Weddingbee Blog

All photos courtesy of the amazing Angelica Glass, unless otherwise noted. Please note that the photos have only been color-corrected and not fully retouched.

It was time for all of us to be announced and introduced. At our last DJ meeting, we supplied our DJ with a list of the names and phonetic pronunciation notes for each name so that there would be no pronunciation mishaps. Our DJ was super grateful for the list and no one was miffed because their names were all pronounced correctly. Mr. Canary has a complicated last name that a lot of people mispronounce, so it was a definite win-win!

First our parents and the bridal party were announced. Some of them hammed it up more than others…

Then it was finally our turn to be introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Canary.

Right after we were announced, we launched into our first dance. We were both really out of practice, so I was quite nervous about our dance. Despite taking a crash-course, I had forgotten most of my steps and really needed Mr. Canary to lead me! We chose a faster song that was upbeat and a little vintage—an homage to Mr. Canary’s musical tastes—Jackie Wilson Said by Van Morrison.

There were a few turns, but Mr. Canary did a great job leading and I didn’t miss a beat!

Here I am asking if we’re done yet… pretty please?

Then it was time for me and Papa Canary to dance. Papa Canary was not concerned about our dance…until about a week out from the wedding. He suddenly wanted dance lessons and convinced me that he wouldn’t dance unless we had some instruction and choreography. He hired a dance instructor and we practiced up until the day before the wedding. It was almost all for nothing because the minute we stepped onto the floor, I started tearing up. Dancing with Papa Canary just reminded me that I was so lucky to have such amazing parents who had given me anything and all that I ever wanted and how I was even luckier to have married a man who would do the same. Papa Canary had to guide me so I wouldn’t step on his feet, but we finished off with a grand finale!

Papa Canary and I danced to one of his very favorite songs, Moon River by Andy Williams.

Then it was Mr. Canary’s turn to dance with MIL Canary. They danced to Forever Young by Bob Dylan, which I think has beautiful lyrics and perfect for a mother-son dance.

This is one of my most favorite photos from the day.

I was surprised when we got our video how many of our guests were standing to watch the parent dances and I noticed many tears. Later, a few friends had commented on how lucky we both were to have both sets of parents and to have danced with each of them. Weddings really affect people in different ways and although it’s one of our happiest moments, I did realize that many of our friends had either lost a parent or were estranged from their parents and would not get the same opportunity. Mr. Canary and I really were blessed that we could share in a dance with our parents on our wedding day.

After the excitement of all the dancing, it was time for toasts. Our parents decided not to toast, so this part was relatively short but definitely sweet and sentimental.

My MOH started and gave one of the best wedding toasts I’d ever heard. It was warm and poignant with a little bit of roasting and inside joking here and there, but most of all it was heartfelt.

She still makes me laugh this way every time I see her. I think at this point, MOH was alluding to all the wedding research we did before Mr. Canary actually proposed!

Then it was the Best Man’s turn to toast.

His was also great and full of lots of anecdotes from Mr. Canary’s childhood. They’ve been best friends since the sixth grade, so there was definitely a lot of history!

Mr. Canary giving a resounding fist bump!

And of course, both toasts concluded with lots of laughter, which was just a prelude to all the fun we’d have the rest of the evening!

If you missed out on the previous episodes of the Canary Wedding Adventure, catch up here:

• Our first look and a mini photo session
• A traditional Chinese tea ceremony
• Our video trailer that captures a quick synopsis of our day
• And because Mrs. Canary is a delinquent blogger, Mr. Canary writes about our amazing Italian honeymoon (Part One, Two, and Three)
• Our ceremony processional
• The ceremony in detail.
• A bivalves and bubbly cocktail hour

Next up, “faux-to” booth fun, lots more dancing, and cake cutting!