Day Four - Sunday September 28th-THE BIG DAY!- Part Seven
So, dinner was winding down, and after a brief consultation with the DJ and Marion, it was time for the big dances.
We had managed to keep the show of the "who's going to lead" debate going up until the night before the wedding (even though we'd actually settled it a couple of weeks earlier) so no one knew which song we were dancing to or who would lead.
As "No Matter What" by Boyzone began to play, Scott and I both held up our arms like we were going to lead. Then looked at each other, and both switched so that it we were each ready to follow. I then smiled, and allowed Scott to lead for the first half of the song. We had it timed so that when it got to a certain lyric, Scott went to spin me, and we switched, and I led for the second part of the song. It really is a beautiful song and it was perfect looking into Scott's eyes as it got to "No matter what the end is, my life began with you".
Sadly, we do not yet have pictures of the two of us dancing together, so I cannot post any here at this time. I promise to post them as soon as I can.
When we were done dancing, Scott walked over to the DJ booth and I stayed on the dance floor, while the DJ asked that my mom join me. When mom got to me, he began to play "Candle on the Water by Helen Reddy. He'd located at live version, which has Helen Reddy talking about singing the song for
Pete's Dragon . (I really wish he'd have just let us give him the CD we made of all of our songs. Oh, well he was a very good DJ.)
And I began to dance with my mom. I wouldn't trade that moment with her for anything.
She told me how happy she was for both of us, and how happy that I'd found Scott to share my life with, and how happy she was to have him as her son. I got a little bit teary-eyed.
All too soon, my time with my mom was over. As Scott walked out onto the dance floor, I heard people murmuring quietly. No one knew what to expect. When he tapped me on the shoulder, and cut it, I heard people go "aww" as I stepped away and let my wonderful partner dance with my amazing mom.
As the song came to an end, I improvised on the original plan just a bit, and stepped up and took both of them in my arms in a great big hug.
I can't imagine it being any better than it was.
And shortly thereafter the DJ had everyone on their feet and the dancefloor full of people. We'd asked for a "sixties, seventies, eighties" kind of a vibe to the music and he delivered in spades. People were loving the music that he was playing.
I danced with a lot of people. I remember dancing with Daya to "Twist & Shout". I remember teaching Kyle how to "kick dance" to "Footloose" (Kyle is too young to remember either "Footloose" or kick dancing from the 80s
)
And in between dancing, Scott and made another round of all the tables to chat with our guests.
If I could change one thing about our wedding, it would be to be able to spend a lot more quality time with all of our guests. We were just pulled in too many different directions to spend much time with anyone.
After about an hour of dancing and socializing, it was time for toasts and cake. (thanks to Wally for photoshopping the very dark pix I had and making them a bit easier to see! They're oversaturated and too bright now, but beggars can't be choosers.)
We gathered over by the cake, and Sofia started the toasts by setting aside one glass "in honor of those who can't be with us whether due to time or distance. This glass is for them, they are with us in our hearts."
She went on to make a beautiful toast. It was touching. And I can't remember a word of it. I just know that my eyes started to leak a little bit.
Then Dennis stepped up and in his toast he commended us for living honestly and bravely. And he went on to say some wonderful things as well. And my tears were welling up.
Then David made his toast. And, as he is Scott's best friend, I found it surprising that his toast mentioned my family. And how they had accepted Scott with open arms from the very beginning. He was happy for both of us.
(we don't have a picture of David's toast yet, either. Sorry)
And then it was Tyler's turn. Tyler is our very dear friend, and one of our Florida Family. He started by telling us how jealous he is of us, for having found each other, and for so obviously belonging together. He wishes us nothing but happiness forever (and we of course hope he finds it, too!)
And the last one to make a toast was my Dad. I'd asked Dad to make the last toast, because I knew that if he made the first one, we'd all be crying through the rest of the toasts. He started by acknowledging my Uncle Kevin and Randy and their 27 year relationship. He said that we were all lucky to have known them, and to have them as a role model, and as a way to open doors. Without people like them, events like ours wouldn't be possible now. We went on to tell a story about how I've always been a perfectionist, and that I would never settle for anything less than the very best, so it's no surprise that I ended up with Scott. He said he was proud to have Scott as his son, and wished us a lifetime of hapiness together.
Yeah. I cried. It was beautiful.
Then we all held up our glasses and then drank.
After a moment to wipe my eyes, we moved on to cutting the cake.
Cutting the cake was very simple and quick. We fed each other a piece, and we were done. The ADH staff wisked the cake away to serve it, and we went back to dancing and mingling.
There is a cute story about Daya and the wedding cake, but I'll let Sofia tell it to all of you, because she was there, and I only heard about it later.
Up next: fireworks, a strange conga line, and the last dance.