Lemur L'amour: We (They) Eat

You know how people always say they didn't eat at their wedding? I swore I would...but I really didn't. First of all, we never really sat down at a table. Our top priority was making sure we spent time with all of our guests, so most of the time I was walking from table to table and standing and chatting with people. After everyone had gone through the buffet line, we grabbed plates and continued visiting with guests as we ate. Mr. Lemur ate plenty, but I swear I had like three bites and didn't feel well. I don't know what it was—maybe a combination of stress and everything going on? I tried to eat but I wasn't really hungry and nothing tasted quite right.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

Everyone else has told me the food was good. No one raved about it necessarily—but I knew from the beginning our food wasn't going to be mind-blowing. There was plenty of it and it was good, which is all I was looking for at our price point.

I actually don't have any pictures of the food, and hardly any of people eating, but that's ok. We ended up having make-your-own breakfast biscuits with sausage and ham, quiche, cinnamon rolls, muffins, sandwiches, salad, and fruit. There were also two drink stations set up with (I think) water, sweet tea, juice, coffee, and hot tea.

I think in this picutre I'm 1. Showing off my wedding band and 2. Holding my phone because my sister sent me a picture of my new last name in her phone. Gotta love candid moments, right?

You can see the buffet lines and one of the drink stations in the background of this picture. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm making this face in approximately 90% of the pictures. What can I say, I was happy!

I'm pretty sure they were scoring our kiss. Up next: We cut the cake(s).

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony, then we said I do and were husband and wife. Then it was time to be seated for the reception, kids and all!

Lemur L'amour: A Kid-Friendly Wedding

Way back in February, I blogged about having a kid-friendly wedding.We ended up having fifteen kids under the age of twelve at our wedding, and all of them did great! Sure, we delayed the start of the ceremony because not everyone had arrived, but once everyone got there and was seated, they all behaved perfectly for both the ceremony and reception. (At least from what I remember—I was pretty focused on the fact that I was marrying Mr. Lemur.) I think there were a few things that we did that helped it work out.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

Activities. As we transitioned to the reception, the kids all did a great job of sitting and coloring quietly until their tables were dismissed to the buffet lines. If you're having kids at your reception, I highly, highly recommend having some kind of activity for them! Several parents said thank you to me for helping keep the kids occupied, especially since it was lunch time.

Food. Uhh, this one is pretty simple. Feed them! If you're having an upscale reception with fancy hors d'oeuvres and salmon as the main course—consider serving the kids an alternative meal or making sure there's something they'll eat. Our food was simple enough that the kids could enjoy sausage biscuits, sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and fruit alongside their parents.

Space. Another recommendation for a kid-friendly reception—give the kids room! We were in a large room and there weren't really any areas that were "off-limits," except for maybe the fireplace, since we had candles lit. Everywhere else the kids were free to roam. We seated all the kids towards the back of the reception area so they literally had half of the huge room where they weren't bothering anyone.

Relax. Finally, if you're planning on having kids at your wedding, my number one suggestion is to not try to control it. Because you can't. And as much as I'm usually a Type A planner...when it comes to kids I just couldn't be. I did my best to give them a good environment—something to do, lots of room, and food they could eat—and after that, I just let them have a good time!

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but as we were coming back in from sneaking out for a few pictures in the woods (more on this later), little Olivia walked up with a half colored picture. She told me she had colored half of Cinderella for me and left the other half for me to finish. If I needed any validation that having kids at my wedding was the right thing to do, this was it. Love this girl.

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony, then we said I do and were husband and wife. Then it was time to be seated for the reception!

Lemur L'amour: Have a Seat

People started making their way to their seats, where they found their crossword puzzles and I Spys. The kids' seats had coloring pages, games, and crayons.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography. 

I've been saving our detail pictures, but here's a shot of what the tables looked like. Simple, yes, but I loved them. I felt like they were the perfect blend of casual and fun for us. This table had several kids—you can see their crayon boxes at the seats on the left. The adults had the more grown up pencils.

The kids concentrating as they color is pretty much the cutest.thing.ever. I just love them all.

We didn't want to leave our guests without food for too long—it was almost noon at this point, after all. The caterers needed approximately twenty minutes to get set up at the far end of the room, since they waited until after the ceremony was over to bring in the food. (A downside of having the ceremony and the reception in the same room, I guess, but it wasn't that big of a deal.)

My dad pointed everyone to the buffet tables, and it was time to eat!

