Our Grand Exit...

Yep, it’s that time…time to take our leave and say goodbye. I kid you not when I say that the night passed by in a blur. There were moments that the wedding and reception seemed to slow down so that I could take it all in, but at other times the night just FLEW BY! Before I knew it, a limo had arrived and pulled up in front of our reception hall. Since I knew that we didn’t get a limo, I was sure that he was at the wrong hall and I went out there myself to have a talk with him. Plus, it was 30 minutes too early…I still had dancing to do!

You see, we had a friend who’s brother owns a limo service. So we knew that we had a car coming, but G had already warned us that he would NOT be able to get us a limo for that night, just a car. That was fine with us, we didn’t care as long as someone else was driving – not that we were drinking that much, but we just didn’t want to have to worry about getting ourselves to our hotel. I went out to tell the limo driver that he was at the wrong hall and got the surprise of my life. Turns out that G’s brother had been able to pull a few strings (or had a last-minute cancellation) and was able to send a limo for us! Yippee!! What fun!!

He knew that he was early, and was fine waiting, so I trotted my happy self back inside to continue dancing away. Within about 30 minutes though, the DJ announced that this was the last song and then gave instructions for everyone to line up outside taking packets of rose petals along with them. I have to admit that I was sort of surprised at the lack of guests that formed the “going away” line…I’ve seen it repeatedly over the last few years, that it’s just not a trend for guests to stay and be there when the bride and groom leave the reception, but it was still a shock. The only wedding I can think of where I did that was when we had our kids with us and it was getting late…but whatever. There were still plenty of people left to form a good, solid line and we spent a few extra minutes alone on the dance floor to allow the line to form and the photographers to get all set up.

Oh, and in the 30 minutes that the limo driver was waiting on all of this to occur, our bridal party made quick work of getting our limo decorated for us. Check out their handiwork! I have to admit to being VERY relieved that all decorations were kept in the PG category, if you know what I mean!

Once the line was ready and we were given the signal, we rushed out and made our way down the LONG sidewalk to the limo…catching rose petals and goodbye wishes along the way… And yes, even rose petals thrown just so will hurt a bride and groom – did you see that look on my face? By the time that we got to the end, the petals were fewer and further between… But as you’ll notice, someone (REALLY don’t know who!) shoved a whole handful of petals down the front of my dress…I’m not really sure why? We said our goodbyes to the kiddos… One of them was completely ok with the fact that he was spending the night with Grandma…and the other one? Well, let’s just say that she had just put two and two together and come up with four. And four meant that she was NOT going with Mommy…and as fun as spending the night with Gigi and the girls had previously sounded, right at this moment it was NOT cool!

To try to stem the guilt flowing heavily through my heart, and to drown out the sound of her tears, I quickly made my escape into the limo…B on the other hand? Yeah, this was when he decided to make a “Thank You” speech to all of the remaining guests and to wish them all a good night. It’s too bad that the photographer didn’t catch me reaching out and pulling him into the limo and telling the limo driver to “GO!” on film…that would have been priceless! He was confused for a minute, until I explained about little J being so upset…then he settled in to play with all the buttons in the limo.

We had a good 30 minute drive to our hotel in downtown Austin that my new in-laws had gifted us with, so we settled in for the drive. At that point, the exhaustion was hitting me pretty hard and I was pooped! We talked about how great the wedding and reception went, how much fun we had and how much fun we thought our guests had, and of course we smooched a bit in the backseat. Before I knew it, we were pulling up at The Four Seasons hotel in downtown Austin and getting the “white glove treatment” from everyone that we saw.

Yes, it’s glamorous to arrive at your 5-star hotel in a limo…and a wedding dress…you’d be amazed though at how many people actually ask you if you got married. Nah, I just wore a wedding dress for a night out on the town…but I laughed each time someone asked us! We quickly checked in, went upstairs and settled in for the night…as man and wife!!!

**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography

Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!
Family Pictures
Now THAT’S Love!
The “Group” Says Cheese!
Now It’s Just Us...
It’s the Smallest Things...
Here Comes the Bride! And Groom!
Raise Your Glasses...
Our Cake Buffet
The Great Cake Cutting Debate
We Danced...
Two More Special Dances...
One Lucky Girl...and One “Excited” Guy!
The Many Faces of a Bride...
The Kids...
We Danced the Night Away!

We Danced the Night Away!

This will be a pretty picture-heavy post…I’m bound and determined to finish these recaps before I give birth…so cross your fingers for me that I make it!

I already showed you what a good time some of the kiddos had…but they weren’t the only ones! I think that our DJ did a great job of playing music that we requested, music that kept the people out on the dance floor, and taking requests from guests. Yes, there was a song or two that was played that Brent asked me “Why did we choose THAT song?!?!”…but it turns out that they were guest requests. But enough from me - take a look at what a good time was had by one and all...us girls got our groove on!




