Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wedding Wednesday: Reception, Part 1

Wedding Wednesday

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

The reception involved too many things to fit into one post...and I want to drag out my content as much as possible.
Hope you don't mind ;)

The cocktail hour sounded like it was a blast, but the bridal party had our own party in the library at The Athletic Club. Andrew and I were even able to sneak upstairs and see the gorgeous space before everyone else went in. These are some of my favorite photos, both from our Instagram hashtag #AndrewMarriesMary and from Tessa, our incredible photographer, of Starling Studio.
(Unless otherwise noted, all photos are from Starling Studio)
(It's easy to tell which are from Instagram and which are from our photographer, though! Obviously!)

Lots of photos, yet again! You were warned!!

Where we dined:

Where we danced:

 The window!
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Loooove this one:

After our mini photo session we snuck back down to the library for a cocktail before introductions.

Do I wish we would have joined the cocktail hour with all of our guests?
Kind of, considering how after the reception Andrew and I felt like we didn't talk to everyone enough. However, those few moments alone in that window were so special that I'm glad we didn't! We wouldn't have been able to get that lighting had we waited, and the window photos were something I dreamed about since we toured the space!

The intros were really fun: since the bridal party had our own cocktail hour, the DJ called everyone to gather around the dance floor. Basically we had a standing ovation crowd for our introductions.

Grandparents and parents walked in, carrying wine and looking fabulous.
Everyone cheered quite loudly. It was rather awesome.

Then the bridal party walked in, demonstrating a different sport (basketball, football, tennis, baseball and horseback riding (Monty Python-style)).
So amazing and so very us!
Here's Evan getting some air to catch the winning touchdown pass from Holly:

Then it was our turn!

Before our intro:
{via}

From there, since we had everyone's attention, we went right into our first dance, Nat King Cole's "When I Grow Too Old to Dream"
It's a dreamy little ditty.


{via}


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Another favorite photo:





By the end of the song, the whole bridal party was swaying to the music. It was really cute (and I'm SO happy that our videographer got that on our video!)


 From here we ate!
Steak and chicken and mashed potatoes and asparagus and bread and salad and wine and champagne! Oh my!
We ate like kings!
And yes, I ate EVERY bite! haha

Here's my Dad giving his welcome speech. It was very sweet and funny and awesome, just like my Dad! In the below photo, this is the part where he says that Andrew and I met at a Steelers bar on a Sunday.

And a Facebook cover photo was born.

My sister and Best Man then gave heartwarming and hilarious speeches:

(Isn't she gorgeous?!?!)


She made me cry! 
Best.sister.EVER

Then Justin brought down the house:


He made us crack up!

I smile every time I see these photos.

Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me.

That's all for this week.
Next week we party!

All non-Instagram photos from this post are from Starling Studio (you can tell which ones they are because they are beautiful photos!!!): website | Facebook
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15 comments:

Ashleigh W. said...

GREAT photos and I love that you guys did something unique when the bridal party was introduced :)

P!nky said...

Your space was gorgeous, love all the lil details. And like i've said before, you looked stunning and so, so, so happy!

Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC said...

looks like a blast! weddings are the best :)

Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC said...

looks like so much fun!

Amye Mae said...

I was about to say I loved the window photo best...but then the one with your arm around your groom is so sweet. And then your laughter during the speeches...all so good!

Stephanie said...

Your sister looks so pretty, I love that you picked such a pretty dress for her! And of course, you're gorgeous, but you already knew that. I love all the candid ones of you laughing.

Meg Taylor said...

Wow, what an absolutely beautiful place!! I can't wait for the second installment :)

Leslie Lukens Martin said...

Once again, A-MAZing pictures! I feel like I can hear you laughing in those last two pics...your photographer did a phenomenal job capturing the emotion of every moment!

Unknown said...

Beautiful location!

Emily Southern said...

I adore the private moment you and your husband had at the big window! That is so special!!

Unknown said...

Your pictures are so beautiful! I love the bit about meeting in a Steelers bar. If you were to share that little clip with your blog, I wouldn't say no... :) Also your wedding party is so cute swaying, and all the pictures of you laughing are BEAUTIFUL!

Jen said...

What a beautiful venue! And I agree, that is a great photo in front of the window!! I wish we had more time with our guests as well. I felt like the reception went by in a flash, and kind of wished we would have started our ceremony a little earlier so I could spend more time with my guests.

Megan @ Chicago Girl said...

Love this! Can't wait to see more!

Ericka said...

Your reception venue was beautiful! And those photos in the window are unreal--they look like something out of a magazine--gorgeous!

Ericka said...

Your reception venue was beautiful! And those photos in the window are unreal--they look like something out of a magazine--gorgeous!