Ross and Leslie’s Wedding: Part Three

Shared with Christina Block’s kind permission, the pictures featured in this blog post were taken by the incredibly talented team behind Christina Block Photography.

Previous wedding posts:

• Ross and Leslie’s Wedding: Part One
• Ross and Leslie’s Wedding: Part Two

Ross and Leslie’s Wedding: Part Three

With beautiful wedding bands now on their fingers, Ross and Leslie walked back down the aisle as husband and wife after their emotional ceremony.

The bridal party followed the newlyweds into the waiting area and exchanged excited congratulations and enthusiastic hugs.

I quickly removed Leslie’s veil (which she borrowed from my friend Merri!) and fixed her hair so she could move about and mingle with everyone who was there to celebrate her special day.

While Ross and Leslie’s guests enjoyed a cocktail hour on the rooftop of The White Room in St. Augustine, we did our best to help the photographer corral the bridal party and the families of the bride and groom so she could snap a few formal photos.

Bride’s side of the family:

Groom’s side of the family:

Bridal party:

With our photos complete, the bridal party was free to enjoy the last of the cocktail hour while Leslie and Ross took some portraits by the water.

The remainder of the cocktail hour passed quickly and I did my best to chat with as many people as possible in such a limited amount of time. Why do weddings always seem to pass by in a flash!?

The view from the rooftop of Ross and Leslie’s wedding was incredible and I’m glad I got to sneak in a glimpse during the cocktail hour before the sun went down!

Once the bride and groom were done with their photos, we were escorted back inside so we could quickly go through the bridal party entrance before dinner.

The day before Ross and Leslie’s wedding, as Leslie’s bridesmaids and I worked to put the finishing touches on some last minute crafts, Leslie asked us to help choose the wedding entrance song for the the bridal party. She went through a bunch of songs, but the minute she played C&C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” we knew she had a winner.

Everyone got together in groups of four (two bridesmaids with two groomsmen) and busted a move as we were introduced.

We saw bridal party conga line entrances…

And lots of laughter…

As the only husband/wife duo in the bridal party, Ryan and I did our best to bring the heat and quickly made up a super-short choreographed dance entrance!

Of course the beautiful bride and her handsome groom had the best entrance of all!

Following their entrance, Ross and Leslie took to the dance floor for their first dance to “You’re Just Too Good To Be True” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

To quote Ryan, “I think they set the record for most kisses during a first dance!”

The love Ross and Leslie share was so apparent throughout their whole wedding day and watching the two of them sway together was so special.

After their dance, everyone was ushered inside. It was time to eat!

It was right at this moment that I started to feel my nerves kick in. I knew it was nearly time for my matron of honor speech, so while everyone else entered the dining room, I slipped off into a quiet hallway to review my speech one last time.

My dad kicked off dinner with a welcome speech that highlighted his love for Leslie and Ross.

He had everyone laughing with a story about the moment he knew Leslie and Ross would be together forever. (He saw Leslie care for a seasick Ross on a scuba trip by placing a towel “blankie” over him to make him feel better.)

And then it was my turn! I was nervous but I felt much calmer than I thought I would when I stood up to speak.

My speech lasted for a little over three minutes and I did my best to speak about the love I have for my sister, the love I have for Ross and the love I have for the two of them as a couple.

Here’s to the bride, here’s to the groom,

To the couple, their families and their future, too

May the smiles on their faces never fade

May they fall even more in love every day

Ross’ brother and best man, Jeremy, stood up next and gave a heartfelt speech that also had everyone laughing!

With my speech done, I felt like I could finally relax! It was such a treat to sit next to my sister during dinner since it gave me the ability to chat with the bride for a brief moment.

Once dinner plates were cleared, everyone walked out of the dining room to watch the bride and groom cut the cake!

Like Ryan and I did at our wedding, Ross and Leslie used the knife my parents used to cut the cake during their wedding more than 30 years ago!

I cannot say enough glowing things about their wedding cakes. Sweet ‘n’ Flour did an absolutely fantastic job with the four beautifully rustic cakes they created and every single flavor was phenomenal.

Brown butter and red velvet cake with vanilla bean buttercream frosting

Dark chocolate ganache cake with peanut butter buttercream frosting

Orange blossom cake with buttercream frosting <— The best!

And for Ross’ groom’s cake, Leslie surprised him with a “cake” make of Oreos since they both share an intense love for the delicious chocolate sandwich cookie!

(Big thanks to my friends Merri and Kaitlyn for assembling the Oreo tower cake!)

With delicious pieces of cake in hand, everyone headed out to the rooftop to watch Leslie and my dad enjoy their father/daughter dance to “My Girl,” which they selected thanks to a scene from our family’s favorite movie, Father of the Bride, when George and Annie play basketball in the driveway together!

Ross and his mother’s dance followed and the two swayed to Elton John’s “Blessed.”

And with that, it was time to dance!!!

I spent all the time I could on the dance floor breaking it down with Ryan, the bride and groom, my family and friends!

Our time on the dance floor flew by, and before we knew it, everyone was grabbing bags of granola from the favor table before it was time for Ross and Leslie’s big sparkler send off.

The sparklers were a hit and lit up the beautiful St. Augustine night!

It was the perfect ending to the perfect evening!

Congratulations to my sister and her wonderful husband!

I have all the faith in the world that your marriage will be filled with so much love and laughter. You truly are the perfect match.

I love you both so much.