We whipped through our portraits in about half an hour, anxious to get to the cocktail hour, where delectable appetizers, champagne and our loved ones awaited us.
Finally, Kelly declared us finished and we headed to the tent, traversing through rough terrain that included puddles, mud and rain galore...
I basically held my dress up like in the photo above for the entire reception. Siiiiigh...Should've gotten one of those loop-things sewn in like Mrs Seashell did!
Right at the beginning of the cocktail hour, my photographer caught this shot of my pretty, mixed-metal bling (cause I know we all love a good ring shot :). )
During our ceremony, our caterer (Spice of Life Catering) worked hard to set up the tables and place settings. I was really happy with the way everything turned out, I felt like the tent was a dream-like vision of rustic chic.
My mason jars in action! I still love them so much, I wish I could build a house out of blue mason jars!
My home-made menus and dried lavender bunches looked very dainty at each place setting.
And then there was my cake.
Let me tell you a funny story about this cake...If you've followed me from the beginning, you'll notice that I never once posted anything about a cake. No inspiration cakes, no cake tasting (dammit! Still sad I missed out on that), nothing.
So imagine my surprise when I got to the reception and saw this beauty sitting there! I vaguely remembered my caterer mentioning something about a presentation cake but I thought it would be a single, little, mini-cake. Instead, she went all out and did an incredible two-tiered vanilla with fresh fruit filling and our florist gave her a few spare blooms to decorate.
I did not think it was possible to fall in love with a cake but I am totally head-over-heels in love with our random, surprise of a cake.
Sadly, the air was so humid from the rain that most of my paper products started curling up before the reception started, so things like our "Bride" and "Groom" signs for the chairs couldn't be hung up. Oh well, the best laid plans...
Same deal with the escort cards, see the curl?
The flip-flop basket was a huge hit (probably because the ground was so wet and muddy, no one wanted to wear their high heels!) These were gone before 8:00 pm, so I'm very glad I decided to do 'em!
These lanterns were such a steal. I got them from a random online wedding store when they were on sale ($25 for 8!) and they fit in with the wedding decor perfectly. I haven't seen anything similar since, so I'm mighty glad I snatched them up when I did because they were absolutely gorgeous hanging up in the tent.
As the ceremony let out, guests made their way through the driving rain to the tent, where champagne and massive quantities of cheese were waiting.
Mmmmm, brie...There was also all sorts of delicious munchables, including vegetable crudite, a Mediterranean spread of hummus, baba ganoush, etc as well as passed appetizers that included peanut-marinated beef skewers (OMG these were the best!), various sushi, salmon bruschetta and spanakopita (see our full menu here.)
My drink flags were put to good use as our guests dominated the bar.
The original plan for the cocktail hour was to have it outside by the pond nearby. Obviously, that did not happen due to the rain so the cocktail hour ended up being just inside the reception tent (we added a smaller side tent to house the food stations.)
We had a few high-top tables set up around the perimeter of the tent and guests used the dance floor to mingle. Some of our older guests found their seats right away, so all in all, I think the cocktail hour rain plan worked out just fine!
Our ketubah was moved from the ceremony to the reception so guests could admire it (that's Grandma Trailmix, for the record.)
And many took the time to sign our gorgeous guest book! That's FIL Trail Mix...
We were handed a plate of food as we arrived underneath the tent and went to town, eating, drinking and trying to say hello to everyone. It was awesome, it was overwhelming, it was crazy and it was so fun. I loved our cocktail hour (and hear from many that the food was incredible, which if my memory serves me correctly, it was.)
After a little over an hour, the band got on the microphone, asked guests to find their seats and it was time for our first dance!
Follow along, if ya want!
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