The Groom's Dinner

Venue: Stanford's Restaurant & Bar, Tukwila WA

Thinking back on the groom's dinner, which was the evening before our wedding, I think I have just as many happy memories of it as I do of our wedding day. It was SO much fun to have all my favorite people and all of Ryan's meet one another and spend an evening together. The food was amazing, and Ryan's mom did an absolutely phenomenal job planning out each detail. It was perfect.

Things I remember:

There were little bells at each table for the guests to ring, and if they did, Ryan and I had to kiss. Needless to say there was a heck of a lot of smooching over those two hours because people got a little carried away, but we definitely didn't mind. 

The restaurant was beautiful. Ryan and I sat at a long table with both pairs of parents, with the rest of our families sitting in booths around us. There were lots of cross-table conversations and jokes, as well as cross-room ones. It was loud and happy and I smile just thinking about it. [: 

(Our sealing was at 11am the next day. Laura was so
clever with the decorations!)

The food was absolutely amazing, especially the flatbread and the apple crisp. Holy moly. I was afraid I wouldn't fit into my dress the next day. {No problems with that, though. Thank goodness!}

Blogger is doing really weird things to my pictures... This looks airbrushed or something...

The thoughts and feelings that were going through my head the whole evening; that I was getting married to the man sitting next to me in a little over twelve hours; that his family would then be part of my family; how much I loved them and own my family; and just savoring every moment of the evening, knowing that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing!

Ryan's mom had everyone fill out a small card with their words of marriage wisdom and advice, which she collected and compiled in a little book for us later. It was so fun to look through with Ryan later. I treasure it, as each card comes from someone I love dearly.

Post-groom's dinner fist bump. I'm not sure what we were doing, but I saw this as I was looking through my dad's pictures & it made me laugh.

All in all a night full of laughter, love, yummy food, thoughtful toasts and family & friends.

So, so much happiness.