Soundtrack of a Wedding: The Reception

Warning: photo heavy post!

You all know by now that the music selection for our wedding was not something I took lightly. I had seen at other weddings that aside from the couples first dance and maybe a few other select songs, the music was pretty much at the mercy of the DJ. Which, for many, is fine! You pay the DJ a lot of money to set the perfect soundtrack for your wedding, and if you aren't particular about what songs you want.

However. I was particular. Bren the Bridezilla again.

Ah, but not really! Our DJ, Ron Banerjee, was awesome and totally willing to work with us on making sure our reception music was totally and completely us.

After our downtown photo sesh, we arrived to the Elks Club with just enough time to have a drink and grab a snack. Then, it was time to line up at the top of the stairs. When the music started, it was party time! I snuck a peek into the hall; it was such an amazing feeling to see months of hard work and inspiration to finally come to life. Every detail--the paper lanterns, the candy buffet, the guest book table, EVERYTHING!--was perfect. It was exactly as I had always imagined.

**Photos by Meagan Jepson Photography**

Our parents and the bridal party were introduced to Michael Franti and Spearhead's Say Hey (I  Love You), the perfect song to dance down the stairs to, and long enough to play for all eighteen introductions. At the last minute, each pair decided on a different dance move.

Among the madness, we had a robot...

A sprinkler...

and the best man and maid of honor raised the roof.

And then, the opening of Michael Buble's How Sweet It Is began. It was the song that I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to enter my wedding reception to. Like, even before I was engaged. Finally doing it felt like a dream. The doors opened and we boogied down the stairs to our seat...

We cut the cake to the sounds of U2's Sweetest Thing, one of our favorite songs because of the line "A blue eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl..."

After the absolutely beautiful toasts by my sister and Ian's best man (and a surprise toast from my seven sisters!), it was time for our first dance to Paul McCartney's This Never Happened Before, the song that was playing in the background when Ian told me he loved me for the first time. (Side note: it was playing in the movie credits for The Lake House. Ha.)

Moving right along, I danced with my dad to Natalie and Nat King Cole's Unforgettable. Maybe not the most original, but it really is a special song for us.

Ian danced with his mom to Rod Stewart's Have I Told You Lately. So sweet!

For our bridal party dance, instead of making my best friends awkwardly dance with Ian's best friends, we decided to just do something crazy and have everyone dance to Mika's Love Today.

Then we made some cash for our dollar dance. At the risk of it lasting way too long, we limited it to three songs: Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am, The Lovin' Spoonful's Do You Believe in Magic, and of course, Michael Buble's Everything. 

We did all the "special dances" while the guests were still eating to get them out of the way, so to speak. Really, it was so that everyone's attention was still there, and we didn't have to awkwardly break up the dancing later on. It worked out really nicely.

Finally, it was time to open up the dance floor! I am not lying when I told you everyone danced--not a person was left in their seats! Even Ian's grandma was cutting a rug.

Photo by Ian's cousin Kelly!

Ron worked through the decades, starting with some 1940s swing, movin' on up to the 70s and 80s, and then finishing the night off with Top 40 hits that the younger crowd really got down to. He sprinkled in special songs that we had requested--including the Beach Boys God Only Knows.

Another photo by Miss Kelly.

We ended the evening with one last dance to Ray LaMontagne's You Are the Best Thing, which ended with a big group hug.

Once the music died down and the lights came on, everyone assembled outside. And we hopped into our lovely-decorated chariot as we rode off into the night...
*Video by Tyler Capozzi*

A Reward for a Productive Week

Even though it seems like every time something is checked off my to-do list, twelve things appear in its place, I think it's safe to say this week has been incredibly productive. Dare I say that things are even falling into place?

Take today, for example. I met with our DJ, who I am confident is not going to be your run-of-the-mill wedding DJ. He is a long time family friend who is going to do a great job coordinating all of our music and special touches. Let's just say that there will be absolutely NO chicken dancing at this soiree. 

After a fantastic lunch and chat with my mom at Nola's Joint, an awesome little hole in the wall at the former site of Tony's Big Easy on Pugh St, I met up with the beautiful Meagan Jepson, our photographer (who is a newlywed herself!). I was able to show her around the church and we talked about the styles, poses, and ideas for photos. I am so, so, so excited to work with her! We have very similar styles and I know she is going to do an AWESOME job with our photos!

Can you tell I'm feeling good? 

I've decided that you know you're marrying the right guy if they can survive the emotional turmoil that comes with a girl planning a wedding. Luckily, Ian has passed with flying colors. My moods have been all over the place--stressed and overwhelmed one minute, cool as a cucumber the next, and a crying mess two seconds later. I go from loving all these last minute crafts to wanting to throw everything up in the air. Days have gone by where I feel like I've been moving all day long, but I look back and think, 'what did I even accomplish today?'. 

But today? Today was good. So good, that I rewarded myself with some homemade cannoli from Margarita's. 

Incidentally, these photos were uploaded in the same roll as some photos I vainly took of myself to track my workout progress. Hm. Zumba time, I guess.

On tap for this weekend: The bachelorette party and shower. Stay tuned. :-)