Weddingbee Blog

As the cocktail hour drew to a close, the bridal party lined up in the foyer, ready to make their entrance into the reception. Our DJ started playing I Gotta Feeling,  the song we’d chosen to kick off our reception. It’s a little cliche and definitely overplayed, but we love it and it’s such a fun, happy song that it was the perfect way to get our guests pumped up for the party ahead.

Then it was our turn. We gave each other a hand-squeeze and headed through the double doors.

We were immediately overcome by all the love in the room—everyone standing, clapping and cheering, congratulating us on our marriage.

Photo by Ax2D Photography.

Glasses were being clinked, so we obliged with a kiss.

And then Mr. Jellyfish helped me to my seat.

Photo by Ax2D Photography.

Soon after we were seated, Papa Jelly welcomed our guests with a short but heartfelt toast.

He thanked Mr. Jelly’s parents for raising such a wonderful man.

He also wished Mama Jelly a happy 34th anniversary—it just so happened that we got married on the same date as my parents!

Then we toasted to many years of happiness.

The salad course was then served, and Mr. Jelly and I took the opportunity to scratch our lottery ticket favors.

Mr. Jelly won a free ticket—score!

You may notice that we’re sitting at a sweetheart table. After months of going back and forth about it, we decided that the sweetheart table was the best option for us. Our bridal party was too big to have us all sit together, and sitting with our families would have been too complicated. We loved having a sweetheart table because it felt more intimate and we were able to 1) eat and 2) talk to each other. It also gave our guests an opportunity to come talk to us if they wanted to, which many of them did. If you’re considering a sweetheart table, I highly recommend it!

After the salad course had been served, Mr. Jelly’s first Best Man came up and gave his speech.

Jokes about Mr. Jelly’s hairline were made.

Then it was my Maid of Honor’s turn to speak. She opened up by saying that she didn’t know why it was so difficult for her to write her speech, as she writes political speeches for a living…

“Maybe it’s because, this time,” she said, “I am being sincere.”

My cousin gave a great speech, and it was especially meaningful that she was my Maid of Honor because she was visiting the US when Mr. Jelly came and took me on our first date. Even though she lives in Romania, she was there—and she’s always been there when I needed her.

After my cousin’s touching speech, Mr. Jelly’s second Best Man, Ken, gave his speech.

Again, jokes about Mr. Jelly’s hairline were made.

Ken’s speech was really creative because he incorporated our “through the years” table numbers into it. He’d reference specific tables by talking about Mr. Jelly or me at that age, and he really got the tables into it. Well played sir, well played.

Mama and Papa Jelly listening to the speeches.

At the end of the toasts, Mr. Jelly and I got up to thank our guests for coming. This is where my one regret of the night happened—I chickened out and didn’t say anything. Not knowing what to say, I let Mr. Jelly do all the talking, but in retrospect, I wish I would have thanked our parents for putting on such an amazing wedding and our guests for making it out. I had thanked them at the rehearsal dinner the night before, but I really wish I’d done it at the wedding as well.

*Photos in this post are courtesy of Cliff Brunk Photography, except where otherwise noted.