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.

Drinks on us! Part 2: The John Hancock of Cocktails.

As you may have guessed by the title, this post is about our signature drinks! ;)

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We're having a full bar at our cocktail hour and reception and thought it would be fun to have drinks that represent the entire wedding party. They'll be a total of three signature drinks: one for the bridesmaids, one for the groomsmen, and then one in honor of Mr. Lab and I.

Our matron of honor and best man will be in charge of creating their respective signature drinks. The only rule they have is that the ladies' drink must be a pink concoction...

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...while the men must have a brown one (again, all fitting into our color palette).

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They've yet to pick out their cocktails, so any ideas are certainly welcome! As well as cute and catchy drink names!

As for Mr. Lab and I's signature drink, we're going with the "yum-o!"-inducing White Russian. We both love love LOVE this drink. And it's white, so it sorta fits the theme of a wedding!

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In case you've never had a White Russian (or you aren't a lush like moi), here's the quick and simple recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Coffee Liqueur (ours will be made with Kahlua)
• Light Cream
• Chocolate Syrup (optional decoration-we're having the bartender add the initial of our last name on the drinks!)

Mixing instructions:

Pour vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes in glass. Fill with light cream. Add chocolate syrup swirl to top and serve.

We've decided that we're going to use tags to label our ceremony drinks...

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And chalkboards to display our signature drink options!

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These are the two easiest and cheapest display options. I really liked the chalkboard signs, but decided using them inside only will insure they won't blow away or fall down in the wind during the ceremony. I will be hitting up Michael's tomorrow after work to get started on our DIY signs!

I've got plenty of experience working with chalkboards. I've had one chalkboard since I was a sophomore in college that has "evolved" to fit my needs. I'm hoping I can hold on to the ones I use in the wedding for many years just like the one I have already!

My trusty chalkboard as the focal point of my crazily decorated apartment door. All my roommates had similarly-overdone doors! (Hey, I was a sophomore, so don't judge! lol)

Same chalkboard, different location and messages. I love that my little sister and I are rockin' the braces at the same time!

Still the same chalkboard but with the new border I painted to match our updated "Parisian" kitchen when Mr. Lab moved in! I added the sign above it for about $2.

Now comes the hard part: naming our cocktail! Any suggestions? I hope you have some cause Mr. Lab's drink names aren't so great:

Haha! Wait, wut?

Thirsty for more? Read Part 1!

*Have you ever noticed how John Hancock and all the other men who signed the Declaration of Independence have phenomenal, calligraphy-like handwriting? Seriously, where are all the men with GOOD handwriting nowadays?!? I could use one of them, especially when I'm writing thank you notes or addressing invitations! Sheesh.