wedding recaps~part 3

the reception.so.much.fun.

our priorities for the reception~good food, good music and for me,amazing decor. we had an amazing dinner with some southern flair. shrimp and grits appetizer, bourbon bbq chicken, kentucky honey ham, chocolate chip pecan cookies served with a shot of milk...yum and our specialty cocktail-lovers lemonade(vodka,lemonade and strawberries)! the dj was not happy that i gave him a detailed playlist but he stuck to it(mostly, still annoyed he claimed to have no lady gaga..wtf!). i danced, i managed to get my non dancing groom on the floor, my son was the hit of night, i had a dance off with one of the flower girls and one of ring bearers, and my in-laws took to the soul train line with gusto! it flew by quickly but we enjoyed every single moment!

some of the details~i made burlap table runners for all of the tables, a photo collage of pictures of the two of us growing up(he's still getting shit from co-workers about the picture of him rocking a sweet 1980's mullet!), our card box was a mailbox my girlfriend painted our names on it and i attached gingham ribbon to it, "eat, drink and be married " coasters for the bar.

we're about to be introduced as "mr and mrs!"

the first dance. we could never agree on a song. in the end i let him pick. we danced to nora jones "come away with me"

i love all of the black and white photos. the first dance is odd thing. it's this private moment but you're kind of aware that a room full of people are watching you.

a quiet moment watching our families celebrate..amazing!

one of my best friends and a good shot of some of the table decor. there was lots of anthro there:)

our cake was sooo freaking good! the bottom was french vanilla cake with cookies and cream filling, the middle was lemon with raspberry filling and the top was carrot cake. i had a slice of each! you can also see the eyelet sleeves i made for some of the hurricanes.
you check out our slideshow at shoesinthewindow.com/blog
i think we're the second one down:)
all photos courtesy of ashley steele browyer~shoes in the window photography

wedding day recaps~part 2

we'd originally planned to have our ceremony and reception in the same venue. the more we planned the more we unhappy we were with that choice. we don't belong to a church and despite the fact that my dad is a minister, i have some unresolved issues about organized religion(i'm working on sorting those out). we found this beautiful non-denominational chapel on the grounds of an orphanage. we were allowed to bring in our own officiant and the fees are used to support the children the orphanage helps.

our officiant was amazing! we wrote most of the ceremony ourselves and he offered help and suggestions.doug wanted traditional say the traditional vows so we did but it was important to me that we honor our new family in some way. we made a pledge of family to the kids and presented them each with a gift. the girls received bracelets with a heart charm. their initials were engraved on one side and our wedding date was engraved on the other side. zachary got a pocket watch with his initials and the wedding date engraved. this was my favorite moment in the ceremony. doug was crying as he made this pledge to my kids, our kids. when we gave them their gifts they all starting crying which made me cry:)

" Doug and Courtnee walked down the aisle as two individuals but they will exit this church as a family. To honor this commitment they wanted to make a promise to their children and present them with a small gift as symbol of this family.

Rian, Logan, Skylar and Zachary, we vow to always cherish your intellect, to support and inspire you, to delight in your happiness and to offer comfort when you are in pain. We promise to always maintain a home that celebrates individuality, encourages laughter and disciplines with love. Please accept these small gifts as a symbol of our commitment to our family"

we wanted a ceremony that was thoughtful and joyful and that's exactly what we got. guests are still telling us how beautiful the ceremony was:)

the first time i got married my older brother gave me away. i am so thankful that my 80 year old dad was able to walk me down the aisle.

the entire time we were planning. i kept telling him i wasn't going to wear a veil."i'm too old. i'm not traditional. it will look stupid with my glasses" i decided to surprise him with one at the last minute! he loved(and secretly so did i!)

doug's stepfather serenaded us with a version of jack johnson's "better together" one of the flower girls dropped her basket which provided a funny moment.

my mom in her derby hat:)

i lost it during our vows but so did he:O

next the recption....

all photos courtesy of ashley steele bowyer~shoes in the window photography