Wedding!!!!

The wedding was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! It was the first "real" (traditional) wedding I've ever been to. First time I've ever had wedding cake, yadda yadda. The other two weddings I've been to were really small affairs with no real reception/ really casual house parties as the reception. 

So today we went to the wedding of my cousin Scott and his new bride, Christina Ritchie. I didn't quite know what to expect, I knew I'd see a lot of family that I haven't seen in awhile, I knew that I had never met the bride and hadn't seen my cousin (second cousin) the groom in YEARS and essentially that the wedding would be chock-full of people both unrelated and related who I don't know very well, with only about 5 people total that I feel really close and comfortable with (my mom, my sister, my Aunt Brandy, her boyfriend... I guess four people...). So I was a little apprehensive on the way, thinking about the pressure of kibitzing with strangers and family that might as well be strangers when it comes to knowing what to talk about with each other (though don't get me wrong, I love them dearly). Add to that the fact that I am walking around awkwardly in heels and a dress and I was definitely uncomfortable.

When we first arrived there weren't many other guests there, my mom, my sister and I kinda mozied around between patches of shade in the hot afternoon waiting for more people to arrive for small talk. More people did arrive and all with smiles and hugs and the expected comments such as "look how big you've gotten," "you get any taller and you'll... (fill in the blank)," "the last time I saw you, you were only this big (accompanied by a gesture indicating just how big lol)," etcetera.
The standard phrases, which is not said to cast a negative light on those relatives, because I say all of those same lines given the proper circumstances haha.
But anyway, let's skip ahead past the awkwardness of the beginning, eventually we all sat down for the ceremony, and what a beautiful venue, ceremony, and especially couple!!! It was a wonderful ceremony with many smiles, tears and hugs (and of course the big kiss), with warm feelings being shared by all present. The bride's gown was phenomenal, her jewelry shimmering and sparkling beautifully in the afternoon light, and her smile glowing brighter than anything else. My cousin Scott of course could not have looked happier. The ceremony having ended the staff transformed the venue into party mode while we had drinks, ate hors d'oeurves, and took pictures in the free photo booth with funky accessories provided for us guests. Later the wedding party was introduced, the toast given, and we were all served dinner. 

The bride and groom then made their way around the tables to talk to all the guests and I finally got to meet the bride for the first time, we talked briefly about swing dancing, our shared love for it, and The Atomic Ballroom where I first got hooked on it. She was energetic, friendly, and even pointed out the other swing dancers and told me to snatch one of the boys for swing dancing later. I might not have taken her up on her offering of friends, had my mother not intervened haha (Thank you Mom lol :p). The DJ/announcer had said something to the effect of "I've heard some of you out there are swing dancers, so come on up and let's see what you've got." My mom told me to go ask one of the boys at the other table, but not knowing them or if they already had partners I didn't want to approach them, so my mother promptly called their attention and announced my love for swing dancing. A few minutes later (after taking my sister's spandex so I could dance, thanks Mallory ^_^) one of them asked me to dance and I accepted and gave him my hand as my heart began to race and my nerves amped up.


This guy was a total stranger, I didn't know what style of swing he would do, how much better of a dancer he might be, and was worried I might not be a suitable dance partner for him. On top of that there were only about 4 or 5 couples total who went up to dance in front of the ENTIRE wedding party! All my family, all those strangers, EVERYBODY was watching the 8-10 of us from their seats (and as most of the other dancers were friends of the bride and therefore strangers to my extended family, there was plenty of attention put on me... it was really embarrassing but also flattering and exciting later to hear all their surprised and approving remarks about my ability to dance. One of the strangers sitting at my table who we had been chatting with through dinner even said nice things, asked me how long I had been dancing and said she wanted to learn. She was amazed that my partner and I knew what to do even though we were strangers haha). 


