Best Engagement Party Ever! Part Two

In my last post, I began my recaps of our amazing engagement party. I think I should be able to wrap up the rest in this post.

I already talked about our beyond-fashionably-late entrance, and the setup. Once we arrived and snapped a few photos, the party really got underway. One of our groomsmen, GM Mac, was the DJ. He had his Apple laptop and his Apple iPad.

Personal Image: GM Mac with his iPad

He kept the iPad in his pocket and would whip it out to switch to the next song. We really enjoyed his selections and he played a great mix of songs that everyone, from Hostess High to Grandmother Kettle enjoyed.

Mr. Kettle and I were a bit worried about how well our families would blend. But we should have known that the combination of drinks flowing (yay pseudo open bar!), tasty food, good music, and a limited amount of space would have people mingling.

After we had been there for a while, it was time for toasts. My parents, Momma and Daddy Kettle are all over the toasts. We had great toasts during our Memorial Day barbeque the day and Mr. Kettle and I were engaged. I was expecting good things from the toasts. Daddy Kettle gives amazing toasts. I think it's because he was in Toastmasters.

He got up to make his toast and talked for quite a while. Mr. Kettle and I were really enjoying what he had to say. It was an emotional time and everyone could see how much in love we were. It even brought tears to my eyes, which is apparently something I do now. I kind of forgot everyone else was watching and I really felt like it was just me, Mr. Kettle, and Daddy Kettle there until my godmother handed me tissues to wipe my tears. That made me immediately stop crying.

Then Daddy Kettle called up the people in our wedding party who were there. It was only half of them, but it was my first time seeing them all in one spot. It looked like so many people. I know, hive, you're all thinking "duh!" But to me it hasn't seemed like a lot because these are people we hang out with quite constantly and see several times a month. But seeing them all up there dressed up but not at church just looked... different. It made me slightly worried, but also just a little bit more excited, for our wedding day.



Personal Photo: the only shot I got with only half our attendants standing up there. Yup, just half.

After my father's toast, Momma Kettle and Mr. Kettle's mom, Mima Kettle both said something. Then Mr. Kettle thanked everyone for their love, support, and attendance. It was very sweet and an amazing moment that makes me sure we have to have a videographer for the wedding.

I was surprised when Brother Kettle, my brother arrived at the party. I wasn't expecting him to come, so it was a pleasant surprise. Even though I don't have a lot of cousins, it's rare that we all get together at once. The last day was Grandmother Kettle's 70th birthday party earlier this year, and we weren't all there at the same time. So we gathered together and took a family picture with the cousins and Grandmother Kettle at the bar, where it was much cooler.

This reminds me that it was HOT in there. That private room wasn't ventilated and boy did we feel the heat. It wasn't even that warm that day, but we spread out all over the restaurant in an effort to cool down. People were hanging out in the front and at the bar. Some people stayed in the room, but the flow of the restaurant and the friendly management helped us keep it moving around so no one baked. If I could do it over, I would have paid more attention to ventilation or cooling options. It was a small detail in the big picture, but when I was sweating, it felt like a big deal.

As the party wound down, us young folks (20s-30s) decided that the party must continue. So we headed to the Bar Louie around 8th and State and stayed there til they closed at 1 AM.

Personal Photo: More pics of the wedding party and their family

Personal Photo: My cousins went home to change then came and joined us. I was so glad they came back out!

Personal Photo: The couple on the left is GM Hubby and his wife, who I grew up with. Mr. Kettle and I met at their wedding. Also pictured is BM Mac and Mr. Kettle

Personal Photo: Yeah... I only knew 3 people in this pic. These are friends of GM Light, pictured in the front right. That's how you know it's a party when friendly strangers just show up!

Personal Photo: We were having so much fun. We kissed for a photo, cause you you, we never do that.

Personal Photo: I almost forgot to mention the best part of my outfit These shoes!!!!

The shoes are really amazing. I got them from Aldo Shoes. They're called Lindemuth. They just so happen to come in all my wedding colors. Literally, they're purple, black, tan, cream, with gold accents. I may just wear these at every pre-wedding event because they're so amazing! They are Aldo shoes though, so they're not the most comfortable. But I can deal with one imperfection.
The party finally wound down and Mr. Kettle, BM Doc, and I headed back to our apartment. BM Doc's ride back to St. Louis picked him up in the morning while Mr. Kettle and I headed to U.S. Cellular Field with BM Mon and his girlfriend, along with Mima and Poppa Kettle for the baseball game. It wasn't part of the engagement party, but it was still so awesome.

