Pellucid Love: I'll Never Desert You: Getting Down & Getting Out

Right after getting engaged, I asked my brother if he would be the DJ for our wedding. He was thrilled to help out and immediately started investing in a new sound system and lights in order to meet the demands of DJing for a large crowd. We worked out a killer playlist in the weeks before the wedding. All of his hard work was well worth it -- the dance party wouldn't stop! He kept the party going until we were practically pushed out by our venue. It was a great time, and my brother being somewhat anti-social, really enjoyed being out of reach of talkative family members. This was his grand wedding gift, and it saved us a lot of money in the process!

When I envisioned our wedding reception, I saw all of my friends having a blast. I saw glow sticks, crazy sunglasses. I saw my dad and stepmother dancing. I saw laughing. And guess what? It really happened. It came together perfectly. It truly was an AWESOME time. The only problem? It went by in a flash. Before we knew it, the night was over.

All photographs are by Christopher Helm Photography.

One of my favorite pictures from the night - with a bunch of my oldest, dearest friends!

Daft Punk's most recent album Random Access Memories had just been released, so you know we were blasting some Daft Punk! We also played a lot of Phoenix, Empire of the Sun, and Two Door Cinema Club. I can't even remember what else we played, but everyone seemed really happy. Even now, I always think of our wedding when I hear Daft Punk's summer hit, "Get Lucky."

If this song doesn't make you want to dance, I don't know what will!

The dance floor was so enticing that we even got my 87-year-old grandmother showing off her moves! She's absolutely my hero. She even does Zumba!

My stepbrothers (seen above) did a great job of keeping everyone moving on the dance floor. Here they are with my stepsister, bridesmaid J, and my Matron of Honor K.

The glow sticks and sunglasses were a big hit! I would definitely recommend getting some for your reception if you think it would fit the vibe and feel of your wedding!

Mr. C with one of his dear family friends.

As the night progressed, shoes came off. People were flushed with intoxication and bad dance moves. I remember being overwhelmed with joy. I couldn't stop smiling. I wanted to stop time, to keep dancing all night. I felt like a lantern emitting the warm glow of love and friendship that I had felt all night long. Mr. C and I danced and danced. Even though I wore flats, I eventually tossed them to the side and felt the cool, gritty stones of our makeshift dance floor beneath my feet.

Suddenly it was past 11 o'clock and it was time to start wrapping up the party. Our magical night was coming to a close. The catering and venue staff were nervously buzzing around trying to shut down the bar and insisting that my brother play our final song. Our final song was one that totally characterizes Mr. C and I and our group of friends: Journey's classic "Don't Stop Believing." Cliche, I realize, but absolutely perfect.

We all joined arms and swayed to the song. Everyone knew the words. It was perfection. I could not have asked for a better ending to our amazing night.

There also might have been some epic air guitar playing.

After the song was over, it was time to get organized for our grand departure. But something was missing.

Guys, I did something stupid. It's my biggest wedding day regret. I left the extra long sparklers I bought in the trunk of my car. Sadly my car was parked 30 minutes away in downtown Athens outside the hotel Mr. C and I would be staying at that night. It would have been possible to send someone over to grab them, but at the time we weren't sure where they could be. I feel so sorry for my family members and catering staff who spent ages looking through our boxes of decor at the venue in search of the sparklers. Luckily, we had a last minute improvisation -- glow sticks! Thank goodness for the glow sticks! Sure, they aren't the amazing magical images I always imagined, but they worked. And you might even say they are were a little more "us" than the sparklers would have been. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

I also did something else stupid. Right as the coordinators were lining our guests up outside, a member of the catering staff scurried up to me with a giant slice of Linda's Fudge Cake (as described in my previous post). It drifted towards me as if in a dream. Cake, glorious chocolate cake. "You've hardly touched any cake!" she smiled. My god, she was right. I started to scarf down cake like there was no tomorrow. I wasn't going to let that delicious ambrosia of the gods go to waste, not on my wedding day! What I failed to realize is that I was about to step out in front of 80 guests and a photographer after stuffing my face with chocolate cake. And that is why you see photos like this:

Whatever. I have no regrets! None! I do what I want! I do wish we'd stopped at the end of the line and gave a big kiss for the camera, but I was in post-wedding shock and everything was feeling very surreal.

And like that it was over. Fourteen months of planning, thousands of dollars, hours upon hours of planning time, appointments, DIY crafts, all over in just a few short hours. But it was worth it because after all the flowers wilted, the milk glass was put away, the guests headed back to their homes -- at the end of it all, I was left holding the hand of my very best friend, the love of my life, my husband.