Rehearsal Dinner and Welcome Party

Now that we've practiced walking in a straight line, its on to dinner and party time!

Since a large portion of our guests were traveling in from out of town, holding a traditional rehearsal dinner where all OOT guests get invited wasn't exactly in budget. But at the same time, these people had just traveled all the way to Florida and we wanted to see and spend time with them. These are our friends and family and for a few days, we get to bring them all together... even if that means they will share all their embarrassing stories about us.... and they did. :)

So this meant we had two options, hold a backyard BBQ or a Welcome Party after the rehearsal dinner. I loved the idea of a BBQ. My parents live in a condo building that has a BBQ area and giant lawn on top of the parking garage. Perfect for some paper plates, beer in buckets, and frisbee tossing! Unfortunately, notsomuch with anyone else jumping on board this idea train. Everyone thought it would be alot of work to toss a BBQ themed dinner party. Well, on that point, I agree. But no one seemed to get that I was REALLY talking about a honest to goodness paper plate BBQ. Everyone wondered about centerpieces and who would serve the food etc. Oy.

So a small rehearsal dinner followed by a Welcome Party for all it was! When it came to deciding where to hold it, we tossed around a few ideas, but when we found out that one of our favorite resturants was perfect location and affordable, we were sold. A few minutes on Vistaprint later, we had a rehearsal dinner invite... a little photoshopping later, and we had Welcome Party version that we printed on our inkjet and stuff into the welcome bags.

For anyone who's going to be in the Panama City area around meal time, I HIGHLY recommend the BoatYard.

Just a clip of the view from the top deck, and as you can tell from the lighting, it was about to be a great sunset too. See the tall buildings just left in the distance? Yup, that's the Bay Point Marriott. Told ya it was close by!

Groomsman/violinist Dan and his girlfriend enjoying a drink and the sunset before we sit down for dinner.

Adam is from Amish country in Pennsylvania. But do you know what's nearby?
HERSHEY!!
His parents brought 30 GIANT dark chocolate bars personalized for us with them.... that must have been an interesting conversation with the TSA. :)

The whole gang seated and ready for toasts and food. All I have to say for people who think "open seating" at their wedding is a good idea.... NOTSOMUCH! This was only 25 rather intelligent very friendly people and it took 10 minutes for everyone to figure out where to sit. YEESH!

And the toasts began! Knowing our family and friends, I was pretty sure this was going to turn into a roast. Much to my surprise, there were a few slightly embarrassing stories that came out, but all in all, they were all sweet and endearing.

Remember the Eel lure from the bachelorette party? Much to everyone's entertainment, it has joined our rehearsal dinner.

My eldest bro and Dad. You'd think they go to the same barber right?

Behold, your future, Adam. :)
They have such similar mannerisms and smiles its almost creepy.

Unfortunately, after this, we began the welcome party and started having so much fun, no one thought to be taking pictures! Darn us all for having so much fun meeting, talking and drinking!
Everyone who had made it in town in time was there and having a good time. We really got to hang out with a drink in hand catching up on each other's lives. We were the common factor with everyone, but it was all about visiting with THEM and finding out what had been going on in their lives. Our good friend and chef baked mini key lime pies, amazing cupcakes and other delectable desserts for everyone to nosh on. They were delicious!

Finally, it was getting late and knowing that we were going to have a full day and long night partying into the wee hours of the morning, I wanted a full night's sleep. So we called it a night and headed off to sleep.

Salutations to Single Shennanigans: Part 1

Adam and I had 2 very different perspective and plans for our "last hoorahs". And I don't mean that he wanted strippers and I wasn't ok with it. I mean that he planned the bachelor parties of a few of the guys in charge of his, so there was retribution to be had. Add to that that my eldest brother also being in charge of planning and you've got on hell of a night that will probably end up in a TERRIBLE hangover and some serious bruising. Below is Adam at bachelor party of his best man, Jon. (There was even a ball and chain that they wrote his bride's name on!)That night ended with most of them kicking back food and hungover and oversleeping to the point that they were late for the rehearsal the next day. Oops. So he was all kinds of nervous. It was a full day of planned drinking for him, starting with a fishing trip in the morning. Unfortunately, we woke up to a horrendous storm. Notsomuch with the fishing trip! So they were spending the day lounging about and running a few errands.

I was at the other end of the spectrum.

The insta-storm that had brewed up meant flights were being delayed, canceled, and rerouted left and right. One of my bridesmaids was stuck in Atlanta after her red eye flight from LA. Another was still in Gainesville because the terrible weather was making driving on I-10 a bit perilous. Adam's parent's and brother were stuck on a tarmac trying to get TO atlanta, and a few cousins and friends were scattered around various airports trying to figure out how to get to PC. I was calling everyone trying to coordinate phone numbers and locations so that if need be, someone could hold up a sign for "D/Z Wedding", collect a crew and rent a car. Not the best of mornings.

That evening, a group of women from my home church (most of whom have known me since I was 3 or 4) decided to through me a LINGERIE shower. The hostess list included the headmistress from my elementary school, a couple of my friends' mothers, and the priest's wife. All I have to say is, when I need therapy, it really isn't my fault.

However, other than that, there were no plans for me. For whatever reason, getting my bridesmaids to talk was like pulling teeth. And everyone was calling me asking what I was planning. My planning? Are you kidding me? I planned the rehearsal dinner and the wedding and the reception and ALL the details to go with that. I AM DONE. I was a bit perturbed for quite a while at this. Anytime someone asked me, I really began to wonder if blood really could boil from anger. But by Thursday, I just didn't give a damn. I knew I wanted to get my nails done, and Bliss was great from the pedicure, so I offered that all the girls could join me. Some did and we had a good time, and then ran some errands and ran into the boys running errands.

