The Party of Our Lives: Introductions and Dinner

Allow the recaps to recommence! When we left off, our guests were enjoying our cocktail hour and photo kiosk. Before we knew it, the cocktail hour had come to an end and our coordinator prepared us for our grand entrance.

the bridal party, lined up and ready to go

The bridal party and Mr. Cool and I entered the reception to INXS' "Need You Tonight." We chose this fun, upbeat song to let our guests know that it was time to get this party started! Miss PJ and Mr. P entered first:

Followed by Miss P and Mr. B:

Next, Mrs. O and Mr. W danced their way through the Grand Salon:

And Mrs. S and Mr. R found their way through the sea of tables:

Next, it was my cousin/Maid of Honor and best man Mr. E's turn to enter:

Finally, Mr. Cool and I were introduced for the first time as husband and wife. This was a really exciting and happy moment for us:

Mr. Cool greeted a few guests as we made our way to our head table:

Then, it was time to eat! By the time we sat down, our guests already had their first course of lentils, rice and chutney in front of them:

This course was followed by the main dishes of pomegranate chicken:

Lebanese lamb kibbeh served with yogurt sauce:

And various Indian dishes such as raita and sweet yogurt shrikundh:

guest photo

Potato onion "baji":

guest photo

And rice pilaf ("pulao"):

guest photo

We placed three of our DIY menu cards at each table so that guests could read the descriptions of the food together. Our goal was to encourage interaction amongst our guests and get them excited about trying dishes that may not have been familiar to them:

guest photo

Oh look! I spy one of our signature cocktails with a green and white paper straw!

I'm happy to report that I ate everything that was placed on my plate at our wedding. Our coordinator was kind enough to prepare plates for Mr. Cool and I, and I loved eating every last bite, even though I was too giddy to feel hungry.

We received a ton of compliments on our food, and my boss even went so far to say that it was the best meal he ever had at a wedding. Yay! I was admittedly nervous that the food we served deviated quite a bit from standard wedding fare, but in the end, we served a unique meal that most of our guests truly enjoyed. It was also amazing that Casa Real and our caterers, LaMediterranee and Raja Sweets, worked with us to present a family-style meal to our guests. This was very important to Mr. Cool and I, and it came together flawlessly at our wedding reception.

Up next, our cake!

*Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Paige Morrison.