Sorry guys. I treated you like a Salem hunted witch and left you hanging. But now I am back to share a couple more posts for Wedding Week. Today is reception day! So pull up your knickers and cinch those garters – it’s time to party!
Our reception was held at a local jazz club called Cafe 267. Initially it sounded too good to be true – we had everything that we wanted in the contract but in the end the usual wedding debacles happened. The air conditioner broke, our balloon drop wouldn’t actually drop and we lost the topper for the groom’s cake. Also, I wouldn’t recommend anyone actually using that facility. Ever. The staff failed to deliver good service on our big day…which is definitely a disappointing affair but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t come close to spoiling my overall wedding experience. I got to have an amazing ceremony and I happened to marry my favorite man on the planet. Plus, the food was really delicious. So all in all…pretty durn good time 🙂
Now back to October 6th 2007.
(aww memories!)
October 6th, 2007 was the day that the University of Georgia (where I attended – GO DAWGS!) played football against their rival, University of Tennessee (Jeremy’s loser school of choice). And we realized afterward that our reception colors were red & orange – also the colors for our respective colleges. Let me assure you…we I did not plan for our wedding to become football-mania. Not really my style. But somehow the theme stuck – hence the ‘touchdown’ shots of our wedding party that immediately followed the ceremony. (GO DAWGS!)
Thirty minutes of photos later – we packed up our stuff and headed to the reception site. On the commute, I slipped off the extra long beaded veil and pinned in a big fake white flower. This little wardrobe change actually saved me so much time and stress – I no longer had to worry about someone stepping on the end of the delicate veil or pulling my ginormous head backward anytime I got a relative’s congratulatory hug. And since I only borrowed the veil and needed to return it – the white flower is a classic little momento of our big day.
cheeseball alert:
And like our love – it will never die.
When it came to visiting and working in the dances – we decided that each ‘partner’ dance would be held during the time that the appetizers were being served. That way people didn’t actually have to watch us do the Saved By The Bell dances – ya know…with the boring swaying dance steps. Although Jeremy & my first dance was interupted with a little “Rocky Top” and “Who Let the Dogs Out”. Football is a disease. And it’s communicable.
We also enjoyed our ‘parent’ dances – Jeremy was able to dance with both his mom and stepmom – to two different songs. And I enjoyed my daddy/daughter dance which was interupted by my mother. She likes to cut in. Which is actually quite fitting – since she has danced with us in the living room at 99% of family gatherings since we were old enough to breathe. And she is Italian. So no party is complete without lots of food and Mom showing us how to shake a leg.
We also had a balloon drop during our 1st dance – which actually didn’t drop until we started the group dancing. I think our bridal party enjoyed the fact that this little festive event happened for more to enjoy. Because let’s face it, balloons are fun no matter what age you are. Especially when it makes pooting noises. Oh the joy!
The cakes were made at Publix (a local grocery store) and were super-duper affordable. I think that it wasn’t all that important to us what the cakes looked like…I knew that we wanted something fun & simple. With buttercream icing. Because I would probably gag on fondont. And nobody wants to see me yack up premasticated wedding cake. It would ruin the celebration spirit. And my makeup.
Like I said – our cakes weren’t that important to me…although I did want our bridal cake topper to be accurate. I get hung up on weird details sometimes. I wanted a little bride & groom that were antique, in black & white, and with no bouquet. Do you realize how difficult that is to find?!? Well. Not really. Ebay is an amazing thing. And now this little trinket lives in our bathroom…where marriage is really solidified. (no pun intended).
The ribbon on our cake was also used in another reception decor place…our centerpieces. Prior to the big day, I wrapped 300+ pillar candles with red & orange hued ribbon for each of the tables and secured them with yellow headed pins. Each group of candles sat on a mirror and was surrounded by a dried fall wreath wrapped in orange silk (which I scored for less than $1 a yard at a local fabric discount store).
These table arrangements actually were a nod to our ceremony (which featured a bazillion candles) and to our invitations which featured a wreath silhouettte. We still get plenty of use out of them now – since we hang the wreaths on our windows for exterior fall decorations and we have used the candles at numerous church events and for various holidays.
Our favors were also done on the cheap – using extra gold ribbon, a little scrapbook paper and little white boxes which contained a votive candle for people to take home. We called them “prayer candles” and asked that the guests shoutout a little request to a higher power for our marraige when they use the little light at home. We figured that at less than 50 cents a piece – these little momentos could be used at their kitchen table or their next power-outtage. I was secretly decorating these people’s houses even then! (oh – and for all you candle-scoffers…we also had a candy/cookie/brownie buffet for guests to take treats home. I told you. My mother is Italian.)
