Sweetheart Dance! (yes you can feel like a newlywed again)

On the eve of Valentines Day, my good friend and I achieved the impossible: we gave couples a chance to remember why they originally fell in love by putting together an elegant dinner and dance and providing on site babysitting so that they could have a few hours of child-free romance.
I don't really want to think about how many hours went into planning and executing this thing, but let me tell you...IT WAS WORTH IT!

Thanks to the help of some good friends, we were able to decorate a plain Relief Society room so that it resembled something a little more worthy of a romantic night out.
It was fun to dress up and look pretty for my husband and to wear a flower in my hair.

Monica and Jeremy broke a cardinal rule by reminding us that we actually did have children somewhere in the building (a fact that was surprising easy to forget for a few hours)

our longest married couple was Richard and Julienne Dance. Their kids didn't need babysitting though...
because their kids were right there at the dinner dance too! WE love making romance a family affair!


and you never know when your goblet pyramid building skill will be tested
We played my own version of the Newlywed game, and the winners went home with a Starbucks gift-card and two movie passes. Turns out I couldn't remember the name of the first movie that Richard and I went to as a couple.
the dance was awesome! We only danced for an hour, but I think we could have gone on for another two hours or more. No one wanted to leave (drat those kids' bed times!).
and we had a dessert bar complete with a chocolate fountain (not pictured-- it wasn't dressed yet)
It was better than even the best high school dance! And the best part-- dancing with someone you truly loved and who truly loved you back (something I can't claim for any of the high school dances I ever went to).
we danced...
and we danced...
and we smooched...
and we danced some more!
but EVERYONE busted out their best moves. I was thoroughly impressed by the sheer amount of dancing talent we had in the room!

The best compliment we got was when one couple came up to us at the end of the evening and told us that they had forgotten what it was like to be newly in love, and that this dance reminded them of the first precious months of their relationship-- you know, when your stomach still flutters when you look at each other.
I felt the same way. I think every couple needs these moments whether they have been married one year or fifty years.
And if you have to create those moments yourself, then so be it!
what a wonderful night!