The Big Day... The Reception

After a fabulous ceremony, it was time to celebrate! But first we had to take endless photos...

Once all of that was done, we were introduced into the reception. First was Dylan, escorted by his parents Mike & Kara, then Irina and Troy, Joel, Kasi and then... Mr & Mrs Becker!!!

The reception went by all too quickly but according to all the feedback I have heard, everyone had a blast. In fact, not to toot my own horn, but several people have gone as far to say it was the best wedding they had EVER attended. So, our mission was accomplished. There was great food, drinks, dancing and lots of laughs. 

First Dance: "Smile" by Uncle Kracker

Sheer Dylan Cuteness!!

Brad, me, Kara, Dylan, Shaunna & Kitt

Tammy & Rush

My co-workers

Steph getting an early start on the photo booth props!

Bruce

Christy... we had disposable cameras on all the tables. Can't wait to get those developed and see what those have!!

Joanna & Jessica

Our favors. Thanks Kasi!!

Joel, Joe and James... who knows what has mesmerized them!

More sticks and rocks to find!!

I got caught... I had an extra hanky stashed away from the ceremony.

Sage and Sean cutting the rug.

Dance floor light.

And yes... I wore the Crocs all night!!! My feet were so grateful!

Our cakes were SUPER yummy!! And yes, we did smash it in each others face when feeding each other. We had talked about this beforehand but neither of us knew if the other would actually go through with it. I had just asked Brad not to get it in my hair or on my dress. However, I guess I didn't specify that it shouldn't go UP MY NOSE. That was pleasant.

Yummy Butter Pecan

"My" side was Almond flavored dyed orange. Brad's side was chocolate chip dyed red.

I knew these guys were shady when I met them!!!

We were fortunate to have 3 great friends toast us... the Best Man Joel, Brad's long time friend Ricky and one of my best friends, Kara. They all did a great job and Kara made me cry. (Which I think means HER mission was accomplished!) My Uncle also got up and said some really nice things about marriage and wished us well.

Joel toasting us... and not very happy Flower Girl after being asked to go sit down. :o)

Kara doing a great job!!

We were even able to pull off a birthday surprise for my co-worker and long-time dear friend, Melinda. We sang happy birthday, gave her a small cake and as a gift, her favorite... cotton candy. 

Mel & Kristine

Besides all of our friends and family having fun, it was important to us that all of the kids invited could have fun too! So, in addition to provided a special kid-friendly entree, we also had a "Kids Zone"! It had coloring books, activities, bubbles and lots of other fun. It apparently got a lot of use and was a hit. 

Bubbles!!

Sean, Dylan's Pipaw and Dylan

In probably one of my FAVORITE series of photos I have seen so far, my co-workers also took advantage of the kids table...

One of the most popular attractions for the night was the photo booth. It allowed everyone to put on fun props like hats or crazy glasses and have fun posing with friends. We were so surprised by some of the creativity that our friends and family showed!!! I will post a separate blog with pictures from the photo booth... stay tuned!!!

In a blink of an eye, the reception was over and Brad and I headed to the house so that folks could prepare for our send off. What they didn't know what that we had one more surprise planned. All the guests lined up ready to throw lavender at us as we made our way to the limo. As we ran through the crowd, we sprayed them all with silly string!!! We heard screams and laughter, so we knew our last surprise was a success! 

 

Leaving the reception.

Waiting for the Bride & Groom.

Silly string ambush!!

 

 

With that, we climbed into the limo and relaxed as the driver took us to our hotel in downtown Austin. It was an amazing night... everything was perfect and I can't think of a thing I would change. We were so blessed to be surrounded by our friends and family that day and are so excited to start our lives together.