the "catering" and reception...

...this is EVERYONE who came to our wedding...dogs and all...what a great group...

As you might have gathered, we didn't hire anything to be done at our wedding...just short of a nurse at my work to be our photographer... Rob Hart. So about 99% DIY?! This included the "catering"...this was graciously done by our dads. Our dads were responsible for BBQing... this is something you would normally find them both doing at any other family function...so why not a wedding?! Well...probably because its a HUGE task, especially with a less than adequate grill as it turned out. But it looked like they had a blast, drinking their beers and socializing with the other males who gathered at the grill.

...my dad in the background man-ing the ribs, matt's dad man-ing the salmon...

...you can see how the men just started to gravitate towards this pile of coals...

We had salmon, ribs, and portobella burgers. With some random sides of... local french fries, potato salad, regular feta/cranberry/candied walnut salad. It was super tasty food...everyone was content I believe. My parents brought up many cases of two-buck-chuck from Trader Joes (our most favorite store) in California, we had white wine sangria, and widmer hef on tap. It was great to be able to do the rehearsal dinner the night before for the same number of people because it helped us to prepare for serving 75 people...how much food to have, alcohol... because the night before the margs ran out extremely fast. So we made lots of sangria for the wedding!

...my mom enjoying the sangria...

...my brother giving a high-five to his daughter...what a sweet moment I missed that day, but thankfully for pictures I get to enjoy it forever now...

...ahhh glorious two-buck-chuck, which we are still finishing off to this day...

...jessica looking as stunning as ever carrying a case of happiness...

...the most photogenic girl of the night, my niece haley, also my sweet flower girl...

...some of our friends playing bocce ball among other games...

It was a buffet style for the food... then people found any old seat at the tables. I didn't really want to do assigned seating that way friends and family could mingle as they wish...plus nothing was really hard-fast and formal at the wedding.

...fun string lights?! I think so...

...us laughing and crying over the very touching toasts...

...matt and i thanking all of our loved ones for their incredible support and making our dream wedding come true...

The string lighting my dad executed with lots of smart thinking bodies...figured out how to make my whimsical lighting come to life....and boy did they!! That happened the day before so the rehearsal/welcome dinner could have lighting as well. And then they extra lights were strung up by Matt's aunt Patty and cousin Lori...and I didn't even know how beautiful they were until I saw pictures afterwards... just breathtaking. So all of that lighting was a beautiful amount of light for eating and the toasts from Kelsey, my sister, and Ryan and Dylan- Matt's best friends...then we thanked everyone for the amazing amount of help and love and support they all gave us. The toasts were awesome...tear jerkers for sure. The main theme between all of them, which was funny, was that no one thought we'd make it...until they saw us together and happy...and now they know we will be happy and more than content forever. [side note: Matt and I met in Colorado...3 months later moved states together to Oregon where we knew no one, moved in together, merged dogs and all... and now 2.5 years later we are married...living in Idaho and havent had a bad day yet, we just knew the day we met this was it, we were utterly happy]

...my girlfriends trying to coordinate logistics: how to bring 200 cupcakes outside without a tray in sight...

...huridly trying to light candles, it was much darker and later than we had expected...

...our little 8" cake with the bird toppers, and bunches of cupcakes with toothpicks adorning little amy butler fabric ties...

...matt and i cutting the awkward little cake and laughing...

After dinner and the toasts we had cutting of the cake. This was something that I thought was silly. Why would we cut a cake in front of 75 people just starring at us? We specifically made an 8" cake alongside our cupcakes to cut...but not eat. We didnt have plates or forks to eat the cake... we had cupcakes afterall! So I protested...but people like to see newly weds cut the cake... so that we did. I was also worried that Matt would shove it in my face and I would get grumpy. He must have sensed that...because he didn't do it....we cut it, and gave each other a bite...it was fine. Something I wish I stood my ground on a little stronger on however....would have been a little more genuinely us. I had an issue with some wedding traditions...the "should-dos" of weddings...but I will get into that on a later post.

One tradition I loved was our first dance as a married couple. Our song from month-one was "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan. This song was one that Matt played in his big man-ly truck, with his 2 big burly dogs, driving through the wild backroads of colorado...when it played... I just looked at him and thought he was the man I was hoping to find...a strong, caring, funny guy who I was crazy about and who wanted to be with me. Just awesome. So, when we thought of a first dance song, there was no question in our minds... but would our parents feel wierd with a lady laying on a brass bed? Turns out no. We approached both sets of parents... and come to find out the song is from their generation and have some really fond memories of the first time they heard it. Our first dance was wonderful. It just sealed the night perfectly. We just had the wedding of our dreams, and now we get to be husband and wife forever.