11.18.2009

The first day of the rest of our lives: The Reception!

Party time! We had our reception at the Jacksonville Public Library, in the Multipurpose Room. The Library was recently renovated and was a perfect fit for our *very large* crowd.




We had a "cocktail" hour (without the cocktails), complete with live saxophone and piano, appetizers and punch. I'm a little sad I didn't get to see or hear any of this since I had to hide away in the back...but I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Next there was a big intro of the family and wedding party timed to the Top Gun theme song (props to Gabe for his song choice). The picture below is of our cute lil nephew ringbearer Ethan and our precious flower girl during their big intro!





We opened the night with our first dance as husband and wife to Mark Schultz "1,000 miles." While Gabe and I LOVE music...we have never been able to pick a song to call "our song" since we have so many favorites. So this one was perfect for us. :) We also had dances with our parents. This brought on Gabe's first and only tears of the day...dancing with his mom. :) It was super sweet to watch.









Our parents watching our first dance. Love this one. :)











Then it was time to EAT. We sadly had some serious issues with the catering service...but I didn't have the slightest clue that night (which is a good thing because if I had known it would have been a not-so-perfect day for me). Most people ate, we showed a slideshow of pictures of us growing up through our engagement (thanks Eric!!), then Gabe and I visited as many guests as possible. We had allowed about 3 hours for the whole reception, but I didn't feel like it was nearly enough time. With approximately 250 guests, we definitely didn't get to greet everyone that was there. That was a big bummer...but I hope it was understandable to the guests.

The rest of the evening was filled with cake (yes...we both ended up with it on our faces)...







dancing...















fellowship...










the bouquet and garter tosses...









...and a sparkler exit.









I couldn't have asked for more. We really had such a wonderful day and are SO thankful for everyone that helped make it so special for us! Love you all!


No comments: