Loxed and Loaded: Our Video

You’ve seen our day in pictures from start to finish. But if you were with me when we were planning, you might remember that video got to be a huge sticking point for us. At the time, I was lucky enough to find Christina Keane. She is a talented videographer and photographer, and we were lucky enough to book her to do our video in a nick of time. Last time I checked (which was admittedly not very recently), Christina was no longer shooting wedding videos, so I count myself incredibly lucky to have snapped her up before it was too late.

I love this video so much. It was worth making room in the budge for this. And I’ve never, not even for a second, regretting hiring Christina and having a video keepsake of our day.

So now, without further ado, here is our wedding video. 🙂

Are you planning on having a videographer for your wedding day?

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: All the Small Things
• Loxed and Loaded: We did it!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Fauxtobooth
• Loxed and Loaded: How Sweet It Is
• Loxed and Loaded: Just Get Dancey
• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: All the small things

Like many a bride before me and since, I was all about the details on our day. And while you’ve been seeing them as we went along, I know one of the things I’ve always loved most are the posts full of the lovely details that made someone’s day special. So all through my planning, I’ve been looking forward to writing this for you.

I was very lucky that our photographer understood how important these details were for me and took extra time to make sure they were captured forever. For me, and for you. So, without further ado, my muchly awaited (even if only by me!) details:

I love a gorgeous hanger shot, but didn’t want my name on mine. So instead, I had this.

One of my favorite details of the entire day was my flowers. Oh how I loved those gorgeous flowers. I never get tired of seeing them.

I had envisioned this sweet background to our ceremony of vellum hearts, hanging at varying lengths behind us as we got married. However, due to the weather forecast that weekend (humidity!) the vellum didn’t hold up as intended. Instead, it looked like a soft romantic cascade of petals behind us.

An important part of our ceremony was our toast and drinking of the wine, and also a wine box and love letters ceremony. The details for each along with our rings were waiting patiently on a table in our ceremony space.

And this is a great shot of our ceremony space. You can see the tissue paper flowers on the ceiling, the tissue paper and small round pomanders, and the flower petals down the aisle.

And because I loved them so much, here is a good close up of the tiny little paper lanterns that were strung up around the pavilion like garland.

On the way into the ceremony, guests were asked to take a stone with them.

And on the way out of the ceremony, the guests wrote something on their stone and left them for us to keep forever.

We also made sure our guests were hydrated during the ceremony by having bottled water available for them.

At cocktail hour, there was our escort card table. Also on the table were our guestbook papers and some of our engagement pictures.

I was especially proud of the last minute escort cards we devised and the set up I threw together for them.

Also at cocktail hour were… well, cocktails. Okay, beer and wine actually, but cocktails was more catchy. At the last minute, I wrote up a sign for the bar so folks would know what their options were.

I loved the way our reception tables turned out. Here you can see our centerpieces and photo sharing cards. We also supplied the napkins.

Here’s a closer view of the centerpieces from the front.

And the centerpieces from the back, with the photo scavenger hunt card.

Our cake table may not have been super elaborate, but I really loved our cake.

And who could ever forget how much I loved that cake topper.

Our fauxtobooth props definitely felt the love throughout the afternoon.

Some of them even might have escaped and romped around outside of our fauxtobooth too…

And finally, our ribbon wands, waiting for their big moment.

All signs designed by Gator Bride Designs. All photographs courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo.

What is/was your favorite wedding day detail?

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: We did it!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Fauxtobooth
• Loxed and Loaded: How Sweet It Is
• Loxed and Loaded: Just Get Dancey
• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: We did it!

We got married, we took pictures, we danced, we ate. While in some ways it seems like it was all a happy blur, on the other hand I know I was present in every moment. And I love being able to remember that all this time later.

However, all good things must come to an end, and eventually our party was drawing to a close. To echo my walk down the aisle, our final song was Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ as performed by the cast of Glee. I grabbed Mr. Lox and we tried to figure out how to dance to it.

 

As we danced, our guests started trickling out of the pavilion and past our coordinator and her assistant who were holding the ribbon wands I’d made for just this moment. Each person who’d made it this far grabbed a wand and lined up outside the gazebo in the late Sunday afternoon sunshine. And eventually, the song was over, and we followed the path out to where they were all waiting for us.