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony, then we said I do and were husband and wife.

Lemur L'amour: Husband & Wife

We were officially husband and wife! Now it was time to celebrate with our loved ones. Because of the way our venue was set up, it was as simple as walking to the end of the aisle and turning around. Then it was hugs all around.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

Ok, so maybe the guys went for more of a handshake.

I really love this next picture.

This one is especially touching, because I'm hugging my sister's boyfriend, who usually is not a hugger. In fact, after the hug he told me "Ok, that's your hug for the year." Definitely the most real hug I have ever gotten from him, and it was super special to me.

Next it was the mothers' turn.

We didn't have a formal receiving line, but we were able to greet a lot of our guests as they made their way to the tables. This was one of my favorite moments of the wedding. My pastor and his wife were thrilled for us.

This girl got married last weekend! I had the huge privilege of driving out to Philadelphia to see her and her soldier tie the knot.

This girl went secret ring shopping with me months before Mr. Lemur and I got engaged. Love her. Plus, her dress was fabulous.

People were starting to find their seats. It was almost time to eat! How did you transition from ceremony to reception? Did you do a receiving line?

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony, then we said I do.

Lemur L'amour: I Do

Our officiant warned Mr. Lemur one more time that this was his last chance to run...

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

Thankfully, he decided to stay.

We decided to use traditional vows—I honestly don't remember exactly what we said. We repeated after our officiant, and I think they went something like this.

Me (crying again): I, Miss Lemur, take you Mr. Lemur, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Mr. Lemur: I, Mr. Lemur, take you Miss Lemur, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

As I continued to fight back tears, we began to exchange rings.

The twenty-five dollar ring I bought for Mr. Lemur off Amazon slid on perfectly—and looked great!

We both had our rings on, so there was only one thing left to do...

Did you write your own vows or stick with traditional ones like we did?

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle and began the ceremony.

Lemur L'amour: Love Never Fails

After my father walked me down the aisle, it was his turn to do a reading. Although our ceremony was not in a church, we wanted a way to express the importance of our faith, and we were able to do that through readings and a song. The first reading was from Ephesians 5.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

After my dad finished reading, my mom, Mr. Lemur's mom, and two of Mr. Lemur's sisters sang "O Wondrous Love," a song about the love of God. I still cry when I hear this song played because it reminds me of standing there with Mr. Lemur's arm around me listening to some of the most important women in my life sing about our faith.

O wondrous love that will not let me go 
I cling to You with all my strength and soul 
Yet if my hold should ever fail 
This wondrous love will never let me go

O wondrous love that rushes over me 
I can’t escape this river’s glorious flow 
You overwhelm my days with good 
Your wondrous love will never let me go

Finally, Mr. Lemur's dad read from I Corinthians 13, the chapter of the Bible commonly known as the love chapter.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Our officiant shared a few words of encouragement and admonition.

To which we apparently listened very intently.

And all too quickly, it was time for vows.

How did you choose readings for your wedding? What personal elements did you choose to include?

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony! I walked down the aisle...

Lemur L'amour: Walking Down the Aisle

A tradition we hung onto was the seating of the grandparents and mothers. Although we didn't have "seating" for the ceremony—as in there we didn't have bride or groom sides—we did reserve the front row for family members and my sister's boyfriend and brother walked the our grandmothers and mothers down the aisle.

All pictures by Niki Marie Photography.

My sister's boyfriend is a serious usher professional. Perfect form as he walked Mr. Lemur's mother down the aisle!

After the grandmothers and mothers were seated, it was time for my sisters and Mr. Lemur's brothers. We debated how to do this part, and ended up with just a quick casual walk down our very short aisle. Possibly the shortest aisle of all time. Within a few moments of the first chords of Canon in D, everyone was in the front except me.

My dad asked if I was ready to go and before I even knew it, I was walking down the aisle. I was completely blindsided by the fact that I started to cry. I was choking back tears for the eight steps down the aisle—maybe it's a good thing it wasn't longer!

None of that matters though, because I had this guy waiting for me at the other end.

Our officiant asked "Who gives this woman to this man?"

My dad answered "Her mother and I," and gave us a hug.

We were getting married!

What processional traditions did you hold on to? How did you do seating?

The wedding day began at 5:30 am and continued as we got ready at the venue. We had our perfect first look and then took couples pictures in the road. After bridal party pictures and family pictures, it was time to begin the ceremony!