I'll Never Desert You: The Food & Dances

After Mr. C and I had our post-ceremony portraits taken, we were taken back to the house so that we could have a quick dinner in private and share our first moments alone together as husband and wife. The venue set up a small sweetheart table in the bridal suite and had our food waiting for us when we arrived. They made sure we had drinks and anything else that we needed! 

Like many brides before me, I could barely touch my food. What I did manage to eat was amazing though! Our venue is owned by an Atlanta/Athens catering company called A Divine Event. When we booked the venue, we knew that we were going to have amazing food, regardless of what we chose for the menu. After the wedding we had lots of guests gush about the delicious buffet-style dinner. We had cheeseburger sliders and buffalo chicken spring rolls as passed hors d'oeuvres during the cocktail hour. For dinner we had bistro beef with a merlot demi-glace and parmesan crusted chicken with artichokes, wild mushrooms, and a lemon cream sauce. Our sides included a mixed green salad with oranges, strawberries, and sweet and spicy pecans, macaroni and cheese with panko bread crumbs, and sauteed seasonal vegetables. These were some of the most economical options available through A Divine Event and everything was great! I can only imagine what it would have been like if we had extra room in the budget to splurge on the food.  

After dinner I snapped a few quick photos with my phone to preserve the memories. We were newlyweds at last!

Just married!

Another reason I barely touched my food was that I was incredibly anxious to get back downstairs and see our guests. It had already been over an hour since the ceremony and it was time for us to be introduced to our guests as husband and wife. I didn't change my last name, so I had my brother (the DJ) introduce us simply as newlyweds. Then it was time for our first dances. 

All photographs are by Christopher Helm Photography.

Mr. C and I did not sign up for dance lessons before the wedding. Not only did we forgo the dance lessons, but we never even set aside time to practice our first dance! I think somehow in all the insanity and hustle before the wedding, it was simply forgotten. We ended up swaying awkwardly for several minutes in front of our intensely attentive guests. We passed the time by joking and laughing, hence all the photos of us smiling. I love these photos and I don't regret not taking lessons or practicing. It worked for us -- but a warning to future brides: it can be awkward! 

We danced to Adele's cover of The Cure's "Lovesong." I think it's a really romantic and beautiful song, and I love the lyrics. I've always loved the original song by The Cure, but Adele definitely adds an extra element of romance with her beautiful, haunting voice. 

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am home again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am young again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am fun again

However far away, I will always love you

However long I stay, I will always love you

Whatever words I say, I will always love you

I will always love you

And then, the moment I was silently dreading: the father/daughter dance. Why was I dreading it? Because I knew I was going to cry my eyes out! I wrote about this months ago, about how I'm such a daddy's girl and I knew this was going to be a very emotional moment for me. I was cruel to my father and never told him which song I chose. It was "I Will" by The Beatles -- the song he used to sing me as a little girl. I still can't listen to this song without my eyes welling with tears.

As predicted, I cried the entire two minutes. Thankfully, it's a rather short song! I settled for covering my face with my bangs to avoid looking like a hot bawling mess in front of 80 guests.

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know, I will
I will.

Luckily Mr. C and his mom were able to lighten the mood a little after the emotionally charged father/daughter dance. Mr. C's mother chose the song for the mother/son dance: Sarah McLachlan's "Ordinary Miracle." Their dance was a lot less emotional, more sweet and lighthearted. It also gave me a moment to finally sit down at our official sweetheart table (which was barely used throughout the night).

It's not that unusual
When everything is beautiful
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when it's time to snow
Don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

Isn't it remarkable
Like every time a raindrop falls
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Birds in winter have their fling
Will always make it home by spring
It's just another ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday
Please don't throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
'Cause we're all a part of the ordinary miracle

Do you want to see a miracle?
It seems so exceptional
The things just work out after all
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Sun comes up and shines so bright
And disappears again at night
It's just another ordinary miracle today

At this point I think our guests were eager for the dance floor to officially open. My brother, the epic DJ, set the night alight with some awesome music. Up next, the guests get down and the lovely speeches. 

Previously on The Camel Wedding Recaps: 

1) Getting Dressed & Exchanging Gifts

2) Putting on the White Dress

3) Our First Look

4) The Ceremony Begins

5) The Reading 

6) The Vows

7) The Kiss and Recessional 

8) The Bridal Party

9) Wedding Portraits

I'll Never Desert You: The Vows

Mr. C and I had a non-religious ceremony full of personal touches and of course, lots of love. After our vows I don't think there was a dry eye in the house, myself and Mr. C included! We had so many guests tell us that it was one of the most emotional and touching ceremonies they had ever witnessed, which is always a great thing to hear when you have some unconventionally written vows and no mention of God.

You'll notice that there are a lot of images of people smiling and laughing. I love this about our ceremony. It wasn't all serious, and I think that's an accurate reflection of the relationship that Mr. C and I share. We are silly, we joke around a lot--maybe too much! We don't like to keep things formal, so I am so happy and proud to see that our personalities were so perfectly incorporated into our ceremony.