You might be wondering if we had a guest book. Yes, we did. But we also had this signature-frame at the reception for folks to sign and write a short message of well-wishes & congratulations.
And now we get to read the messages everyday – since the exact same frame (fresh with a coat of white paint) hangs in our living room. I often will sit in that corner and glance up at the sweet notes from our guests and smile from ear to ear. Then I return to watching Glee. Because you can’t help but watch for that crazy cheerleading coach to make inappropriate remarks as you take notes and laugh maniacally.
Soon after dinner & dancing and right before we made our exit from the reception, Jeremy slipped his hands up my dress (WHOA) and grabbed my garter….and just now, it all of a sudden made sense why this tradition exists. Naughty 🙂
And me? Well since I didn’t have a bouquet to toss (remember how I carried my grandmother’s family bible?)…I decided to do a Irish tradition (my Dad is Scotch-Irish). It was called a veil dance. The bride is blindfolded while the eligible young ladies walk around her. When the music stops, the bride picks a girl in the circle and ‘veils’ her as the next bride-to-be. It was actually really nice for the girls – since none of them had to tackle or dive or jump. Although that would have gone well with the football theme, huh?
So that is the end of the reception events. And I still have those little reminders of our wedding day around our house. Do you have anything that you used during your nuptials that still can be incorporated in your home decor? Maybe it was your invites or a photo of your wedding venue? Or perhaps you were like me and put special meaning on silly things – like the wedding topper or your hair flower? Whatever the wedding day souvenier, I would love to hear all about it. And for those of you who had football/college themed weddings…well, friends, we are bonded for life. Because nothing says romance like hearing the DJ announce the score of the game at fifteen minute intervals 🙂
For more wedding inspiration – head on over and check out John & Sherry’s wedding Extravaganza or Mrs. Limestone’s Two-Part City Nuptials (here and here!)
Our wedding day last October was in Milwaukee as the Brewers and Phillies played for the play offs (my hubby & fam is from Philly). I’m not hugely into baseball, but my husband added a last-minute prayer for the Phillies into our service, wore a Phillies pin, and had the DJ announce the score as the game was played. Also, we inadvertently had red as our wedding color. So I feel your wedding day sports theme pain. Or, bliss, actually! 🙂
I really like the idea of putting the cake-topper in the bathroom. I love mine and have wanted to put it out, but couldn’t find a home for it. I think putting it in the bathroom is cute — like, not taking it so seriously. Yes, I love this little thing and love to see it, but I’m not holding it up as a trophy from my wedding in a creepy shrine to me. And it’s so unexpected in there. I’ll have to try it out.
We had little goldfish bowls…with live goldfish and beautiful blue pebbles that matched the blue I had chosen as my wedding color. It was an outside wedding and reception and they looked really cute on the tables. Well, after my uncle (who was a florist before he became a teacher) “fixed” the bare tables by hacking ivy off a nearby wall and making little ivy wreaths to go around the bowls. Yeah – we’re classy like that. After the reception people took home a goldfish if they wanted. My dad insisted on taking two to put in his tank at home. He named them after my husband and me. He babied those darned fish and they grew to a size that I had no idea that little feeder goldfish could be. He called me about a year after I got married to tell me that the fish named after me actually ate the fish named after my husband. Pretty funny.
I love how you have repurposed a lot of your wedding stuff as home decor. Such a great idea, that I don’t think a lot of people think about when they are deep into planning a wedding!
You are so gorgeous! Love how you did your hair!
I love that you are put the wedding items out! Mine were all up in the closet and I just thought, why am I keeping them up there? I brought out the cake knife and server to use on my son’s birthday and have been trying to figure out a place for the beautiful white card box! Love your blog!
our bedroom and our bathroom will be related with our wedding theme: purple and white, with diamonds.. we have some diamond mini-frames that were used as favors left over, so we’ll find a way to incorporate that as well…
I used glass coffee cups with a package of coffee wrapped in a box with a tulle ribbon as a favor – it was based on a comment my MIL made: “Coffee? Jack? You never used to drink coffee before? Krys must have taught you to drink coffee.” (She was a tea drinker!) We use those cups most days!
