mr. and mrs. chastain: part 8

as i've mentioned time and time again,

fun was the top priority of the day.

we wanted our guests to laugh and eat and dance the night away.

 

in order to set the mood for the night,

we had the wedding party dance into the reception with their signature dance moves.

bub-hub and i were waiting outside, so we didn't get to see them all, but hearing the guests burst into laughter and applause was enough to let us know our plan for fun was working!

we boogied in after our wedding party,

then shared a first dance to the Blake Shelton version of

"God Gave Me You"

 

and then, there were toasts.

our best man and maid of honor nailed it:
the perfect blend of hilarious and practical advice.
and then there was my dad,
who was the perfect blend of awkward advice and hilarious anecdotes, which is why i have a dozen photos of bub-hub's face looking like the bottom left.

bub-hub and his mama shared a sweet dance to "find your wings" by mark harris.
isn't her dress so fun?! i love the ruffles. :) 

next, my dad and i shared our sweet & serious dance.

we started out dancing to steven curtis chapman's "cinderella", and then,
made some akerly magic.

at the end of our dance, we played "we are family" and brought everyone out on the dance floor to boogie down with us.

you need to be best friends with my dad.

he is the most hilarious, fun guy on the planet.

the photos don't quite do it justice, so here's a short video of the fun part of our dance.

 

our guests were on the dance floor the ENTIRE night.

there were even people dancing off the dance floor, between the tables, because there wasn't enough room!  there is nothing better than twisting and shouting and boogying down with a dance floor full of friends and family.

we had such a fantastic time dancing the night away.

 

what are your favorite songs to dance to at wedding receptions??

 

 

mr. and mrs. chastain: part 7

after our outdoor reception, we had a second dinner & dancing reception at cowboy's golf club in grapevine. it was the perfect place to hold a celebration on our wedding day.  their main dining room is so beautiful, with austin stone and dark wood accents, it was a perfect backdrop to create our vision.

 

when erin, the site coordinator, first took us into the reception hall, i started tearing up.  almost one year of planning and worrying and creating, and it turned out more beautifully than i ever imagined. she and her fabulous team nailed it.

 

 

we used red table cloths on all the tables, and my mama and mother-in-law made beautiful burlap runners with fabric and lace details.

my mom also made the mr. and mrs. signs for our chairs. such a cute surprise!

 

we had 5 branch arrangements spread throughout the room, and it was a great way to create height and variety.

the rest of the tables were filled with a random collection of 7-9 jars and vases full of sunflowers, white stock, ranunculus, peonies, and a few other stem flowers. we also had woodcuts of various thicknesses that were stacked with jars, and red candles.

 

i had to fight for those tree-branch centerpieces, and i am so glad everyone came around and gave in.

i really loved the look of manzanita branch centerpieces, but did not want to spend that much money.

so we collected branches from the side of the road and from neighbors, filled buckets with concrete and created our own.  we dangled votives from the branches for an extra touch of fun.

my mom came up with the idea to place peonies and hydrangeas in the top of the bucket, and i think it was the perfect finishing touch.

thank goodness for summer storms and a dad with a chain saw!

 

we used smaller branches to create place card holders. my dad and brothers sliced the branches into 3-4 inch sections, and then added a slice across the top to place the cards. each table was named after a school monument or icon.  half of the tables were named for Texas A&M and the other half were named for Texas Tech.

 

 

 

i was in love with the design of my wedding cake. knew i wanted something simple, but rustic and fresh, and i was so happy with how it turned out. because the design of the cake was so simple, the flowers were able to steal the show! and if you look closely, you can see the woodcut cake stand my dad made!

bub-hub loves chocolate covered strawberries, so we made sure to load them up! we even had a bride and groom set of strawberries. how cute is that?

and no reception is complete without a little cake in the face.

for the record,

bub-hub started it, and i was forced to retaliate.

 

i was 100% blown away with the way the dinner reception turned out.

for almost a year, my mom and i planned and talked and planned, but the hardest part about being a planning bride is having no control over the day of set up, which is why i am 100% a fan of having a planner and being picky with your vendors.

 

part 1 | part 2

part 3 | part 4

part 5 | part 6

 

all photos were taken by Jana at bella bee photography.

the wedding was coordinated by Rhonda at precisely as planned.

the reception was coordinated by Erin at cowboys golf club.