Built for Two: Call Me Maybe

All photos by Ashley Daniell Photography

What has to happen during a wedding to get a reaction like this?

Well, one way to get your audience in stitches during your Maid of Honor toast is to play a video of the bride and groom dancing to "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.  Something along these lines:



Let me back up for a minute.  About a year before our wedding Mr. B and I visited my sister in New York City.  She was going through a phase (is it over yet?) of making videos set to popular songs.  She sat us down on her couch and had us play along to "Call Me Maybe," a favorite song of mine.  Stepdaughter A was also a fan of the song so we had some moves that we would all do when it would come on.  Well, fast forward to her toast.  And the projector and screen came out.  And I panicked.  I knew she was going to play it and Mr. B and I thought about trying to stop it but Bridesmaid Doc told me about how things went down that day.

During our first look my bridesmaids were killing time in the hotel suite and my sister showed everyone the video, thinking they would all find it cute (and very much us).  They became instantly obsessed and someone suggested playing it at the reception.  Bridesmaid NOLA, fresh off a work trip, happened to have a projector with her.  Garibaldi's was able to secure a screen.  The rest is history.

My sister said some nice things about us and then introduced the video.  I cannot remember a time I was more nervous but it turns out it was probably the most memorable part of the reception - in a good way.  I have never seen an entire room erupt in laughter for three minutes straight.

It was cheek-hurting laughter.

I don't know how or why, but immediately after the video we spontaneously reenacted it on the dance floor.  The DJ must have put it on and we did the only thing we could - dance!

I cannot think of a better way for my sister to have toasted us.

Miss a recap? Get caught up here!

• We got to Savannah and hosted a haunted pub crawl.
• We spent the day getting our nails done and playing golf.
• We rehearsed the ceremony.
• Our rehearsal dinner was delicious and fun.
• I woke up early and made some bad TV decisions.
• I give the girls their gifts.
• The guys get ready.
• I become a bride.
• We see each other for the first time.
• We take pictures around Savannah.
• The bridal party joins us for pictures.
• The bridal party processes.
• I pay tribute to my father.
• I walk down the aisle.
• We make it official.
• We take family portraits.
• We take advantage of the “golden hour.
• We are introduced and dance our first dance. 
• We eat a delicious dinner.

Built for Two: Let's Eat!

I almost hate to say it but I am going to anyway - coming up with our seating arrangement was very easy for us!  We started with some bare bones (which parents should be where, etc.) and then filled in the gaps based on who we thought would enjoy each other.  You may recall that we decided to use the squares of Savannah as table names, which were designed by our day of coordinator, Adrianne.  Adrianne also made the seating arrangement poster - a bigger version of the map we were using on the tables.

All photos by Ashley Daniell Photography

Sorry this doesn't really do it justice - trying to protect my guests' identities!

Each card had a map of downtown Savannah with a mark on that table's square and a description/history of the square on the back.  They were held up by wine corks I put together along with ribbon and a navy fleur de lis wax seal.  Gold candles were scattered throughout the tables as well.

A friend of Mr. B's said a blessing and then it was time to eat.

Mr. B with the grandfather of Stepkids A and M

The food and drink at our wedding were very important.  We worked with Garibaldi's to craft a menu that tasted delicious and satisfied our broad range of wedding guests.  Adrianne made our menus and they were at each place setting as guests sat down.

Front and Back

First Course - Garden Salad or Garibaldi Salad
Second Course - Chicken Milanese (what I had!  YUM!), Shrimp Scampi, or New York Strip
Third Course - Vanilla or Hummingbird Wedding Cake

Mr. B and I alternated between eating and making the rounds.  We didn't have a plan - we just walked around and talked to anyone we could.  I am happy to report that I ate most of my salad and entree!

Mr. B with his Stepfather

At some point we were approached by a rather random man.  Apparently he knew our best man and had met the groomsmen during the bachelor party.  He happened to be having dinner downstairs and wanted to pop up and say hi.  So we had a wedding crasher?

