Southern Sweethearts: The Grand Finale

After the last dance, our DOC quickly organized our guests outside for the grand exit. I knew I wanted a sparkler exit, but didn't plan on actually having a "getaway" car. I figured we'd already spent money on two forms of special transportation (our trolley and horse carriage) and didn't need anything else. We'd just take photos walking through the sparklers and that's that.

But our groomsmen other plans.

We walked out of Savannah Station and immediately realized that something was up.

As we got closer, our guests spread apart to reveal the handy-work of our mischievous groomsmen.

What we saw was Mr. Lab's car.

Okay, so before I go any further, let me explain Mr. Lab's car to you. He got this thing in high school. He was (is still) your typical "fast and powerful" car type of guy. Mr. Lab's had his fair share of speeding tickets "back in the day", and even more days logged at racing tracks with his buddies. And the car to get "back in the day" was any LS1 powered F-body, like his Pontiac TransAm. I had a Chevy Camaro myself in high school, another F-body but it was just a V6 for any of you car enthusiasts.

The thing is, he's seriously outgrown his car and even feels embarrassed to drive it anymore (he now drives a Hyundai Sonata but dreams of a still powerful yet more sophisticated 500hp BMW M5). Soooo....some of us pick on him about it. I like to call the car the "Teen Batmobile" myself. ;)

Alright, back to the wedding night. This is what we found:

Car paint, Vaseline under the door handles, cans dragging behind, toilet paper, foam, some expletives, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS.

And this is how it got there:

What are all the guys looking at? Oh, that would be our security guard getting in on the action!

We had no idea the boys had slipped out of the reception at some point to buy supplies and "decorate" Mr. Lab's car! You'd think we'd be mad, but it was all in good fun and it's SO funny to look back at a year later.* But I must warn you, the sooner you clean a car in that condition, the better. And pray that no one puts Vaseline under your door handles because it takes FOREVER to get off!

So hive, this is the "grand finale" of my wedding recaps. I will be around a little longer to share some things I never got around to before the wedding, vendor reviews, and our 1st anniversary celebration.

But I promised in previous posts to share a little project that we did with our photographer during the dancing portion of the reception:

Will you have a planned getaway?

PS. I hope you've enjoyed my wedding journey and recaps! Thanks for sticking with me for an entire year to get to the end. ;)

The Full "Southern Sweethearts" Saga:

• 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
• Dancing with Our “Stars”
• Toasts & Tosses
• We "Thrill" the Reception and Dance the Night Away
• A Serenade and the Last Dance

Next Up: Our 1st Anniversary

*You may be reading this after November 7th, but I actually wrote it on our anniversary. And I can't believe I actually got all of the recaps done by then. Go me! :)

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

Southern Sweethearts: Constellations

Mr. Lab and I came back inside from our little photography project mentioned in my last post (it's coming in the next one, I promise!) and we were met by this:

That's college buddy and fellow newscaster Kevin. He promised me a couple weeks before the wedding that he would sing for us.

You see, Kevin has this ah-mazing voice. He was even the winner of our college's version of American Idol, UGA Idol!

Kevin more than lived up to his promise. He sang us the most beautiful song ever.

And I was tickled silly about it! I felt like we had our own personal star serenading us on our wedding day!

We finished the night with a last song by the same artist who sang our first dance song:

Jack Johnson's "Constellations"

We started the dance with some of the kids.

The light was leaving
In the west it was blue
The children's laughter sang
And skipping just like the stones they threw
Their voices echoed across the way
It's getting late

It was just another night
With a sunset
And a moonrise not so far behind

To give us just enough light
To lay down underneath the stars
Listen to papa's translations
Of the stories across the sky
We drew our own constellations

While we were dancing, a couple bridesmaids were outside making this for us:

Our new monogram!

The kids left us alone on the dance floor about halfway through the song. My youngest niece, Morgan, made sure she had one of our mason jar favors full of candy from the buffet.

(guest photo)

And we finished out the song together, just a couple of newlyweds, alone on the dance floor.

Clouds keep moving to uncover the scene
Stars above us chasing the day away
To find the stories that we sometimes need
Listen close enough
All else fades

Fades away

It was just another night
With a sunset
And a moonrise not so far behind
To give us just enough light
To lay down underneath the stars
Listen to all the translations
Of the stories across the sky

We drew our own constellations.

Will you have any special performances at your reception? How about a designated last song?

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
• Dancing with Our “Stars”
• Toasts & Tosses
• We "Thrill" the Reception and Dance the Night Away
  

Next Up: We make our big exit!

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

Southern Sweethearts: It's Close to Midnight...

Our wedding was just a week after Halloween (my favorite celebration of the entire year) and in a city known for its ghoulish residents. So in addition to the ghost tour after the rehearsal dinner, I thought it would be fun to do the official "Thriller" dance at the reception!

So, I put the word out to our guests well before the wedding to learn the dance if they wanted to participate. And as we lined up at the reception, I was actually surprised that we got so many takers!

Quickly going over the dance one last time.

I didn't practice as much as I should have, but I think I did all right. But a couple of my college buddies TORE UP the dance floor and could have put Michael Jackson himself to shame!

Mr. Lab decided he didn't know the dance well enough and bailed halfway through! LOL

Kevin, Kelly, and Ian doing their thing!

Bucket List:
Win the lottery.
Touch myself inappropriately at my own wedding.
Fly to the moon.

Ian and Kevin were really into the dance. They knew every move and I kept cheating off of them to keep up! I can't wait to see this part of our wedding video. I'm gonna DIE laughing!

(right photo by guest)

After "Thriller", the rest of our guests joined us for some "regular" dancing.

We had a little of everything. Classic rock, hip hop, pop, and of course, "Cupid's Shuffle", which is fast-becoming a wedding classic.

I spy two bees! ;)

We danced with the kids...

...in a circle of friends...

...and with relatives!

L: My younger brother and sister. R: With my mom's cousin.

I never knew until looking through the photos the serious moves some of our guests pulled of the bag. I'm guessing the full bar lead to some liquid courage.

I slipped out of the reception for a few minutes to change into something a little more comfortable. (And I finally fixed my hair flower!)

Our DJ played a couple slower songs for the guests with significant others.

At this point, our photographer stole us away to do a special project outside (which you'll see soon!). It was fun, but it took us way longer than I expected and we ended up missing a lot of the dancing. If you know me at all, you know I'm a dancer. Like, not only was I in a hip hop-focused dance company, but I also love to dance any time there's music. I expected our wedding to be a huge dance party, but I missed most of it! :(

Is a dance-reception important to you? Or will you take after someone like Mrs. Turtle and nix the dancing?

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
• Dancing with Our “Stars”
• Toasts & Tosses
  

Next Up: A guest sings us a special song!

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

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.