So I kinda ruined the ending of this story of nerves. I was super nervous and the anxiety was starting to swell up, but as soon as my dance partner (whose name I never learned lol oopsie) led me through my first turn, all the nerves melted away! He was a great dancer, his style meshed with mine perfectly, I didn't step on his feet, slip out of his reach, or miss a single step the entire time! It was awesome! & then as the first song ended he flawlessly led me into a dip, and I even remembered to tuck my foot in gracefully and keep my upper leg bent instead of just throwing my leg out there like I usually do haha. I thanked my partner for the dance and he went off to ask my sister to dance (not knowing that she doesn't know how to yet or that I had her spandex). I was about to inch off the stage and back to my seat when another man asked me to dance the next song. He was much less perfect of a match, but still a fun partner and he was very good. The shortcomings were indeed mine as I was clueless as to how to compliment his footwork and fancy style, but we still managed to dance smoothly together and no one was the wiser outside of us swing dancers. After the two swing dances we were applauded and then went back to our seats. The positive feedback was overwhelming, and very reassuring, (I have always wondered if perhaps I look awkward or gawky while swing dancing, because I never have a mirror to know and have never taken any lessons). 


Later there was other dancing (I shuffled with my little cousin Justice), cutting of the cake, a money dance, throwing of the bouquet and the garter, oh and I forgot earlier in the evening was the Bride and groom's first dance which was super cute and sweet and then all of the sudden broke out into THRILLER!!! Big points for the bride in my book for that one, and then following that they had the dance where the bride dances with her father and then the groom later joins with his mother. So she and her dad come out to the dance floor and the DJ says that this song means a lot to them both and they wouldn't dream of dancing to anything else, and then as you get ready for something sweet and touching they both start dancing to "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth!!!!!!!!!" I almost died! I was screaming and cheering so loud. The best part was how into it her dad got too, and then after sufficient hair whipping and dancing the expected sweet and touching song came on and they did a traditional dance. So yeah, the bride, Christina continued to become more and more amazing in my book by the minute and yes I keep a running mental book with a points system for new people to determine if I approve of them or not and to what degree hahaha. Okay don't worry it's nothing that official or systematic. I just like saying "in my book," but regardless she was raking in the points. Oh and on top of all her other awesomeness she's also a Christian!!! This woman seriously rocks.

OH!! & when the bouquet toss was going on they played Beyonce's "Single Ladies!!!" Totally epic.

Then later when the open dj-ed dancing began, the bride had requested the cupid shuffle, so we all ran up and did the cupid shuffle together! It was so much fun. We were dancing like crazy and they even had a soul train going at one point! Even my mom went through it ^_^ yay Mom!!! Omg it was such a great day!

Oh and also, they had candy at the wedding! After the meal they put jars of candy out on a table, there was taffy, and cinnamon gummy bears, and those like sour gummy strip things, and Hershey's kisses, and other gummy things, and other chocolates that had nuts in them so I didn't pay very much attention to the brands :p but I believe there were also reese's and stuff. & not only did they serve candy, but they put out a bunch of bags that you could fill with the candy to take home ^_^!!! Needless to say I have some loot stashed in my room now hehehe.

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Okay and my mother has said that I didn't talk about the photo booths, when in fact I did.... but perhaps I should go into a bit more detail haha, because it was pretty awesome. Okay so at the venue they had a PHOTO BOOTH!!! Woo woo!! & it was pretty darn awesome, it was totally free and they provided funky accessories like feathered boas, tiaras, and sparkling hats to assure that you would be looking your best haha. So my  mom, my sister, and I all got dolled up and took pictures together! It was so much fun. My mom had a tiara and a pink feathered boa at the urging of my sister and I as well as some funky sunglasses I believe and my sister and I were not without similar accouterments. We took goofy photos, cute photos, and just had fun doing crazy things in crazy costumes together. It was really super fun! ^_^ 
Later my sister and I went back and took even more photos together, some without the accessories and some in black and white, oh and some complete with wardrobe malfunctions... oopsies. VERY glad that particular set of prints was not the one for the scrapbook! The photo booth was an unexpected, quirky cool addition the wedding and I'm fairly certain there wasn't a single person who didn't have fun with it.
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My cousin's bride, Christina Ritchie... excuse me Heffern! is my new favorite person and according to her, I'm her new best friend ^_^. The wedding was a blast and the dancing (in all it's forms) was great!

Congratulations on a beautiful, successful, and fun-filled wedding,
Scott and Christina Heffern;

I can't wait until the next time I get to spend time with you guys. I love you and I wish you all the happiness in the world in your new life together!

(I'd wish you luck, but I don't think you need it <3)