And as we rounded the corner and stepped into the gazebo, there they were. Our friends and loved ones, still every bit as excited as we were and sending us off with love.

 

And so we walked. We walked down the aisle for the very last time on our wedding day, still surrounded by joy and love.

 

 

And as we made it nearly to the end of the aisle, we shared one last kiss full of the joy we were feeling that day.

 

 

And that was it. It was the end of our day, but just the beginning of our love story. We did it!

 

*All pictures courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo

This may be how our day ended, but it isn’t the end of what I want to tell you, dear hive. I still want to show you the details of our day, and our gorgeous video. So our ending isn’t quite yet.

How did or will your wedding day end?

 

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: The Fauxtobooth
• Loxed and Loaded: How Sweet It Is
• Loxed and Loaded: Just Get Dancey
• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: The Fauxtobooth

Ever since the mount I saw Mrs. Pin Cushion’s fauxtobooth, I knew I needed one of my very own. I dreamed about the pictures we would have. I dragged Mr. Lox to home improvement stores. And my fauxtobooth was born.

Before I share these pictures (which I wholeheartedly love), let me say just a few words. Yes, we should have figured out how we were affixing the background to the frame beforehand. And yes, we probably should have had someone check up on this thing once in a while to ensure it was zoomed in properly (which it only was for like, 2 seconds) and to help people take their pictures or figure out the remote. But even still, it added a ton of fun to our day and left us with these memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Awwww, no props? I’m just glad my Godmother made it over there at all. 😉

These folks were especially peeved to have the only blurry photo of the night. In case you can’t read it, their sign says “Cut the cake!”

The bill for the wedding? 😉

See? Sad about the camera angle and the hinky background fabric. But who could ever be sad about having this awesome picture?

Proof our wedding was fun!

Now, let me tell you why that last photo is so very special to me. It is a recreation of the photo we took before our senior prom. Every one of these girls was in that pre-prom photo, and two of the guys were too! These people have been in my life for that long, and we’re still going strong. Knowing that they are still with me and seeing us together on my wedding day is priceless.

Are you having a photo booth of some kind? Are there any priceless shots you hope to get in there?

*All photos in this post are personal.

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: How Sweet It Is
• Loxed and Loaded: Just Get Dancey
• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: How Sweet It Is

So, I have a confession. The drawback to writing recaps over a year after our wedding is that I have no idea what our cake cutting song was. I literally remember every other song selection we made… except this one. Mr. Lox says it’s his fault since he picked, and I’m willing to let that stand. I want to say we went with When I’m 64 but I won’t swear to it.

Having said that, I want to talk a bit about these pictures coming up. First of all, I madly loved our cake. Despite my traumatic cake past, and my unsuccessful first trial, our cake turned out to be everything we wanted. It was colorful, not too formal, and most importantly… it had adorable monkeys on top. I couldn’t imagine anything else being there on our wedding day.

Now during planning, I had become obsessed with having a pretty pretty cake stand. I didn’t want the ones from our cake shop because they felt too formal, so I went on a hunt for the perfect stand. In the pictures, you;ll see a lovely white and yellow cake stand. Pay attention, because you won’t see it in any other photos since it was actually too wobbly to use throughout the entire reception. But in deference to my serious wish for this cake stand, they put the cake on t just before our cake cutting so it would be n the pictures. Which has hilariously led to pictures of either me, or the disembodied hand of the Vandiver’s event coordinator holding the cake stand for stability in almost all of the pictures. Go ahead, it’s really okay to laugh.

Now, moving along, we took the knife so sweetly provided by the Vandiver and decided to cut into our cake!

Right about now, it occurred to use that we actually had no idea how to cut the cake. We were both far too happy at this point to care so we just kind of took the knife and gave it our best shot. Our utter lack of a clue on what we’re doing will account for our faces in that picture though.

Check that out, two lovely cuts in our cake! Please note how incredibly parallel they are, without any angle at which they might make a point. You know, in order to make it a nice easy to remove slice. We have no idea how that slice was going to come out, but somehow we made it happen.

