Southern Sweethearts: Dancing With Our Stars

They may not be celebrities, but to us they're stars. So we made sure to set aside some time to dance with the two ladies that mean the world to us: our moms!

I lost my dad when I was a kid but still wanted to have that special dance at my wedding. So my mom filled in and we took the dance floor first.

Somebody's Hero by Jamie O'Neal

We originally planned to dance to "Brown Eyed Girl" but made the decision less than a month out to switch to "Somebody's Hero".

Needless to say, I had to pull some major "try not to cry" faces to avoid the "ugly cry" face.

I failed.

Mom and I both realized we were in a losing battle on the cry front, so we struck up a conversation instead.

"OMG. No she DIDN'T!"

Still not convinced that we avoided the messy makeup cry, we invited some of my nieces onto the dance floor to finish up the song.

We made it through the song mascara-run-free. Then it was Mr. Lab and his mom's turn.

Twenty Years Late by Aaron Lines



Mr. Lab's sister watches on in the background.

Their dance was a little more drama-free. But it was so sweet to see them on the dance floor together. I know MIL Lab was just thinking about her baby boy being all grown up the whole time.

What special dances (other than the first dance) will you have at your wedding?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
• We Shared a Private Dinner for Two During Cocktail Hour
• Our Wedding Party Lines Up for Introductions
• We Nom on Publix and Sanford Stadium Cakes
  

Next Up: Some Standard Wedding Traditions

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Southern Sweethearts: Time To Stuff Our Faces!

Our first dance song faded out and our DJ announced to our guests that the Lady & Sons-catered southern buffet was now open.

Once again, I wish we had more photos of the nom-worthy food.

Mr. Lab and I had already eaten, so we took that time to move around the room and socialize with our guests.

Bottom right photo by guest.

I also used that time to grab photos with my sisters since they left the square before formals.

Wait a second...what's that buzzing sound? Is that a bee?!?

Mrs. Crabcake and Mini! (photo courtesy of Mrs. CC!)

Mrs. CC drove all the way from the other side of the state to share our wedding day with us! :D

Pretty soon, it was time to do a standard at almost every wedding: cut the cake! Our DOC made sure to move our ceremony wreath to our reception for added decor. Before the wedding, I scoured the internet for a pretty vintage oval cake stand but had no luck. But I still loved the simple cake display, even though it bugs me that the table was off-center.

The cake didn't quite live up to its Martha Stewart inspiration because I opted for butter cream frosting over fondant, but I was still pretty darn impressed with Publix's handy-work.

What I wasn't impressed with was that they messed up my order and made it a completely white cake on the inside instead of one tier of red velvet and the other vanilla with raspberry filling! ARGH!

Mr. Lab and I went into the cake cutting with a firm understanding that there would be no cake smashing. I paid way too much for my makeup to have it ruined!

Little did I know that he had just chatted with the videographer who encouraged him to do it.

And honestly, I didn't care at all! But I did go after him to even up the score!

Next was the Sanford Stadium groom's cake that was my surprise to Mr. Lab. It was soooo hard finding the right baker to create this sweet masterpiece...and even harder to keep it a secret from Mr. Lab!

The score on the jumbo tron was our wedding date. And of course, I was winning! Mr. Lab married a highly competitive person. :) Btw, the real score from that day's game was a 38-0 shutout against [admittedly cupcake opponent] Tennessee Tech.

Photos of us at Georgia games surrounded the groom's cake.

Mr. Lab loved his cake!

And the cake was a huge hit with our wedding guests. Especially the Bulldog fans!

And my semi-DIY cake topper project wasn't lost on guests either!

Guest photo.

Someone wanted a piece of that cake and cut into it before we could! But we still did a formal cutting and this time, there wasn't any smashing. Glad Mr. Lab got it out of his system because bourbon chocolate cake with a Kahlua filling would not have gone well with my wedding dress!

Will you have a special cake for your groom? And are you implementing any cake smashing policies? ;)

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
• We Shared a Private Dinner for Two During Cocktail Hour
• Our Wedding Party Lines Up for Introductions
  

Next Up: We Dance with our Moms!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Southern Sweethearts: The Wedding Party Line-Up

Mr. Lab and I finished our private meal and gave the DOC the go-ahead to move guests into the ballroom. We snuck back out the side door and waited until the parlour cleared before sneaking back in for introductions.

Now, let me tell you about our wedding party (aka our best friends). But I'm going to do that using songs.

If you can remember way back to this post, I used a newsletter to ask our groomsmen and bridesmaids to pick out songs that summed up their personalities. Our baseball-style line up came together and one-by-one we were introduced.

Our best man Don got things started with a dramatic, double-fisting entrance:

Carl Orff Carmina Burana Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi O Fortuna
Skip to 1:25 to get the full effect!

Our matron of honor, Amanda, followed Don with a fun take on her favorite past-time: playing poker:

Poker Face by Lady GaGa



I love that the girls were already putting the "sole mates" to use!

Who's next? Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's just Super Jay!

