the crowd... I really wanted a real live human who was able to pick the music that was needed in order to get the party going (and lasting!). Thankfully a few months before the wedding I spoke to a good friend of mine, DJ Sipp, who offered to do the wedding for the price that we had budgeted for music (a number that we had pretty much pulled out of our you-knows before we determined just how expensive wedding entertainment (and everything else) actually was).

I was overjoyed to have a DJ. And he definitely delivered! We even had wedding crashers later in the evening that asked if they could join our party because our music was better than the bar's downstairs in the hotel. We said yes, they signed our guest book. ;)

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography)

*Guest Photo
A little collar-poppin' action from my baby-bro/officiant.

*Guest Photo

*Guest Photo


And then there was salsa.... =)

*Guest Photo

One thing that I LOVE about wedding photos are cute kid pictures... especially cute kid dancing pictures! These definitely got me smiling! =)

*Guest Photo


And then Jacob's nephew Aiden started to show off his moves! I really wonder what movies this kid has been watching! =)

After the kids had their fun and headed to bed, it was time for the "adults" to have their fun =)

*Guest Photo
I love drunken sing-along faces! =)

*Guest Photo
My brother "worm"ing his way across the dance floor =)

*Guest Photo

*Guest Photo
Everyone had a great time... even my cousin/DOC once the work was done! =)

The Tosses

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography)

The last set of "events" for the night was the bouquet and garter toss. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a traditional bouquet toss (i.e. call all the single ladies up front), because I have BEEN that single lady at friends weddings and KNOW how shitty it can feel... especially if you aren't even dating anyone at the time. I was thinking that I would make this little speech beforehand about the bouquet toss being open to everyone and it being a symbol of attaining a dream/wish/or desire (kinda like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake), but, I never got that far. When the DJ made the announcement that it was time for the toss, a good number of ladies jumped up and on the dance floor... so... I just went with it. lol

Holly caught it! (Though I was told that it smacked one of the flower girls in the face before Holly grabbed it... lol... I have yet to see proof of this however!)

A little while after the bouquet toss it was time to toss the garter. My BM Holly (already feeling "happy" due to several trips to the bar lol) decided to take it into her own hands to get everyone organized for the garter toss... only, we had no idea what she was doing. lol She grabbed the Best Man, dragged him onto the dance floor, all the while screaming for me to join her. We got out there together, and then she left... leaving the best man and I out there on the dance floor alone... so he started to dance. =)


Meanwhile, Holly was trying to find Jacob... only, he was in the restroom. Which, apparently, didn't stop her from going in after him! lol

Finally Holly had everyone wrangled, got the best man down on all fours, and got the toss moving! lol

I love this photo of Jacob's nephew... he REALLY wants that garter!

Jacob had to take a minute to figure out how to flick the garter backwards...

It didn't work. lol

Here is take two! =)
(Love the pout on his face! lol)

And, of course, the one who REALLY wanted it, got it... even if he is only 8. =)

(Guest Photo)
And, of course, the dance between the bouquet and garter catchers... I think Aiden is in heaven. ;)

Mmm Mmm Mmm!

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos are care of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography!)

Chocolate chip tollhouse cake with fudge filling, white cake with hazelnut filling and chocolate cake with Bavarian cream filling.... mmmmmm..... who WOULDN'T want this?? I know Sophie sure did! lol

(Guest Image)

Picking the cake for the wedding was, I think, my FAVORITE part of the wedding planning process. Who would have thought that you could just go into a bakery and they would GIVE you free cake! Mmm! Jacob and I ultimately chose to go with a traditional cake (none of the cupcake places used filling and that was just unacceptable to Jacob! lol) from Lamb's Bakery. I would have never thought to go to a grocery store for a wedding cake, but, let me tell you, they had the BEST cake and the best prices! It was delicious! And I think our guests thought so, too. =)





I told Jacob before the wedding that I would NOT be ok with cake being smashed in my face. I told him that I would be paying a lot of money for my make up, and my dress and that I would be VERY upset if they were tampered with. He took this to heart. lol




Apparently my mom came up to him later and thanked him for not smashing cake in my face. lol

Delicious!

Parents in the Spotlight

When Jacob and I were going back and forth over what song to use for our first dance, Micheal Franti's "Say Hey (I Love You)" came up. However, we determined that the song was WAY too fast for our beginner legs/moves to handle! lol But, Jacob still liked the song, and decided that he wanted his parents to dance to it after we finished our song (they swing as well, and he figured that they could handle the pace!). The did a great job (and the DJ kept them going for well past the length of the actual song! lol).

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

*Guest Photo

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography
I don't want to embarrass my new father-in-law, but this photo is just too funny NOT to share! =)

After Jacob's folks finished their dance, and we'd had time to catch our breath, Jacob and I had a surprise to share with our parents and guests. After a brief "thank you" speech, we presented them with one last slide show...

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

(Click on the image to go to the slide show)

After the laughs and tears that came with the slide show, we went right into the father/daughter and mother son dances. I had a much harder time picking a father/daughter song than I did our first dance. I had certain criteria that was making it almost impossible to find a song that I liked. When it came to the mother/son dance song, Jacob let his overall life motto reign -- "That'll work". lol

Father/Daughter Dance:

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

Mother/Son Dance:

*Guest Photo

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography

*Photo courtesy of Justin at Sky Blue Iris Event Photography