Image: US Cellular Field Stadium Club via Chicago Bridal
This is where we went for brunch prior to the game. Swanky, right? I think Brother Kettle, who's also engaged, might have his rehearsal dinner here.

Personal Photo: Me and Mr. Kettle in our amazing seats at the game.

Personal Photo: BM Mon and his girlfriend.

Personal Photo: Seriously, our seats were amazing! 4th row, right by the opposing dugout, first base line.

Overall, the whole weekend was perfect. Did I mention our engagement party was so much better than I could have imagined?

Did you have an engagement party? Was it the perfect appetizer for your wedding?

You're Not Seeing Double, No Need To Adjust Your Screen

In our wedding, we have lots o' people. That may have been mentioned once or twice so far. Our wedding will look like this:

Image: 34 Person Wedding Party / Photography by Digital Photography School

That wedding had 34 people. Ours is just shy of that. We are including everyone in our count because they're all important. Mr. Kettle and I both have a Best Man and Maid of Honor. So that's 4.

He has 8 more groomsmen, bringing our total to 12. I have 2 more men standing up with me which brings our total to 14. I also have 6 more bridesmaids, bringing our total to 20. Add in 2 jr. bridesmaids and we're at 22. Then 2 ring bearers and 2 flower girls and we're at 26. Tack on 3 hostesses and 2 ushers and the number is now 31. Don't forget our 2, yes 2, officiants and we're at 33. Don't forget Daddy Kettle, Mr. Kettle, and me. That makes 36! Yup. 36 people.

I want to take this time to answer I've gotten in comments on previous posts. The question was about our hostesses and ushers and what exactly they were. Some people double groomsmen as usher, helping to seat people as they arrive to the ceremony. That's not the case with us.

Momma Kettle, ever the etiquette stickler (I get it honest, you know, so I  know exactly what to rebel against), tells us we should have one usher/hostess for ever 50 guests. This is particularly important when our venue is at a house that has thousands of square feet spread over 3 stories. We'll need people to help get all those people into the ballroom conservatory for the ceremony, out to the rest of the house for cocktail hour, then back into the ballroom for the reception. They'll need to know where to sit and when. The mansion provides staff to do this, but having extra people on hand could only help out.

Think of a combination between a hostess at a restaurant mixed with a regular usher at a wedding, and that's what our hostesses and ushers will be. Why not make them honorary bridesmaids and groomsmen? Well, because then they'd get their names on the programs and we'd get no work out of them! Just kidding, but I know they'd want to be involved more than just in name.

One of our hostesses is my niece, Hostess Cheery, who's 19 and too old to be a jr. bridesmaid. The other is a high school girl I mentor, Hostess High,  who's friendly with Mr. Kettle ever since they were both in the wedding I met Mr. Kettle at last summer. The third is one of his nieces, FNIL Sniffles, who's also in college and also to old to be a jr. bridesmaid. One of our ushers is my god-brother and the other is Mr. Kettle's cousin. They're both in high school.

Our wedding has been used as a tool to accommodate all our close family and friends that have been in our lives for a long time. Besides the flowers girls and ring bearers who are both 6 years old, we've known everybody else in our wedding party at least 10 years (including the officiants).

So, yeah there are a lot of folks, but they're our close friends. We're both just super friendly people who are close to our families. It happens.

And now for your viewing pleasure, some lovely photos of random wedding party members.

Personal Photo: our two flower girls. My lovely new nieces. Aren't they adorable twins?



Personal Photo: our two ring bearers. They're also twins, they just don't look it as much.



Personal Photo: FNIL Sniffles and Hostess High at our engagements party.

GM Hubby, MOH Sis, GM Mac, Mr. Kettle, GM Cuz, GM Light at the engagement party. I really should do something special for whoever can keep all these folks straight!

BM Doc, BM Mon, BM Law, BM Libra, BM Milk, me at our engagement party

 BM in this case stands for Bridesman and Bridesmaid. We're still sorting out exactly what to call everybody in our wedding party.

Personal Photo: GM Dark at a gig we all went to. I love the look on his face. He was resigning himself to being the only single and never-married one of his friends. His level of melodrama fits in nicely with Mr. Kettle and I.

Personal Photo: I love this pic.
From left to right: FNIL Tiny, Mr. Kettle, FNIL Sniffles, and BM Cuz's daughter who's my new great-niece.

Soooo many people. Judging by the engagement party, I know our wedding will be exactly what we want: a big party that includes all the people we love and cherish. I will now stop alluding to our engagement party and actually give recaps in my next posts.