Weddingbee Blog

After the scheduled bouquet and garter tosses were over, and the cupcakes had been served, we were free the rest of the evening to just enjoy our reception.

Our reception resembled more of a cocktail party than a crazy dance party, and was just what we wanted: time to kick back with our friends and family and enjoy everyone’s company over some yummy alcoholic beverages.

(Haha, don’t worry. That last photo is just my friend joking around!)

The above three photos are guest photos

I know most of these photos won’t mean as much to everyone else as they do to us, but I love looking back at everyone just hanging out and enjoying themselves!

That’s because during our planning time, I sort of felt like there was a lot of pressure to make our reception “conform” and fit the more typical format of having lots and lots of dancing. But that just wasn’t us. So we didn’t do it! Sure, a dance or two mixed in would have been fun, but overall, I’m happy that we ended up having a “let’s hang out, drink and catch up” type of reception. It’s definitely true that you can have a wedding reception without a lot of dancing that is still a blast—it’s up to you to set the tone of the reception that you want.

Of course, we did more than just stand around talking and drinking. Our fauxtobooth was still going strong:

(Above three photos are guest photos)

And our wedding wasn’t completely devoid of dancing. Some people were breaking it down on the dance floor, especially after the open bar had been busy all night!

(This above photo might just be my favorite of my FIL ever!)

Also, because our reception was more like a cocktail party, we got a ton of great group shots and posed photos of our guests.

(Above five photos are guest photos)

That about sums up the later part of our reception. Again, it’s up to the bride and groom to set the tone of their reception, and if what you want to do resembles a cocktail party or nice dinner party, just go for it! Enjoying yourself and making your reception a reflection of who you  are is what is important. Your guests will grab a drink, put on a silly hat from the fauxtobooth, and follow suit!

What type of tone are you hoping to set at your wedding reception?

Miss any wedding week details? Catch up here:

• I packed an emergency bag that saved my dress
• We had a crazy 4 days prepping for house guests and stuffing favors
• Shopping for a ton of wedding flowers to arrange ourselves
• Mr. Cola drinks a 40 and I have a night out on the town for our low-key bach parties
• A day of DIYing flower arrangements
• I kicked off our official recaps with my #1 wedding tip
• We began the weekend festivities with a sunset cruise for our wedding party
• We rehearsed our quick and easy ceremony
• I panicked, but we got our rehearsal dinner decorations set up just in time
• Our families met for the first time at our rehearsal dinner under the trees
• What went wrong on our wedding day, and my tips for future brides
• My bridesmaids and I got our hair and makeup done in the hotel suite
• I put on my wedding dress and became a bride
• The guys watched the World Cup, then got ready in 10 minutes
• Traffic delayed our decorations getting to the venue, and I almost ruined our first look
• We got to see each other for the first time on our wedding day at our first look
• We took some time for bride and groom pictures in the park
• I gave you a behind the scenes look at our family, friends and DOC setting up our venue
• Arriving at our venue and getting ready for the ceremony to start
• Everyone walked down the aisle
• Excerpts from our ceremony, and reading the vows we wrote for each other
• I interrupted our officiant, we exchanged rings, and with a kiss we were officially married!
• Wedding party and family portraits, and my thoughts on missing pictures
• Our guests enjoyed cocktail hour while we took a few more photos
• Everyone ate a delicious dinner, and our siblings gave beautiful toasts
• We didn’t practice, but we had a very special and wonderful first dance as husband and wife
• I showed you some disposable camera pictures, which were totally worth it to include on our tables!
• I found a target and tossed my bouquet at her
• Mr. Cola finally managed to find my garter under my dress and tossed it
• We fed each other cupcakes, and our guests swarmed our 6ft tall cupcake tower
• We stole some private moments together that our photographers documented
• All our guests had some fun taking pictures in our DIY fauxtobooth

(Unless otherwise noted, all photos in this post were taken by the very talented photographers of Shoot Me Now Photography)