It was a brilliant spring evening in May. The sun shining through the pecan tree leaves, dappling the ground around us in dancing shadows. There was a serene, magical quality to this evening -- warm and joyous. The love and support of our guests was palpable. I glanced out past Mr. C to catch the gaze of my brother who gave me a reassuring wink. I looked out over our guests, I saw smiles, I saw couples holding hands. I had to compose myself and remind myself to remain in the moment. It was time for the ceremony to resume after our reading from The Little Prince.




Todd (our Officiant): 

Eight years ago I met a shaggy haired guy who had many of the same interests as me. As a result, we quickly became fast friends and professional colleagues. We taught together, went to watch bands play, and mountain biked countless miles of trails in the beautiful woods of the Southeast.

As much fun as we had together, there was always something missing from Gavin’s life – a female companion, a better half. It’s not that Gavin didn't date or that girls weren't interested in him. The problem always seemed to be that none of them “completed” him.

Of course, that’s were Erin enters the picture. I can’t claim that I know Erin as well as I do Gavin, but I do know that she understands Gavin; appreciates him for all that he is, and shares even more of the same interests with Gavin than any of his other friends share. And of all the things they share, it is their love that brings us all here together today.

Erin and Gavin, this is the time you have chosen to become husband and wife; to proclaim your love for one another in the presence of family and friends.

The gift of love you share and receive today surrounds you, supports you, and makes you whole. This is as it should be. Real love is not total absorption in each other; it is looking outward in the same direction –together. It’s the confirmation you see in each other’s eyes.

It’s deciding to be best friends forever and each other’s greatest companions. It’s knowing that your greatest confidant and provider of security, peace, contentment, and true unconditional love is the one standing in front of you now.

Erin and Gavin, love can be one of the highest experiences that comes to humankind. It reduces our selfishness, enriches our personalities, and makes our lives far more meaningful. By its very nature it makes one want to give to another, and to feel joy in the joy of that other. Such love can call forth the best qualities in each of you.

Love makes burdens lighter, because you divide them. It makes joys more intense because you share them. It transforms a road trip to Tennessee into the lifelong story of companionship and family. It makes you stronger, so you can become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone.

Over the years you will learn that what defines your love today will change. You too will change. Thus, this ceremony is the celebration of a single stage in a much larger process that is the love between husband and wife. It is an outward sign of a sacred commitment to love each other through the happy times and the sad, the smooth times and the rough.

The promises made today and the ties that are bound here greatly strengthen your union. As the years pass the ties will be tried. Call back upon this day and remember the love that you declared to one another. In this way you will re-marry one another each and every day by making a mutual commitment to love each other, and to work towards creating an atmosphere of care, consideration, and respect for one another.

Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude or selfish, it does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's faults, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope. It is always ready to endure whatever comes. True love does not come to an end.)

And now for the big moment, that moment that you work and toil towards as you plan your wedding, as you reflect on your relationship and all of the amazing (and not so amazing) things that have happened in your life to bring you to this place. That moment where you try to package all of your experiences and emotions into words that, no matter how hard  you try, never seem to adequately reflect how you really feel.

Todd:

Having already declared your love for one another privately, it is now time for you to proclaim your love for all to hear.  

Gavin, will you please share the vows you wrote for Erin?

Mr. Camel: 

Erin, I can still remember the first time I saw you and the way my heart fluttered when I noticed you walking down the hallway.  I remember trying to think of something to say to you.  Unfortunately I was speechless.  When I proposed to you I sobbed out the words through tears of joy.  Luckily, today I get another chance to say the words that have been on my mind since the day I first saw you.

I love you for your beauty, your sense of humor, and your kindness.

I cannot even begin to count the ways in which you make me a better person or the ways in which the two of us make a better team than either of us would be on our own.

Though I’m not always perfect and our life will not be without its trials and tribulations, on this day I vow to give you my heart for always and forever.

I pledge my eternal love and faithfulness.

I promise to be supportive of all your dreams and aspirations, because they have become mine too.

You make me feel special and unique so above all of my other vows, I promise to never forget how lucky I am to have someone like you who makes me feel this way.  Most of all I promise to make you feel as special as you make me feel.

Wherever life’s roads take us I know that I only want to travel them at your side. 

I love you Erin.  Always and forever.

At this point, I was so glad I have that vintage handkerchief wrapped around my bouquet -- because I needed it!

Todd:

Erin, will you please respond with the vows you wrote for Gavin?

Me:

Friends and family, I think you should know a few things about Gavin. I knew Gavin was handsome the moment I first saw him on the social studies hallway four years ago. I knew I had a crush on him a few days after we started working together. I knew I had a BIG crush on him when he drooled on himself as he laughed uncontrollably while trying to explain an internet joke to me in the teacher workroom. But most importantly, I knew Gavin and I would get married only two days into our relationship. It was a calm and certain knowing, as if the chaos of life had suddenly settled peacefully into place. Being together was easy as breathing (and it still is). When you find something that unique in this world, you don’t let it go.

