You're My Everything: A Perfectly Imperfect First Dance

Once dinner had come to an end, it was time for us to open the dance floor with our first dance.  Now, in the photo below, you'll notice that Mr. Snow Cone is blatantly laughing during our first dance, which is usually one of the most sentimental, emotional parts of a wedding. 

 Here's the deal.

After we cut the cake, I was hell-bent on getting some of that chocolate-y goodness.  When we noticed that slices had emerged on the sweetheart table, I made Mr. Snow Cone stop visiting with our guests so we could each enjoy a little slice of heaven.  During that point in time, Mr. Snow Cone glanced at his watch for the first time and we were both dismayed to realize that the evening was progressing far more quickly than we had expected.  As a result, Mr. Snow Cone snarfed his cake down in about three bites and scurried off to the DJ to inform him that we were ready to start dancing ASAP.

I, however, was not finished with my cake, so I kept on munching.  That's right, I was sitting at a sweetheart table without a sweetheart.  A party of one.

Photo by my brother P

Given how yummy our cake was, though, I didn't mind being left alone.  My sweetheart was my chocolate peanut butter cake.  I was innocently sitting there, leisurely enjoying the dessert, when I heard the first few chords of our first dance song, "Everything" by Michael Bublé.  I felt like I was late to my own first dance, so I inhaled what was left of my cake and scurried out onto the dance floor.  I guess I was a little imprecise in my footing while I scurried, though.  The DJ was announcing our first dance and I had just reached for Mr. Snow Cone's hand when I accidentally put the satin part of my shoe on the dance floor, instead of the rubber sole, and I slipped.  And by "slipped," I don't mean that I almost lost my balance and thankfully caught myself, staving off embarrassment.  Nope, by "slipped," I mean that one foot shot out from underneath me and I completely and totally collapsed onto the dance floor, hip first.  I was so humiliated.  My gown was satin and tight in the bodice, so by the time I realized I was on my back on the dance floor, I felt like a bug on my back, unable to get up.  Thankfully, Mr. Snow Cone was right next to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up and into his arms.  And, away we went!

Mr. Snow Cone has the (un)fortunate tendency to laugh heartily when something goofy happens, and apparently a bride eating it on her wedding day falls into that category.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he is guffawing in this picture from our first dance.

In case you needed a reminder

I spent the first minute or so smashing my face into Mr. Snow Cone's so I didn't have to meet anyone's eyes, repeating "I fell.  I can't believe I fell."  All the while, Mr. Snow Cone gleefully confirmed to me that yes, I fell; yes, it was funny; no, it wasn't going to be our guests' most lasting memory of the evening; and no, it wasn't the end of the world.

His positive outlook helped me to snap out of my embarrassment.  I remembered that this was my first dance with my new husband, and I only get one of those, so I may as well enjoy it.  For the rest of the dance, I swayed happily with my favorite person in the world while our guests looked on.

You're a falling star, You're the getaway car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby, don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
'Cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my every day.

And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah, we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

 And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything. 

 So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.

Photo by brother P

Turns out Mr. Snow Cone was right, and my little accident wasn't the lasting impression of the evening for most people.  In fact, it happened so fast that not a single photo of it has surfaced!  One of my good friends came up to me shortly after the fall and said that it was fitting for me, because I try to plan everything to be perfect, but, at the same time, I'm a big spaz and not afraid to laugh at myself.  In her opinion, my fall gave me the opportunity to show that off to all of our guests.  Similarly, one of Mr. Snow Cone's cousins proclaimed that it was her favorite part of the evening, because Mr. Snow Cone picked me up so quickly.  To her, it highlighted how much we support and help each other.  

When all was said and done, it was certainly not what I planned and more than a bit embarrassing.  Pretty immediately after the song, though, I was over it.  My tumble has now permanently cemented itself in the glory of our wedding day.  Moving forward, it will forever be one of those stories that gets told over and over.  I'm looking forward to having angsty pre-teen daughters who are so embarrassed about something minor and bursting their bubble by reminding them that their mother fell flat on her butt at her own wedding, in front of a few hundred people, and life marched on.  Totally worth the bruise on my hip the next morning.

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.