Jeremy & Chandler Part 4: The Reception

I think it’s pretty obvious that I love weddings. I think that’s because I am a firm believer that marriage (when done right) is one of the most beautiful institutions on God’s green earth. He created marriage to be a picture of His love for us, and I feel privileged to see glimpses of that picture displayed in the marriages of godly couples that I know. That’s why we cry when we see an old couple who has been married for 60 years and continues to love each other in the sickness of old age. That’s why divorce hurts so badly–because it wasn’t meant to be that way. And that’s why we celebrate the start of a marriage with a wedding. There is nothing wrong with going to the courthouse to get married, but a wedding is such a beautiful chance to see the heart of a couple up close and rejoice with them as they begin an incredible journey.
All that said, the ceremony is a time for happy tears and sentiment as we take part in rituals that signify the two becoming one, but the reception is the time for laughter and merriment as we celebrate a bride and groom making much of God with their union. And I just love some good merriment.

So, here is a little glimpse into our reception.
We rented a limo for leaving the reception, so we went ahead and used it to transport part of the wedding party from the ceremony to the reception site. It was a 40 minute drive, and it turned out to be the perfect time to relax and talk and enjoy some time before the reception. We took along a few friends and the photographer and enjoyed some sprite in champagne glasses and laughter as we reminisced about the ceremony and the morning before.
I know there are so many different ways to run a reception. Here was our order of events:

– Jazz band starts to play
– Guests arrive/cocktail hour/socializing time
– Presentation of the wedding party
– First dance of the bride & groom
– Father of the bride prays to kick of the meal
– Dinner time!
– Wedding party finishes meal and goes outside for more group photos while guests finish their food.
– Father/daughter dance
– Mother/son dance
– Cake cutting
– Toasts
– Everybody dance! Party time!
– Garter/bouquet toss
– Everybody dance some more!
– Bride & groom leave the reception.

Phew. I get exhausted and exhilarated all over again just reading through that.

We worked so hard and put so much love into every detail of the reception, but I am saving all the information about decor details for another post coming later this week.

The reception went so smoothly, and I loved getting to celebrate with everyone we loved. I truly feel like I was able to absorb every moment and I remember it so vividly. I could not stop smiling and laughing throughout the whole evening.

Here are some of our favorite reception photos.
Perhaps one of my funniest memories came after we had stepped into the limo and the door was closed. All of the emotions that I had kept at bay throughout the day came to me in one great monsoon, and I immediately started uncontrollably crying. My poor groom could hardly keep from laughing as I blubbered between sobs, “This was the best day of my life. I’m just *sniffle* so *sniffle* happy…”

And I was. So emotional for about ten minutes as I let the feelings wash over me, but I was just so happy. So happy that everything went as planned, but even more so because I was now married to Jeremy.

And so we set off for our week of honeymoon bliss…

To be continued…

P.S. We spent a lot of time and love on every little detail of the wedding day. Flowers, centerpieces, cake displays, and clothes were all a labor of love. For more on that aspect of the ceremony and reception, check out this post about DETAILS. 

All photos were taken by the amazing Yellow Skinny Photos. All flowers were beautifully arranged by SCF Events.

You can check out the rest of our wedding! Just click on the links below!

Why My Imperfect Marriage Is Better Than A Fairytale Ending
Wedding Memories: The Things I Couldn’t Plan
Part 1: Getting ReadyPart 2: The Ceremony Part 3: My Groom Part 5: Details
Part 6: Our Honeymoon (Coming Soon)