We clearly felt like liberating the first slice of cake was a real accomplishment!

Now, before our wedding day, I had lectured Mr. Lox fairly firmly. I paid god money to have my hair and makeup done, and my dress was hard to clean. So there would be no shenanigans with that first bit of cake. No mashing, throwing, smearing, or anything along those general lines. Lucky for me, Mr. Lox is ever the gentleman and he played very nicely, for my sake.

And with that, our cake cutting was over, and whatever song was playing in the background faded out. Cake was served all around and dancing (to some extent) resumed. Victory!

*All pictures courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo

PS – I asked Mr. Lox as I was writing this if he remembered what the song was. He did not. Did you put a lot of thought into your cake cutting song, unlike us?

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: Just Get Dancey
• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: Just get dancey

So, one of the more common fears I hear from brides is the fear that no one will dance at their reception. I am here to tell you, that if that happens? It’ll be okay. While we did have a little dancing at ours, the dance floor was not the busiest spot. And despite my fears leading up to the day, that was okay.

After our dance, the DJ cranked up “Raise Your Glass” by Pink and I made doe eyes at my girls. They are so good…. they hopped up and joined me, and we got the party started in style!

Yes, that is me raising my glass and singing along.

Sometime shortly after this, a couple of the guys started tossing around the pomanders from my centerpieces. Luckily, by this point I was all zen bride and just enjoying myself, so I looked at it and decided not to have a problem with it. The tissue paper pomanders especially started coming apart on the dance floor, littering it with tiny little tissue paper flowers. Now I know that is probably making some of you angry for me. But don’t be. The truth is, what was I going to do with 10 tissue paper pomanders after the wedding? And honestly, this is when the kids started really having fun, and the husbands too. And now they all remember it as one of the most fun weddings ever. So even looking back, I’m not mad. Turns out going with the flow was the right thing to do and I’m so glad I stayed calm about it.

If you can’t beat them? Join them!

So if folks weren’t dancing a bunch, what were they doing? Let me show you some alternatives…

Well, we already discussed the pomander action.

There was a lot of socializing and catching up with friends.

And for a while, we all watched this guy break dancing!

Okay, okay, but in all honesty, there was also some dancing.

I can no longer put my hands up… he put a ring on it!

And, just like it’s been since middle school, there was that one slow dance that got most couples out onto the floor. So for just a few minutes, we got a big warm fuzzy and pictures like these.

*All pictures courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo

Of course, dancing (or not dancing) was not the only activity at our reception. Next up, we’ll get a closer look at our awesome cake!

Are you afraid no one will dance at your reception?

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: Come What May
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: Come What May

When we left off, dinner had just been served and our guests were looking pretty happy. after everyone had a chance to eat their fill, it was time to get the party started again with our first dance.

Now this was something I had been looking forward to for a while. First, because taking dance lessons was easily the most fun part of wedding planning. But also because I had been dreaming of having my first dance to this song for years… I just hadn’t found the right man yet. Luckily, this was my moment.

Mr. Lox and I took the floor, just as we’d rehearsed.

And we turned to hold each other.

And we danced.

Never knew I could feel like this 
Like I’ve never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Everyday I love you more and more
Listen to my heart can you hear it sing
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may Come what may
I will love you until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste
It all revolves around you

And there’s no mountain too high no river too wide
Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Oh come what may come what may
I will love you oh i will love you
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Come what may come what may 
I will love you until my dying day

*All pictures courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo.

Up next, we get the party started for real. 🙂

What was or will be your first dance song? Why did you pick it?

 

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!
• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: It’s a Beautiful Day!

After all the picture taking, we made our way back to the pavilion and waited for the magic signal. The event coordinator gave it to us (okay, she just told us to go) and we entered our reception to this.

(Cue that video to 55 seconds in and that’ll be exactly what we walked into.)

And it was a beautiful day indeed as we entered our reception.

It was quite a sight. Finally the pavilion was arranged for the purpose for which I had always imagined it. And the room was full of our friends and family all on their feet looking at us and clapping.

