So, with our 2nd anniversary right around the corner, I decided it was definitely time to finish sharing our wedding photos with you. (Click here for part I!) Also, with everyone pinning ideas to Pinterest, I’ve been thinking about all the work we put into our own wedding.  To see part I, click here.  All of these pictures were taken my the amazingly talented Jacob Chinn.  If you’re in Arizona and need a photographer, I’d highly recommend him!

Once our windy wedding ceremony was over, it was time for the party!  Well, sort of.  We took most of the group photos outside while our guests had a few appetizers on the patio…fruit and crackers mostly.  Unfortunately, I never got to try any of that because, guess what…I was busy!

Anyway, my mom, sisters, and I put a ton of work into our reception.  We didn’t have a ton of money to work with, but we definitely had lots of time.  Unfortunately, that meant that we kept thinking of more things to add! 

So, anyway, the cake.  I had seen this really neat cake in a magazine with fake pearl strands going around it…kind of loose and carefree.  I loved it!  Thankfully, we were able to find this really talented cake decorator (at a grocery store of all places) who made my own design for a very reasonable price.  I could go on-and-on about how we designed it and what we picked (down to the shimmery coloring on the “pearls”, but you probably wouldn’t be interested.  Here it is…

 

I never did find a cake topper I liked, so we ended up using my parents.  It was a neat way to incorporate something from my parent’s wedding into our own!

Just in case you’re wondering, the cake was a delicious chocolate with chocolate ganache filling and marshmallow fondant frosting. 
The pearls from the cake ended up turning into somewhat of a theme.  We found rolls of fake mini pearls for a pretty inexpensive amount at the craft store, and these ended up everywhere (you can see them scattered around the cake table).  For each table, we had a white table cloth with a chocolate-colored runner down the middle.  Mixed in were golden candles (from the Christmas clearance aisle), gold bells (also Christmas leftovers), small tealights, mirrors, and more pearls (loosely scattered).  We also made place cards and menu cards for each place setting (which we designed and had printed inexpensively at a printers).  Finally, my sisters and I had spent hours wrapping pink and brown m&ms (clearance after Valentine’s day) in tulle circles with brown ribbons.  These made wonderful favors!  Overkill, maybe, but it ended up looking great! 

My parents also invested in white banquet chair covers that they got for a great deal online (again, thinking they could use them later).  My mom spent hours and hours altering them, though, because they didn’t quite fit the chairs at our location.  We used brown sashes on them to tie everything together.
We also were able to collect wedding pictures from several generations on both sides of our families.  These made a very neat display on the piano.

The reception itself was wonderful.  We had a nice, buffet luncheon that ended up tasting delicious!  Since our theme was somewhat vintage and classy, we played all old standards during the reception.  My sisters and I had made our own playlists, and we were able to borrow our churches sound equipment to play it on.  A few of our church friends even played the music and announced everything for free!
We found time to squeeze in our first dance (to the tune of “Too Young” 🙂 )…

…and a father-daughter dance (“Unforgettable”).

We even did a mother-son dance, which Andy actually surprised his mother with, knowing she’d never have agreed to it otherwise.  They danced to “Watercolor Ponies”, which was always a very special song for his mom and her boys.

The toasts were all very special as well.

As was the cutting of the cake (no, we didn’t smash it on each other!).

 

 

And finally it was time to leave!