Wedding Blog

When we had finished taking pictures at the abandoned house and open field, we headed back to the venue to join our guests. Brian announced us as Mr. and Mrs. Espresso, and we made our way in!

Our guests stood and cheered us on!

Mr. E started to break into some dance moves…

I started shaking my tail feather…

And when we got to our (very) long head table, we realized something just wasn’t right.

Whoops! We were short one chair!

Here’s me making my “whoops!” face to our guests.

So after we were done playing musical chairs and were all settled, my maid of honor Chris started with her speech. She later gave me a copy as well so that I could keep it forever.

It was so sweet and meaningful. And I loved that not only did she speak of some very special memories between the two of us, but also of her friendship with Mr. Espresso that has been growing over the years. This is my road trip partner. My first roomie. And my very best girlfriend. She absolutely embodies the word “kind.”

And when we all went to toast at the end of her speech…

Whoops #2! We realized our glasses were full of… nothing. The guests had all been served, but our glasses had been forgotten. So we raised our empty glasses, and pretended to drink the finest of bubbly. We had to keep the crowd entertained, you know.

The guests with their “real” drinks:

Next it was time for Best Man #1 to speak. Mr. Espresso has three close friends from childhood. They each now have different interests and have very different personalities, but they have a “Stand By Me” type of bond that has kept them all together throughout time.

Here he is entertaining the crowd with a story of how Mr. Espresso once put a bike lock around his own head (as a kid, not recently ) and then lost the key.

His toast finished and we kissed.

Next it was time for Best Man #2 to speak. And let’s just say…

Best Man #2 had a little too much to drink. The speech was short. He was nervous. And there were some awkward pauses…

And some faces like this in the crowd…

The best part, however, was when he got nervous and decided to end the speech with, “So I hope you guys work out… cheers.” I mean, look at the waiter’s face… he does not approve! But we thought it was hilarious. I mean, really? You hope we work out? Well, we got married today, so we’re putting a pretty big hope in that, too. But honestly—neither Mr. Espresso or I were upset in the least bit. He really is a nice guy. Now it’s just a funny memory… a fuzzy one for Best Man #2, and we roast him about it A LOT.

Next up was my darling, sarcastic, witty, and beautiful little sister. She had never planned on giving a speech. I only knew she had decided to because, as I said goodnight to her the night before, I saw that she was hard at work at it.

And it was so incredibly special. My sister may be almost 8 years younger than me, but she is so intelligent and mature.

She had us laughing:

And crying…

And not just me. Bridesmaids, guests… we were all crying!

Besides Mr. Espresso, I’ve never meant anyone who could articulate their feelings into words so perfectly. We are so blessed that she decided to surprise us with a speech we’ll never forget.

Here we are in our sister hug:

With the end of the toasts began the beginning of clanking… and I didn’t mind the least bit.

Some toasts are perfect. Others… not so much. But being surrounded by people who love you and conquer stage fright to tell you how much they do, and in front of 180 other people, is incredibly special…

Are there any really good or bad speech experiences out there?

Miss something? Catch up here:

Weekend Mountain Wedding: Details, Details, and More Details
Weekend Mountain Wedding: an Abandoned House and an Open Field
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 2
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Bridge, Part 1
Weekend Mountain Wedding: It’s All Relative
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Whole Lot of Love
Weekend Mountain Wedding: We Say I Do!!!
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Walk Beneath the Pines
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Procession of Little Black Dresses
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Clock Strikes Two
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Dress Comes On
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy Men at Dreamland
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Time to Get Beautified
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Morning Time
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
Weekend Mountain Wedding: The Day Before
Weekend Mountain Wedding: Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

All photos by the amazingly talented Sandra Salisbury