During dinner, Stepdaughter A walked our stand-in guest book around for people to sign.  I say "stand-in" because our actual guest book (a wine box for people to sign) never showed up and our coordinator at Garibaldi's stepped in with a Savannah calendar for people to sign.  It was really sweet! 

Midway through dinner, Best Man Rep took the mic to give his toast.

"On behalf of Mrs. Bicycle and Mr. Bicycle, I'd like to thank everyone for attending this beautiful wedding today.  My name is Best Man Rep and I am the Best Man.  I'm proud to call Mr. B my friend and I'm thrilled to be a part of such a joyous occasion, the start of a new chapter in his life with Mrs. Bicycle.

Mrs. Bicycle, you've captured the heart of our friend Mr. B and the backdrop of these events are storybook.  Mrs. Bicycle, from the theme, city, the venues and time of year (I'm sure you noticed, no Florida Gator football game this weekend), in all, you've truly outdone yourself.

May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet; enough trials to keep you strong; enough sorrow to keep you human; enough hope to keep you happy; enough failure to keep you humble; enough success to keep you eager; enough friends to give you comfort; enough faith and courage in yourself, your business, and your country to banish depression; enough wealth to meet your needs; enough determination to make each day better than yesterday.

May all your hopes and dreams come true, and may the memory of this day become dearer with each passing year.

Ladies and gentlemen, to Mr. & Mrs. Bicycle."

His toast was so sweet and we truly appreciate everything he did as Best Man. 

Up next - my sister gives one of the most epic toasts in history.

Miss a recap? Get caught up here!

• We got to Savannah and hosted a haunted pub crawl.
• We spent the day getting our nails done and playing golf.
• We rehearsed the ceremony.
• Our rehearsal dinner was delicious and fun.
• I woke up early and made some bad TV decisions.
• I give the girls their gifts.
• The guys get ready.
• I become a bride.
• We see each other for the first time.
• We take pictures around Savannah.
• The bridal party joins us for pictures.
• The bridal party processes.
• I pay tribute to my father.
• I walk down the aisle.
• We make it official.
• We take family portraits.
• We take advantage of the “golden hour.
• We are introduced and dance our first dance.

Built for Two: Introductions and First Dance

We had the second floor of Garibaldi reserved for our reception and guests entered by the staircase that was right next to the main restaurant entrance.  When it was our turn to enter the reception, we waited at the bottom of the stairs for our cue.

Unless noted, all photos by Ashley Daniell Photography

Everyone crowded around the top of the stairs, waiting for us to join them.  Flower Girl Pad was particularly excited.

Photo by MOH NYC

Mr. B did not have a strong opinion for our entrance song and I had something brewing in the back of my mind for a while that ended up being perfect.  Mr. B is a huge Tampa Bay Rays baseball fan and one of his favorite players is Evan Longoria.  We both always remarked how cool his "walk up music" was and eventually we figured out it is "Down and Out" by Tantric.  It has this cool violin section to begin, which is what Evan uses to go to bat, before getting into more of an intense song.  The violin part is both memorable and really cool, so I had the DJ play just that part as we walked into the reception - a total surprise to Mr. B.

"Down and Out" by Tantric


I doubt many people understood the song but we did and that's all that matters.

Photo by Best Man Rep

We then hit the dance floor and launched right into our first dance, "White Dress" by Ben Rector.

"White Dress" by Ben Rector

"I never knew that I could love someone like you..."  Nothing could have been more perfect.

We didn't want people to awkwardly watch us dance for three minutes so we had the DJ call everyone to the dance floor to join us after the first chorus.

Cousins!

This next one is Mr. B and me with one of my best friends, Bridesmaid Doc.

Her husband came to join us and apparently this wasn't okay with me?

Haha, I really have no idea what is happening there.

Up next - the blessing and dinner.

