We Start Today: The Way I Am

I know I already said the photos in this post were my absolute favorite from our wedding, but I have to say these pictures are a close second. We chose "The Way I Am," by Ingrid Michelson for our first dance as husband and wife. I have always loved this song because so many of the lyrics make me think of inside jokes between Mr. Castle and I. For example the line, "Sew on patches to all you tear," reminds me of how I used to tease Mr. Castle before we began dating. He had these jeans with huge holes in both knees, like ridiculously huge. I still don't understand how he could actually wear them they were that bad. I used to say, "You know I can sew those up for you, or better yet I can put a patch on them. Maybe a big peace sign or a groovy flower?" It was my dorky way of flirting with him...

Anyway, this song is so simple and sweet and I knew I wanted to somehow use it on our wedding day. I wasn't sure exactly how we would use it until one day Mr. Castle suggested it as our first dance song. I loved the idea. We wanted our first dance song to be something with a happier tone, not too sappy and "The Way I Am" totally fit the bill. If only I had thought of it first!  Since I love this song so much I spent most of our first dance singing along. Afterwards I thought, "Oh that's probably not going to look very attractive in pictures... opps." Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. Once again our amazing photographers  captured out first dance beautifully. You can't even tell I was singing along!

It was definitely a magical moment, not at all awkward like I had feared. Another great thing about our song choice was that it was short! It's a little over two minutes long which was the perfect amount of time for us. 
"The Way I Am" {Press play to listen}

Photography by Palos Studio

"If you were falling, then I would catch you...

You need a light, I'd find a match.

Cause I love the way you say good morning.

And you take me the way I am.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

Your head is aching, I'll make it better.

Cause I love the way you call me baby.

And you take me the way I am."

Then our magical moment became even more magical as bubbles came down on us from above.

" I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair...

Sew on patches to all you tear.

Cause I love you more than I could ever promise.

And you take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am."

As the song began to wind down we started hearing some rattling from our guests. They started shaking their tic tac's which said on the back, "Shake these mints for marital bliss and keep on shaking until they kiss."

So we obliged. 

You can see some of our guests shaking their tic tacs in the back.

When our first dance ended we headed to our sweetheart table and got ready for some toasts! 

What did you use for your first dance song? Who ultimately chose it, you or your SO?

Miss a recap? Check it out below!                         

We start at the end with a surprise wedding video!                                            

We rehearse                                                                                                      

Our rehearsal luncheon                              

We start the day with singing, dancing, and an earthquake

I get my hair and makeup done

We arrive at our venue and Mr. Castle asks for some makeup

With the help of my Mom and bridesmaids I get into my dress!

I take some solo shots of me as a bride

My handsome groom and his men 

Some family shots and first look regret

Photos with my Bridesmaids!

I get a three generations photos with my Mother and Grandmother

Ceremony details

Waiting for the ceremony to start AND how our amazing vendors saved the day!

The Processional and my walk down the aisle 

The Ceremony, vows and ring

We take a huge group photo with all our guests. 

Lovely family formals

Bridal party photos

My favorite wedding photos featuring me and my groom.

Reception Details

We make our entrance!

Awkward Moments

I'm sure you've all heard of the amazing website awkward family photos?

Image via awkwardfamilyphotos

I've been thinking a lot lately about possibilities for awkward moments at weddings. Not that my fiance and I are awkward people, there are just certain wedding traditions that can go terribly wrong, or be really weird if they are not executed correctly.

I think I suffer from what I will call, "fear of feeling awkward," That's probably why I like to have everything planned. The wedding rehearsal will be an important event for us, I don't want anyone not knowing where they're supposed to be or what they're supposed to do. And to make sure there are no awkward moments, I'm taking action and making a plan! Here's some wedding events that, in my mind, could go terribly wrong...

 The Kiss

 Image via www.missindianbride.com/ Photography by Sarah Bussey

It's a special moment. Your first kiss as a married couple. But you don't want to make out in front of your closest friends and family! But you also don't want it to be a simple peck. You need to be on the same page as your fiance. What if he wants to be dramatic and try to dip you and you're not ready!? The result: AWKWARD!

My solution: Practice. No you probably don't want your first kiss to look practiced. But I'd like to have an idea of what we both are thinking would be appropriate. I would rather practice than freak out right before hoping it is perfect, and who wouldn't want to spend some quality time practicing kisses? :)

First Dance

Image via danceexperts.com

I used to work at a dance studio in the city. The couple that owned the studio did private wedding dance lessons. I was always surprised by how much wedding dance business they got. I thought to myself, it must be for people who are really nervous and don't dance. But now that I'm engaged I think about it differently. It's a little nerve racking to be the center of attention on the dance floor, and in the moment it could turn into back and fourth junior high school dancing.

Image via bestmovieproms

My solution is not to take dance lessons, because Mr. Castle and I already have! Well kind of... we had to do a lot of partner dancing in college so I know we will both feel somewhat comfortable on the dance floor. Still, when we pick our first dance song I plan to practice dancing to our selected music. That way we'll feel comfortable with our selection and the awkward factor will be kept to a minimum, or better yet, replaced by a cute factor!

 Garter Toss

 Image via Elizabeth Ann Designs

Mr Castle is not looking forward to the garter toss at all, and has thought about cutting it completely. I'm still on the fence about it. It can be very awkward. If you think about it, it's so weird! Your groom is reaching up his now wife's dress to get her garter to throw to his buddies...? Pulling it off with your teeth!? Where did this tradition come from? My cousin made her garter toss fun by but putting things under her dress, a feather boa, granny undies, and even a rubber chicken. She went the comical route, but running out to stuff things under my dress is not something I am interested in doing....

Solution: Either to not do it at all or do something else for the guys instead. We were thinking of getting movie tickets to attach to the bouquet toss, so maybe we can do that for the garter toss as well. It would be great to find a non-awkward substitution for the garter toss that would get guys involved in the competitive fun that the women will experience diving for the bouquet. Last one to add to the list:

Cake Cutting

 Image via mikeanddarlyn.com

To smash or not to smash, that is the question... Well my answer is a big heck no! I hate when grooms smash cake in their brides face. A playful frosting on the nose I'm OK with, but a full on cake fight, NO WAY. To prevent any cake from getting in my face I have been FULLY upfront with the Mr. Castle about this. But I think he is only taking me semi-seriously... I'm just saying if I get cake in my face it'll be a sad wedding night for him. I guess the point I'm trying to make is be clear what you want and make sure you discuss your plan of action with you groom. If you are a cake smashing person then you should probably make sure your groom is one too. Either way you should discuss. On the day of after nerves and drinks you don't want to rely and letting things happen "in the moment."

Are you worried about any awkward moments? Have you seen any awkward moments at weddings?