For about the 100th time that day, we were very aware of the love and support that surrounded us. I couldn’t concentrate on the details of the room. I had no idea if the centerpieces were arranged correctly. All I knew was that this little pavilion was full of so much love. It was almost overwhelming.

As we got to our seats, Mr. Lox and I sat down. Or rather, Mr. Lox sat down and I helplessly scooted my chair backwards with each attempt. Apparently I had failed to consider that a giant dress is not exactly simple to sit in! Each time I moved back, the dress inched the chair back. Finally I executed some kind of maneuver in which I managed to pull on the dress and tug the chair towards me that got me into the seat, just as the DJ announced it was time for my mother’s toast.

Now since we had no bridal party, my mother was giving the one and only toast of the reception. I had asked her earlier in our planning if she wanted to and she said yes. So that honor was hers. As the DJ announced her, I looked up to realize that our guests hadn’t been given enough instruction and everyone was standing but us! Oh well, the toast went on.

I don’t know what I expected, but Momma Lox’s toast was 60 seconds at most. But it was sweet and I suppose the guests all appreciated her short-winded speech. After all, they were still on their feet! Everyone raised a glass and applauded her short but sweet toast and I got up to give her a hug.

Everyone sat down, and finally Mr. Lox and I had a moment to take it all in… our beautiful reception. On our wedding day.

Somewhere around this time, Mr. Lox and I looked at each other and wide kind of permanent grins got plastered all over our faces. I have this crystal clear memory of looking around the pavilion after the toast and thinking how perfect it all looked. It was like somehow, my vision had been really and honestly translated into real life. It was absolutely perfect. And I leaned over to tell Mr. Lox so.

But before I move on to the next chapter in our day, I should point out that sometime between that crystal clear memory I described and the picture above, dinner was served! Wanna see?

We had given guests a choice between herb crusted beef tenderloin with creamy horseradish…

…and maple ginger glazed pacific wild salmon on a bed of pink Asian slaw.

For the record, while both were excellent the beef was downright amazing. I mean, just in case you were wondering.

The food was now served and photographed, and our guests were happily enjoying their meals. Our photographers went off to catch a bite themselves and left us all to stop, and relax, and enjoy in slow motion before everything started to move again.

*All photos courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo*

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: After the Ceremony

(New year, new goals… I may not make resolutions, but I AM going to finish these recaps. Scroll down to the bottom for some links if you need a refresher. 😉 )

After the ceremony, Mr. Lox and I were kind of in a daze. We went back through the mansion, out onto the porch, and then down to the little ill-fated gazebo where our ceremony wasn’t. But not before catching one sweet moment between the two of us.

Then to the gazebo for formal portraits! Do you remember why we had our we our wedding in the pavilion after planning all along to have it out by the gazebo? (Hint: It was the threat of rain.) Please to enjoy the irony while you view the next two pictures I pulled from our formal portraits.

This one is us with my mother and Mr. Lox’s mother and father. and the next one is one formal shot of me with the four best girlfriends a girl could ever have.

Honestly? This part was the most uncomfortable portion of our day. The sun was beating right down on us and it was HOT. While we were taking these pictures, I truly got a sunburn on my pale pale white shoulders. And in those moments I was supremely grateful that the weather had faked us out and forced us into the shade of the pavilion. Mother nature truly did us a good turn.

But what on earth were we going to do with our super cute umbrellas? Our photographers had an idea…

Best part of that picture? The men in our lives being sneaky and looking on. After taking these in front of the mansion, we went around to the street next to it.

And then we went back to the ground behind the mansion, around the pavilion.

What wedding is complete without a ring shot?

Such a sweet picture of the two of us. After this, I had to call for my friends because I had a tiny little costume change to make. No no, I’m not changing my dress, but I had my sweet little lace bolero to put on! With a little help from my friends, we got it situated and then went on to take a few more pictures so we’d have some with the bolero on too.

This was probably one of my final bonding moments with my bouquet. You know, I really loved that thing. I mean, not as much as Mr.Lox, but probably an unreasonable amount nonetheless! After a few serious moments, it was obviously time to get silly. Our photographer Chad suggested we grab some of the photo booth props and have some fun.

