Wednesday Wedding Weecap Weedux

(Warning: there are approximately 11 hundred million large pictures in this post.)

Dear Internets,

Thing 1.
I'm thinking of giving my blog the month of April off from the "Dear Internets" format. Thoughts?

Thing 2.
Here's semi-proof that I actually performed stand up on Monday:



Thing 3. Here are some of the early pictures from the wedding, with commentary. (All photos are by the fantastic, wonderful, adored-by-Achilles-me-and-our-families Melanie Dodds, unless noted.)

I got ready at my parents' house. I think I was the least nervous person there. I just felt very Zen. And silly.

(photo by my sister)

I didn't want to hide from Achilles (or anyone else) before the ceremony, which turned out to be awesome. We had a chance to get a lot of photos done, and spend time with family and friends during cocktail hour. (It also meant I spotted the rabid bat* and had a chance to have it removed before the under-5 crowd arrived. Win!)

(photo by my friend Loly)

I didn't have bridesmaids, but two of my best friends decided to wear purple shoes to support me. (My sister and I also changed into matching sparkly flip-flops at the reception.)


Originally, I didn't want to walk down an aisle at all. The day before the wedding, I changed my mind ("Forget forgetting tradition!") and decided I wanted both my dad and my nephew to walk me down the aisle 9,000 concrete steps to the gazebo to meet Achilles and the judge.


We had to pick the music at the last minute. We walked down the aisle to a ukulele instrumental version of "All You Need is Love." (My dad is a huge early-Beatles fan, and I'm obviously a ukulele fan.) My nephew was distracted by a fountain at the top of the stairs, but at the last minute, ran down and grabbed my hand.

(photo by my sister)

Our ceremony was short, but really nice. Achilles has known the judge that married us since he was in elementary school (Achilles, not the judge).


Music for the "recessional": "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

We took a few minutes after the ceremony to take pictures and spend some time together. This was also great, as we spent most of the rest of the evening talking to people. These are a couple of my favorites:


Dinner was amazing. Despite the expression on my face in this picture (I think I was chewing), the food was fantastic. We served raspberry mojitos (an ode to our trip to Puerto Rico and the color pink).

photo by my parents' next-door neighbor

Flower baby (niece) and matron of honor (sister):

photo by my parents' next-door neighbor

I know dancing is one of those things a lot of people leave out of weddings, but I *love* dancing (despite having no rhythm). I even added a song request feature to our online RSVP**. Achilles and I danced our first dance to "Question" by the Old 97's. We did a sort of modified foxtrot, and didn't miss any steps (which, for two people with no rhythm, is kind of a big deal).

photo by my sister

After our first dance, we invited all our friends out to dance to a "special" song. We played the opening measures to "Don't Stop Believing." Then we Rickrolled everyone. (Sing it with me... "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down..." Perfect wedding song, really.)

photo by my friend Loly

After that, we played my nephew's request ("I Gotta Feeling" - The Black Eyed Peas)...

photo by my sister

...and some other songs... (There's a video of my dad and my nephew dancing to "SexyBack" that I'd love to post... if I could only figure out how...) My cousin (who's about 5) had some insane dance moves, including one that culminated in him sliding across the floor on his knees.

We had an impromptu cupcake-cutting...

photo by Loly

...and impromptu toasts (the best kind)

photo by Loly

Melanie brought out the mustaches (BEST. PHOTOGRAPHER. EVER!)


Then we left by pedicab and headed to the Driskill.



photo by Loly

A wonderful day and night - I wouldn't have changed a thing.

If you are still reading, it is possible that you actually want to see more pictures. Here are some detail shots.

We had a tree/birds/pink theme. Instead of a guest book, my friend Lyndee made us a swirly fingerprint tree (from an old doodle I'd made on a notebook). I don't have a photo of it right now, but I'll upload one ASAP.

Of course, we had the little birds. (I ended up making the veil for the girl bird out of leftover tulle from my mom and sister's weddings.)


The little birds sat atop the cupcake stand (the venue put this together - not what I'd pictured originally, but it turned out lovely)

photo by my sister

My mom, dad, sister, Achilles' mom and godmother, and I all made cookies as wedding favors. Guests took them home in little Chinese takeout boxes (my friend Lyndee made the labels for the boxes).


Lyndee also moved heaven and earth to get me peonies (my favorite flower). Apparently, a late freeze killed most of the peony crop, so I didn't think I'd be able to have them. I burst into tears when she gave them to me. My shoes were from Nordstrom. Dress, shoes, hair, makeup and jewelry came out to less than $300 total. Win!


More pictures from my family and friends are (slowly) being uploaded to Flickr, if you're interested in checking those out.

Lessons learned:

• Overall, we spent less than a third of what the average Austin couple spends on a wedding, and less than one fifth of the national average. Nice weddings don't have to be expensive.
• We have the nicest friends and family in the world.
• If you hire a photographer, find one like Melanie.
• Always check for rabid bats.
  
• It's OK to be firm about the things that are important to you.
• Above all else, relax. You'll enjoy everything a lot more, even if it's not exactly what you originally envisioned.

Onward!

Love,
Jane

*Yep. Rabid bat. Perfect for a native Austinite wedding.
**A great way to ensure that your guests compliment your taste in music.