Finally it was time to join everyone back at the reception. The wedding party came in first, announced by none other than our officiant, Jon Remitera. I’m not sure how many officiant-turned-emcee’s exist out there, but I can tell you Jon is the best one. I mean, c’mon, he pronounced everyone’s names right! That’s a pretty big feat with the group we have. ;)

Then it was our turn! We all came into the song “Happy” by Pharrell, which was actually requested by my mom since it’s one of her favorite songs from her exercise class! Tee hee! ^_^

While we had everyone’s attention, we immediately went into the toasts from the maid of honor and the best men. First up was my beautiful sister, my maid of honor, Amanda! Her speech was beautiful and touching–I’m pretty sure I cried!

Then it was time for our best men, Carlos and Scott, who are apparently “better together.” Haha.

We had salad served after the toasts, and briefly thereafter tables started being dismissed for dinner.

Seth Mias (who, by the way, was an absolute JOY to work with) created a fantastic menu for our meal. I’ll make you all hungry now by listing all the amazing things we ate. My only wish was that this guy had a restaurant so I could this food all the time. It was OH-MAZING, and whenever people told us what they liked best about our wedding, it was almost always the food. That was our goal, guys. :) We’re all about the food.

pane
bread & roll selection

insalata
pear, walnut & gorgonzola salad

piatto principale
italian stuffed peppers with tomato cream sauce
gorgonzola, feta & tomato stuffed portobello over rice

contorno
roasted vegetable medley
tortellini alfredo with spinach
roasted vegetable ravioli with sundried tomato & olive pesto (vegan)

dolce
raspberry chocolate torte
lemon mousse
chocolate-covered strawberries, assorted dessert squares & cannoli
coffee & tea

After dinner we had a few more toasts, or “blessings,” rather, from our dads.

And actually, from my mom, too! This was actually just her popping up for a brief moment to brag on us and point out all the things we’d created for the reception, which was so sweet of her, but in reality we really could not have done this without everyone else’s support and help. One thing my dad said, which I am very happy about, is how much Erick and I worked together as a team to plan this wedding. I’m so proud of him–and he says he’s so proud of me–for all the crafts and projects which did. It was just a big undertaking (I’ll never do it again! Haha), but like I said, having our parents and entire families supporting us was the biggest thing!

Then it was my dad’s turn. Not only did he have a wonderful speech, he also sang a song for me called “The Father Says I Do.” It was a song I had heard him sing at a wedding ages ago, as a little girl, and I guess I’d always envisioned that song somehow at my wedding, too. It definitely brought tears to my eyes as the whole (spiritual) thing came full circle.

Then we went back to eating and watching some videos and slideshows of me and Erick growing up and our time together, etc. Here’s a few guest shots Niki captured during that time.

I’m pretty sure the highlight of the night, though, was the absolute amazing video put together by this guy. :)

Somehow AJ happened to be around at the pivotal points of our dating experience, and he captured it all on film, miraculously. I had not seen this video before this moment, and so almost all the footage was pretty much a surprise to me. It was pretty much amazing watching our story unfold, and the way AJ edited it was funny and touching all at the same time. Everyone LOVED it.

Hearing Erick’s conversation to my parents asking for my hand in marriage was pretty amazing, but the most special moment for me came when the scene cut to my balcony outside my apartment where Erick proposed. I’d seen some screenshots from the footage before, so I knew he had videoed it–but what I didn’t know is that he had AUDIO–somehow! Caught up in the moment, Erick’s proposal to me (his actual words and mine) was a complete BLUR. I really had hardly any recollection of what happened, only that I’d said yes ^_^ and honestly, I was kind of sad that I couldn’t remember much of that special moment. I had no hope that I would ever get to re-live that moment and hear the words that were said again. Proof: This line from our proposal story here on this site:

He took my hands in his. I remember what his face looked like, but I can’t really remember the words he said. (Upsetting, I know, but apparently a lot of brides have this problem!)

Until this video. I pretty much burst into tears when I realized it had all been captured on film. I can’t thank AJ enough for giving that gift to me. And I can’t thank Erick enough for making that proposal pretty awesome, too. :)

Our reception went by too fast (unlike this blog post). It was such an incredible feeling to be surrounded by all our family and friends, celebrating our new life together. Not to mention being surrounded by some pretty awesome backlight.

 

Next time, we cut the cake, throw the garter, and all that fun stuff!

All the Wedding Recaps!

• Getting Ready
• Details
• First Look
• Wedding Party Photos
• Family Portraits
• The Ceremony
• Reception Details
• Bridal Party Portraits at the Farm
• Just the Two of Us
• Refreshment Hour
• Reception!