Devon loves Adri part IV: the reception

Catch up on the series here: rehearsal, getting ready, ceremony

The ceremony had ended and lawn games were played, and after awhile it was time to move everyone into the barn for the actual reception and grand entrances. But first! A few detail shots of some things I'm pretty proud of :)

I made a bunch of signs for Adri and Dev's wedding, all wooden and rustic and hand-lettered. From the guestbook to the restrooms, the bar to the kid's table, the seating chart to the gift table. It was so fun to work on them for her (one less thing for her to do!), and so fun to see set up in the reception venue. Love it!

I also did a few last-minute framed signs for the sparkler table and guestbook table, since those two would need a little more explanation than most other things. I painted Dollar store frames with leftover paint from the signs and printed the signs on the computer.

 

They had an appetizer reception with lots of little hors d'oeuvres and beer and wine. I got a chance to catch up with my cousin Sydney who'd traveled all the way from Korea again for a family wedding--it would NOT have been the same without her and even though it was a ridiculously long trip for such a short visit I am so glad she was there.

After some food and spectacular (if fairly lengthy) toasts, it was time for the first dances. AAAAAaaaaaaand here's where I lost it.

such sweet smiles all around

 

Adri had picked Stephen Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" for her Father/Daughter dance, which was one my Dad & I had claimed for our own long ago (and ruled out for my wedding because it was too emotional for both of us), so emotions were already incredibly high before Devon's turn with my mom. 

 

By the time the first notes of the Mother/Son dance song had played, I was full-on ugly crying, complete with huge gulping sobs. But who could blame me??? It was my mommy and baby brother dancing to Phil Collins' "You'll Be In My Heart". You know, the one from Tarzan? Hashtag sobfest thankyouverymuch.

I was such a mess that I handed the camera off to Tim because I couldn't even see a single thing. My family was sitting across the dance floor from the head table where I was sitting, which didn't help our composure. Whenever any one of us would pull ourselves together, we'd accidentally catch eyes with someone else and cue the waterworks all over again. Holy heck I haven't happy-cried that hard in a long time.

Dev and his new bride took their first dance afterwards, and it was breathtaking. If it wasn't clear how much they loved each other during their ceremony, you couldn't miss it. So much love in their eyes.

Side note, how gorgeous is that barn?????? Okay one more gem and I'm done with the dances:

And with that, the party was ON! The DJ took a little while to get warmed up, sorry to say, but once he did it was awesome.

I am such a proud sister. After that, the reception was over. Okay, not exactly; it was at this point our good camera's battery went kaput, so I had to rely on my phone and/or other people's cameras to capture the moments. As a result, I don't really have many pictures of the rest of the event.

 There were a few things for which I got no photos: cake cutting (where both bride and groom smashed spectacularly), bouquet toss and garter toss (minor fight for each, no blood was drawn), and dancing. BUT believe me when I say that I danced my little booty off, sang until my voice responded no longer, and still managed to squeeze a few more tears out. Where do they all come from??? Who knows. 

One thing I couldn't leave the wedding without was a picture of me and my new sister. I love this girl so much! She is the woman for whom I have prayed long before I even met her, and she is perfect for my little brother. God knew what He was doing when he brought them into each others' lives.

A few more cousin pictures for the road, because no family event is complete without one (or ten). We can rarely take a serious picture, because we're that awesome.

Jen's Photos

Time for the sparkler getaway! Adri surprised Devon with a convertible Camaro as their getaway car--he had no idea and it was such a cool surprise! We lit our sparklers, they ran down the stairs, jumped in the car, and drove through the tunnel we'd made, off to their honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta!

Jen's photo

And they both lived happily ever after!