It was a very rainy day in a small town... and for the most part, our moods were matching the dreary weather. Anyone else start out their party evening on a less than fun note?

Wording Whiz

For us, finding the invitation was rather easy. The ones we chose were actually one of the first ones I found. Of course then we looked at 3 million more just to be sure... but I'll explain that whole process in my next post. (So yes, you get to see wording and then invites... basackwards, I know, get over it.)

What we did know about our invites was that the more traditional, formal wording of "Mr and Mrs Joe So and So request the honour of your presence..." We don't normally spell honor with a U, why should we just for an invite?! And just a personal opinion, but that wording sounds like it should have the additional line of "Please remember your gilded stick up your butt... we wouldn't want you letting loose." (If that was your wording, I mean no offense, but it just isn't for us.) We aren't the calligraphy flourishy type of people. Our invites were not going to be engraved, no velum paper, no inner evelopes... so shouldn't our wording reflect the fun night we have planned? So we started researching alternative wording and these were the options we came up with: (Some options more cheesy than others.... be kind)

****************************************************

In the City of Panama
with toes in the sugar white sand at the edge of the Bay
Michelle Renee Name
and
Adam Monroe Name
will pledge their commitment to each other
before the people who have filled their lives
with happiness, love, and laughter.

John and Mary Name
invite you to join them,
and Michelle and Adam's community of family and friends
in witnessing this ceremony
on the beach of Bay Point Marriott at five o'clock, the fourth of April
A celebration with dinner, drinks, and dancing
will follow immediately

*************************************************************
Love was meant to be shared

with parents, family and friends

John and Mary Name

Invite you to share our celebration
of lifelong love and commitment
in the ceremony uniting in marriage

Michelle Renee Name
and
Adam Monroe Name

Saturday, the fourth of April
two thousand and nine
at five in the evening

*************************************************************

As eternal as the waves
their love is meant to be.
It is with joy that we,
John and Mary Last Name
invite you to share in our happiness as

Michelle Name and Adam Name

exchange vows and begin a new life together

on the 4th day of April 2009

Five o'clock in the afternoon

*************************************************************
Shhhh... the dreams are sleeping. Now it is time to LIVE.
April Fourth, 2009 begins
the adventure of a lifetime...
John and Mary Last Name ask you to please join the celebration, as
Michelle Renee Last Name
and
Adam Monroe Last Name
are united in marriage
invite you to witness their vows
as they begin their joyful
journey
at an ocean side ceremony
at five o'clock in the afternoon.


*************************************************************
Shhhh... the dreams are sleeping. Now it is time to LIVE.
April Fourth, 2009 begins
the adventure of a lifetime...
John and Mary Last Name invite you to witness the vows, as
Michelle Renee Last Name
and
Adam Monroe Last Name
begin their joyful journey
at an ocean side ceremony
at five o'clock in the afternoon.

*************************************************************
Michelle Last Name
and
Adam Last Name
are joining hearts and
getting married
on the tranquil shores
of Panama City.

John and Mary Last Name invite you to join in this celebration of love and life.

*************************************************************

How many iterations did you have to go through? Did anyone meet resistance to their ideas? Anyone else find treading the CHEESE/LOVING line very tricky? :)

Showered with Love: Part 2- Finishing Friday Night

So back to the Friday night party.... And Erka's fabulous hair! (I don't exactly remember why this style was modeled right then, but it was very entertaining and I was very glad I had my camera out!)
We brought our new Wii and decided that Saturday night, after the party, we would all go out to some bars and really party it up. But for Friday, we wanted to stay in and just hangout and be the lazy bums we all really are. So, first, we made Mii's for everyone! Kat, modeling herself above.

A bug eyed Josh and his new Mii.

Erka with her Mii.. while Adam digitally picks her nose...

Let the games begin!

Boxing was probably the most entertaining since Adam has actually played this and knows what to do, and the rest of us are going at it Mortal Kombat style - swing constantly and push every button as often as possible!

Yes, we are a bit of geeks to have purposely done this for our Friday night.. but d*mnit, we had a great time!

So about the time the clock was near midnight, we were mostly turning into pumpkins. I say mostly because Kat was falling asleep and Adam and I were finding it difficult to keep our eyes open. Erka and Josh, however were still wired... and tipsy. So while the rest of us headed off to bed, they headed out to the pool. And a few hours later I got a text message from Erka letting me know they were going to sing karaoke at a local dive bar. A few hours later I woke up to a beer bottle crashing to a million pieces on the kitchen floor as they were loading up supplies to continue the party at a friend's house. Notice we are adding hours on hours here and I started around midnight? Oh yeah. They came back to the condo around 9am and passed out while those of us rested got going for the day and went shopping and to play at the beach.

We came back in to find them waking up and piecing together their night... apparently Erka lost a fight with a fence....



And I think some details are forever lost to the night. The funny thing was, a few years ago, I would have been with them. Erka and I could party beyond the break of dawn like none other. Call me old, but I was having a damn good time playing the Wii with a Mojito in hand and calling it a night around 1 or 2 am. It did make me think about what I might want out of a bachlorette party. I guess I'd really want it to be something in between. I don't feel the need to pretend like I'm 21 still living in Orlando, but I wouldn't mind dancing and drinking for a while, whilst spending time with my best girl friends.

Did anyone else have a party that gave a reality check on how they have changed over the years or gave insight to the things you did or did not want to come to pass at your bachlorette party?

I know, I know - it's FINALLY time to tell yall about the actual shower!! :)