Of Happily Ever After - Pt. II

Being married. Who knew it could happen so fast?

My dear, dear BTB family. For those of you were able to come, for those of you who were there in spirit- my heart goes out to all of you. You have all been such a big part of this story, maybe in ways you don't even know. There were so many classes in which I had red eyes, a distanced spirit, or sagging eyelids from the red eye flight the day before- but you were and always will be my family, just like BTB will always be my home. I love you guys.

Ah yes. The family photos. I won't lie, we had this down to an ART. Considering we had huge families with multiple little people, we did a smack-tastic job of getting these photos down. Stacey and I planned how we could get the best family photos done in the quickest time with militant precision. I think we did a pretty good job!

Another reason small bridal parties rock and roll. It's just posing with your best friend (or only friend, boohoo... I kid, I kid!) for endless shots! What else could be better?!

^^How we were told to pose...

^^How we felt like posing. Hm.

One thing I will forever be grateful for is the beautiful vision both my parents and Jacob's parents had for what a family should be- long before Jacob and I were around! Our siblings are our best friends, confidents, co-shindig starters, and above all, those we grew up with and continue to grow with.

(Note: not all siblings pictured ;))

And now ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the Mr. & Mrs. session. Planned, presented, executed... with the greatest attention and care. All in approximately 35 minutes. Can we get a round of applause on that? Thank you, thank you.

We like kissing in pictures. Sorry :]

"Hey Jacob, look at me!"

...just kidding.

You'll notice a lot of black and white photos. Both Jacob and I love black and white when it comes to photography, simply because it is so timeless and classy.

All done! And we weren't acting crazy. We are crazy. Ask Stacey for yourself. The reason we were in such a 'hurry' to finish the couple photos was the fact that we wanted to hang out. We wanted to talk. We wanted to stuff our faces. We wanted to dance our tulle-d bums off (speaking for myself here). I didn't want our guests sitting around for hours eating carrot sticks while we chapped our lips and documented endless PDA (which is fun to do, but not as much fun as jiving with the best people in our lives!) in front of Stacey and her poor assistant (and husband!) Dave. We didn't want to document staged kisses and hand holding so much as we wanted to capture memories. We wanted photos that told stories and sparked adrenaline in our veins.

The father daughter dance was something I was very picky about. In going about the music, I told my musically eccentric father that he had free range for choice of song. My only request was that it NOT be a sappy, 'everyone cries' song. We already cried enough during the ceremony, for goodness sake. We ended up choosing Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder.

As mentioned, Dad and I don't have a 'daddy's little girl' type of relationship. My dad is hilarious. He's also a genius. I never see him get angry or upset. He has taught me patience, humor, to pursue life with excellence, and to love every moment God gives me. He also taught me to dance like Bill Cosby, which is why about a 1:30 into Stevie Wonder, we cut in with some Crazy in Love by Beyonce... and cut loose with a little bit of help from our friend Bernie.

I love you, Dad. And not in the sort of way that involves endless hugging and instagram posts on Father's Day. The kind of love that thanks you for your hard work, your educating me in the way that is right, and for genetics that allow me to lift a lot and show off some large calf muscles.

The first dance was something Jacob and I had talked about, but not really talked about... if that makes sense. Things we talked about:

1. Don't use the song All of Me

2. Dont use the song Thousand Years (of ANY arrangement)

3. Don't use the song God Gave Me You

4. Don't use Frank Sinatra

5. Don't slow dance

6. FOR CHEESE SAKE DON'T DANCE FOR 5 MINUTES STRAIGHT AND BORE EVERYONE OUT OF THEIR MINDS

So what did we chose? Dean Martin's Ain't That A Kick The Head. With subtle Tom Cruise referencing which NO ONE but Jacob, myself, and a few old timers from CollegePlus will understand. And seriously. I'm a martial artist. My love better be a kick in the head. But we won't just tell you. We'll show you just a smidgen. (Note: We didn't rehearse this or choreograph.)

We wanted to do something crazier, but unfortunately, that would have been highly scandalous considering my dress. So we didn't do anything crazier. We reserve the right to post something crazier in the near future ;]

We didn't get a caterer for the wedding. My mother dear, Miss Monica, Jacob's mom, and an army of siblings helped me make my dream wedding smorgasbord. I owe them more than I can pay for all the help they provided. We decided against having a main course meal sort of deal and went for something completely random and maybe anti-wedding food. I'm not sure, but I thought it was dandy, and as the bride, I call the shots, right? 

We presented to our guests a full dip bar with main course dips, side dips and salsas, humus, dessert dips, and an entourage of chips, breads, vegetables, crackers, fruit, and so forth. Our neighbor, Miss Christine, happens to be a caterer, and while she didn't make any of the food, she offered up her services in setting up the dips and refilling dishes. She's a kitchenly angel, that lady.

We didn't plan much in terms of wedding activities. We didn't have a garter or bouquet toss, we didn't have a huge list of dances that needed to be had, we didn't have a huge list of games or such to complete. After the father daughter dance and the first dance, we got to eat (AMEN AMEN) and my brother Tim (DJ extraordinaire and MC) offered up a chance for our guests to test their Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Clifton trivia. It was a hoot as far as Jacob and I were concerned.

The cake. It was beautiful as far as I as concerned. But coming from two people who don't eat cake, cutting our wedding cake was... a unique experience. At least I shoved some in Jacob's eye. So... it wasn't a total loss! We were both glad to finish that, because if the cake cutting was done... that meant only one thing. It was time to hit the dance floor, baby.

We danced like mad people. What's funny, awesome, and strange about wedding playlists is that you never know what song is going to be the song. The song that everyone starts hollering at the top of their lungs. The song that gets everyone out of their seats and jumping around for no reason other than it's the song. Well. For our wedding, that song was Some Nights by Fun. I had originally put it on the playlist because of an inside joke I have with Kaitie, but somehow, for some reason... next thing I knew, a bunch of people were singing as loud as they could. Sorry, ladies. You knew this photo was bound to hit the internet! Some nights I always win, I always win...

                                     

When Jet's Are You Gonna Be My Girl hit the speakers, Jacob and I started dancing because well, it's our jam, of course. We have the moves, you see.

But next thing we knew, a bunch of people had semi-circled us and started singing and clapping along, so we turned it up.

Again, it's just another reminder of how lucky we are to have such wonderful, caring, and support friends to be with us and around us.

And as the crazy dancing slowed down, Sinatra took over and a soft romantic glow filled the room. You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss...

I lost track of everyone else as the songs rolled on. I felt perfectly happy because I was happy, but also because I knew everyone else was having a good time, which was SO important to me. I wanted our guests to feel free to kick back, dance, talk, anything they wanted.

For the send off, we didn't want rice. Or flowers. Or rice krispies. We chose rainbow sprinkles, because they are fantastically colorful and happy looking.

I'm really not sure what else to say. As the wedding winded down and things came to a close, I felt so shocked and confused that any of this was real. Driving off, we felt like we had accomplished something great, and not just because we finally got married, but because those we love most were just as happy as we felt. Honestly, it will forever be one of the best days of my life.

Thank you to everyone who made 10.13.14 possible! Because of you, dreams came true in the richest sense I could have imagined. God has blessed both Jacob and me through the words, prayers, and kindness of those around us.

The best is yet to come, come the day you're mine
Come the day you're mine
I'm gonna teach you to fly...

06.07.12

03.07.13

04.18.14

10.13.14