We chose the song "Jump Around" by House of Pain as our entrance song, because who doesn't instantly want to
Mr. C and I didn't plan any kind of special entrance, so we kept it simple and went with the old bouquet raise and raise-the-roof wave. Oh, and a kiss, of course. The energy in the room was so awesome, and it was definitely a sign of the killer dance party that was to come later in the evening! Walking into our reception space with my husband was for sure one of the happiest moments of my life. The hard part of the day was over, and all that was left to do was party with our closest family and friends, eat some amazing food, and dance our faces off.
Right after we made our entrance, we went right into our first dance. In hindsight, I really wish we would have saved our first dance until after dinner was over. There was such little room to dance (we had to do so mostly in front of our sweetheart table, and space was tight), and the lighting wasn't the greatest for our photographs. During dinner, our "surprise" custom-built dance floor was being assembled by MOH Schmo's dad and brother (more on that later!), and it would have served as a much better place to have our first dance, if only we would have thought to push our first dance back a bit. Not a huge deal, of course, but definitely something I would have changed.
Mr. C and I's first dance was "As Long as Our Hearts Are Beating" by Jenny and Tyler. It took months for us to finally decide on a song, since neither of us was too picky, but picky enough that we wanted a song that wasn't overplayed or incredibly cliche. I had first heard the song by Jenny and Tyler when I was photographing a wedding a couple years ago, and I remembered thinking how beautiful it was. When I finally remembered the name of the song, I played it for Mr. C, and it was decided.
Our first dance was sweet, and simple. No crazy dance routines, not even one dip. I guess you could say our first dance was boring, but it was so special. We chatted (although I honestly couldn't tell you what exactly we talked about. I probably kept saying, "We're married!" and "Holy crap, that just happened"), we kissed, and then our first dance was over.
Up next was the father-daughter dance with Poppa Clownfish. Growing up, my dad and I didn't have a kind of "Butterfly Kisses"-type relationship. I loved my dad, I respected him, and I loved spending time with him, but I was not a daddy's-little-girl. A song like "Butterfly Kisses" would have felt so odd and out of place, so we decided on Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl". Still sappy, still sweet, and a song that more accurately represented our relationship. While I guessed that my dad might tear up during our dance, I did not expect him to full-out sob. When he started crying, I lost it, too (because who can keep it together when they see their dad's crying?). We were both puddles of mush, and I tried to lighten the mood before all my makeup would be cried off. One of my favorite memories from our wedding day was dancing with my dad, and it's a memory I'll treasure forever.
Mr. C danced with his momma next, to Rascal Flatt's "My Wish". I had asked his mom what said she'd like dance with Mr. C to, and to my surprise, she asked me to pick! Like Mr. C and I's first dance song, I had heard "My Wish" played as the mother-son song at a couple weddings I had photographed, and I knew it would make a great song for their dance, too.
After our dances, it was time to chow down on some breakfast foods and hear some amazing toasts!
