Until we met Lisa, we didn’t have much of an idea what we wanted for the ceremony. The reception was another matter entirely.

Matt and I briefly considered eloping, but decided that formalities aside, we both liked the idea of having a big party with all our loved ones there to witness our union.
We wanted to have Indian food since it’s one of our favorite things to eat, but then we decided it might frighten some of our guests. Then we decided we didn’t care. We had India Garden, our favorite restaurant, cater the event and they went above and beyond, taking care of pretty much everything. The food was just as awesome as it is at the restaurant, and they also made sure we had plates, cups, cake plates, servers… all those little details we were supposed to take care of and didn’t.

We intentionally made sure that our guests didn’t have any glassware to avoid the annoyance of constant ringing, but they still managed to catch us once or twice. The centerpieces were glass, so there was no getting around it. We didn’t really mind all that much, (kissing is always fun) and at least they let us finish our dinner. The band played some fairly gentle Celtic music during dinner, and once everyone was done eating, they brought out their true faces.

The Mickeys are a super rocking Irish punk band based out of Akron. We found them by accident through google searches, and booked them less than two months before the wedding. We were thrilled and grateful that they were available.
Along with a zoo location and Indian food, having Celtic music was one of our dream prospects for our wedding. We loved the idea of a Celtic rock band but didn’t think it was all that likely… so we were super lucky to find the Mickeys.

We didn’t have any official “first dance” or anything, which I think sort of threw people off. For a while, nobody got up onto the dance floor, but instead, dancing broke out among the tables.

It’s hard NOT to dance to the Mickeys, even if you aren’t the dancing type (and I at least, am not) you find yourself bobbing your head and toes.

On the right, my Aunt Marcia, dancing with my Uncle Benny and displaying our oh-so-elegant wedding favors: animal crackers.

Even though the dance floor was empty for
a while, people were dancing quite enthusiastically where they stood. Eventually, some did venture to the dance floor. Matt and I tried not to, but the band told us that it was bad luck not to do the polka at our wedding. Since no one actually knew the polka, we faked it.

Even without the “dancing” the band was quite entertaining.

The zoo was actually quite a pretty place to get married. The whole thing ended up feeling far more elegant than we expected.

After a while the band took a break and we decided that was as good a time as any to cut the cake.

The cake was designed and cooked by Create-A-Cake in Lakewood. I think (and hope) they had fun designing it. The effect was the perfect balance of fun and not-so-fun-it-looks-like-a-six-year-old’s-birthday-cake look.

The people at Create-A-Cake were wonderful to work with. They took sketches I came up with, photos from other cakes we’d liked and came up with something beautiful and unique.

Also delicious. It was marble (yellow and chocolate) cake with Irish Cream filling and normal buttercream icing.

Beyond the first bites we fed to each other, we didn’t really get to eat much of the cake at the wedding. Fortunately, we were able to bring a chunk of the cake with us on the honeymoon, which made a wonderful romantic desert for a couple nights.

Matt tried to give one of the tigers to his nieces, but I think it freaked them out a little when he bit off the head.
We wanted to make sure that our wedding was kid friendly, because so many of our friends and family members have children who we are close to.
I think we succeeded.

I was pretty giddy the whole night. I had a couple people ask me if I was pregnant because I was “glowing.” Just to be clear: NOT pregnant.

All around, the evening had exactly the light fun, slightly manic feel that we wanted. My mother told me that it was beautiful, said in a slightly astonished tone.

She was not alone in being surprised that it turned out so well. Matt and I weren’t exactly on top of the whole planning thing, and leading up to the wedding, I think we both had moments where we wished we could call the whole thing off and just sneak quietly off to the courthouse. The only reason it turned out at all well is because we have wonderful friends who took control of all the loose ends we dropped.

The band played longer than we booked them for. In the end I think they dedicated songs to everyone but the monkeys. And I’m not sure they didn’t dedicate anything to the monkeys.

As far as I could tell, everyone had a surprising and wonderful time. I hope so anyway. I know for me, it couldn’t have been any more perfect.

*Photos by Willow Rosen, except for those marked “Morgan” which are by Morgan.

Related: Wild Wedding – Part 1, Wild Wedding – The Ceremony