Sewn Together: Pull & Toss!

Grabbing my bouquet, which was handily tied up with our charm ribbons by DOC Maria, I took to the dance floor as Shakira's "She Wolf" started piping through the speakers.

It was bouquet pull time.

I was a little worried that people wouldn't understand my nontraditional concept, but our emcee gave very clear directions of "Grab a ribbon and when I count to three, pull it! The ribbon attached to the bouquet wins!"

And everyone understood, no problem.  The women danced around me as they choose their lucky ribbon, and I held the ends tightly against the bouquet to keep the winning strand a secret!

I'm a maypole!

And it would have been perfectly awesome, had the odds not worked against me.

Ready? One, Two, Three!

Oops. Of the three or four leftover ribbons (I did not know beforehand how many ladies would like to participate), the bouquet happened to be attached to one unclaimed. Oh probability! You haunt me yet!

But like any happy bride on her wedding day, my spirits were not deterred, and I tossed my flowers like it was nobodies business.

(Photo by family) I love Sister-Peng's "ready" stance.

Despite my sister's determined attempt, Cousin T caught the bouquet.

When asked if she had any lucky man in mind, she declared "that boy over there is kind of cute". ("That boy" happens to be her significant other since high school.) The emcee asked, "Where?" and I say, "Over there!"

(Photo by family)

With a little backup, we find him!

If that's not a hint, Friend M, I don't know what is.

The music then switched over to ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man", and it was Sak's turn. I forgot to put my garter on, actually, so he just grabbed it from the table where it was left. No awkward fumbling up a somewhat-snug Chinese dress.

Ready, guys?

Although there was a nice wad of $20s clipped to my little strawberry garter, it wasn't really announced, so naturally there wasn't much catching excitement. I think it fell on the floor, actually. But since it bounced off Sak's friend R last, he was declared the winner!

When prompted, he had to declare his attractive qualities to any single ladies on the lookout.

So modest!

Looking back, I still stand by the ribbon-pull decision. For us, it was a solid alternative to the toss, and every single woman in the house got up to participate. I think that holding a simple ribbon was a bit more "within the comfort zone" for some of our more timid guests. Plus, everyone got a sweet charm to take home!

(Photo by family) Inspecting the loot!

But of course, I would have counted the ladies or made some people take two ribbons to keep bad-odds at bay. Hindsight is always 20/20, they say. Ah well, it was still a lot of fun!


(Unless otherwise noted, all images by Terra Photography)

Our wedding week in review:

• We took care of some last minute DIY details, and officialized everything.
• We vacationed with our out-of-towners, and threw a yummy welcome beach brunch.
• Sak saluted an angry dragon during our wedding rehearsal, and we sniffed at our dinner.
• Wal-Mart crashed my bachelorette.
• The women magically transformed, and Sak tied me into our dress.
• There was a windy photoshoot on the beach, and then we hung out at the chapel in flat shoes.
• We marched to the altar and got married.
• Everyone was camera-happy.
• Reception time! A bustle for our first dance, and then it was time to eat.
• I wore a kimono, and then fed some lions.