The Wedding Day Part III - The Reception

Where was I? Heading to the reception!

Jesse and I drank champagne and had a good time to ourselves in the ten minute drive to the reception venue, the Sturbridge Host. Our venue that weekend included another little event: a Harley Davidson convention. Yes, there was leather and motorcycles everywhere you looked! No bother, though, it just added a little hard-edged ambiance to the weekend.

When we arrived at the decidely raucous and busy hotel, we waited for the rest of the wedding party to take photos while the guests enjoyed the cocktail hour. And so we posed for the portraits with family and bridesmaids and groomsmen. Our photographer, Channing Johnson, really captured some great moments throughout the day and I couldn't recommend him enough! We've seen all the photos by now, but we are awaiting some high-res digital copies to share. So, these photos are (still) all from his preview.

I love this photo of the girls and I as we're getting ready to seriously pose. In order from L-R: Kelly, me, Amber, Erica, Jiscilla, Christy. Seriously, these are the five people in the world who I have the best time with (besides my husband!). As you can see, Amber was being a wise-cracker! (Is that the phrase? Ha.)

The boys had their own sneaker shot. Jesse, as a groomsmen's gift, had his friends at Nike make six pairs of custom purple/black/white sneakers - and the date "08.08.09" is etched on the side, as well. They quickly changed after the ceremony from their dress shoes to the sneakers!

Also, I don't think there will be another instance of men dressed in purple looking so badass. Right?

Afterwards, the lovely reception coordinator Lise guided our party to a private cocktail room for some drinks before being introduced into the ballroom. We all got to snack and relax a bit after the whirlwind of events, and gather ourselves for what lay ahead.

We then were lined up outside the ballroom with both of our parents leading the procession. Our DJ, the AMAZING JJ Surma introduced us while the Foo Fighters song "Everlong" played. Then, Jesse and I were introduced and it was kind of emotional to waltz in with my new husband and hear the clapping and hooting and hollering. Then, Jesse and I began our first dance - to Death Cab for Cutie's rendition of "Earth Angel." (Don't worry, it's on the wedding album, I'll post it soon!)

Then we sat down for a scrumptious dinner - it was incredibly delicious. Do people care about the food? I know I don't particularly, because if I read something, I'm not effin' eating it, am I? So, I'll skip to the next part: the speeches!

One of Jesse's Best Men, Brian Diaz, gave a heartfelt speech about Jesse. At the ceremony he had been tearing up, too. Those dudes have been friends for a while in the music industry. It's also nice to see a cynic who hates purple be so happy for his best friend! Then, my co-Maid of Honor Erica made nearly everyone cry with her nostalgiac speech about witnessing our reltionship's first days - replete with a quoted e-mail from me!

And then my father gave a speech about me and Jesse, and I got teary for that one too! How could I not? Oof, I will not even attempt to re-hash it here, suffice to say I loved it.

After the speeches, we continued eating until the cake-cutting. My mother's best friend, Nilda, made us a lovely vanilla and red velvet cake with buttercream frosting. She's a professional baker, and it was her wedding gift to us! I was adamant about having real frosting instead of that fondant stuff - I just learned that while it's edible, you're not supposed to eat the fondant. You simply lift it off the cake and eat the cake. WHAT? That makes no sense. Cake without frosting makes no sense, and thus, our delicious, delectable, and entirely edible cake --

Yes, I forbade any cake-to-face smashing.

Now, after dinner and cake, it was time for the "special dances." My father and I danced to The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and Jesse and his mother danced to Pete Seeger's "My Only Sunshine." It was two lovely, serene moments before the dance party really started...

[Earlier: Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding Day - Part I, Part II]