Weddingbee Blog

“Oh man I can’t wait to eat crabs. I wonder how many I can eat and still fit into my dress? I’m gonna need a bib.”

That’s pretty much the sum of all the thinking I did about our rehearsal dinner. I count myself very, very lucky that Mr. Guinea Pig’s parents organized a stellar rehearsal dinner for which I did not need to do, plan, or create anything. I told you before about our Crab Feast RD plans, and boy oh boy was it awesome! I’m pretty much going to tell the story of our rehearsal dinner in photos, because that’s the way I remember it. First, the food:

(My plate. Just kidding, I let Mr. GP eat one)

(No, this is not actually how you eat crabs. Yes, I had a paper towel tucked down the front of my dress. I’m classy like that!)

(My family is notorious for loving oysters, so this was a huge hit too!)

The setup of the room was great, with two long tables - and live musicians that Mr. GP’s dad had arranged to play throughout the night! Keep an eye out later in the post for a special appearance by Mr. GP himself in that spot.

(I can smell Old Bay + crabs just looking at this photo)

Mr. GP’s family are all pros at eating crabs, but my Canadian family had no idea what to do, so there were lots of funny faces made, advice given, and lessons passed around. I loved that our families bonded over how to eat a crab!

(On the left, my Aunt M looks rather skeptically at the crab. On the right, Mr. GP’s aunt gives a quick rundown to the Canadians on how it’s done!)

(everyone enjoyed themselves immensely and incredible amounts of food were consumed)

After people had gotten their fill of crabs, shrimp, oysters, corn on the cob, barbecue chicken, and many other delicious foods, Mr. Guinea Pig’s dad stood up to welcome us all, thanked everyone for supporting us, and said some very nice things about Mr. GP and I that brought tears to my eyes and reminded me how lucky I am to be surrounded by two loving families now. This would be the first of a ridiculous amount of (happy) waterworks shed by yours truly leading up to the wedding.

(A toast from Mr. GP’s dad)

After that, Mr. Guinea Pig and I each got up and said some words of thanks to the men and women who were standing up with us at our wedding. Mr. GP called his friends up one by one to give a quick background about his relationship with each guy, and to thank them personally.

(Mr. GP and his brother)

I, on the other hand, asked all the girls to come up together because I knew if I went one by one I would be sobbing through my speeches. So I started with my Maid of Honor, and only got out the words “This is my sister” before bursting into tears. Oops! The rest of my thank yous to each girl were a mumble while attempting not to cry, but I think everyone got the gist that I was really thankful.

We passed out our gifts next (I already told you about what I gave the girls)! But can you make out what Mr. GP gave the guys?

(table full o’ presents!)

Baseball bats! But not just any baseball bat… customized Louisville Sluggers that were inscribed with their name, our names, and our wedding date! Mr. Guinea Pig and his friends are very big sports fans in general - most of them are on a softball league, one even coaches baseball, and they all love going to games together when they can. Mr. GP searched long and hard for an idea that he loved, and thought his groomsmen would love too, and I’d say it was a pretty big success! His Best Man got a black bat in honor of the Orioles and a bat that he and Mr. GP had always coveted. I’m not really sure I can explain the significance, but Best Man J was pretty excited.

(There were lots of shenanigans with the bats. Also notice Mr. GP’s wrapping job, i.e. tying a bow on each bat!)

Did you notice the wardrobe change? BM N gifted us, and the whole wedding party, with t shirts that had our names and wedding date on them, in our colors! Pretty awesome.

(BMs D and J model their shirts at dinner)

And of course we thanked our parents, to whom we are, and will be, forever grateful.

(In this photo I’m telling Mr. GP to do the thanking because if I start talking, there will be more crying. I cried again anyway. Just for good measure)

The rest of the evening was spent mingling, enjoying the open bar, and just a general state of bliss!

(one of my favorite photos of us)

Since we were in an open-air room that was right on the water by the piers, we got to enjoy a first class view of the sunset, too!

Finally, at the end of the night, Mr. GP got up the courage to do something he’s wanted to do for a really long time: get up on stage and play a song with the band!

(An excellent guitarist, and singer! Man am I lucky)

After the official rehearsal dinner was over, we met up with a bunch of friends and family who had come in from out of town at a local bar. There was a live band and actually several bachelorette parties there, and a great time was had by all. It was wonderful to get a little extra time in with friends who had traveled so far to celebrate with us.

(I’m sure whatever we’re laughing at was hilarious - I love that most of the photos that survived this portion of the evening look much like this)

I went to sleep that night incredibly happy, and slightly nervous. Normally I would say I’m not a crier, but clearly I had just cried my way through our entire rehearsal dinner, so I was nervous I’d cry my way through the wedding! Mostly though, I was just really really excited. I was going to go to sleep, then wake up and get married!!

(*photos in this post courtesy of Sister GP, Mom GP, and friends DB & TF)

Did you have an unexpectedly emotional reaction, or are you prepared for tears?