Read our big announcement about a little package we're expecting here, where it all began, part I here, and part II here!
After the ceremony, everyone headed to the reception which was held at The City Club. Having the ceremony and reception at two different locations was honestly a bit of a pain, but I was so in love with both the ceremony site (the Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park) and the reception site (The City Club) that I couldn't help myself.
When you're planning a wedding, you'll hear lots of people tell you to pick what's important to you, and then to pick things you could spend less money on or do without. You know, because of that silly budget thing most of us have to work within. Well, one of the things that was most important to me was flowers. I love flowers (and even worked at a flower shop for a while!) so there was no compromising on those. I went with orchids draped around branches placed in a vase submerged with hydrangeas and more orchids, all finished off with some tea light candles. Purty.
My mama (in the middle holding the mic) gave the sweetest toast. She talked about a video Ryan's dad took of us shortly before the wedding where Ryan is trying to teach me to ride a bike and I'm wailing "Ryan, come back, don't let me go, I want you by me." She told us she hopes we feel this way about each other our whole lives. Thanks mamula.
That's my BFF/maid of honor giving her toast. She wrote an incredibly sweet and silly poem where she explained to the room how she and I are soulmates. Sorry Ryan. But in all fairness I did warn him that was the case, so he entered the marriage knowing that. She also introduced the guests to a Russian wedding tradition in which all the guests scream "gorka," meaning bitter, and then the newlyweds have to kiss to get the bitter taste out of their mouth. Good times.
Ryan and I encouraged the guests to scream "gorka" loudly. We won't put on a show for free you know.
That's my best friend Marina giving her toast. You could definitely tell this girl is getting her PhD in comparative literature. Her toast was incredibly heartfelt, and I had a hard time keeping it together for most of it. I was kind of ready to kill her at one point though, when she decided it was a good idea to tell all our guests about that time I thought I had butt cancer. No, not when I was little, I don't even have that excuse. Like, a few years before the wedding. But then again, I just told the whole internet about it, so I guess I shouldn't be too mad.
This was our reaction during that little part of her speech.
All I gotta say about this is that if you're getting married in the Bay Area, Carolyn Wong is your woman for the cake. For realz, just trust me on this.
It got two thumbs up for me, at least after I finally got to taste it. When Ryan and I were cutting the cake to feed each other, he put the tiniest little piece on his fork for me. I shook my head no, I wanted a bigger piece, and refused to eat until he added more. Which he did, but it still wasn't enough. I decided to take matters into my own hands and remedied the problem by switching my fork with his, and then we were finally good to go. Don't judge. I like cake.
During Jewish weddings, the bride and groom get lifted and carried around in chairs. While Ryan got some big, strong men lifting him, I had some puny lifters. See that expression on my face? That's fear for my life.
We spent the rest of the night gettin' down:
The perfect end to a perfect day:
