Such a Perfect Day, Part 5

There’s little I can say to adequately summarize how much fun we had at our reception, but, nevertheless, I’ll try :) Most people say that your reception flies by, and you won't remember anything; but, since we accomplished the feat of actually having a small wedding, and planned everything ourselves, I think Matt and I managed to enjoy every little nuance of the evening. We started off with a cocktail hour and some intense mingling to replace the receiving line. We drank sparkling chardonnay out of beautiful Lenox flutes on loan from our friend Janey. We sampled all of the yummy hot hors d’oeuvres, and tried to say hello to everyone in attendance.

Mom Keefer, Me & Mom Cooper

Matt's sister Teresa, and Marcia and Tom

One of my favorite things about the reception is the centerpieces that I masterminded and completed with some help from friends. Each table had a different fishbowl-like hurricane glass. Inside, there was a tall pillar candle, held up with sand that had all different levels, just like the sand dunes. The sand was sprinkled with sparkling glass beads, tiny shells, and multicolored rocks. Around the centerpiece were scattered smaller votives. Instead of table numbers, we did table names. Each table was named after the favorite places that Matt and I have traveled. Erin, our table name scrapbooking and bride makeup doing redhead extraordinaire, made beautiful table cards, using the names we gave her and photos of ours. The tables were: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah; Coachella Festival, Indio, California; Cottonwood and Flagstaff, Arizona; Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona; Festival en el Barrio Viejo, Tucson, Arizona; Julia Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California; Luna Lake Campground, Alpine, Arizona; Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California; San Francisco, California; and, Verde Valley, Jerome, Arizona. The head table represented where Matt and I first met: Kohl Hall, BGSU, Bowling Green, Ohio. The chairs had plain ivory chair covers and blue sashes. For not a lot of money, the tables looked awesome!

Classic Freimark

College friends: Anjali, Caleb & Pinkelman

When the cocktail hour was over, we were introduced to the tune of Willie Nelson’s “Good Hearted Woman.” After Matt and I entered—for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Cooper—we went straight into our first dance. I have to say, the dance was a tiny bit of a letdown, only because we felt like it was a total failure. Matt and I took a few hundred dollars worth of dancing lessons before the wedding. We had our first dance down pat, and were so excited to actually look like we knew what we were doing; however, we had obviously never practiced the dance with me in my wedding dress. The moment Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell started singing “You’re All I Need To Get By,” I was barely on my feet, tripping on my train at every movement. Although I had a loop sewn into the dress, to help carry the tiny train, the train wasn’t substantial enough to bustle, and the loop wasn’t long enough for me to hold while dancing. Oh well, right? We managed to still lovingly gaze into each other’s eyes, and get through the dance without me doing a faceplant.

The Lydeckers and Pete

Dad, Alan, Mom, Uncle Bill, Jan, Kathy

Right after our first dance, I danced with my father to Cat Stevens’ “Wild World.” My Dad can cut a pretty decent rug, so no issues there. Matt danced with his Mom to Neil Young’s “My Boy.” And the DJ messed up our in-law song, but we got through it. One of the funny/odd moments of the reception came just as salads were being served. I think the DJ thought, like most other weddings, that there would be at least a few children present. Not the case at our wedding, but, all of a sudden, I realized he was playing a grandiose version of the Disney song “Be Our Guest.” Fail. We had a lovely dinner anyhow, with huge portions of everything.

Mom & Dad XOXO

Uncle Mark, Lesley (photographer/bachelorette party organizer/commissioner of fun), Reverend Topher

After everyone was eating, we started the toasts. Joe gave the official toast, which couldn’t have been more perfect or poignant or beautiful or heartfelt or warm. I still hesitate to call Joe Matt’s best man—I feel like he was our best man after the toast. The tears kept coming, as my father, my Uncle Bill, and others toasted us. And, just so it wasn’t too much of a “moment,” Dennis and Uncle Pete did a rousing rendition of a funny love song on guitar and with wavering, drunken falsetto and bass. It was hilarious! After dinner, the bridal party danced to Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” And so began the dancing portion of the evening.

Rah-Rah & Chris

Eamonn and my second mom, Sharon

I don’t think I’ve ever danced so much in my life, and not cared for a second what I probably looked like. We danced to The Temptations and Madonna and Springsteen; I danced with Hank (my new grandpa) to “Bad to the Bone”; and, we generally didn’t sit down for the next hour. Another favorite moment of mine was slow dancing to Radiohead’s “House of Cards.” A lot of people actually joined us for this song—a song that holds tremendous meaning in our relationship. I think Alan said it best: “Wow, this is cool. When do you ever get to slow dance to Radiohead?” It was a wonderful moment with each other and with our guests.

Gettin' down

At the head table

When it came time for the cake cutting, we had to stall a bit because Tom and Marcia were missing. This led to some funny photos and we got to enjoy listening to all of Thievery Corporation’s “Sweet Tides.” We did the garter and bouquet toss together, to the tune of Al Green’s “L-O-V-E.” The garter was the same garter that my grandmother, mother, aunt, and other important woman wore on their wedding days, so it was a special thing to add into the mix. We also attempted a money dance, starting with embarrassing Sharon and Eamonn by starting with Monty Python’s “The Money Song.” We followed, of course, with Pink Floyd’s “Money,” and trickled off into dancing in a huge group to James Brown’s “The Big Payback.”

Matt, Caleb (the bride-to-be), Jack, Me

We ended the reception by taking some time to thank everyone who helped us make such a beautiful week and night possible. Then, everyone joined us on the dance floor for the best last dance we could have ever picked: the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place.” [P.S. Brian, this one went out to you too. P.P.S. The video of this is quite possibly one of my favorite. things. ever.] As the reception concluded, and people trickled out, our core group of the wedding party and a few friends stuck around for one last drink. I walked back into the main room to gather my stuff, only to hear Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash’s version of “Girl From The North Country,” and Caleb waiting to dance with me. I got a warm, gooey feeling in my heart, and danced the second last dance with Caleb.

Eamonn & Gretchen

Emily & Topher

Even though the reception was over, the fun was only beginning…