I’m really NOT sure how this one didn’t make the “funny faces” post…

And here’s the requisite picture of the bride dancing while holding on to her alcoholic drink for dear life!

At one point during the night, the boys took a break and toasted each other back at the bar when Brent's one music request "A Country Boy Can Survive" was played…


It was a tradition of theirs or something…but don’t be fooled – they tore up the dance floor as well…check it out!




Yes, the YMCA was done…

My Mom even joined in on that one!

And at one point there was a Congo Line…though I really couldn’t tell you why…

And there was line dancing too…

I even managed to get my new step-son on the dance floor with me…isn’t he cute?!?!


And at one point, Brent and I managed a quick two-step…

Then it seems that neither MOH or I could find our husbands, so we made do with each other…

Before long, the music got a little raunchier…and the dancing got a good bit dirtier…



And I got hot! That’s the one thing that no one told me about wedding dresses – they get HOT!! So I improvised a quick fan from one of our programs, and went on with my grooving…

Last, but certainly not least, a circle was formed at some point, and we all went out one by one (or in pairs) and strutted our stuff…The Bride took her turn…

…with my fan, of course!

And a co-worker really showed us how it was done…


But even with all of HIS moves, I think that the Groom and one of his guys took the cake!



That was B on the left...Yep, they took it “old school” and had a blast doing it.

I have to tell you that I danced so much that I literally could not feel my toes for three days after the wedding. I did take a break here and there, once to put on flip flops, but for the most part I was on the dance floor from the minute the dancing started until it was time for us to leave…

A blast was had by one and all, and our friends and co-workers are still talking about what a great party we threw at our wedding. To be honest, I don’t think that anyone could pay me a higher compliment. I worked hard to make our wedding special, meaningful and FUN…so to still hear them talking about what a great time they all had…well, it just melts my heart!

**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography

Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!
Family Pictures
Now THAT’S Love!
The “Group” Says Cheese!
Now It’s Just Us...
It’s the Smallest Things...
Here Comes the Bride! And Groom!
Raise Your Glasses...
Our Cake Buffet
The Great Cake Cutting Debate
We Danced...
Two More Special Dances...
One Lucky Girl...and One “Excited” Guy!
The Many Faces of a Bride...
The Kids...

One Lucky Girl…and One “Excited” Guy!

Isn’t that how you should refer to the catchers of the bouquet and garter? At most weddings, the participation on the girls side of things is usually a lot more…willing, shall we say? The girl that catches the bouquet usually is excited to get it and feels lucky that she caught it. But the guy that catches the garter? More often than not, you might see them tugging at their tie only minutes later…LOL!

And that’s sort of how I felt about this part of the reception. I would really have been ok just skipping this whole toss tradition…but B wouldn’t hear about it. He wanted the chance to embarrass his single guy friends…not to mention the “fun” of taking my garter off! So, despite my best arguments against it, we kept this one in the line-up.

I can’t tell you for sure when it happened. It was in the middle of all of the dancing…maybe about an hour before we left for the night? But it just seemed easier to slip this in my recaps right here before I start the dancing pictures…so here you go!

First up, the ladies. There were quite a few out there to form the mob…even if it looks like maybe some of them are a bit “underage” to catch a bridal bouquet! No, I’m not sure what that look on my face is about either…I know that Christina wanted me to do a few “practice” throws for the pictures, so maybe that’s what I was doing…who knows? And then I let it go… Our friend, Nicole, was the lucky one that night! And she was SO excited to get it! Now I don’t know about you, but I think that the groom gets a LOT of enjoyment out of the garter toss…even if the guys catching it don’t really! I’m doing my best to keep my dress down (due to the cameras) and he’s doing his best to reach on in there! Luckily for me, it just took a few “looks” to get good behavior out of my groom, and the garter was almost off… He’s victorious! And as you can see, the group of guys waiting to “catch” the garter is MUCH smaller…with only two that should really be catching it! B did a few practice throws too… Now I don’t know about you, but it looks to me like the younger guys are working harder to get it than the two that actually count! And the outcome was pretty hilarious! Looks like neither one of them really wanted it!

The funny thing is that the two that caught it are a real-life couple friend of ours…so it was completely appropriate that they were the winners! And even though I’d like to add a post script to tell you that catching the bridal bouquet DOES in fact work as far as getting you a proposal…I can’t do that. They are still together, happily, but no ring in sight at this time…much to her dismay! I’m sure that it’s coming, Nicole, be patient!

**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography

Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!
Family Pictures
Now THAT’S Love!
The “Group” Says Cheese!
Now It’s Just Us...
It’s the Smallest Things...
Here Comes the Bride! And Groom!
Raise Your Glasses...
Our Cake Buffet
The Great Cake Cutting Debate
We Danced...
Two More Special Dances...