Unfortunately after the ceremony our memories are a little hazy, but here are the things that we remember:
We lined up with our parents for the receiving line in the Main Hall. It was so wonderful to finally see and speak with everyone that had come to celebrate with us. We got to see friends and family members that had come from as far away as Europe to share the day with us, and in some cases friends that we had not seen in several years. At least one relative who will remain nameless came through the line twice because he was too choked up to speak the first time around.
Once we had greeted all the guests, we moved out to the terrace to take pictures with the rest of the bridal party. Unfortunately, the humidity was causing the photography equipment to malfunction, which required all of us to hold our poses for quite awhile. We actually had to take turns holding the bridal bouquet, as it gets very heavy after awhile. After pictures on the terrace, we took some pictures with the Tom and Toon families, which alone made up about 75% of the guests.
After the photo session everyone gathered in the ballroom and the bridal party was introduced. For the first time, we entered a room as Gregory and Claire Toon, and danced our first dance to “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You”. We chose this song because when Greg asked me to marry him he said “Have I told you today that I love you? Have I asked to today to marry me?” (for more details see the proposal page). The Best Man gave his speech (toasted the groom but not the bride), followed by the Maid of Honor (revealed that we call each other ‘Cootie pie’). We were glad to escape into the dining room and eat!
Dinner was delicious, and we even got to enjoy the food. So many people said to us “We never ate at OUR wedding”. Not this couple. We made sure we tried a little bit of everything. The head table even toasted with a bottle of wine that the Coffeys bought the day Claire was born.
After dinner we had more opportunities to talk to our guests and thank everyone for coming. It was great to have so many people that we love under the same roof. When everyone had eaten, we again all gathered in the ballroom to dance with our parents. Claire danced to the Beatle’s “In My Life” with her Dad, and Greg danced to Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” with his Mom. Finally, we cut the wedding cake. It took us a few tries, but eventually we managed to cut a piece. The DJ picked up the pace a little and we decided to shake our booties on the dance floor. We danced and had fun for the rest of the night. Eventually though it was time to leave, so we said our goodbyes, got into the fashionably decorated Silver Bullet, and drove off into the night.
…..And we lived happily ever after. See Our Wedding Day photos.
