My Wedding Day: The Reception (Toasts and More Dancing)

All photography copyrighted by Kelly Garsee Photography.

Catching up? Check out Pre-Ceremony, The Ceremony, The Formal Pictures, and The Reception: Part 1.

Then, at 5:07 (literally - I guess it only took us 7 minutes to cut the cake!) it was time for toasts! My dad went first.

The best man Mark made his speech next.

Then, my sister Whitney made her speech.

All three of the speeches were special - so touching, so funny, so sincere. But nothing prepared me for what came next- my best friend, Molly's, speech. Well, performance is more of a better word.

I knew Molly was planning on making a speech, but during Dad, Mark, and Whitney's toasts, I couldn't see her. Whitney and Mark were standing next to my dad while he made his speech, and Whitney stood next to Mark while he made his, so I figured Molly was just standing somewhere else to where I couldn't see her.

After Whitney made her speech, I gave her a hug, as did JW.

I scanned the room to look for Molly, and immediately saw her come out from behind a curtain hiding the kitchen, unsheathing her violin from its hiding place behind her back. I couldn't believe it - she was going to play something! Molly is a professional violinist - she graduated from NYU in Violin Performance - and had played during my sister's ceremony 5 years ago. I desperately wanted her to play during mine, but I couldn't figure out a good way to feature her as my maid of honor and a ceremony musician without stretching her too thin.

Little did I know, she had planned this all along. Both my Mom and my sister knew about it all along! Molly said a few quick words and then started playing "All I Ask of You", from The Phantom of the Opera.

Phantom of the Opera is a special musical for us - we went to see the movie for our first date in 2004, and it was the musical we saw in New York the same night JW proposed.

Say you need me with you here, beside you
Anywhere you go, let me go too

Share each day with me, each night, each morning
Say you love me (You know I do)

Love me, that's all I ask of you

 

The toasts ended around 5:30. Then it was time for 30 more minutes of dancing!

Then it was time to toss the bouquet and garter, at 6pm!

Of course, my girl Molly caught the bouquet :)

Closeup of my tossing bouquet :)

Then, it was JW's turn!

Haha, Rachel's face!!

And wouldn't you know, the Best Man caught the garter!

Then it was time for more dancing!

And finally it was time for our grand exit at 6:50 - coming up in the next post! :)