warning: this post contains a boat load of awesomeness and a whole ton of wedding planner gushing. thanks.
receptions at state theater at playhouse square are bound to be fabulous. first up, you get your name in lights on the marquee on euclid avenue (fun.) next, the cocktail hour is in the large lobby area with marble floors and high ceilings (awesome.)
sammy’s catering set up a great hors d’oeuvres display in the center (with great linens from l’nique.)
cocktail hour music was by anthony fuoco of jerry bruno productions.
towards the end of the cocktail hour, the doors to the actual theater opened…
…and guests walked the length of the seats and up a short ramp to the stage where dinner and dancing was held.
i’m not sure if they realized what they were in store for! no, they probably did. maybe a little.
during set up i was able to get some more detailed pics of the incredible table decor by neil leeson and his team.
there were two different kinds of centerpiece decor for the rounds…
… and there were four 16-top rectangular tables with more of accent/feature decor going on.
and then the faaaaaabulous head table:
menus looked like playbills with each act being a course of the meal. also shown were the scrumptious-looking cookie favors by stan’s bakery in northfield.
the favor tags read “o ke aloha ka ‘iu – love is paradise” as liz and zach are moving to hawaii this month where zach is stationed. their honeymoon is indefinite at this point! :) luckies.
i had the honor of meeting neil leeson himself and snuck him away from the table set up to do the honor of pinning the groom’s bout back on once he changed out of marine uniform and into a more casual suit. it’s a rather elementary task for a florist, but i thought it’d be a heck of a lot more memorable to have neil himself than me doing it. :)
they were THRILLED with the decor… as you’d expect. here are liz and zach with neil – the mastermind behind it all.
the decor looked so amazing under the stage lights. my sad point and shoot (which i broke later that night) couldn’t handle the lighting but you get an idea :) i had to switch some photos to black and white so people didn’t look like oompa loompas…
announcements were a hoot with the entire bridal party posing when they hit the stage for the photographers
liz and zach were surprised when the emcee handed over the mike to the “agpl” – the after golf party league, liz’s parents golfing friends – who did an impromptu marine-like sword ceremony for them!
following announcements were the first dance and co- father/daughter and mother/son dance. as that ended the emcee asked the onlooking guests who had made a circle around the bride, groom and parents to do a massive group hug. they happily obliged:
post dinner, liz and zach utilized zach’s usmc knife to do their cake tier cutting…
… zach proceeded to cover liz’s face in cake. she was quite the sport.
liz and zach’s bouquet toss and garter getting and tossing was also very entertaining. there was a countdown (3… 2…1…!)
and when emcee gave zach three choices to get to liz’s garter, zach chose to army marine crawl which guests, of course, went wild over. (as did i, it was hysterical. esp. if you could see liz’s expressions the entire time.)
as for the rest of the reception, emcee ryan of rock the house entertainment had a blast with guests. he was in the crowd, pumping them up and keeping them going all night long.
and dj eli was ROCKING the dance floor. i have never seen a dance floor 1. fill that quickly 2. stay that filled all night 3. be full of guests of ALL ages dancing to music from TODAY. awesome, awesome, awesome job.
don’t believe me? well, here’s proof. part of the song “right round” by florida. all ages. dancing their faces off. to flo rida. FLO RIDA. awesome.
it was such an amazing night for all who were there. i stayed well later than they needed me to just because i was having so much fun watching everyone dance and enjoy themselves, and maid of honor emily (my new bestie by the way) pulled me out on the dance floor around the same time as the cupid shuffle (as if i can stay away for that!)
liz and zach, you two are super. congratulations again on your marriage, your beautiful ceremony and your kick butt reception. thanks for making me feel more like one of the family than the day of coordinator. your planning – and in three months no less – was top notch. best wishes to you both as you can finally live in the same state together! ALOHA!!! let me know if you need a life coordinator in oahu… :-D
previous posts:
liz & zach – vendor preview
liz & zach – part 1: ceremony
by heidzilla
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