our budget-friendly wedding IV: reception

When you cut through all of the fluff (the crafty wedding paper, the themed decor, the fancy china, the rented lounge furniture, whatever your wedding may have featured), all receptions are the same. From the local VFW to The Drake, the same laughs, the same tears and the same good times are had.

What I'm about to share, no amount of money can buy...they just happen...

Nathan and I decided to completely omit some of the not-so-timeless "reception ceremonies", such as the bouquet toss and garter ceremony (to each his own, right?), and we decided to vary some of the others. For instance, Nathan and I were introduced casually, sans bridal party, to Queen's "You're My Best Friend" ...It might sound corny, but as our DJ started playing the song, Nathan looked at me and said, "I'm so lucky to have married my best friend..." As we rounded the corner, we entered the room to a roar of claps and "wooows", but I'm not sure if the smile on my face is from the crowd's welcome or from Nathan's comment.

Shortly after, Nathan's brother (BM), my father, and my sister (MOH) gave the most touching speeches I'd ever heard. (I'm sure everyone says that about their wedding...) We laughed...

...and cried. And, nearly all of our guests mentioned how touching the speeches were.

Nathan and I danced our first dance as a married couple to Making Memories of Us. Nathan's not much of a dancer (I know, I'm the lone dancer in a family of wall-flowers...), so we decided we would invite everyone to join in after the first 60 or so. The bizarre thing was, he knew everyone was staring at us, but he didn't care. He just stared into my eyes and sang to me. It was the fastest and slowest 4 minutes of my life...

Later, I danced with my father to My Wish. Because he was terrified to have "all eyes on him", we decided to make it an "informal" father-daughter dance...covertly sneaking a private dance amidst the sea of other dancers. His plan worked, no one looked at him! He kept saying, "how am I doing; should we be moving around more; why is the photographer taking pictures of us, doesn't he know how funny I look right now?" It was hilarious! But then, he got really serious and said, "this would be a lot harder for me if Nathan weren't the best mad I'd ever met..." I lost it - completely broke down on his shoulder. Thank goodness this photo was taken just before. It's one of my favorite photos from the entire evening.

And then we danced and danced...

and danced (with some air guitar)...

...and danced some more... (Name that tune: "a little bit softer now, a little bit softer now...")

We wrapped up the evening with a photo shoot in the stacks... These are my FAVORITE photos from the entire evening, bar none. Even though it was relatively planned out, the photos seem to have captured our stolen moments.

...okay...enough said on that subject... ;)

photo credit: Essence Photo and Video

related posts: our budget-friendly wedding III: DIY wedding paper, Vendor Review IV: Photobooth, Vendor Review III: Wedding & Reception Flowers, our budget-friendly wedding II: ceremony, Vendor Review II: Hair and Make up, our budget-friendly wedding I: Attire, The photos are in!!!, Vendor Review I: Reception Music