Wedding Awesomeness

Our wedding was awesome. It was everything we wanted it to be. We had a cool venue at the Charley Creek Inn, a boutique hotel recently restored to its 1920's glory. It's gorgeous. We had our ceremony and reception on the roof. The day was busy and hectic leading up to the ceremony, but I had great friends there helping keep things going. Dana brought mimosas, Nikki documented everything through photos, and Jill made my hair look great.

I got my dress online for a steal and found shoes and jewelry I loved, and I did my own makeup which turned out great! Matt said I looked more gorgeous than ever, which was totally what I was going for! He looked super handsome, and I felt so amazingly lucky to be claiming that hot guy for life.

My son Ethan played "Here Comes the Bride" on violin for my entrance, and then my daughter Emma read a poem to start the ceremony. It was from Sex and the City, my favorite show and basically my guide to life (haha!) and it was a poem read in a wedding in the show. Here's the poem:

His hello was the end of her endings
Her laugh was their first step down the aisle
His hand would be hers to hold forever
His forever was as simple as her smile
He said she was what was missing
She said instantly she knew
She was a question to be answered
And his answer was "I do"

After this, our dear friend Scott started the ceremony, acting as our officiant after getting ordained online. We wrote our own vows, which we were nervous about but I am so glad we did! It was great to have that really personal touch to our ceremony!

We took a few photos with the family, and then headed in to the reception.

We didn't have a DJ, we just had an ipod playlist, so there was no one to announce us. However, everyone was waiting, so as soon as we entered, Matt's friends all stood and cheered. Super cool.  We didn't do most of the wedding traditions, because we find a lot of them either silly or boring. We had a first dance, and since we didn't really have a wedding party, we just invited friends to give speeches, which they did, and it was great!

We had cupcakes instead of a cake, which were cheaper but way more convenient and really cute! We put
them on little cake stands on each table that we made ourselves with plates and custard cups from an antique store. Just glue the cup upside down to the plate, and voila!

During the reception, some of Matt's friends came and joined us for a dance, and created an impromptu air band, complete with drums, guitar, and an air triangle! Hilarious!

Then the kids, and Matt and I, did a little dance together that the kids made up. So sweet!

The rest of the reception was spent drinking wine, dancing, and laughing. At 11, the reception ended and a few of us headed out to a bar around the corner, where we unexpectedly encountered a foam party! They pump tons of foam, aka bubbles, into the dancefloor, and you get soaked! We were in our wedding clothes, and the whole bar thought we were awesome. My dress was DRENCHED! It dragged the floor of the bar and turned black, but my great friend Edie took it home and cleaned it for me and it actually looks great now!

We spent the night in a gorgeous honeymoon suite, and met a few close friends and family for brunch in the morning before heading off to our honeymoon. Matt and I kept talking about how wonderful our wedding was, far beyond our expectations! It was unique, fun, and kept with our original design--inexpensive but special. I simply could not be happier with how the night went!