Wose Wedding Recap: Speeches and Dinner

After our first dance, it was time for the father/daughter and mother/son dances. Dad and I danced to "Little Miss Magic". Adam and his mom danced to "My Wish". 

All photos by Melissa Manzione Photography.

If I'm being honest, dances and speeches are my least favorite part of pretty much every wedding reception. Being on display, emotions potentially running high, and 130 guests watching and waiting to eat and party makes a Type-A bride verrrry antsy. We almost nixed these, but in the end, I'm glad we didn't because I think our parents loved it. 

However, we did roll right into speeches after the parent dances to try and get to the party as soon as possible. First up was my MOH Hillary, which I was pretty excited about. She's from Chic-ahhhgo, and her accent comes out whenever she's speaking in front of a group. 

She's a champ.

She did a great job. I am so thankful to have a friend that would travel halfway across the country - twice in less than a month - to celebrate with us. Hopefully Adam and I make it out to Chicago for a visit soon!

Next up was the Best Man, Tommy.  He did great too! The dads gave impromptu speeches as well.

Finally, Adam's grandmother led us in Grace before dinner and it was time to eat!

I thought we would scarf our meals down and attempt to go greet each table, but we changed our minds. By this point we were mentally exhausted and just needed to enjoy a meal. We served a choice of chicken marsala or steak, and it was fantastic! I was too excited to eat more than a few bites though, and unashamedly ate my leftovers around 2AM. 

I'm so glad we took a bit of time to relax. The sweetheart table was perfect - a few guests still came up to chat (which was great!), but mostly we got a chance to talk and soak it in. 

Just as we were finishing our dinner, our photographer came up and snagged us for a sec. She said there was an absolutely gorgeous sunset, and could we sneak out and take a few pictures? Umm, YES! And I'm so glad we did. These photos had the stunning light I so badly wanted, and we just look so relaxed and happy. 

It's okay folks, they're married. 

 By the time we joined everyone back at the tent, the sun was almost completely gone and it was FINALLY time to party! CJ the DJ got the party started with one of my favorites - Shout! Before we knew it, the dance floor was packed!

Next up, the party continues and Adam almost leaves me to cut our wedding cake by myself!