After the ceremony, Rod and I had a few minutes to ourselves. We walked around the meadow and just enjoyed the new feel of being married. We took this moment to see what we had engraved in each other's ring. Much to our amusement, we had both written the same thing (an inside joke) on the ring. I guess we are on the same wavelength. :)
Afterwards (and after some family pictures), we joined our guests on the waterfall patio for cocktail hour. After being announced (by the wrong name . . .), we were excited to see that everyone seemed to be having a good time. The candy buffet was already completely depleted. We heard rumors that elbows were thrown in the process. We were just glad that we didn't have to take any candy home with us.
We hurried and ate our dinner while everyone else went through the buffet line. We had been warned about forgetting to eat. As soon as we were done, we started making the rounds. We had so many people come from all over, and we were determined to visit with everyone. Big plans! We started in the ampitheater, but barely made it through those tables before it was time for the toasts. 
Stephen got things started. 
Mindy followed him with a toast that made me bawl. 
Carrie was up next with a toast to lighten the mood. Since Stephen knows Rod so well and Mindy knows me so well, Rod and I asked Carrie, who has known us both together and apart, to give a toast. It was exactly what we wanted! My favorite line was "Jen is the most forgiving person I know, which is great for Rod." I couldn't stop laughing. 
It was a tough act to follow, but my dad was next. He didn't tell too many embarassing stories about me. 
Rod and I finished things off by toasting the crowd for being such a wonderful and important part of our lives.
The rest of the night is such a blur. We danced the first dance to our song: Alison Kraus's version of "When you say nothing at all." My stepdad, Larry, sang, which made it that more emotional. Rod had warned me he didn't intend to use the dance lessons we spent the last four weeks attending, but he did surprise me with a dip at the end. We definitely got our money's worth. 
The next song was the daddy-daughter dance to "You look wonderful tonight." 
What came next was as a complete surprise to me. My grandpa has always been a really special part of my life. When I was little, I spent every other weekend with my grandparents, and when I got older, I lived with them. I have always been able to count on them. Anyway, as soon as I got off the dance floor with my dad, my grandpa grabbed me to dance--"A crazy little thing called love" or something like that. And he stole the show. I hadn't planned a dance for us because I didn't know if he would feel up to it. He has been ill lately. But I was the one who couldn't keep up with him. He had me spinning all over the place. It was one of the best moments of the evening. 
Stay tuned for more great moments this weekend.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A Warm Reception
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3 comments:
all the pictures and memories are so wonderful Jen! I'm enjoying reading all about the behind the scenes stuff. you're so beautiful. What a wonderful Wedding.
Thanks Misty! I'm so glad you were able to make it. We'll have to go to lunch and catch up soon.
That almost made me cry about your Grandparents - I have always love them - they are some of the sweetest people I know! It was great to see them and I am now wishing that we hadn't missed those special dances!
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