Anyone else work a baseball walk-up song into their reception?  I highly recommend it for baseball fans!  In a perfect world I would have chosen Mariano Rivera's song ("Enter Sandman" by Metallica) but I wanted this to be a nice surprise for Mr. B.

Miss a recap? Get caught up here!

• We got to Savannah and hosted a haunted pub crawl.
• We spent the day getting our nails done and playing golf.
• We rehearsed the ceremony.
• Our rehearsal dinner was delicious and fun.
• I woke up early and made some bad TV decisions.
• I give the girls their gifts.
• The guys get ready.
• I become a bride.
• We see each other for the first time.
• We take pictures around Savannah.
• The bridal party joins us for pictures.
• The bridal party processes.
• I pay tribute to my father.
• I walk down the aisle.
• We make it official.
• We take family portraits. 
• We take advantage of the "golden hour."

Built for Two: Golden Pictures

Throughout the timeline planning process, our photographer kept mentioning getting some portraits in the "golden hour," which did not make a lot of sense to me but we went with it anyway.  After the ceremony our guests and bridal party took the trolley to the reception at Garibaldi while Mr. B and I took a horse-drawn carriage to Orleans Square for some final portraits.  I kept notes of different squares throughout our trips to Savannah and decided Orleans Square would be our best location for pictures.

Unless noted, all photos by Ashley Daniell Photography

The "golden hour" light was perfect and we were finally able to relax.

It was difficult for us to keep straight faces but we tried our best.

Ashley had us look sultry at points, but sometimes that didn't exactly work out.

It was right about now that I asked Ashley if she ever had people tell her enough - no more pictures!  Although we were having fun and enjoying being married, I was just about done smiling on command.  Luckily it was our scheduled time to head to Garibaldi and get the reception started.  Cocktail hour was going on without us, complete with open bar and delicious fruits and cheeses.

Photo by Best Man Rep

 We got to Garibaldi and I said goodbye to our friend Salt, giving him a treat.

Photo by Best Man Rep

Our Garibaldi coordinator, Meghan, was there to greet us with cocktails and a cheerful, "I hear you like bubbles!" as she handed me a glass of champagne.  Perfection. 

Photo by Best Man Rep

My veil was removed, my dress was bustled, and a few sips of champagne later it was time to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs!

Miss a recap? Get caught up here!

• We got to Savannah and hosted a haunted pub crawl.
• We spent the day getting our nails done and playing golf.
• We rehearsed the ceremony.
• Our rehearsal dinner was delicious and fun.
• I woke up early and made some bad TV decisions.
• I give the girls their gifts.
• The guys get ready.
• I become a bride.
• We see each other for the first time.
• We take pictures around Savannah.
• The bridal party joins us for pictures.
• The bridal party processes.
• I pay tribute to my father.
• I walk down the aisle.
• We make it official. 
• We take family portraits. 

Built for Two: Family Portraits

After the ceremony we took family pictures on the front steps of the church.  Everyone looked so happy coming out!

All photos by Ashley Daniell Photography

I love this shot of my brother's wife with Stepdaughter A:

Mr. B's father's side:

Mr. B's mother's side:

Mr. B with his siblings:

My tiny family:

Me with my siblings:

The new Bicycle family!

 The trolley took the bridal party and guests to the reception while Mr. B and I hopped in a horse-drawn carriage for some final portraits.

Up next - the best pictures from the day, in the glow of the setting sun.

Miss a recap? Get caught up here!

• We got to Savannah and hosted a haunted pub crawl.
• We spent the day getting our nails done and playing golf.
• We rehearsed the ceremony.
• Our rehearsal dinner was delicious and fun.
• I woke up early and made some bad TV decisions.
• I give the girls their gifts.
• The guys get ready.
• I become a bride.
• We see each other for the first time.
• We take pictures around Savannah.
• The bridal party joins us for pictures.
• The bridal party processes.
• I pay tribute to my father.
• I walk down the aisle. 
• We make it official.