In my defense, before Chad took the next one he did in fact tell us to make silly faces!

And then more normal. Or as normal as one can be when holding lips on sticks. But I actually really love this picture. 😉

Chad wasn’t done having good ideas though. Shortly after this he called us over and asked if we wanted to try something. Our guests were all still milling around towards the front of the mansion and on the front porch, enjoying cocktail hour. Chad wanted to know if we’d be game to gather them all on the porch and stand on the stairs in front of them for a giant group shot. Here’s a tip from me to you… (are you listening to me Foxy?) This was a *fantastic* idea. I love being able to see so many of our friends and family celebrating with us. I know we will cherish these pictures for a long long time.

After these pictures were taken, our guests were rounded up and led into the fully prepared reception space back in the pavilion again. We hung back and sat down for a few precious moments in the front of the house, just enjoying each other and BEING MARRIED!

After we’d had our brief break, the event coordinator came back and led us back out to the pavilion for our grand entrance together.

*All pictures in this post courtesy of Chad Lippiatt Photo*

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!
• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood

Loxed and Loaded: Surprise!

When we left off, Mr. Lox and I had just been presented for the first time in public, and I was making a crazy face because something awesome was about to happen and most people had no idea. The most planned moment in our wedding, even. And one of my very favorite things about our day. So here’s where it starts.

Just after the officiant presented us for the first time in public, something happened that met people didn’t even notice. A single note rang out softly from somewhere in the crowd. Like a pitch pipe, if you will.

Meanwhile, everyone else was waiting for the recessional music to start, including Mr. Lox. I was trying to act cool. Then a bunch of people stood up. Some folks took that as a cue to stand for our trip out of the ceremony space. Some people were confused. The guests who stood up with this bunch quickly sat down… when the bunch started to sing.

A while ago, I talked to you about our recessional song. And I wasn’t telling a whopper. But the thing is, I knew that something else would happen first. Something I never told you about, just in case Mr. Lox peeked in here. Something I wanted to do as a surprise.

Have you all ever seen Love Actually? You see, it’s pretty much my favorite movie ever. Mr. Lox and I watch it every year around Christmas too. Partially to indulge me and partially because he also likes it a bit. And in the beginning of the movie, there’s this epic wedding scene with a surprise. Here, let me show you, just in case.

Now, I couldn’t afford to bury a whole orchestra in the seats at my wedding. So, instead a hid a group of a cappella singers in there. They sat quietly through the entire ceremony. And, right as we were presented as husband and wife, the Cleftomaniacs of UMBC stood up and made our very own epic wedding scene.

I never occurred to me that Mr. Lox wouldn’t catch on immediately. But it was a pretty overwhelming day, and it was an entirely unexpected moment. At first he had no idea what was going on.

I was clearly so proud of myself, but Mr. Lox was looking somewhat bewildered. Still, the Cleftomaniacs sang on.

After probably about 30 seconds, Mr. Lox realized exactly what was happening.

And then it was amazing. Our guests were surprised. The Cleftomaniacs seemed to have a great time doing this. The performance was fantastic (and they were a total dream to work with!). They were the perfect end to our ceremony. And they made a few moments that we will never forget.

And all too soon, the song came to an end. The Cleftomaniacs sent us off in style and wished us well.

And with that, the music that Mr. Lox had always expected started to play, and we made our slightly delayed trip back down the aisle as husband and wife.

Do you too love the movie Love Actually? Have you ever considered a surprise for your spouse during the ceremony?

All pictures in this post by Chad Lippiatt Photo.

Miss a recap?

• Loxed and Loaded: The Ceremony
• Loxed and Loaded: Journey of a Lifetime
• Loxed and Loaded: And We Wait…
• Loxed and Loaded: Safely to Shore
• Loxed and Loaded: It’s the Little Things
• Loxed and Loaded: Don’t Mess with the Dress
• Loxed and Loaded: Our First Look
• Loxed and Loaded: Dressed At Last
• Loxed and Loaded: Guys Get Gussied Up
• Loxed and Loaded: Hair and Makeup
• Loxed and Loaded: First, There Was Chaos
• Loxed and Loaded: Setting the Mood