Wedding: The Reception

Finally, the reception. First, our guests had cocktails and hors devours in the Reading Room, which was filled with leather club chairs and a giant fireplace--and the ceiling looked like it was straight out of Versailles! Alex was so enamored of the aesthetic that he now wants our apartment to look like a dimly lit social club.
Then we headed upstairs for dinner. We wanted to create a relaxed vibe (and keep the budget reasonable), so we served a Mediterranean buffet--including lamb kabobs, grilled vegetables, cheesy pasta with vodka sauce, and caprese salad--and we didn't do assigned seating. Miraculously, people all ended up sitting with their good friends, and the tables worked out perfectly. (Whew!) Alex and I fall into the small category of People Who Don't Like Cake, so we served homemade cookies for dessert, made by my mom and the fabulous Perl Girl Baking Co. (P.S. Can you spot the two fascinators in the photo above? So cute!)
During dinner, our friends and siblings gave toasts. Alex's friend Brad talked about their early days in New York (where they shared a miniature apartment with a stalker across the hall), Alex's sister Lesley wrote a beautiful poem, my sister Lucy spoke about love and imagination, and Alex's brother Scott gave a funny toast full of California slang (including the line, "Dude, you totally scored.") But the big twist of the evening came when my little brother Nick gave his entire toast in a pitch-perfect New Zealand accent. No joke! The crowd was on fire!
Next up was a slideshow by our beloved friend Jason. He put together baby photos, family snapshots...and embarrassing pictures of us in junior high. He had stalked our friends and relatives all summer to get anecdotes about our lives (e.g., Alex's imaginary friend, Steve), and he wrote a cheeky speech to go along with the photos. It was hilarious, touching and wonderful.
After dinner, we moved into the next room for dancing. Our good friend Maz was our DJ, and we played the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror" for our first dance. (Runners up were "I Don't Wanna" by Patsy Cline and "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by Elvis.) We had taken a fox trot class over the summer, but suddenly got nervous, and just danced like 7th graders. Luckily, the audience didn't seem to mind.
And then everyone danced the night away. The star of the show was our redheaded flower girl, Grace, who had so many cool moves! (Click on the photo to enlarge, if you'd like; she's ridiculously cute.)

Next up: The favors and the brunch, and that's it! Thank you so much for indulging me :) xoxo

(Photos by Max Wanger)