We did it! We are married and ready to celebrate! To be honest, the whole ceremony was pretty emotionally draining (see: recurring theme of tears). Deborah and I jumped back in the car and looked at each other, filled with joy and love and said “So… naptime?” But no naps for us! While guests were being ushered through to the back for our entrance, we took a few moments to take some more photos with our wedding party and our officiant.
Now it was time to make it 100% official and sign our wedding certificate. It was a fantastic feeling to sign under ‘bride’.
In hindsight, it would have really been great to have either our flower girl or ring bearer stand beside the certificate throughout the night and ask guests to sign it. A lot of people signed our guest book that our photographer made us, but not the certificate. We did manage to get mostly everyone, and we got straggler signatures in the weeks after the wedding.
Our venue set up was ideal for an entrance into the ‘backyard’ for the beginning of our reception. We entered to the Overture from Candide, which is boisterous and so much fun. It really set the tone for the rest of the evening. Y’all, I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it felt to be introduced as Mrs. and Mrs. Campbell-Greene! Friends said we were smiling so much, that even our eyebrows were smiling. It was overwhelming– but in a very good way!
Our reception entrance!
Happy Excited Guests!
Since everyone was gathered around for our entrance, we took a moment to thank everyone for being there. If you have a chance, try and write out your thank-yous before hand. I thought we could just wing it, and I’m sure we left people out. It was also really hard to think of things on the spot!
Deborah was happy and eloquent in her speech!
I wanted to thank my parents for their support and love, since it was so important to us. Can you guess how my speech went?
I'm pretty sure I'm saying 'I thought I was done crying today!'
With our thank yous done and our tummies rumbling, it was time to eat! I never got a chance to tell SYE reader’s about our delicious food that was being served. We had grilled chicken with cilantro-lime sauce, cranberry rubbed pork tenderloin, sundried tomato pasta (for our vegetarian friends), green beans almondine, and a MASHED POTATO BAR. Yes, you read that right. Delicious mashed potato goodness, served in martini glasses with all the fixings.
Potato-y- goodness
It was dee-li-cious. And the potato bar was a huge hit! We also served a salad with cranberries and goat cheese for folks who were looking for a little lighter meal. Wedding day tip: Make sure you eat, but please do not eat too much. I had to take my corset off after dinner (thankfully my dress was fine without it). But going from nibbling on food all day to a full blown epic meal was a little more than we had bargained for!
But no rest for the married weary! Stuffed to the brim with great food, we then had to cut our cake! Amazing dessert on top of a great meal?! This is why some people say getting married is the best day of your life! (you know, besides all the love and commitment stuff).
Our first of two cakes was this amazing book cake from Cinderella Stories. Deborah and I both are huge nerds and love reading, so it seemed very appropriate to have a book cake! We had three flavors (Chocolate Tuxedo, Carrot Cake, and White Chocolate Raspberry) and three fun titles The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Fellowship of the Ring and Love’s Labours Won.
We had both warned each other that smashing a very good piece of cake into the other’s face was a waste of cake, so we opted for the sweeter alternative.
and a sweet kiss too!
We were so stuffed from dinner that we didn’t really eat that much of the cake that night. It was okay though, we had more than enough to take home, and the cake was good for another two weeks.
All Photos By Katherine O’Brien Photography.
Next Up: Time to Dance!
Want to See More Texas Wedding Recaps? Check Out:
The Ceremony, Part 1
Post-Portrait Shenanigans
Group Photos
Our First Look
Deborah Getting Ready
Michelle Getting Ready
Great post — beautiful couple. I am particularly curious about your marriage certificate. How did you do it? Did you create it yourselves or did your officiant do it for you?
Being a bride to be from FL, I feel like I can do whatever I want, since I’m not being handed a legal one.
I love your wedding certificate and cake – beautiful and personal touches!
Wow, congratulations! Your wedding cake is soo cute! :D
Adorable titles ladies, and the photo of your cutting your cake had me laughing outloud–so poised and at the ready!
Loved the cake…and the cutting of the cake!