And at the wedding, a friend set up an easel in the church entrance. She decorated a huge piece of paper with strips of wallpaper and printed our wedding vows out and adhered them in the middle of all the decoration. At the bottom were very faint lines and all our guests signed in as they either entered or exited the church. So we have what amounts to a registry of who was there, in their own handwriting. It’s hanging in our living room/hallway, at the bottom of our stairs so we see it every day!
Oh, and I forgot. Our cake topper is inside a bell jar sitting on a bookshelf in our bedroom, and my garter is hanging off the corner of a frame that holds a copy of our wedding invitation, on that same bookshelf.
Lovely story and pictures!
I have never been a fan of the “bouquet tackle” either. We wanted something that celebrated the joy of married life, so this is what we came up with instead…
We had all the married couples join us on the dance floor, while our band played “The Anniversary Waltz”. The band leader then, slowly, whittled don’t the couples on the dance floor like this: “Will everyone who has been married less than 5 years, please clear the dance floor.” A few minutes later, “Will everyone who has been married less than 10 years, please clear the dance floor.” This kept going until we were down to one couple. They had been married for 54 years. We presented them with my bouquet and the whole reception party gave them a standing ovation. They had tears in their eyes because they were so surprised and happy. We have a lovely portrait that our photographer took of us newlywed “rookies” with these lovely “veterans”. It was exactly the spirit of what we we were going for on our day. 🙂
Love and happiness to the Bowers for their anniversary! Our 6th was on October 4th of this year. Here’s to many more for all of us.
Ha! Our wedding was on October 8th, 2005 and that’s the day Georgia played Tennessee also. My Dad and sis went to UGA and we had a TV at the reception with the game playing. Classy!
I love the flower in your hair! You looked absolutely lovely. GO DAWGS!!!
I have been meaning to tell you that I got married the same day! Fall weddings are fabulous!!
I’m not married but have Loved (yes, with a capital L) all of your wedding posts. It’s so fun to see even more of your and Jeremy’s personalities. I love your DIY touches too, of course. Have never heard of the Irish veil dance but might have to use that for myself someday.
And here’s a little nugget about how I created some home decor for one of my best friends with her wedding mementos: http://greeneggsandhamlet.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/about-doggone-time-for-a-wedding-gift/(apologies that my blog is so very sparse of posts and content).
I didn’t realize you were a UGA girl! I love you even MORE now! 😉 Can I please share with you a groom’s cake you will appreciate?? http://mckinneyliving.blogspot.com/2009/10/anniversary-week-day-6-let-them-eat.html
you mean you didn’t want to chuck a Bible at all the single girls? haha i’ve never seen the veil circle thing- i like it much better than the usual ‘corral up the girls who can’t find a man and hurl flora at them’
glee is awesome!!!
your wedding looked lovely.
Just stumbled across your blog recently, via Young House Love, and I love it! You’re a great writer and storyteller, keep up the good work!
It’s funny too that you mentioned the big football game happening on your wedding day. My fiance and I are getting married this coming October, and happened to (accidentally) schedule it on the day that Michigan State plays University of Michigan. We’re from Michigan (obviously) and so this is a big deal for people. You’re either a MSU or U of M fan, and never the ‘twain shall meet. So it should be interesting to see how it all goes down!
Jessica –
Welcome to ABP. Isn’t Sherry the best? And welcome to the land of ‘married during the big game’ folks. Us Dawgs don’t usually get along with the Vols but somehow inter-collegiate marraiges just work 🙂 I’m sure yours will too!
XO – KB
So I just found your blog through my cousin and you are awesome! I feel like we could be great friends – you totally caught me with the Glee reference up there! hahah I also liked the michael & dwight reference in your letter to your bf, which was also wonderful! Anywho, thought I would stop lurking & say hi!
Oops! This is the correct link:
http://greeneggsandhamlet.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/about-doggone-time-for-a-wedding-gift/
I LOVE cathryn’s idea of awarding the bouquet to the longest married couple. Love!!
Where did you get your signature picture frame? I love the style of the frame
The frame was from the thrift store and we had the mat custom cut at Hobby Lobby.
xo – kb
We included a sand ceremony instead of a second reading. We used sand from the beach where we got married. Before the wedding we had in engraved and now it sits on the dining buffet reminding us of our inseparable bond <3
Hi! When guests were signing your frame, did you have it on a table laying flat or on an easel? I’m wondering what will be easiest. Thank you! Paige