Rebecca And Jonathan Say I Zoo

The bride and me, at her rehearsal dinner.

Okay, here we finally are! So, almost three whole weeks ago, Becca and Jonathan had their wedding ceremony rehearsal. Everything went really smoothly, partly because they had planned everything so spectacularly and everyone was on the ball, and also because the location's team of wedding planners were pretty much amazing. They were so fun that I kind of miss them, actually, hah! 

All of these loud Americans are scary / I'm a very cuddly individual.

After the rehearsal, the whole gang of folks involved in the wedding headed to a park on a riverbank with a party room where we ate great food and heard a bunch of touching speeches. Tears were shed. Becca and Jonathan handed out presents to those of us in the wedding party and Jamie even got a Lego kit, despite refusing to be the "ring bear".

It didn't take a photo per day for almost five years for the professional to figure out you get
the best shots when you sneak 'em.

See what I mean? He didn't sneak here.

Anna and Becca. The best ladies.

Ask any woman: when your girlfriend gets married, you WORK.

Then it was the big day! All the ladies went our separate ways to get our hair done in the morning, then met up at Becca's hotel suite for makeup. Then, looking gorg, we all headed over to the zoo.

So apparently Becca is a model who has just been going around acting like a normal person as long as I've known her.

Oh, yeah! Did I mention yet that they got married in the botanical garden at The Toledo Zoo and had the reception in the aquarium? BEST. LOCATION. EVER. Seriously, the setting did all the work for them. It was gorgeous and there was so much to see that there was no risk of any dull moments. 

More of this trio because I miss them.

The Boss of the Wedding.

Becca and Jonathan were super cool about the ceremony and let me write whatever I wanted. So several months ago I interviewed them about what they loved most about each other and valued about their relationship. Their responses were really sweet and honest and funny, which made my job easy because I just made them vow to continue doing all the things that they were already doing that made each other happy.

It was all just too perfect for words.

I think they were really surprised (at one point Becca said, "Wait, do I have to promise that?" Hah!) and hopefully pleased. It was short and sweet and there were tears and a lot of laughter and it was a lot of fun, at least for me!

I told some really hilarious jokes during the vows.

See?

Love it, love it, love it! P.S. Check out the smokin' hot, bearded Viking on the far right.

Instead of a big cake they had sugar cookies in zoo animal shapes. I mean, c'mon!!!

They had their posed pictures taken before the ceremony, so after the "I do's" it was straight into the party! With an open bar, a touch tank where you could pet stingrays, plus sharks, jellyfish, turtles, and tropical fish wherever you looked, there was plenty to do and see during the cocktail hour.

Becca's mom, sister, the bride, yours truly, Anna. And, like, a hundred jellyfish.

After a bit, dinner was served, followed by speeches and plenty of dancing. It was seriously one of the very best days ever and I'm so honored to have been a part of it.

The Troublemakers' Table.