Falling for You: Raise Your Glass

After our first dance, it was time to sit down for dinner. We asked my brother to give the Welcome Toast because he's just so charismatic, so we figured it would be a walk in the park for him. But, as it turns out, he was quite nervous and didn't really know what to say, because he wanted it to be perfect, like this scene from one of our favorite movies, Wedding Crashers. In the end, he ended up winging it, and I thought it was so sweet.

"Everybody please, raise your glass (like the song). This is a very special moment for me; this is my sister we're talking about! I just wanna say: Don't they grow up so fast?" [This is a joke about the fact that I'm actually older than Brother GM, but he often likes to pretend that it's the other way around]. 

"I look at them, and just... wow. I told myself I wasn't gonna cry today, but you know... things happen, so I did cry. Anyway, I just wanted to absolutely thank everyone for showing up, we really do appreciate it, especially those of you coming from other continents. So yeah, this is a very special moment for all of us; myself and my family really do appreciate it. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. I love you!"

Our gorgeous Vera Wang toasting flutes in action

See our glasses? That's just good old white wine. Our venue charged an extra 3$ per person for the champagne toast; so we decided to skip it since we already had so many other beverages in our awesome open bar. People just toasted with whatever they had on hand, nobody missed the champagne, and we were able to spend that money elsewhere! Of course, everyone started clinking their glasses after the toast for us to kiss...

After the salad course, it was time for the Best Man and Maid of Honour speeches. There will be a separate post about the food, but I thought it was best to group all the speeches into one post, even if it wasn't chronologically accurate. MOH Long Legs was also pretty nervous about her speech, so she was really hoping Best Man Tequila would go first... no luck!

"Hi guys... Just in case I haven't said this already, you look radiant. You just look amazing, both of you. So happy, and smiling, and it's just such a joy. I've known Mrs. Waterfall since we were little girls, and if memory serves, we married her Barbie to my Ken at least once a day... so needless to say, she's been planning this for a lot longer than two years."

"We all hope to one day find our own Ken: The one who will hold your hand when you're sad, kiss you better when you're in pain and remind you how beautiful you are every day. And especially, the one that will love you when you know you're being a pain in the ass ;)... And as I'm sure you can all see, she's found him."

"I've had the privilege of knowing Mr. and Mrs. Waterfall for a while now, and I can't think of two people that are more perfect for each other. He's your match in every way and I'm confident that you two will spend the rest of your lives loving each other and raising all the babies that you will undoubtedly make [at which point someone yelled out: "Yeah! Alllll the babies!"]. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a lifetime of joy, so cheers!"

At this point, I was sobbing pretty profusely. She nailed it.

Next up, it was time for Best Man Tequila's speech. We didn't really know what to expect since he has a really sharp sense of humor. He ended up giving such a sweet speech!

"So, I just wanna reiterate what MOH Long Legs said: Mr. Waterfall, you look radiant today! I've known Mr. W for about 13 years and we've been best friends the entire time, so it was no surprise to me when he asked me to be his best man. What I hadn't realized until that point was what a huge part Mrs. Waterfall would play in my life as well as his. She's a wonderful friend; my son absolutely adores her... not a day goes by where he doesn't ask me how you guys are doing, so I'll tell him: well." 

"Mrs. Waterfall has had such a big impact on Mr. Waterfall. He's changed in so many ways for the better because of her. He's calm, he's kind, he is a true friend, and Mrs. Waterfall, you are his match in every way: Ambitious, dedicated, and beautiful inside and out. I wish you both the best, so let's raise our glasses for the bride and groom!"

Best Man Teq. was reading his speech on his phone, and it apparently ran out of battery right in the middle of his speech, which totally threw him off. Then, when he went to pick up his glass, he realized it had been moved by the DJ, so he didn't even have a glass to toast. Poor guy! He felt really self-conscious about it afterwards, which was so silly because we thought he did a fantastic job!

Next up: Food! (Or in our case, lack thereof)

All photos courtesy of the amazing Bachmann Photography unless otherwise specified

Miss a recap?

• We get it started with our wedding trailer
• We had a really intense wedding week
• We handle some last minute drama and get our nails did
• We practice getting married
• We eat all the French food
• We stuff our faces with chocolate
• The girls get pretty, oh so pretty
• The men suit up
• I put on my wedding dress
• I put on my veil and my entourage loses their sh*t
• I show you all my somethings
• We ride a vintage limo to the church
• The bridal party walks the walk
• We have a tearful “first look” on our walk down the aisle
• The ceremony begins with some lovely readings
• We exchange our vows and rings and have a blessing of the hands
• We finish mass, have a rose ceremony and sign the marriage register
• We take some pictures with our families
• We take a few bridal party pictures
• We take some pictures, just the two of us
• We skip cocktail hour, and spend some time with our friends
• We have a really fun first entrance
• We dance to our song