Amy + Clark: An Underwater Reception

As my girlfriend quoted, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming….”  When my sister told me she was having her wedding reception in an aquarium, I had to say, “Really?  You can do that?  SWEET!!!”  I’ve never heard of an aquarium allowing this.  What a great idea and what an amazing  chance for cool photos. So my girlfriend Allison and I grabbed our bags and headed out to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Now first things first, I had to get lunch at Braums.  If you know me, this is a must every time I’m in Oklahoma.  Allison was amazed at the quality of the burgers and anxiously awaited the next time we would come back so she could get ice cream.  With Cherry Limeades in hand, we headed off to freshen up at the Doubletree Hotel at Warren Place.  Then off to Amy and Clark’s in Bixby for BBQ.

At Amy and Clarks, we got to see lots of friends and family that I hadn’t seen in a while.  The Bill and June had come in from Wisconsin along with Bill Jr., Paula, and the kids.  Oren was there minus Jennifer who was in Alaska en-route first thing Saturday morning.  The Greenwoods happily arrived, again giving me the opportunity to explain how small of a world this is being that I met Mike and Julie in California before they moved back to Oklahoma 4 years ago.  My aunts from Oregon and Australia braved the long drive in my parents car from Colorado, making this a BBQ from around the world.  Even Karsten made a detour from his 1 month roadtrip on his way back to Colorado. It was great to see everyone again, introduce them to Allison, and eat some really good Oklahoma BBQ.

The day of the wedding reception, we all met up at the Oklahoma Aquarium, appropriately located on the only place in Tulsa I would expect an aquarium to be, on the riverside in Jenks.  As the public were still leaving the facility, Amy and Clark were near the reception area walking around.  What an great idea this was.  The tables were surrounded by aquarium tanks.  The florist had even decorated the kids tables with live hermit crab centerpieces.  The DJ had his booth set up off to the side, the food was in the center, and the delicious wedding cake was in front of the shark tanks.   This was perfect.  As people arrived, we started to get photos.  We got our family portraits quickly out of the way so that everyone could continue walking around and enjoy the aquarium.

After some amazing appetizers, more photos, and the cake cutting, we all sat down for a delicious Beef or Chicken meal.  What no Fish? 

The DJ rocked his beats to the dancing of all the kids, and even Amy and her friend Ron did a little two stepping as some country music jumped on the speakers.  As guests left the event, a wishing tree sat at the front table where guests could write their best wishes and hang them on different branches.  The night was over, and good times were had by all.  It was my pleasure to photograph my sisters reception and I couldn’t have been happier to see all my friends and family again.  It was a great idea and I wish the best to Amy and Clark for all the rest of their years.  Cheers!!