Decorations
As you can see from the above picture, the Train Station is a very elegant and large banquet hall (even more so when the lights go down and the candles and romantic lighting come on - you can see the lights in the streamers from the chandeliers). We had 26 tables and served 264 guests with either 9 or 10 to a table. With the Train Station as the reception site, we decided on a travel theme. When guests arrived, they were given their ticket and itinerary to go find their table. Each table was a different travel destination with its own favor, and we received many nice comments about how fun it was. We heard that there were several people who went from table-to-table to see what each one had. If you would like to find out the specific details, take this link to read about the favors and sayings for the different tables.
Reception
After getting inside from taking pictures on the train, there were already several guests at the reception hall located in the Lincoln Train Station. Quickly, we formed an impromptu receiving line even though the father of the bride was trying to find a place to park the car. This was the day of the Spring Game which, for those of you who don't know about Husker football, is the only day of the year football fans can see the Huskers before fall. The Spring Game was in the early afternoon, and even though it rained, the Haymarket area of downtown where the reception is was full of football fans. Looking back, we should have had someone park the car, but hindsight is always 20/20.
The receiving line took about two hours, which made us get about a half-hour behind schedule. It was wonderful to see everyone come through the line though - I got to meet people whom I've heard about through Andrea, and the same was true for my bride. To make up for time, we set out the wedding cake for people to pick up themselves rather than have it served to them. The food was delicious and Andrea and I were both hungry. I didn't realize that I hadn't eaten anything since a bowl of cereal and glass of OJ for breakfast! During dinner, guests serenaded us repeatedly with songs with the word "Love" in it to make us stand up and kiss (instead of ringing the bells or clanging the glasses). We thought people would have fun with that, but we were surprised at how much people got into it! There were a few songs that were sung with motions and gestures - in fact, I would have to say they were more like presentations than songs. One table came over to the head table, got down on one knee, and sang, "You've Lost the Loving Feeling." I hope that isn't indicative of anything in the future... My favorite was a group from Andrea's mom's work who sang "Going to the Chapel" with harmony! There was a time when it seemed like there was little or no pause between songs, but things calmed down and Andrea and I were able to appease our growling tummies. The food was excellent, too - for Lincolnites, the Train Station is owned by Flatwater Grill, so the catering came from there.
While we enjoyed dessert, we were treated to a clever poem about me and about us by my sister and brother. Lara and I did the same thing for Mike's reception when he was married in March. Lara and I have been blessed by receiving my father's creativity gene - don't know what gene Mike got. :) Then it was time for the toasts. My two best men, Merrill and Jeff, shared great toasts. I have been trying to get Merrill to speak in front of the church group for a long time - in fact, it has gotten to be somewhat of a joke between us. As true with everything else he does, he is hesitant to do it but does a great job when he does. I gave a toast for Jeff at his wedding a few Octobers ago, and it meant a lot to see him return the favor. I was amazed he didn't mention anything about Colorado because I was sure to mention the Huskers when I toasted them in Denver. Andrea's brother, Jon, and the Matron of Honor, Lindsey, also gave touching toasts. It just meant so much for us to have people so close to us give toasts! Andrea and I then went front and center and gave a short speech about how great the previous few days were and how overwhelming it was to see our family and friends come support us on our wedding day. Then it was time to boogey!
We had a great DJ who enjoys playing music and dancing for people. For our first dance song, he sang "Don't You Know How Much I Love You" by Third Day, which is actually a song describing how much God loves us, but it is also fitting for a couple in love. The main line in the song is, "Don't you know how much I love you, even before there was time?" It has always been touching for me to hear this and to realize that God has meant Andrea and I to be together as husband and wife since before we were even born. Then it was time for Andrea to dance with her dad to a song about being daddy's little girl. The song was a surprise for Andrea, and she thought it was very special. Then Andrea and I danced while our parents also danced to "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. For the wedding party dance, we chose "Stayin' Alive" by the BeeGees because way back when Andrea was trying to get my attention (or so she says - she already had it but didn't know it), we both danced to this song at a cookout at Merrill's (Best Man) for the Fourth of July.
The dancing was really fun for both of us and the DJ commented that we were a fun group to host. Some of the highlights were doing the Twist with my little nephew, Parker, doing the Conga line behind my mother-in-law, finally learning the Electric Slide, and having a blast with Cotton-Eyed Joe. Toward the end, Andrea and I were able to use our recently-learned dancing skills by doing a combination of the waltz, foxtrot, and swing. We had never practiced with her wearing her gown, so it wasn't as easy - I slipped once after stepping on her dress!
After midnight, most of the guests had left. The DJ saw that Andrea and I were the only ones on the dance floor, so he played our first dance song again to round out a magical evening.
In case you missed the wedding page, you can take this link to read about it or
Click here for details about the honeymoon (what we can talk about anyway), or
Click here for pictures from the ceremony, reception, and honeymoon.