Weddingbee Blog

Around 5:20 our photo time wrapped up, my dress got bustled while standing in the pavillion, and it was the moment of truth: time to enter our reception for the first time and see if all the issues of the previous day had been resolved. Would there be water for the guests? Ice? Would the beer we’d spent $200 on be cold—or even be served at all? Where would the appetizers be?

As we lined up in the foyer and hairdresser-now-emcee B (she’s a woman of many talents!) got everyone’s attention to announce our entrance, I tried to peek in to see what the scene looked like, but I couldn’t see much because we were trying to hide in the corner until we were announced.

B introduced MOH Lefty and Best Man D, and they walked in to cheers and took their seats at the head table.

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Next it was our turn. Remember how I said earlier that I have a mortal fear of showing emotion in front of people? This is one of the times of the day where I regret that the most, because I wish we had done some kind of cheering-bouquet-raising-fist-pumping-grinning-dancing entrance—because that’s what I felt like on the inside. But when B announced us and our guests stood up to cheer us in, this is what I looked like:

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Seriously, what the heck are those faces I’m making?! I wish I had just let my happiness show and acted the way I felt—totally giddy and beyond words—because I mean, hello? It was my wedding day! I felt like I was filled with a million exclamation points; why didn’t I let some of them out? And on top of that, walking into a room full of your nearest and dearest, a room that you toiled over decorating and planning, and a room where your nearest and dearest are now enjoying all of your hard work, is truly an indescribable feeling. To top it off, as I looked around the room, I saw…water pitchers. Glasses full of ice. A beautiful appetizer table. People drinking frosty beers. All the drama from the day before had somehow gotten solved, and I was so relieved…and a little irritated, to be honest. If non-coordinator-replacement S was going to fix everything in the end, why didn’t he just tell us that, or do it, rather than run us through the ringer and leave us with a “maybe, maybe not” less than 24 hours before our wedding? All that stress for nothing.

But I quickly let it go, because once we sat down at the head table I was able to take in our reception as a whole. And once again I was floored with how amazing this day was, how beautiful everything looked, how it all was turning out more perfect than I had even imagined.

Miss something? Follow along here!

First, I kick things off with our wedding video.
I go stir-crazy, and almost choke to death, the week before our wedding.
We had a pretty bad venue setup/rehearsal day.
I’m the bride with the weak stomach.
The crew arrives, and the ladies get pretty.
Hairstylist B accidentally shares a little secret!
Bride and groom exchange cards and a surprise gift.
Tying bow ties is a comedy of errors.
Finally, I become a bride!
All the little details.
A special lady gets a special gift.
Here comes the sun, and the bride (AKA our first look).
We took some family photos.
We processed, and got married!
An unexpected guest showed up and made themselves at home…right on Mr. Wiz’s head.
After the ceremony, we greeted our guests, and then headed outside for some bride and groom photo time.

All photos by MichaelWill Photography unless otherwise noted. Images market with an (*) are edited by me, with permission from Michael.