You're My Everything: Dancing the Night Away

At this point in the reception, the only thing left on the to do list was celebrate.  Coming into our reception, I hoped all of our guests would have fun, and I knew with full certainty that I'd have the time of my life.  I didn't form any concrete expectations regarding how that fun would emerge; I knew that with good food, flowing drinks, and all of my favorite people in the same place, I'd be one content newlywed.  I figured that I could split my time between dancing, visiting with guests, and enjoying some of the quieter spaces of our reception.  As the evening progressed, though, it became clear that the center of the dance floor was exactly where I wanted to be.  Mr. Snow Cone was never far from my side, and we spent the first evening of our marriage dancing the night away.

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the reason we couldn't tear ourselves away from the dancing action? It was absolutely packed with our friends and family!  I have to say, the facial expressions that emerged during the non-stop dancing are quite entertaining. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Some of the highlights of all of this dancing fun?

• Mr. Snow Cone and I somehow decided, on the fly, to do an impromptu dance to Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel."  It started out of nowhere and we just decided to go with it.  A small circle of guests formed around us while we busted a move... aaaaand then we realized that that song is a solid six minutes long.  The last third of it was spent with us taking turns wondering when it would be over and encouraging each other to tough it out.  Apparently, some of our guests even thought we took dance lessons and planned this in advance!

 

 

Above 2 photos from BM K

• Ahead of time, we made arrangements with our DJ to play both parents' first dance songs during the reception.  My older brother and sister-in-law did this at their reception, so I don't think my parents were completely shocked, but they still seemed happy and nostalgic to hear their song again.

 

•  It wouldn't be a wedding with a sizable contingent of Pitt guests without Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline."  As you can see below, Mr. Snow Cone's college friends were pretty amped to sing along.

Photo by FIL Snow Cone

• We also played the Notre Dame Victory March, which was one of the most fun moments for me.  All of my college friends and siblings came scurrying into the room with the opening chords; it's like some sort of collegiate bat signal or something.  Either way, I have a very clear memory of screaming at the top my lungs, jumping up and down, and clapping until my palms were red.  Quite the sight, I'm sure.

• Most of the guests formed a huge circle to sing along to Billy Joel's "Piano Man," swaying arm in arm.

Now, not every moment was spent on the dance floor.  My poor feet needed a rest!

 

As I went to rest my feet, I found my some family members enjoying the cookie room,

 

my dad, dubiously examining the groom's cake devoted to a college rival,

 Above 3 photos by family friend F

and my brothers, high school friend, and Mr. Snow Cone in a big male group hug.  Evidently, good times were had by all.

 

As the evening came to a close, my bustle completely ceased to exist.  I decided to just grab a few yards of satin and tulle and keep enjoying my wedding reception. 

Classiest thing ever?  No.  Did I mind?  Absolutely not.

Finally, 17 hours after my wedding day started, the night fittingly ended with Michael Bublé's "Save the Last Dance for Me."  Mr. Snow Cone held me tight, slowly dancing until the final chords.  Neither of us was ready to break that final embrace, so we just hugged and soaked the entire atmosphere in for a few precious seconds.  It was the perfect way to end the perfect day.

 Photo by BM K

And, just like that, our wedding day was over.  Nine years of dating, 16 months of planning, 24 wonderful hours of celebration, all resulting in one shared lifetime, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

All photos by the amazing Christina Garber unless otherwise noted

• We spent a low-key night with some of my friends and family.
• We ran some errands and received some one-of-a-kind brewskies.
• I had a moderate-sized freak-out at the rehearsal.
• I went toe-to-toe with the priest over a few significant details.
• We expressed our gratitude to our bridal party, without any tears (almost)!
• We dined and drank our way through our rehearsal dinner.
• We threw an after party with a birthday twist.
• We spent the morning getting beautified and relaxing.
• A peek into the details of my wedding-day look.
• I had some private time with my mom, becoming a bride.
• I revealed my bridal look, twice!
• I enjoyed a pre-ceremony portrait session with my favorite people.
• Mr. Snow Cone’s crowd modeled for the camera.
• We set the scene for the ceremony.
• I waited like a caged tiger while the processional began.
• I finally made my way down the aisle to my handsome groom.
• We listened to the first part of our ceremony.
• We exchanged our vows and our rings.
• We wrapped our ceremony and shared our first kiss!
• We had a receiving line and posed for church portraits.
• Our wedding crashed an Amish field trip.
• Mr. Snow Cone and I strolled down a familiar street.
• We basked in the details of our beautiful reception.
• We took some fun group pictures on the golf course.
• We had a bride and groom portrait session.
• We mixed and mingled at cocktail hour.
• We entered our reception, in grand style.
• We were toasted by four special guests.
• We cut the cake and enjoyed our wedding dinner.
• I fell on my butt as we had our first dance.
• We danced with our parents to surprise songs.
• We posed for photos with big groups of our guests.
• We tossed the bouquet and garter.