Superman Theme Song

His wife and my new sister-in-law, Leslie, showed off some leg when she came in:

Starstruck by 3oh3

Trey, the same guy who posed backward for his mug shot, tried to make a smooth entrance but got tripped up on the door ledge. He just laughed it off like he meant to do it:

Jambi by Tool

Brittany, who I joke is my sister from another mister, got down with a choreographed dance:

Diva by Beyonce

Like Trey, Jimmy tried to play it smooth. And also like Trey, he tripped on the door ledge (even after laughing when Trey tripped!)

The Joker by the Steve Miller Band

Jimmy's wife, Brooke, unlike the boys, really did make a smooth entrance:

Super Massive Black Hole by Muse

Then my little brother, Phillip, got crunk:

All The Way Turned Up by Travis Porter

And Ashley got a little bossy:

I'm Bossy by Kelis

Finally, it was our turn. But wait! What's that I hear?

Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley



Doing my best Rick Astley shuffle. Mr. Lab was supposed to be doing the same but bailed and left me looking like an idiot. Way to support your new wife! :P

Did my wedding guests just get Rick Roll'd? Why yes, yes they did. :)

After the introduction we went straight into our first dance.

Better Together by Jack Johnson

Yes, we just did the awkward middle school sway as our wedding party looked on. Although I used to be a member of a dance company, Mr. Lab just isn't coordinated enough to attempt the awesome choreographed first dances...

Guest photo.

...but our first dance was perfect just the way it was.

Will you use a special way to introduce your wedding party?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
• We Shared a Private Dinner for Two During Cocktail Hour
  

Next Up: We get our nom on!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Southern Sweethearts: Cocktails and a Private Dinner for Two

After a short trolley trip, we arrived at Savannah Station for our reception. Our wedding party joined the guests in the parlour who were already getting their drink on at the full bar.

Mr. Lab and I snuck in through the side door for a chance to take in the ballroom before the guests switched rooms. My DOC bustled my dress so I could walk around the room with more ease.

Not thrilled with my last minute DIY projects. The doggie table numbers didn't live up to their full potential, but were still cute and made me feel like our fur babies were with us in spirit.

Once we'd taken everything in, we sat down to a private dinner, just the two of us. I cannot tell you enough how important it is to have little moments alone on your wedding day. I know a lot of people don't want to miss their cocktail hour, but it didn't bother me at all. We just did our socializing during the actual dinner.

I made these seat markers out of clay, twine, and gold paint. It's one of the DIY projects I didn't get around to sharing with the hive.

While we were eating, the parlour was full of guests mingling at the bar, snacking on hor d'oeuvres and checking out the guest book/candy buffet table.

Our signature drinks in our wedding colors were a big hit! The Southern Gent was Southern Comfort and Coke (brown), the Southern Belle was heavier version of a cosmopolitan (pink), and our signature drink was a White Russian (obviously!). We also served beer and wine.

I love seeing my pastor with a drink in his hand. Lutherans have no problem with a little liquor every now and then. ;)

Our mamas are now joined by marriage!

I am seriously bummed that the following photos were the only shots of the candy buffet, mason jars favors, and guest book table. There were no photos taken of the hor d'oeuvres which included yummy crab cakes, applewood smoked bacon-wrapped scallops, and a veggie platter.

Guest photo. Also the only photo showing the entire parlour. :( This room was the #1 reason I booked the historic train station.

Are you having a cocktail hour? Will you be attending it or using that time for a private dinner or photos?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
  

Next Up: We officially kick off the reception with some non-traditional introductions!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Southern Sweethearts: Posing for the Camera

Right after the ceremony, we were supposed to take a quick, romantic trip around downtown Savannah in the horse and carriage. But when we got to the end of the aisle, we discovered that it was already gone! I found out later that it was mistakenly booked 30 minutes earlier than we needed it for (which explains why it was at the hotel early), so the driver took off before the ceremony was over.

So we used the extra time to grab a few more photos before our family formals. Only this time, we were husband and wife!

Come away with me!

Yeah, we totally took photos in front of some random house on the square. Hope they didn't mind!

At this point, I'd only been wearing my shoes for a total of around 30 minutes. And I would only wear them about another hour. I'm still sad about not getting be with them most of the day. :(

Once the trolley cleared all the guests out of the square, we started taking formals with our families.

Lab brothers and Mama Lab.

With Mr. Lab. For some reason, my sisters left the square before photos, so I never got a full family photo. I had no idea they were gone until we started taking photos! :(

Mr. Lab and his family. He married into a HUGE family compared to his.

Me with Mr. Lab's family and his BIL.

I wanted one with my oldest brother, his children, and his fiancee (who's now his wife!). He was on leave from Iraq, so I love that I got this photo especially since he's still over there.

Us with the younger members of our wedding party (junior bridesmaids, flower girls, and ring bearer). All of them are my nieces and nephew! Mr. Lab went from having no nieces or nephews to having 6!

Aren't they the cutest things EVER?!

And while we were taking photos, our second shooter was off being silly with the rest of the wedding party. From what I hear, they were told to make their best mug shot faces!

The trolley finally came back from dropping off the guests for cocktail hour. We loaded up, snapped a pic, and were on our way to the reception!



Are you planning to take any photos right after the ceremony, or will you head straight to your reception?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
  

Next Up: We sneak in a quiet meal together during cocktail hour!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.