Reception Recap

So it's been 45 days since we said "I Do" so let's see what I remember about the reception.

After the ceremony, we took about an hours worth of pictures with the bridal party and family. Dave and I were able to knock out our pictures before hand when we did our first look. To really try and get the party started, the bridal party and our parents entered the reception to "Yeah" by Usher. It's always been one of my favorite songs, especially to dance to. 

Grand Entrance

Dave and I made our grand entrance to Chris Brown's "Forever."  We made our way to the dance floor, where we had our first dance to "Whatever It Is" by Zac Brown Band. It's our favorite band and the perfect song for us.

 First Dance

Following our first dance, Dave danced with his mom, Susanne, to "Do I Make You Proud" by American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. I danced with my grandfather to The Judds "Grandpa" as it's a perfect song for us. Dave then also danced with Kelly to Rascal Flatts "My Wish." 

After those dances, everything else was a whirlwind. I know I tried to get around the room to speak to everyone but, boy is it tough!  But I can tell you that neither Dave or I made it all the way around the room because we had a chocolate fountain and we never saw it! lol 

Shortly after the dances, the DJ, Geoff from Soundquest DJs, called me to the floor and started talking about USC and the Gamecocks and me being a Carolina grad, etc etc.  He told me there was a surprise in the building for me....after a little "2001" music...the best mascot in the entire country walked in....COCKY!! 

It was a surprise to me that he was actually coming. I know my mom put in the request earlier in the year but I told her I didn't want to know the outcome! Cocky was a hit at the wedding with a bunch of the guests and of course, the kids! He spent a lot of time taking pictures with the guests, dancing and having a great time!  If you are a Gamecock fan or grad, and are getting married, I highly recommend you invite Cocky!!

After some dancing and a quick bite to eat ( I'm talking 2 bites of a chicken tender) it was time for the toasts and cake cutting.  The speeches by both Christie and Suzanne were amazing and really touched my heart and meant a lot to me.  Ryan's Best Man speech was so Ryan so it was a pretty funny.  Dave and I cut our amazing cake with the Marine Corps NCO sword, which was pretty awesome!
I guess when it came to the cake cutting and eating, I really never thought about the whole cake smashing. I really didn't think I would do that and I know I didn't want cake smashed all over me and on my dress.
But.. I forgot who I was marrying. Geoff asked the guests if they thought it was going to be "Naughty Or Nice" and got a reaction out of the crowd, which many thought would be naughty. And they were right. Dave reached first to smash but I got him back. Nothing too outrageous but it was fun. 

Following the cake, Dave was asked by Geoff to bring 5 guys out onto the floor who were good friends and people he wanted to thank. He asked Jeremy, Jeff, Kentrell, Ryan, and Joe Yozzo. Little did they or even we know, they were chosen to be the Village People and perform the YMCA! It was hilarious!! Cocky even got involved and tried challenging the guys with some dance moves.

We had a few other funny moments at the reception including the Flower/Garter Toss.  Dave's friend Alicia caught the bouquet and Kentrell, one of the groomsmen, caught the garter. Geoff, the DJ, then brought Alicia and Kentrell out onto the dance floor and explained that Kentrell would need to put the garter on Alicia's leg and the higher he went, the longer our marriage would last....and he'd had to do it blindfolded.  Well while blindfolder, my stepdad Joe switch seats with Alicia so Kentrell started to put the garter on Joe's foot and it wasn't until he got close to his knee when he felt Joe's pants that he ripped off the blindfold and saw what was going on.

PRICELESS MOMENT!! It was moments like this that make me so glad I had a videographer cause it's all captured!

Some of the girls from my very first clogging team also got out on the dance floor and performed one of our favorite dances "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw.  It was a hit and a chance for the to show off my dancin' shoes..my lowtop pink Chuck Taylors!

The most priceless moment and thing people are still talking about from the wedding was the groomsmen stripping on the dance floor and my grandma, yes my grandma, out there dancing with them.  There are so many pictures from this and each one is so funny. I still don't know who's idea it was but all of the groomsmen, including my grandpa, took off their shirts, kept on their ties and hit the dance floor.

Dave and I had a great time and are so thankful for everyone who came to share with us in our special day! We couldn't have had a better day and are so glad to share with you in the most important day of our lives.

Here are some other of my favorite pictures. To see more pictures from the wedding, visit http://mrandmrsdaveturner.shutterfly.com/ .

 

Coming up next.. a recap of our awesome and amazing 7 Day Cruise!

Best Day Of My Life

As promised, I'm here to share all the details of the most wonderful day of my life.

The day started at 8am... after a night of girl talk and giggling, we finally went to bed around 2am only to awake up early the next morning. Tina, my hairstylist, came to the hotel to do my hair for me. She did such an amazing job and I couldn't be happier. We weren't able to get together to do a trial run so she did it based on pictures I had printed and pictures I'd sent her from my bridal portraits. Thanks Tina for such an amazing job!

