Love is Where We Are: First Dance

Our portraits were complete and cocktail hour was winding down. It was time to start the party! Before I get into that, allow me to share one tangental piece of advice: We chose these cheese grits ball things as one of our hors d'oeuvres. We never sampled them, but they sounded delicious and they were consistent with our "classy comfort food" menu. Our guests raved about them, but we never got to try them. If your venue offers a to go box to freeze and enjoy after your honeymoon, make sure delicious hors d'oeuvres are included too!

Anyway, our reception began with a grande entrance from our bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Some of them did a little jig...

Some of them changed into Toms, making their height difference even more awkward (yet, still unbelievably adorable)...

When Mr. Lion and I made our entrance, he decided to give me a little spin. Unfortunately, he forgot to warn me about this. I tripped over my dress and almost fell down.

We laughed, and moved on.

After all, he was just excited.

Next, it was time for our first dance. We danced to "Two Drops in the Ocean" by our favorite band, 311. It was a little difficult to dance to, but we loved the lyrics so much that we couldn't resist.

Here's something I didn't realize about first dances: they start to drag. Additionally, given my history of dancing and Mr. Lion's Latin heritage, I think our guests expected us to bust into some choreographed routine. To their disappointment, we did no such thing. It got kind of awkward, so we just started to chat.

The problem with talking while cameras are flashing is that you never know how your "talking face" will turn out! Sometimes talking looks like this...

But sometimes talking looks like this...

Attractive. Despite some of our entertaining candid shots, my favorite photo from our first dance is a posed one:

What are you dancing to for your first dance? Are you planning a choreographed routine or are you just going to wing it?

Catch up on the Lioness recaps here!

• First, we got ready at my apartment.
• Then, we finished getting ready at the venue.
• The boys got ready and posed for pictures.
• We exchanged gifts.
• The girls posed for pictures.
• I admired every little detail.
• We walked down the aisle.
• We got married.
• We had some alone time.
• We posed for photos with family
• We posed for photos together.
• We got silly with our bridal party.

*All photos by H. Photography unless otherwise noted.