A Napa Fairytale: The Groom and His Mom Get the Party Started

After my weepy dance with my dad, the Mother/Son dance rocked the room into a dance party! They never told me what they were planning so I was just as surprised as everyone else. Their dance started off with a few bars of Celine Dion, but then they whipped out sunglasses and grooved it out as the DJ flipped on "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner.

Mix in some Usher, invite people to dance and you've got yourself a full-blown dance party! My cousins are so fun at weddings. They never leave the dance floor and always keep it poppin'!

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

With the dance floor packed, I took the opportunity to grab my groom and some of his friends and have them hang our photobooth. We so didn't have a plan for that, but it needed to get hung one way or another in the courtyard. It was also around this time that I felt like I was in charge of everything. I don't know why this happened, but I felt like the host and I had to make sure everyone was having a good time everywhere.

I never really just sat down or relaxed for one second. There was so much adrenaline pumping through my veins and so many people to talk to that I just felt like I was wrapped up in a whirlwind. If I could go back and do it again I would sit down for 10 minutes, drink my wine and enjoy the party unfolding around me.

Take a minute during your reception to just watch for a tiny bit and feel satisfied that you did a great job pulling it all together. =)

A Napa Fairytale: Father/Daughter Dance

Ok, I know I said there would be no more tears, but I forgot about this one! I pretty much cried through my entire dance with my dad. Once you hear the song you may understand why. I tried my best to suck it up and brush them away, but eventually the chorus would roll around again and bring fresh tears to my eyes.

I can't really remember what we talked about-- I was so emotional. I remember feeling like this moment was a long time coming. I'd been away from home for so many years, traveling for dance and my dad was always very supportive of my choices, even if they were ones he would not have made. He'd been so warm to more than one boyfriend over the years and finally the moment of us dancing together at my wedding felt like, you know, pretty big. Isn't that what dads think about the minute they welcome a baby girl into the world? The weight of our journey to this moment hit me pretty hard.

I thought this photo of my family standing with their arms wrapped around eachother while we were dancing, was so cute. Mr. Barrettes is definitely singing along.

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

Wah! I was such a a cry baby. Some of our guests later told me that they hadn't cried during the wedding, but they got a little weepy watching our father/daughter dance. Mr. Barrettes' dance with his mom was a lot more fun and entertaining!

Did you lose it with your dad? What song did you dance to?

A Napa Fairytale: Our First Dance

I was a little hesitant about our first dance for a while. Once we both decided on the song (he loves country and I'm a pop girl, it was an easy choice) I wasn't sure if we should go the choreographed route, or if we should just embrace our moment and let it be whatever it would be. As a professional dancer, I felt pressure for it to be really awesome. Would our guests be expecting a full-out performance?

We always brought up the idea of taking a few lessons together, and Mr. Barrettes was totally game for private lessons, but it always fell to the bottom of our to-do list and still one week until the wedding, we hadn't tackled it. I realized the only one putting pressure on the situation was me. Our friends and family loved us, most had seen me on stage for years, they knew what I was capable of and I didn't need to impress anyone. It wasn't an audition, it was our wedding.

So we never practiced, we never had a rehearsal-- when the music started playing, he just grabbed my hand, pulled me into him and led me in the sweetest dance ever. It wasn't about our audience, it was about us. It was super cute and I was lost in the moment.

This song quickly became the theme of our wedding and later some of our guests would call it the "Napa Fairytale", hence my recap title. Being in Napa, everyone felt the harvest love and I honestly felt like our wedding was a fairytale. My winery wedding dream come true.

My groom was so sweet and finished the song with a dip. I didn't even have to prep him, he just knew!

I'm happy we went with a sweet and easy song that wasn't so obscure our guests wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Most of my cousins were singing along and it was so nice to be twirling around and seeing everyone else feeling the love as much as we were.

We also have a Randy Travis song that's "ours". I've included it just in case someone else needs ideas for a sweet country song!

Did you wing you first dance? How did it go with no prior practice?

On Being the Eldest of 20...

(personal photo)

...grandchildren, that is!

Brother Barrettes and I have the luxury of being able to start family wedding traditions in our generation. He is marrying exactly 5 weeks before me at a resort in the Poconos and I'm trying to think of something we can both do at our weddings that all of our younger cousins can participate in. At 29, I'm the oldest, Brother Barrettes is 27, and at the youngest end of the spectrum we have a little princess, who on our wedding day will turn 4 years old.

I was dancing in my living room while sprucing up the place, and it occurred to me that at every family event, we always end up doing line dances.  I know, the Electric Slide and Macarena are pretty lowbrow, but everyone in our family participates! All of my cousins will hit the dancefloor and they (especially the little ones) can move. Feeling their energy, even Mr. Barrettes has been known to breakdance.

I'm thinking about some sort of 'Dance-off' and the Bride and Groom would pick the winner. We'd engrave the winner's name onto a small trophy and he/she would keep it until the next family wedding. I'm going to run this idea by Brother Barrettes and Soon-to-be SIL and see what they think!

Can you imagine starting a Dance-off at every wedding hereafter in our family? Good idea or Bad Idea? What reception family traditions have you witnessed? What else could I do that my cousins could incorporate in their weddings in the years to come?