Afterwards, mom and I headed to get our make up done at Macys with Clinque.  That's when I got the first phone call of the day telling me it was an hour after the time the Officer's Club said we could come and no one was there, except for my two bridesmaids trying to get in. I told them to call me as soon as they got in. About 30 minutes later, things were fine.

It was a little after Noon when I reached the venue and I wanted to check everything out to make sure things were going the way I wanted. I was nervous at all. We had a room for all of us to get ready and it had plenty of windows for us to look out to see what was going on.

First Look

Soon after the photographer arrived and that's when time started flying by. We were taking lots of pictures, having fun, and getting me dressed.

Dave and I decided that we wanted to see each other before the ceremony, not only to calm our nerves but for the beautiful pictures that come from it. I've seen so many great pictures from this moment, I couldn't pass it up. We had the perfect location.  Out to the side of the lawn of the Officer's Club is a bridge, so that's where the photographers took Dave, giving me the chance to walk up behind him. It was a priceless moment, just like I hoped for. He actually cried moments after turning around and seeing me there in my wedding dress.. just an hour or so away from becoming his wife. After a few moments to ourselves, we were whisked away for pictures.

We then noticed guests were starting to arrive, so I took off back to our room and the guys hung out in the reception area. We also let guests hang out in there as it was like 90 degrees outside and no breeze. The ceremony started about 15 minutes late as it was Retiree Appreciation Day on base as well so the front gate was backed up, and there were still a lot of guests waiting to get on base.

The ceremony was by no means perfect, but perfect to use. Everyone looked amazing standing up at the front as a I walked down the aisle. I loved the parasols and how it looks from this picture and I know the girls enjoyed them since it was rather warm. I have to admit and always will, I did jump the gun on the "I Dos". I heard Mary Louise (our officiant) pause when reading the the vows and I jumped in and said "I Do" when she actually had another line to read.

Jumping The Gun on "I Do"

The guys wore aviator sunglasses during the ceremony, including Dave but when I looked into his "eyes" or glasses, all I could see was my reflection, So I took them off of him during the ceremony so I could see.

During the exchanging of rings, Ryan, the best man decided to play a little trick. He handed Dave the ring box... and it was empty. Then he decided to be silly and act like he didn't know where the rings were. He then pulled them out of his pocket... and I had trouble getting the ring of Suzanne's finger.. it was stuck for a quick second.


We had one part of the ceremony we had to skip over and come back to later on. We wanted to give our mom's roses as a representation of our love and thanks for everything. It was supposed to happen near the beginning of the ceremony but someone forget to put the roses on the table. But the coordinator was able to get them and had the guys pass them up to us.

And the only other issue we had.. well I did was during the sand ceremony.. it took forever.. and I kept spilling my sand on the table.. Oh well! lol

Mr. & Mrs. Turner!

I'll stop here and come back at a later time to recap the reception.. that's something you won't want to miss.
Where else where you find a gamecock, pink converse sneakers and groomsmen running around without their shirts..... Um that would be our reception! Stay tuned....

The Day Before The Big Day!

It's hard to believe the big day has come and gone.. and boy did it sure fly by.

Here's a little recap of the night before the wedding, including some pictures.

The whole event began on Friday, May 20th with rehearsal at the Officer's Club. Things went real smooth and everyone was pumped and excited about the big day to come. Without wasting time, we headed to California Dreaming for dinner. We were joined by the wedding party a long with some of our family from out of town. Dave's mom did a amazing job decorating and organizing the dinner. It was perfect.

After dinner, we recognized each of our wedding party for their friendship and thanked them for being a part of our big day. 

Mandy & Chaunte'

Dave & Tracy

The Girls

I gave each of my girls a hanger with their name on it..  made out of wire. (I took a picture of them but can't find it right now), a fused glass pendant made by Dave's mom, along with a small photo album and a monogrammed bag.  For the guys, Dave & I made personalized beer bottle opener mounts for the groomsmen and a cornhole set for Ryan, the best man.  I hope everyone enjoyed their gifts because we really appreciate their support.

Melissa, Me & Mandy

Seeing Ashleigh For The 1st Time In 10 Years

After dinner, the girls headed back to the hotel before heading out to meet a bunch of our out-of-town guests at Wild Wings in the Vista. We got to see my friend Ashleigh and her husband, who traveled from Colorado, my friend Bryan came in from Alaska, Dave's Marine Corps buddy Bobby made the trip from California and my mom's best friend from high school and her husband came in from Alabama. We can't thank these people for traveling so far to be with us.  We had a great time drinking and dancing and just getting to celebrate and have fun before the big day!

The night before the wedding, I got to stay with some of my amazing girls.. Amanda, Melissa, Christie and Krystle at The Whitney Hotel. We had a great time and of course had girl talk before going to bed.

Time for me to get going.. I'll be back to recap the BIG DAY sometime this week!!..

Until Then....