Honeys Do: Push It!

We had done dinner, the dances and speeches so that left one more formality before we could just dance. And if you are guessing cake cutting you are wrong. This would have been the time that we did the cake cutting, but there was some miscommunication about the dessert. Word had spread that due to the buffet nature of our dessert options, our intended cake had been cut and was already being enjoyed by guests. I shrugged it off, happy that guests were enjoying my $11 cake from the grocery store, and moved along. Was I upset then? No. Am I upset now? A little bit. I do wish I could have smashed some cake in Mr. Honey's face, and had the pictures to prove it, but I also don't consider our day ruined because we didn't cut the cake.

So, what was the last formality? The girls dance. The one I had declared months ago would replace the traditional bouquet toss and the one that we choreographed moves to just the night before. We also planned with the DJ's that this dance would be the official kick off to the dance party. The DJ's requested everyone clear the floor and make room for the bride, and I took my spot on the vacant dance floor. A quick note: I have never performed a dance in my life, and certainly didn't ever think that the first time would be on my wedding night in my purty white dress. But there I was as Salt-n-Pepa's Push It came over the speakers.

Then 6 of my bridesmaids (the two that were preggers skipped the performance) joined me and they broke out into full on early-90's dance moves! For whatever reason, we decided not to have my do the same choreography, maybe because my dress a little more restricting than their bridesmaid dresses, so I just did my own thang as they moved in unison.

Ending in the classic, the running man! Yes, I did do the running man in my wedding dress!

After our minute of choreography we then encouraged the rest of the girls in attendance to come to the dance floor and join us for the rest of the song. It was so much fun!

And because I'm feeling brave right now, I will post a video of me and my amazing bridesmaids dancing to Push It on my wedding night (sorry it's a little dark)!

Not for one second did I, nor do I, regret not doing a bouquet toss. This dance was SO much for fun for all of us and was a good alternative to the tradition.

This dance replaced the bouquet toss, you may be wondering what replaced the garter toss? I planned nothing, but BM Candace took it upon herself to do something. A few songs later, she sat me down in a chair, to which I frantically told her that we weren't doing a garter toss...and then You've Lost That Loving Feeling came on and all of a sudden I was being serenaded by a whole group of guys!

This was a pretty quickly planned (I'm talking like 5 minutes prior) performance so the guys didn't really know what to do...they started on their knees, snapping their fingers and then decided to hoist me into the air where I remained for a good few seconds.

Guest Photo

After I safely returned to the ground, I declared their serenade a success! It was so sweet of the guys and a complete surprise (thanks Candace!).

*Unless otherwise noted, all Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

·         The Honey Dudes played in the snow

·         20 People and a Dog posed

·         I swooned over the details

·         We all trekked a snowy aisle

·         There were vows, declaration and a kiss!

·         Our recessional was tricky

·         Guests drank and I bustled

·         We ate finger-lickin’ good BBQ

·         We did The Dances

·         There was a toast and a roast

Honeys Do: A Roast & A Toast

Confession: I have no idea how we merged from the dances to the speeches, there's no time reference and I have no recollection of what I did between the two. I'm guessing I grabbed another cocktail and mingled with the guests, maybe I even snuck a kiss with my new husband. It's just crazy that you plan this day for months and even years and yet some details of that day still manage to escape your mind. I guess I will blame it on bride bubble; while I can't remember the details, I can guarantee I was having fun. Bride bubble is a fantastic place to be! So, on to the speeches...

After a few mellow songs, the DJ's made the announcement for the three speech-givers to make their way to the front of the room. In good form, Mr. Honey and I filled our glasses in anticipation of the cheers-ing that was about to be had. And we waited. We waited for our guests to hush so that the speeches could be heard...I think they were enjoying themselves (and maybe the cocktails?) too much to stop talking amongst each other! It was a good few minutes of trying to get them to quiet down before my Uncle M just blurted out "Everyone be quiet!" and finally the speeches were underway.

My dad went first, and not surprisingly started with a disclaimer, "I'm going to keep it short so that I don't cry in front all of you.".

He talked about how happy Mr. Honey had made me, that he was proud to welcome him to our family and then gave a big thank you to everyone for attending. We listened intently as he praised our love for each other, and we took every word to heart!

He kept it short and sweet, but of course still managed to let a few tears make their appearance! It wouldn't have been a speech by my dad without tears, and I mean that in a good way!

Our best man, Cruise was up next. I could tell he was a tad nervous, fumbling with his little notes as he approached the microphone, but he nailed it! Cruise and Mr. Honey have been friends majority of their lives; they went to school together, moved to Colorado together and kayak off waterfalls together. Their bond runs deep and if anyone else knows Mr. Honey, it is certainly Cruise.

Photo by Uncle P

He started off by talking about how indecisive Mr. Honey is, (this is true, the man has a hard time deciding between just about everything) and how surprised he was when Mr. Honey told him he wanted to marry me; BM Cruise was blown away by his adamant decision, but one that he knew was the right decision.

Photo by Uncle P

After speaking of Mr. Honey's right decision making, he decided to share with all our nearest and dearest that in addition to being quite indecisive, Mr. Honey is also not always the best decision maker. He mentioned the time he nearly burned his face off while doing a flaming Dr. Pepper, amongst other slightly embarassing tales that the two had shared together. The stories had the room in hysterics!