Gavin, you are the kindest, most compassionate and hardworking person I know. You are a friend to everyone you meet. Your big heart knows no bounds and the fact you wear your heart on your sleeve only makes you more endearing. You have the patience of a saint, the gentleness of an elementary school teacher. For all of these reasons and more, you encourage me to be a better version of myself each and every day. You magnify my inherent playfulness.  You extinguish my frustrations.  You are always interested in my many schemes. You encourage me when I feel defeated by the world. You lift me up out of the darkness. You nourish and embrace my soul. You make any place feel like home. And somehow, you still manage to love me for exactly who I am, which I know is no easy feat. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, thank you for staying by my side, thank you for always finding the good in everything. You are undeniably my better half.

Gavin, from now until our last days, I vow to be your best friend. I vow to love you, even when times are tough. I vow to use my inappropriate sense of humor to wash away your sorrow. I vow to stay up late making DragonCon costumes with you. I vow to tolerate your Gollum impressions. I vow to wake you up at 1:00 am with quotes from the Neverending Story. I vow to quell your worries. I vow to always encourage you, to support you, to be the place you can rest your heart. Every hour, every week, and every year of my wait to meet you has been worth it for this adventure that we are about to start. I love you with all my heart and soul.

And just like that, this intensely personal moment that we shared with our friends and family was over. It was then time to exchange rings and share our first kiss as husband and wife! 

Previously on the Camel Wedding Recaps: 

1) Getting Dressed & Exchanging Gifts

2) Putting on the White Dress

3) Our First Look

4) The Ceremony Begins

5) The Reading 

A Venue Update

Mr. C and I are getting married at Cloverleaf Farm a relatively new venue that has only hosted a few weddings thus far. Actually, its very first wedding was just in November but we booked them in August before they had even finished renovating the property. There was a lot of work to be done--a barn to clean up and repair, painting in the house, a bar to be built. We booked them on good faith that by May most of the major projects would be completed.

Well, our good faith and patience paid off! We visited the property just last week and I was blown away the beauty of the property. We arrived at 6:00 pm, around the time we will be getting married in a few weeks, and the light was absolutely gorgeous. All the rustic, rolling fields and pecan trees behind the property were aglow with the golden hues of the setting sun. I'm not usually a very weepy person, but I actually started to tear up looking out over the field where we are getting married in a few short weeks. The barn has been renovated with cafe lights and rustic chandeliers strung from the ceiling. The coordinator directed me towards their blog with even gorgeous photos from their recent April weddings. You can see them on the property website under their photos section, if you are interested. I am just so excited to be getting married at this venue!

Image via: Cloverleaf Farm / Photography by: ZoomWorks

I took a few photos with my phone that I wanted to share, since I really didn't have many photos of the venue to share when I first posted about it last fall. You can read about how we chose Cloverleaf in the venue entry. I was trying to capture that lovely golden hour just as the sun is setting.

This is the field where we will be getting married (weather permitting). If you look carefully you can see Mr. C way back there sort of in front of the large pecan tree. The plan is to have it underneath that tree with a crystal chandelier hanging from the limbs. We are renting a chandelier from a local antique shop.

This is the chandelier we are renting, but we are going to remove the hurricane glass covers because I think it makes it look a little outside of the time period we are going for (if that makes sense). I think it's beautiful though and it will look perfect hanging from the pecan tree.

This is the left side of the house with a cute little garden which leads into a sun room. We will have our cocktail hour out on the lawn here with highboy tables. The guestbook will be inside the sun room on a table which is conveniently on the way to the bar. One of the April brides decided to actually hold her ceremony in this space and it was really gorgeous. That's one awesome thing about this venue -- there are so many options for the ceremony, the reception, the cocktail hour, the bar, the band--everything! In fact, there were so many options that our meeting lasted over two hours as we hashed out the details and updated layout for the reception. All of our original plans were turned upside down!

This is the main dining room which we were originally going to use as the ballroom area for the DJ and dancing. However, our coordinator suggested that if the weather is nice we should hold it outside under the patio and have cafe lights strung up with the tables leading back into the lawn instead of being throughout the house. The door you see in these photos leads out onto the back patio/porch you see in the photo below. For months and months I have only visualized our wedding reception as being inside the house, but now that it can be held outside under cafe lights I am starting to really get excited. Now we just need to pray there is no rain! You hear me Georgia weather, no rain! Please!! 

The back patio where an April bride had her dance floor with the DJ up on the porch. The cafe lights were strung from the patio back to where I am standing taking the photo with the guests all sitting at tables out on the lawn. It was so beautiful!

Now that our venue has a few weddings under its belt, the coordinator had a much better idea of what would and would not work from our original plan. I'm so excited about the changes we've made, even if it has placed us closer in the hands of the capricious Georgia weather. I guess the good news is that the large house can certainly accommodate all of the guests in case the weather turns sour. The bad news is that our ceremony will have to be in the renovated barn and not out in the field under the trees which is my ultimate vision. Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.

Did you have any last minute changes with your wedding reception or ceremony plans?