Congrats Mooners and Neesy!

Have I mentioned that I love weddings?

Ohh, I have? Okay…well, then I’ll say it again. I love weddings!

Yesterday morning, Jay and I headed out for our day-long wedding extravaganza to celebrate our cousin Denise and (now also our cousin) Mike. They had a beautiful ceremony in Albany, right down the road from my old stompin’ grounds.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Mooney!!

Heyyyy, those two cool cats look familiar.

There was a short amount of time to wait in between the ceremony and reception, but between having to stop to pick up a card and the ride over there, we really only had to wait about a half hour before things got back underway.

Considering the fact that my stomach was grumbling like crazy while in church, it’s no surprise that I headed straight for the hor d’oeuvres once cocktail hour started. I’m telling you…the food at this place (The Terrace at Waters Edge) was phenomenal. I could have easily made a meal out of the hor d’oeuvres.

I started with plate #1, including some bruschetta and roasted veggies, but then I found out there were meatballs and crab cakes, so I went back up for plate #2.

Oh mannnn, everything was so good! I also had a little fun using my iPhone to take photos, hence the reason that they’re all vertical. Didn’t quite think about that part…

I also enjoyed a couple small glasses of champagne with strawberries during cocktail hour.

I do love me some champagne.

We got seated at our table, which included lots of fun characters – some familiar, and some are probably some new faces. You guys know these two, so they don’t need any introductions.

We also got to sit with Nick and Jamie, who you most likely haven’t “met” before. Nick actually did make one small appearance on the blog before, when he helped us build the new landscaping in our front yard. They’re such a fun time.

Then we also had John and Jen as tablemates, who made a sneaky appearance on the blog earlier this year. I’ve known John for almost as long as I’ve known Jay, since John was one of his cousin Brian’s best friends growing up, so he was always around when we all got together.

Then there were these two taking up space at the table…not quite sure who they were.

Kiiiiidding.

Pretty soon, cocktail hour was finishing up and the happy bride and groom arrived!

The DJ started things off with a fun game where you pass a dollar bill around the table in order to see who wins the centerpiece, which I was already in love with since it was so festive and fall-like.

Well, the dollar ended up in Sarah’s hand, but somehow with the way the game worked, I ended up winning! I think she was ready to fight me for it…

Ohh, I love my Sarah.

And I love this handsome devil.

For dinner, we started off with salads (no photo), then we were brought a small dish of some amazing pasta in what I believe was vodka sauce, and THEN we had dinner.

Seriously. The food was amaaaaaazing.

Shortly after dinner, Denise had her father-daughter dance. This part of weddings always makes me tear up (especially at my own), but Denise’s was extra special because our Uncle Marty actually sang while her brother, Brian, played guitar.

It was a really sweet moment during the evening.

Once the formal stuff was out of the way, it was time to get the dance party started!

Somewhere in the middle of the evening, they started playing the locomotion and since Jay and I aren’t’ really huge locomotion fans, we headed back to our table to hide out. Luckily, we were greeted with cake that was waiting for us…ice cream cake!

Had we waited that much longer it probably would have already been melted, so I’m glad we made it over when we did. Despite the fact that it was half melted by the time we got to it, it was still incredible.

The rest of the evening was spent out on the dance floor, and I even got a special dance with the groom. Mike’s my dancing buddy.

Both Mike and Denise had huge smiles plastered on their faces the entire day, and it was so nice to see just how happy they were. They’re such a fun couple…as if you couldn’t already tell.

Congrats again Mooners & Neesy!!

And now, I’m off to another bridal shower on this lovely Sunday.

I know…I’m not even kidding on that one.

Tagged as: denise and mike, the terrace at waters edge, wedding