I recently rediscovered the video and mp3 files Xiah had recorded at my bachelor party and wedding last year. I just realized that I left off describing the reception for a later post! Well, it's a little late now, methinks, but here it is for those who are still interested.
We came back out to the reception area and were reintroduced along with our parents and seated at the head table. Then there were the toasts. Ben, I know, spent many many hours writing and revising his. There were some people there who thought it was odd, but knowing Ben better than they, I was deeply touched. It was filled with nuance and heatfelt emotion and I really, really wish I had a recording. Susie came next and her toast was an anecdotal improvisation, but had no less feeling or conviction.
After the toasts, we said a blessing on the Challah (that braided bread that we have on Shabbat and at Jewish ceremonies), and a blessing on the wine. Then it was time to start calling up everyone to the buffet! They went by table number and as people got their food, they were also invited to come by the head table to get a piece of the Challah. The Challah was huge, had bright rainbow sprinkles, and was laid out on the table right in front of us. We set it up this way so that we could have a sort of greeting line and chat with everyone as they came by. It was great! We got to have a moment with everyone individually, without them being shoved along like they would have if we had done a recieving line right after the ceremony. Plus it made the head table (and us) more accessible. I didn't want it to be one of those weddings where everyone sees the bride and groom, but never interacts.
Since they were calling up tables by number, it happened that our college friends were the last to get their food. In a bout of mischeivious tabular pride and revenge, Table 10 pranked Table 9 when Table 9 vacated to go get their meal. When the denizens of Table 9 returned, their wedding favors (the honey bears) had been stacked into a giant triangle in the middle of the table. There's a picture of it, along with some of the Table 10 hooligans
here
on page 16, #929...
After Kristin and I had wolfed down some food, we decided to make the rounds to each table to chat and have some pictures with everyone. It wasn't something we had planned, but I really wanted to see as much of everyone as I could before they left.
Dinner wound down after about an hour and a half and it was time for the dancing! Kristin had AGONIZED over what song we would dance to. I was, at one point, forbidden to suggest anything new, and only had limited input on the process in general. We did agree that we wanted to do a salsa as our dance though. And dance we did. Since I was not allowed to see the bride in her dress before the wedding, we hadn't had any official dress-rehearsal so I wasn't sure if we could do some of the dance moves we had tried in the kitchen. When we were alone after the ceremony, we took a minute to practice. Well it all paid off, because we were fantastic. Kristin looked gorgeous and I managed not to knock her over or look silly. Then the parent dances and the wedding party dances were done and everybody started to party!
The reception after that is pretty much a blur of dancing, laughing, and, at one point, riding a chair being hoisted up and down. Kristin was given the same treatment and shrieked like an animal caught in a bear-trap. By all accounts, I almost had my head smacked into the ceiling several times.
Once things began winding down around 10:30, we did the bouquet toss. We had agreed that we wouldn't be doing a garter toss, because Kristin said so (this is an acceptable argument only on certain occasions). There was such an uproar among the male guests that I managed to convince Kristin to do a Yamicha (the little round head covering ) toss instead. She was like "Ok, here you go." and handed it to me, but I would have none of that. I made her hold it out, and grabbed it with my teeth. At least we got that much. Then I tossed it.
The party continued until about 11:30 when we started breaking down stuff and saying our final goodbyes. Danny drove us home and waited patiently for me to pack up my tux so he could drop it off for me the next day. Everyone else had changed at the end of the reception, but I'm a sap and a romantic. I insisted that I get to carry Kristin over the threshold of our front door. This is something that one must do in a tuxedo.
The next day we got up and drove down to Carmel to spend four days in a cute bed and breakfast by the beach. And they lived happily ever after.
