Traditions

I had originally been pretty hesitant about including some of the more traditional aspects of a wedding in our reception.  Cutting the cake wasn't too bad, although I wasn't crazy about everyone staring at us again, but what really got to me was the bouquet and garter toss.  I didn't want to call out our uncoupled guests or have my grandparents watch Jeff reach up my dress to find the garter.  However, when I told Jeff I wanted to skip these traditions, I was met with a surprisingly strong reaction.  Apparently these things were really important to him and, as he put it, "It's not a wedding without those!".  When I shared my ideas with my mom, she sided with Jeff.  So I was outnumbered, and the traditions were in.

Actually, I'm happy we did these.  It was fun and people seemed to be waiting for them.  And they made for some really great photos.  Want to see?  I thought so.

Cutting the cake:

The cake table

We opted for fresh flowers instead of a traditional cake topper

I love this picture.  It just screams wedding

 Deciding whether to be nice or not...

I admit, I tried to get it on his nose

But he was having none of that!

I firmly believed that he was going to smash cake all over my face

But I was pleasantly surprised!

Up next were the bouquet and garter tosses:

We finished with the money dance.  This can be somewhat controversial, but hey, it helped pay for our honeymoon!  And something I hadn't foreseen was how much it meant to us to have individual time with our guests in the middle of our busy reception.  I don't know if I otherwise would have gotten a chance to dance with my grandpa, or Jeff with my mom.  And really, just check out the great pics:

In the end, I was glad we followed through with all these traditions.  They definitely helped complete the "wedding" feel, and they meant more to me than I ever thought they would.  I guess I have to give credit to Jeff and to my mom on this one: thanks, guys, for being the voice of reason and convincing me to follow through, for the sake of tradition.