This Will Be Our Year: Wedding Rituals

After a few pictures and a chance for guests to grab a drink, the DJ called everyone into the reception area to continue the cocktail hour inside, while we made our way onto the dance floor for our "grand entrance" (we boogied into the room to Wilco's Hoodoo Voodoo, which was the only adequately celebratory song for such an occasion, I think!), from which we would go straight into our first dance.

So let me tell you a little about this first dance business. I mentioned before that we were going to attempt a Danish wedding waltz, but we were really nervous about how it would play out on the wedding day. So in addition to our two private lessons, we practiced twirling around our living room almost every night for a month, sent the video to our wedding party, our DOC, our photographer, and our DJ just to make sure everyone was prepared for the awesomeness that was going to happen on the dance floor. And in case that wasn't enough, we practiced with most of our wedding party in the hotel suite the night before the wedding.

And then we rocked the hell out of it. ;)


We waltzed around the dance floor long enough to prove we are much better dancers than Frederick and Mary, when our wedding party started moving in on us (followed by directions from the DJ to the rest of the crowd to take "one giant step forward").


This couldn't have been more fun, and it left us in a great position to be able to see and talk to many of our guests before dinner. Win!

As the cocktail hour wound down, the DJ announced that dinner would be served soon and that everyone should find their seats. As salads were passed, Papa Spaniel took the opportunity to speak.

(I love my dad :)
After dinner (which was delicious), we heard from Mr. Spaniel's Best Man and both of our brothers.


I can't wait for our wedding video so that I can remember all of what was said! But I do remember that we laughed, I cried, and have teased Mr. Spaniel mercilessly and endlessly following his brother's mini-roast:

My brother Mr. Spaniel is, and has always been, a careful chooser... If you have ever been to a restaurant with Mr. Spaniel, you know what I'm talking about. That's because Mr. Spaniel isn't a person that can be characterized as a quick orderer, or an average-speed orderer, or even a slow orderer. Mr. Spaniel falls into the category of the slowest orderers that have ever lived.

(It is 100% true.)


Cheers!

All photos by the superb Meg Perotti and Regis Photography.

Miss anything?
The Spaniels Are Married!
Watching Paint Dry
Vendor FAIL
Putting Our Faces On
Something New
Boutonnieres and Tuxedos
Sneaky Spaniel: The First Look
Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Hey Laaadies! (The Wedding Party)
Signing Our Lives Away
Marriage Is a Process...ion
We've Only Just Begun (The Ceremony)
Organized Chaos
All Kinds of Pretty and One Big Fat Ugly
(This Will Be Our) Budget Recap Post