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!

Devon loves Adri part III: They tie the knot!

Catch up on the series here: rehearsal, getting ready

Since I was a bridesmaid and got to stand up with Devon & Adri as they said their "I Do"s, I wasn't able to take pictures during the ceremony. Thus, all photos in this post were borrowed from family members :)

To say that I was honored to be a part of this day would be a dire understatement. I was a veritable fountain of emotion that day and the days preceding it, a detail confirmed over and over and over by comments from family and friends.

The ceremony site was beautiful, set on the grass overlooking a little pond inside the former race track. We walked down the aisle and set up in our places, watched the adorable ring bearers and flower girls, and then it was Adri's turn.

Devon was adamant about one thing; he did NOT want to see Adri before their wedding ceremony, so a first look was out. He wanted the first time he saw his bride to be the moment she walked down the aisle to him {Tim & I felt strongly about that as well, so we chose to forego the first look as well}. We all got to witness their first look as Adri rounded the corner on her father's arm, and it was priceless. I mean, you can't fake this:

Jen's photos

That started the ceremony on a pretty high emotional note, and it did not decrease from there. Rather than writing their vows (which Devon has always said were established by God and held by tradition and who are we to add to them?), they each wrote out why they wanted to marry the other person, and the pastor read it to the witnesses at the ceremony.

Jen's Photo

I tried my absolute hardest to keep from sobbing during the ceremony (tears of joy, of course), but I was unable to keep it in. I was a chin-quivering, snot-running, waterfall-of-tears ball of joy the whole time, starting from the moment I began walking down the aisle and didn't really reliably stop until I went to bed that night. Standing up in front of everyone didn't really help either; it was either look at the family who was in the same shape as I was, or look at the bride and groom, who were the reason I was in such a condition in the first place. Gaaaaaaaah I love those kids.

Jen's photo; my parents watching their baby boy get married

After exchanging vows, rings, taking communion, Devon & Adri kissed and were pronounced the new Mr & Mrs! 

Jen's photo; How these two still look fabulous even after all of their tears is beyond me

Tim jumped the line in the recessional so he could walk back down the aisle with me, which caught me off guard but was so sweet. I still had tears in my eyes so I appreciated the support!

The gazebo and lawn area surrounding it was laid out with lawn games to play while the bridal party took pictures, and it turned into one giant reunion to catch up with people we'd not seen in awhile. I'll admit I was a little busy schlepping decorations between ceremony site and reception barn, but it looked fun!!

Lorna's Photo; Tim and my Metzmama, Armenian for Grandmother

Lorna's photo; Mama and her three siblings. Jenny, Mama, David, Lorna

After about a half hour, we moved on over to the barn. It was reception time!

Devon loves Adri part II: getting ready

Catch up on the series here: rehearsal

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and crazy at the family of the groom's rental house. Like I said before, penguin suits and comforter togas were present, as well as lots of food and morning-appropriate booze like Bailey's and Egg Nog Liqueur.. While the family was busy being our crazy selves, I stole a few moments alone with the groom to give him Adri's wedding present and letter. He approved of the boudoir book she had made him :)

After much breakfasting and family bonding, it was time for me to head on over to the venue to start getting ready. Devon & Tim gave me a ride, since our house was just a few minutes from the venue and the boys would be needing a lot less time to get ready than we would!

He's excited for wedding day!!!

The weather was perfect at the barn that morning, hardly a cloud in the sky (and even the ones that were there in the morning were gone by afternoon).

 

Before things got too crazy, I pulled Adri aside for some alone time to read Dev's letter to her and open her present. He got her a new Bible engraved with her new married name. So sweet!

Then it was time for hair and makeup! We wanted to be mostly ready when the photographers arrived, so we could "stage" some getting ready photos and then slip the bride into her gown and get on with it!

Speaking of her gown, it was so cute! Such a princess ballgown, and it looked even better on her than on the hanger (which was one of my custom creations from Brittany's Joy Shop). Just wait and see!

We maids slipped into our bridesmaid dresses before the photographers arrived {to minimize nudity in photos if at all possible} and ate some snacks very carefully.

 

Lizzie, Megan, and Jessie ready to go!

Adri got a few moments alone with her neice, who would be one of the flower girls for the wedding.

 {those of you who've been around awhile and remember Adri's shower, this chunky baby is the same as this one just a few months ago:}

Crazy.

I took that lull in the day to slip out and check on some details for the reception, and everything looked ready to go! 

Once the hair and makeup was fully finalized, empty bellies were filled, and photographers were finished with detail shots of the wedding gown, Adri checked her bouquet and put some finishing touches on her bridal look: the rhinestone "I Do" stickers for the bottom of her boots. LOVE!

By then, the photographers were finished with Adri's dress and it was time to slip it on. GEEEEEHHHHH! It's so real!!

 

My minutes-from-becoming-sister-in-law looked like Bridal Ariel Barbie, right??! Adri's mom takes in Adri's bridal look. So sweet!

A few moments "alone" in front of the mirror before ladies' portraits and then it would be on to the reason for this whole shindig: Wedding time!