We decided to reorder our wedding reception. Most receptions feature the first dance and parental dances after the formal introduction. The toasts follow these. We mixed things up. I was very conscious of the time slot for our reception venue (4-11 pm), so we started dinner after our introductions (the caterer wasn’t totally set up, so we had 10-15 minutes of down time). I was trying to avoid eating dinner halfway through our venue time and to allow maximum dancing time. Dinner service began around 6:30, and everyone was served by 7:00.
Our caterers set a plate of two of each of our appetizers on our table and served us a sampling of the dinner spread. They also served our grandmothers (since two of the three had walkers). Errbody else had to endure the buffet line. Well, not exactly. Our head waiter escorted two tables to the double-sided buffet at a time and eliminated any ridiculous log jam.
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| Chicken salad in yeast rolls |
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| What’s left of Mu Shu pork wontons |
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| Some of the caterer’s flowers in our color scheme. |
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| The food on our sweetheart table |
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| Our families hitting up the food. |
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| Proof we ate at our reception. |
All photos courtesy of Carolina MediaStar.
Our wedding weekend:
Friday, we rehearsed, relaxed over dinner, and hosted an open house. Wedding morning dawned bright and early, we got prettified, then had our first look. We waited for some guests and headed down the aisle. Our ceremony was short and sweet, and we finished our family portraits. We were introduced at our reception, ate dinner, raised a few toasts, shared special dances, and didn’t smash our cake. We rounded up our friends for some group shots then snuck out for some private moments while they danced the night away. We partied til the end, packed up the car, and enjoyed a quiet night in our home. Sunday, we said goodbye over brunch and drove into the sunset to an Outer Banks honeymoon.