Photo by Uncle P, excuse the red eyes please :)

He closed by saying something along these lines: "Of the bad decisions made, this moment is certainly not one of them. You two have made a great decision to marry each other. Cheers!" And to that, we did.

Photo by Uncle P

MOH Stac finished out the speeches and  unlike Cruise, MOH Stac came without notes. She's always been a good speaker so this didn't surprise me. Her & I have been best friends since pre-school; we attended every school together all the way through college, we've travelled together, we've lived abroad together, we've worked together, and I was at the birth of all three of her girls. We used to skip class to watch The Wedding Story and talk about how we would give speeches at each others wedding. This was going to be a tearjerker for me. My best friend of twenty five years, who was in her ninth month of pregnancy took the microphone.

Photo by Uncle P

To be honest, I don't remember the exact words that she started out with, but I do remember instantly tearing up.

Photo by Uncle P

She spoke of our long time friendship, of the what a good match we made and how happy she was for me. At which point the tables were turned and she started to tear up...and then said "Who gives a nine month pregnant girl a microphone?!" to which we all found funny.

MOH Stac of course finished with a cheers to the Honey's and all our guests raised their glasses in our honor. We were touched by all three speeches and gave all three ginormous hugs of approval. With the speeches done, we were down to one more thing before we let the DJ's loose on thier turntables!

 

*Unless otherwise noted, all Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

·         The Honey Dudes played in the snow

·         20 People and a Dog posed

·         I swooned over the details

·         We all trekked a snowy aisle

·         There were vows, declaration and a kiss!

·         Our recessional was tricky

·         Guests drank and I bustled

·         We ate finger-lickin’ good BBQ

·         We did The Dances

Honeys Do: The Dances

After dinner, we had the DJ's play a few songs before we did The Dances. But, I'm going to save all the awesome dance pictures for one post...so here's where I share our first dance and the father daughter dance.

Our first dance song was up for debate untillll...the day of the wedding! Yes, we picked our first dance song the day of.  We had it down to two different songs and just couldn't decide, we even practiced dancing to both songs in the days leading up to the big day and still couldn't decide! We declared our final decision after we finished our dinner, the DJ's were ready to play either song so it was just a matter of us making that decision.

Our final decision was Stand By Me by Ben E King. We didn't have a special song that we had ever claimed as ours, so it wasn't easy an easy pick; but in our eyes, Stand by Me is romantic and the words spoke to us, plus it was easy for us to glide across the floor too. I even made a promise in my vows to stand by Mr. Honey, although unintended, I like that the two crossed over.

Above 3 photos by BM Scoot

We chatted a little bit, I think I sang along at a few parts, but mostly we just took in the moment as we officially made Stand By Me our song. I remember at one point saying, "I feel like I have a death grip on you". And, I did.

Guest photo

Our photographer chose to take video of both the first dance and the father daughter dance; I felt like the room was silent as Mr. Honey and I danced our first dance because we were in such a blissful bubble, but when I watched the video I was surprised to hear just how much our guests were cheering us on! I would share the video with you but honestly, it is probably way more exciting for us to watch than it would be for you to watch.

Mr. Honey and I finished our first dance and we went immediately to the father daughter dance. Honey Dad & I picked a pretty nontraditional song for this dance...Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band. There was a couple reasons for this; one my dad cries at the drop of a hat, so something sentimental or emotional would have been a downer on the dance. Second, we both love two stepping so we wanted something more fast paced to showcase our love for a good 'ol country song and some country swing!

Check out that bustle job, yikes! 

I had so much fun doing the father daughter dance! Just like our first dance song, our guests enthusiastically encouraged our dancing with lots of cheering. Towards the end of the song, the DJ requested other father-daughters to join us but instead of just the father-daughters joining us, the dance floor was infiltrated with all sorts of combinations; mother-son, husband-wife, best friends, boyfriend-girlfriend, and even flower girl-flower girl! I love that our guests didn't listen to the father-daughter restriction and instead chose someone special to join my dad and I in the last minute of our song. 

Mama Honey & Honey Bro

BM Mae and her dad, my Uncle M

Flower Girls B & S

After Chicken Fried came to a close, the DJ put on a couple mellow songs so as to not pack out the dance floor quite yet...it was time for speeches!

*Unless otherwise noted, all Photos by the talented duo of Zak Fleming Photography

·         We had a busy wedding week

·         Teamwork made our Dream Work

·         We rehearsed casually

·         There was a pizza party!

·         Friday night was Princesses, Panties & Practice

·         Bridal details made me reminisce my morning  

·         I became a bride!

·         The Honey Girls took a walk in the snow

·         The Dudes got handsome

·         We did our First Look, with our doggy!

·         The Honeys posed as bride and groom

·         The Honey Dudes played in the snow

·         20 People and a Dog posed

·         I swooned over the details

·         We all trekked a snowy aisle

·         There were vows, declaration and a kiss!

·         Our recessional was tricky

·         Guests drank and I bustled

·         We ate finger-lickin’ good BBQ