Wedding Highlights Video!

You might remember we debated hiring a videographer.
But if we didn't, then you'd miss out on the awesome details of our wedding, me sighing dreamily during my husband's vows, our first dance as we muddled through it, us on chairs for the Horah, and even some Rogge-Rabbit dancing action.

Need a pick me up and to smile all dopey-like?
Then there's this (only 4.30 min long!):


which I love, love, love!
Also? I love my sister's speech and am so glad he opened with it.

(Wedding Recap) The Hora!

During the post-wedding-feedback stage, several people told me the Hora stood out as their favorite part of our wedding. Comments varied from, "I've never seen a group of people so excited!" to "Twenty-five minutes of straight dancing without stopping was incredible."  Our band rocked it out and kept the party going, for what seemed like a great forever.

[Sidenote: around this point the bustle in my dress began failing & falling.  I stepped on the hem and got frustrated and started hated my dress.  Oh, the heat, too.  The temperature under 6 layers of fabric grew unbearable.]

But that did not stop me from dancing!

I showed off my roger-rabbit skillz.  for realz.

The guys and girls created their own circles.

 Mike flung me around in circles

And then came THE CHAIRS.

My word, the chairs.

The scary chairs, lifted up and down, all over the place.

Feeling like you're going to fall.

The chairs.

Scary and exhilarating.

(mostly scary)

Once back on the ground, my dad broke out the accordion!!!!

 

Look at him rocking out!

So awesome.

He's one talented Dad.

Speaking of talented, Mike & danced for each other

This goes down as one of my favorite moments in my life.

Seriously, the best Hora ever!

{Photo amahzingness: Studio Juno}

(Wedding Recap) Father/Daughter & Mother/Son Dances

I cried more dancing with my father than any other time during the wedding. (Sorry husband).  Even though my dad and I only practiced once, about 5 minutes before we took the floor, he managed to swing, twirl and promenade me all over that dance floor. That man can lead (he and my mom ballroom dance <-- cute!).  During the dance he whispered complements to me, telling me how beautiful I looked, how amazing everything came together, and how lucky he was. Cue the waterworks.  We shared a great Father's Day moment right there.

You might recall the emails exchanged between he and I, where I wondered if he could guess my favorite Disney movie song?  and BAM without prompting, he knew what our song would be:
Candle on the Water, by Helen Reedy, from Pete's Dragon.

I'll be your candle on the water
This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on you'll make it
Here's my hand so take it

Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow
I'll never let you go

I'll never let you go

Mike and his mom danced to Barbra Streisand's If I Could.

If I could
I would try to shield your innocence from time
but the part of life I gave you isn't mine

I've watched you grow
so I could let you go

but I know that I can never cry your tears
but I would
If I could
yes I would

I love that Mike's Grandparents began to dance and are in the back of this shot! So sweet!

What were your father/daughter or mother/son dance songs?


{pictures courtesy Studio Juno}

Water Bottle Labels: Tutorial

Thanks to Emily's inspiration, my detail-prone-self, and the help of bridesmaid Kathryn & fiance Mike, we replaced 140 water bottle labels with custom, personalized ones!

You might be wondering, Why spend valuable time changing water bottle labels?  What's wrong with the labels they came with? or even, Are you crazy?
The answer?  Spiff.
A virtual friend of mine pointed out that no one wants a copy-cat wedding.  Everyone needs their own spiffy details that set your shin-dig apart from others.  And I have to say, when all these water bottles are set up they look pretty darn spiffy.  That's my kind of detail.

(Sidenote: Emily's tutorial is waaaayyy more helpful, instructions-wise.  I was too tired and wanted to get the labeling over with, to stop and take proper pictures to document our endeavors.  PlusAlso I decided sleep was more valuable. I'm sure you understand!)

First: remove the label from one water bottle.  Measure (or eyeball, as I did) the width and length of the old label.  Then cut scrapbook paper, or card-stock, to the same size as the old labels.  Using a paper cutter is very helpful here.

Next print out labels with your picture & words.  Apply to pieces of pre-cut paper.

Lastly hot-glue or use a glue stick to affix the labels to the naked water bottles (previous labels removed).

And there you have it! 140 bottles took approximately 2 hours to complete.  They will go in our welcome bags and be handed out at the end of the reception.

 Voila!
spiffy.

Table Assignments

The word "assignments" has the smaller word "ass" in it for a reason, I'm convinced. That's because assignments are a pain in your arse.  When we sat down to create table assignments, wine was necessary for that endeavor.

We began by printing out the list of guests, in 3 columns.  The columns were to save paper but also because we didn't need the names to be humungous.  As I was cutting up the names I realized it was a good idea to keep couples together.  Logically they will sit at the same table, so no need to separate them.

(last names skewed to protect the privacy of our guests)

Then we separated the guests into groups: friends & family.  Turns out our spread is pretty 50/50, which was a nice surprise.  From there, we went into further sub-groupings. Family from each side (groom/bride) logically went with their respective relatives, then friends from college, friends from work, and family friends.  We took care to consider age groupings, because while Mike's cool cousin can hang with the best of them, I'm sure she prefers to be with her peers.

Then the inevitable happened. We got stuck. 

You might not believe the complexity of making perfect tables of 10. Or maybe you've been there, and you do get it.  Either way, not everyone comes as a couple and not everyone can just be thrown in with people.  We shuffled. We did some math (106 people divided by 11 tables...). We consulted the oracle.

Eventually we had this:

And while it's not perfect, it will do.

How long will people sit there, anyways? Maximum an hour?

I honestly can't worry myself perfecting the groups.  They work, and people will be having a great time (and drinking too).

Next task at hand: creating the table "numbers"!

(which, sorry readers, will not be revealed until guests have a chance to see it with their own eyes first!)