Deerly Beloved: Hora time! (and speeches)

A word to the wise- if you are planning on doing the hora at a wedding where a large chunk of guests have never been to a Jewish celebration, it might be smart to mention what exactly the hora is and how they can join in.  I, in fact, failed to do this and a large portion of our guests stood around us in a circle with extremely confused looks on their faces- live and learn!

Since I did not think ahead, it was up to my family and I to get the dance going (btw, even though Mr Elk has been to numerous Jewish celebrations, he still had no clue what to do...):

All photos by Ruby Star Photography

Before long, chairs appeared and Mr Elk and I were being forced into the air. Mr Elk's face is PRICELESS: Apparently, the idea of letting go even just to grab my hand scared the poop out of Mr Elk After a few minutes of being lifted in chairs, the strong (and awesome) guests holding us up (thanks guys!!) seemed to be faltering a little, and Mr Elk was NOT enjoying the feeling of almost falling. And so ended the hora!

The hora is one tiring dance (especially for the men who decide to do the lifting!), so a little R&R was just what the doctor ordered.  Everyone made their way back to their tables to finish the first course.  During this time, I noticed that MOH L was sneakily setting up a laptop, which was connected to a projector, which in turn was pointed at a large screen in the corner of the venue.  I started to get really nervous- was there some terrible slideshow in store during dinner that nobody had thought to mention to me?

But then, DJ Corey announced that it was time for speeches and MOH L stepped forward.  She announced that during my planning process, I had made A LOT of powerpoint presentations(which is totally true, btw), and she figured she would commemorate the elk wedding by making her own powerpoint!

     Let me tell you, hive, it was pretty hilarious! Most of the actual powerpoint slides were made up of silly photos of Mr Elk and I which were used to illustrate the point MOH L was making (so for example when she talked about how I taught her how to dance when we were younger, there was a terribly embarrassing shot of me dancing at my bachelorette party!).  Anyhoo, it really has awesome!

Next up was best man L (aka Mr Elk's older brother).  Best man L started his speech by stating he always intended to NOT do what Mr Elk did at his wedding- which was not write a speech and just kind of wing it.  But of course, being Mr Elk's brother, best man L did JUST that.  Despite not writing anything formally down prior to the wedding, best man L spoke from the heart and said some really touching things about family!
Here are Mr Elk and I listening intently:    Last but not least was Papa Elk, who commanded the attention of the room with a heartwarming speech. After we had laughed a little, and even maybe cried a little, it was time for dinner (or, for Mr Elk and I, time to do everything EXCEPT eat!).

Miss a moment? Catch up here:

1. The Elks part ways with their pooch, and eat WAY too much rainbow cookie cake
2. Mrs Elk beautifies with her ladies after a less than stellar wake up call
3. Mrs Elk REALLY wants to put her dress on already!
4. The Elks- Reunited and it feel so good!
5. The Elk bridal party poses, while Mrs Elk makes Tyra Banks proud
6. The Elks strike a pose with their families
7. Disaster strikes!
8. The Elks realize the importance of a good rehearsal
9. The Elks follow the yellow brick road  grey slate aisle
10.  The Elks get eaten alive, oh and the ceremony begins!
11. The Elks say I do (after a quick fit of giggles)
12. So many details!
13. The Elks sway like grade-schoolers