Upon the guests’ arrival into the tent, the band was playing and our intention was for everyone to head straight to the dance floor. I realize this is a bit unusual, but we wanted our wedding to be fun for everyone, and often times, after sitting through a long dinner, people aren’t in the mood for dancing. By kicking off the tent environment with dancing, we thought this might help in keeping the energy high all night. Though we weren’t in there for this first part of dancing (we were still in the club enjoying a final drink with just our wedding party before they announced us), everyone we saw said the tent was hopping.

After about 25 minutes of dancing, the wedding planner cued us for our grand entrance. The Hubby and I headed straight for the dance floor when we were announced to tackle our first dance. After months of lessons at Arthur Murray, we were ready to wow the crowd. (Another tip: Practice your dance in your dress with your man if you can before you take to the dance floor. It was definitely a little trickier than we intended to do some of the spins, and I even practiced at Arthur Murray in a petticoat, so I’m glad we had that little trial run to adjust our footing.) The band played “You Make it Real” by James Morrison, and The Hubby twirled me around the floor, while we talked about how we couldn’t believe the day was finally here!

Once we made our final dip, we headed straight to the cake to cut our first slice. Robin from Gateaux, Inc. here in Minneapolis created not one, but TWO masterpieces for our  guests. The first cake was the cake we cut at the reception, and it was delicious. The cake actually mimicked my dress precisely. The lace detailing on the cake was inspired by the lace detailing on my dress, so where there was embellished lace on my dress (the bust, the waist, and the hem) there was also embellished lace on the cake. Our table numbers were glass cylinders with the number etched onto them, so the accent piece on the cake was a corresponding glass cylinder with our initials on it.

The cake we had at the afterparty was considered a groom’s cake, and it was a bit more fun. Because we met on an airplane, Robin created a suitcase with a Notre Dame inspiration (our alma mater) and then she incorporated aspects of our life together: our dog’s collar, golf balls, a hockey puck, a signed hat by Lou Holtz that The Hubby gave to my dad early in our relationship, and she even recreated the boarding passes from the flight that we met on. People were so awestruck by the second cake that we saw many guests touch it just to see if it was real. (It was and it tasted DELICIOUS!)

After the cutting of the cake, The Hubby and I began to mingle between tables while the rest of our guests enjoyed their salad. We worked my father’s toast (which was a definite tear jerker), the father/ daughter dance (our lessons paid off as well!), and the mother/ son dance (“Never Alone” is a phenomenal song for this occasion) in between courses, and then we asked guests to join The Hubby and his mom on the dance floor for another bout of dancing. We wanted to keep the guests engaged with the band, and we didn’t want a dull moment all night! (I also can’t stand the clinking of the glasses to get us to kiss, and because people were constantly dancing, and while people were eating The Hubby and I were mingling, no one ever had the opportunity to clink. Score!)

Toward the end of dinner The Hubby and I got up to thank our guests. We tried to make it around to every table (we missed the last three of our friends, but we got to dance the night away with them at the late-night party, so it was okay). My groom surprised me (I didn’t think it was possible to surprise me on this day I so carefully planned), but he stood in front of all our guests and thanked me for all my efforts to make the day what it was (I thought he was going to thank our parents). It was beautiful and so considerate . . .  well done, Hubby. Well done.

Following our thanks, my matron of honor got up and gave a wonderful toast that started with my husband’s advice to her a day earlier. He told her, “Seventy-five percent of all bridesmaids’ toasts aren’t good, so just don’t cry or tell any inside jokes and you’ll do better than most.” Her advice to me at the start of the toast after recounting this story: Leave our future children’s pep talks to me (which received a hearty round of laughter from the crowd). Nonethless, she didn’t cry and even The Hubby was impressed, so the toasts were off to a strong start. Then our best man got up to give his toast, and this was the moment we’d all been waiting for. You see, about two months ago, our best man thought it might be fun to do a flash mob at the wedding. We all joked about it, but after awhile I thought, why not? So The Hubby and I had our dance instructor put together a video for a select number of our guests, and we sent it out about a month before. The plan was to have the BM give his toast and then invite the Father of the Groom up to the dance floor to add a little something. They broke into dance, and the rest of us joined in (both sets of parents included).  I don’t want to give away too much; you just need to see for yourself, so click here.

The night started to whirl by after the flash mob. Dancing continued in the tent until the band announced it was time to go back into the club and onto the back terrace for fireworks. The was my dad’s second favorite task (after finding the car) and I must say, he did a phenomenal job! The show, which lasted about 15 minutes, was the perfect end-cap for some people’s evenings, and for others, it was the perfect foray into the late-night party. By the time the grand finale was complete, the DJ was rocking back in the club, which was converted into a lounge-like atmosphere. We had sleek couches and funky lighting to keep people relaxed and wanting to party. We also had a photobooth (which made for some VERY entertaining pictures the next day), and snacks (that included McDonald’s French fries, Juicy Lucy’s, cheese curds, mini hot dogs, and donuts and coffee for the wee hours of the morning) to keep people full while they continued to drink. My mom put together an arrangement of wedding pictures from my and The Hubby’s families. We had pictures dating all the way back to the early 1900′s of weddings from our relatives. As an extra special touch, my mom blew up the photo from my grandma’s wedding that took place on the very altar that The Hubby and I said our vows only a few hours earlier.

We also had a candy bar, a cigar bar, a guest book of our engagement pictures with white space for people to sign, signature cocktails (the Mr. S and the Mrs. S), and a smattering of other little details that rounded out the day. The funny thing about the details is that I put all my time and energy during the planning process into making sure I had every detail covered, but throughout the day, I was so busy I wasn’t able to take much, if any, of it in. As a guest of a wedding, the details are all I notice, but as a bride, the details were the furthest thing from my mind. (Fortunately a number of our guests recognized the details, so I know all the extra touches didn’t go unnoticed!)

The party extended into the wee hours of the morning, and we ended the night with the same song we started the night with: “Good Feeling.” (It seemed more appropriate than “Call Me, Maybe” even though that was also a big hit of the night.) And after a number of hugs and thank yous, we ushered our final guests onto the last bus to the hotels, which meant the only individuals who were left were my parents, my planner, and my guy—the very people who were so instrumental in making the day the best day of my life.  There aren’t enough thank yous in the world to express my gratitude to each of them, but lucky for all of us, I have the rest of my life to try.

With the end of the night closing in on me, I looked around at the end result of more than a year of planning. Even though my feet were aching and my dress was dirty, I knew I would never forget how I felt in that very moment. I was proud of myself, my parents, my guy, and everyone who poured their heart and soul into making the day a reality; I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of saying goodbye to my former life (and life as a bride) and embracing my new one as a wife; I was happy that everything went seemingly without a hitch (and that a bed was a mere minutes away); I was sad that it was over and I wasn’t able to spend even more time with all of our amazing guests, but most importantly, I was excited. Excited that the day was so much fun; excited for our upcoming honeymoon that would be free of timelines and to-do lists; excited to be  starting a new life with my best friend; and excited to have my free time back . . . well, until the thank you-notes begin.